2008 final tables

Courtesy of the North West Federation website

Advanced Croquet League Table 2008
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Southport Sandgrounders
7
2
0
5
17
25
123
Bury
7
3
0
3
16
16
121
Fylde
7
5
0
2
26
17
111
Bowdon Saints
7
7
0
0
32
8
110
Pendle & Craven
7
2
0
3
10
16
48
Bowdon Canons
7
3
0
3
16
20
38
Southport Folly
7
2
0
4
15
19
34
Crake Valley
7
0
0
4
4
16
0

Handicap Croquet League Table 2008
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Pendle & Craven
8
6
1
1
33
14
13
Bury Peelers
8
4
3
1
27
21
11
Chester
8
3
3
2
25
21
9
Fylde
8
4
1
3
25
21
9
Bowdon Firs
8
2
4
2
26
20
8
Bowdon St Marys
8
3
2
3
23
23
8
Bury Caesars
8
1
4
3
22
24
6
Crake Valley
8
2
0
5
12
26
4
Southport
8
1
2
4
6
29
4

Short Croquet League Table 2008
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Bowdon
6
5
1
0
61
35
11
Bury
6
3
2
1
52
44
8
Fylde
6
2
2
2
49
47
6
Southport
6
2
1
4
49
47
5
Chester
6
1
2
3
45
51
4
Llanfairfechan
6
2
0
4
43
53
4
Pendle & Craven
6
2
0
4
37
59
4

Golf Croquet League Table 2008
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Chester
7
5
0
2
86
68
10
Southport
7
4
1
2
85
69
9
Bury Souths
7
4
1
2
77
67
9
Llanfairfechan
7
4
0
3
81
73
8
Culcheth
7
3
1
3
77
77
7
Pendle & Craven
7
3
1
3
77
77
7
Bury Norths
7
2
0
5
72
82
4
Fylde
7
1
0
6
51
93
2

Midweek Croquet League Table 2008
Matches
Games
Points
P
W
D
L
W
L
Bowdon Griffins
5
3
1
1
18
12
7
Fylde
5
3
1
1
18
12
7
Southport
5
2
1
2
15
14
5
Pendle & Craven
5
1
2
2
14
16
4
Bury
5
1
2
2
14
16
4
Chester
5
0
3
2
13
17
3

2008 match reports


Advanced: Fylde 6 Pendle 3 ( +21 F)

The match was played in a three man format at Pendle's request. A little wet under foot the rain stayed away all day. After a good showing at the Easter tournament, Lee took Fylde's number one position ( by 1 index point!) Peter played number two and, after Liz (tummy) pulled out, Andrew came in as number three. Pendle fielded Filsak, Schofield & Ahmed and were the weaker side by 1.5 HPs. Each Fylde player scored two victories and each became involved in one match having a tight ending with all clips near or on the peg. In each of these games fortune favoured Fylde giving a final scoreline that does not reflect how close the match was.

Posted by Peter 12th April 2008

Short: Southport 11 Fylde 5

Fylde:
Lee, Betty, Geoffrey, Ian
Southport:
Brian Lewis, Simon "Wolfie" "Wolfman" "Wolfster" Wolf, Eilleen Gallagher, David Key
The first short lawn match of the season saw Fylde travel to Southport, who due to the wet nature of the ground had to mark out different lawns on the morning of the match to those normally used. The match started in overcast conditions which clearly played to Fylde's advantage as we won the first set of games 3-1, the best win being by Betty who won +7 after pegging her opponent out. With the sun beginning to break through Southport fought back and only Lee won his second round game for the visitors leaving the score evenly poised at 4-4 at lunch. Beef casserole followed by homemade trifle or tiramisu was then enjoyed by all, but perhaps too much by the Fylde team. A combination of this, and the quickening lawns due to the sun which was by now shining brightly, saw Southport romp away in the afternoon, winning all but the last game to finish which was won by Betty.

Posted by Lee, 13th April 2008

Handicap: Bury Caesars 3 Fylde 3

Bury Caesars:
Tony Phillips, Len Forkin, Mac Hardman, Graham Saunders
Fylde:
Lee, Betty, Ken, Ian
Our first handicap match of the season started in light rain and the forecast was for it to stay that way if not for the rain to increase. Hence the morning's doubles was a soggy affair. Betty and Ken at least had the good sense to lose early whereas Lee and Ian dragged it out to time, though with the consolation that they beat Tony and Graham +6 to leave the match all square at lunch. As often happens in croquet as soon as we sat down for lunch the rain ceased and the sun came out. Happily this carried on into the afternoon and the singles began in bright sunshine with perfect peace and quiet as the park was still deserted. This wasn't due to last though as quite early in the games the serenity was broken by the arrival of half a dozen policemen, a couple of police dogs, and the police helicopter hovering overhead. It turned out that some youths had stolen a car and they had been tracked to the park where they had abandoned the car and tried to make their getaway. Fortunately for us the forces of law and order were right on the ball and they were apprehended, one of them hiding in the undergrowth, without any major disruption to the serious business taking place on the lawns. Bury took an early lead with Graham blitzing Ian, who was making his handicap debut, with bisques still standing. Lee soon levelled things up by beating Tony +6 despite having had a ball pegged out. Betty then gave Fylde the lead by beating Len for the third time in her short career, this time +7. However Mac wasn't far behind in pegging out, just before the rain returned, and hence the match finished as a draw.

Posted by Lee, 27th April

Advanced: Fylde 5 Southport Sandgrounders 4 (+20S)

With Liz recovering from an operation, the match was played in a three man format at our request at Southport. Very warm weather and with plenty of sunshine was the forecast and this was what we got. Sandgrounders fielded Carol Lewis, Keith Roberts and Simon Wolf who is a fast improver. Lee and Peter both lost close games in round one and we never recovered from this 20 point swing. Lee and Andrew won two games each and Peter's win was +1T in a twenty minuet time turn needing a peel after being behind against Simon from the start. Liz came along to watch from a sun lounger and provided a wonderful buffet lunch for everyone. Although the match score was 5-4 to us, Carol's two wins over lower handicap players (+2 & +2) ensured Sandgrounders the net points in the league.

Posted by Peter 10th May

golf: Fylde 8 Bury Norths 14

FYLDE:
Alan, Betty, Cath, Geoffrey
BURY NORTHS:
Susan Hardman, Barbara Giller, Bob Whittle, Maureen Whittle
Playing conditions were good as the doubles matches started. Bury won the opening two games by 7-6. Alan and Betty had got to a winning position in their game with Hardman and Giller. Alan had won hoop 4 with an 18 yard shot but a misplaced attempt by him to position his ball in the jaws of the final hoop allowed Bury to shoot at the hoop and win the game. In the second round of doubles, we gained their first win with Betty and Geoff beating Giller and M Whittle 7-6. In this game, Geoff won three consecutive hoops with angled shots from several yards. At lunch , Bury led by 4 games to 2 with Betty and Cath picking up a 7-5 win over Giller and Whittle. We halved the first round of singles with Betty beating Giller in a tie break 7-6. Alan also beat Giller in a tie break to keep us in contention. Bury now led by 8 games to 6. The third round saw the match swing in Bury’s favour as they won three of the games. Round 4 saw the shot of the day with Bob Whittle scoring a 30 yard hoop in his 7-5 win over Betty. Fylde now needed to win the last four games to force a draw. It was too big a task with only Cath winning her game in a tie break 7-6 win over Barbara Giller. Betty was our best player by winning three singles and two doubles matches.

Posted by Alan, 10th May

Handicap: Bowdon Firs 2 Fylde 4

Bowdon lawns that had somewhat longer grass than normal greeted us on a very hot and humid morning - without doubt this helped us considerably. Bowdon were all single figure handicaps bar one, so extra quantities of timber were brought in to cope with the demand for bisques. Martin and Ken were involved in a very cagey start to their game against Liz and Sheila. We built up a decent lead with Martin eventually reaching rover. The second half of the game became a little bogged down with much defensive work; eventually time brought a Fylde win +12. Betty and Alan had a very close game against John and Rupert and it was anyone's to take as time approached - +1 on time gave a very pleasing 2 - 0 lead. After lovely home-cooked ham et al and Liz's divine trifle, we were greeted at the start of the singles by a thunderstorm. Alan and Ken struggled somewhat against the wiles of Sheila and Rupert, but Betty socked it to Liz, a very experienced player, who was swept aside +23. Your captain, having got well ahead with both balls, allowed John to come back but at last got to peg +14. We were all tickled to bits with this away win - let's hope this bodes well for our Longman Cup clash with Bowdon.

Posted by Martin, 11th May

GOLF: Southport 16 Fylde 6

FYLDE: Alan Morton, Cath Morton, Philip Bass, Catherine Bass
SOUTHPORT: John Mawdsley, Jennifer Mawdsley, Jean Nolan, Eileen Rossiter
Fylde slumped to their second defeat of the season in cold and showery conditions at Victoria Park last Saturday. Fylde made a good start in the doubles with the Morton’s beating the Mawdsley’s 7-5. Southport brought the scores level as J Nolan and E Rossiter beat Philip and Catherine Bass 6-4 despite Philip Bass winning hoop 6 with a 14 yard shot. Southport won the next two doubles but Fylde fought back with Alan Morton and Catherine Bass beating J Mawdsley and E Rossiter 7-5. Cath Morton and Philip Bass won the final doubles game 6-5 after being 4-1 behind. Again Philip Bass’s hoop running set the platform for the win. At lunch, Fylde had competed well to tie the match at 3-3. The afternoon singles were a disappointment to the Fylde team. Alan Morton started well by beating J Mawdsley 6-4 but then Fylde lost six consecutive games to take the match score to 9-4 in Southport’s favour before Philip Bass won 6-5 against J Nolan. Fylde were still in with a chance to win the match in the remaining 8 games but Southport kept up the pressure by winning 7 of those games with only Alan Morton adding a consolation win. On the day Southport played well and were too good for the Fylde team.

Posted by Alan, 17th May

Mexico Trophy



The Southport sunshine graced day one of the Mexico Trophy which was a series of Advanced, Handicap and Short matches played with a view to raising money for the Southport lifeboat which is independently funded. The home team offered hospitality to many of our members overnight and an al fresco buffet breakfast for the second day which unfortunately turned wet as the morning progressed.

Play on the second day was a three team game of Blue Moon, a variation of Croquet with Trivial Pursuit questions to be answered along the way. But the rain spoiled the party and after lunch we travelled home.

Southport & Birkdale's website will have more news about the event.

We were delighted to have recruited Dave 'Quarryman' Nick to our club this season to give us a fighting chance in the Advanced matches, but the trophy :

has been won by Southport on this occasion. The home side were very encouriging to our beginners and offered help at every opportunity.

Posted by Peter, 1st June

Short: Llanfairfechan 7 Fylde 9

Fylde:
Lee(c), Terry, Betty, Ken
Llanfairfechan:
Georgina Llewellyn, Jack Pattenden, John Hunt, Joyce Pegg
Fylde got up bright and early, well early anyway, to make the long day trip down to North Wales. The trip was relatively uneventful with the highlight being the RAC man at the Chester services asking us which cricket team we played for. Arriving in good time we were treated to a tour of the building site that is the current home of Llanfairfechan as their new clubhouse, which looks like it will be state of the art (in croquet terms), is still in the process of being built. The first set of games were shared with Lee beating John and Terry beating Joyce. Fylde stepped up the pressure in the second set of games with good wins for Lee over Jack and Terry over Georgina. Betty also won but Ken got beat in probably the game of the day, losing a 2 ball ending to John after unfortunately pegging his own ball out in the act of pegging out John's ball. Hence a fine lunch was had with Fylde leading 5-3. The afternoon sets of games were then shared, with wins for Lee and Terry in the first set, and Betty and Ken in the last set of games, Ken winning the last game of the day to give us our first short lawn victory of the year 9-7. Very unusually all of the games finished within time which allowed for an early finish to the match. Some speedy driving by Terry, and a totally uneventful journey home, meant we got back well in time to have some tea before settling down to watch Doctor Who.

Posted by Lee, June 7th

Midweek: Fylde 3 Pendle 3

Fylde played host to Pendle in the first mid-week game of the season. In the morning doubles Liz and Ken took on Andrew Webb and Robin Delves in a careful game which they won +8 as the visitors struggled to get to grips with the lawn. The other doubles pairing of Martin and Ian took on Abdul and Peter Dewhurst. They narrowly lost -2 on time. In the afternoon Martin played a steady and cautious game to beat Abdul +19. Ken lost to Peter Dewhurst -4. Ian, playing the experienced Robin Delves, demonstrated great skill for a beginner taking his first ball to peg in 40 minutes using only 8 of his 16 bisques. The second ball did not behave itself however and Robin pulled back to level leaving just five points each to score as the bisques ran out. With all balls for the peg Robin missed a rush on his partner ball and accidentally pegged out his strike ball. Ian kept his cool and pulled off a spectacular win. Liz played Andrew but lost -3 as time ran out. The result a 3 -3 draw.

Posted by Liz, June 11th

Advanced: Fylde (+4) Bowdon Saints

In the morning Lee & Peter lost by 3 to Ken Cooper (-0.5) and Mike Steer (5) but Liz & Mart beat David Walters (0.5) and Mike Sandler (2.5) giving us a 6 match-point lead. Bowdon's lawns were immaculately turned out and running reasonably fast.

Lee runs 5 while Liz plays a break on lawn 2

In the afternoon singles, Liz played very well and scored 11 match-points beating Mike. The remaining games went to Bowdon with Fylde only getting fifteen hoops in all those games put together. However we came out winning the match by a slender 4 match-point by virtue of the handicap differences. Many thanks to Bowdon Croquet Club for accommodating the match during their busy period.

Posted by Peter, June 15th

Handicap: Fylde 5 Bowdon St Mary's 1

Fylde:
Terry Vernazza, Leonard Ainsworth, Betty Bates, Ken Harper
Bowden:
John Lucas, Ros Pimlot, John Larmouth, Chris Lewis
Bowden arrived bright and early, having set off early to avoid the traffic problems on the M6. With a prompt start and good weather conditions, the teams settled down to the morning doubles games. Despite having spent the early part of the morning visiting chemists to find a migraine treatment, Betty soon found her rhythm, and Leonard was also roqueting consistently over long distances. T he lawns were proving difficult to judge and both matches went to time, Betty and Ken winning 25 – 15 and Leonard and Terry winning 15-10. After a good lunch, Betty continued her good form and despatched her opponent 26-11 well within time. Leonard also pegged out before time and Terry won +7 on time, continuing the winning streak for Fylde. The final game was a tense battle, Chris Woods, from Bowden, eventually winning with a golden hoop after time.

Posted by Terry, June 14th

Longman Cup: Bowdon 1 Fylde 6

Having escaped the first round for the second year running, Fylde's fearless foursome started their defence of the Cup on the sylvan lawns at Bowden. Leonard Ainsworth and Betty Bates had a nip and tuck battle in the morning doubles achieving a highly creditable win by two hoops. Terry Vernazza took off in fine form in his morning singles and was unstoppable winning quickly 26 - 2, whilst Martin Bradshaw's match was a dogged affair to start with but he pulled ahead to win 19 - 14. Three up at lunchtime but with the already fast lawns speeding up in hot sun. Bradshaw after a slowish start warmed to the task winning the first of the afternoon singles 26 - 8. Vernazza meanwhile, not quite as dominant as the morning, was always looking good and prevailed 26 - 13. The other two singles were both close affairs and gutsy performances ended with a single hoop victory for Bates and Ainsworth only missing out by three hoops. A 6 - 1 win bodes well for the third round.

Posted by Mart, 15th June

Golf: Fylde 3 Chester 3

The morning doubles were completed in continuous rain. At 1.45 p.m. The captains inspected the lawns . Puddles of water had formed on both lawns with hoop areas affected. A playability test was undertaken by myself and I was unable to hit a ball the length of Lawn 1. It was agreed to wait 30 minutes to see if the rain would stop. With heavy rain still falling ,the match was abandoned at 2-15 p.m. with agreement by both captains.

Posted by Alan, 21st June

Jamboree

Liz & Peter managed second in the Advanced section. Lee, Ken & Ian, Betty Catherine & Phillip, Allan & Cath comprised Golf & Handicap teams over the two days and finished mid table.

We finished in overall 4th place only beaten by those clubs fielding teams in all events (We were a short team short for the first time in many years).

Prior to presenting the trophies, the chairman of the Northwest Federation pointed out that this tournament is the only social tournament in the country where all the disciplines come together under one roof. This was greeted with a loud round of applause and cheering.

Apart from one short downpour, the weather stayed dry for the two days and some suntan lotion was also required. The friendliness of Southport & Birkdale's club members, their help in providing accommodation and all the hard work put into this giant event make it a very special week end.

Posted by Peter, June 30th

Short: Fylde 8 Bowdon 8

Fylde:
Lee (c), Betty, Philip, Catherine
Bowdon:
Steve Reynolds, Paul Widger, Chris Lewis, Margaret Russell

Our first home short lawn match of the season saw debuts for Philip and Catherine. And just to test their resolve we were greeted with drizzle intermixed with driving rain as we set out the hoops and welcomed the Bowdon team. This continued for most of the morning. The first set of matches saw convincing wins for Lee over Chris and Betty over Margaret. Clearly it was unrealistic to expect too much from the newcomers saw it was a pleasant surprise to watch Philip narrowly fail to beat the experienced Steve, losing only on the golden hoop. The second set of matches were also split with further wins for Lee and Betty so lunch was taken at 4-4. As often happens the rain had ceased by this point and the sun decided to blaze away throughout the whole of an excellent lunch, with many thanks to Liz for her assistance. The vagaries of the British weather, which personally I love, saw the sunshine continuing throughout the afternoon with patches of glorious blue sky. Clearly Fylde had over indulged more than Bowdon as the next set of matches saw them forge into a 7-5 lead. There was however a first win for Catherine with a superb win over Chris to keep Fylde in the hunt. The value of this was underlined in the last set of matches as firstly Betty thrashed Paul. Lee then pulled Fylde level by beating Steve despite forgetting to do his peel and having to win the game for a second time. Catherine lost to Margaret but Philip also gained his first victory, finding form with avengeance to come from 6-2 down to beat Chris 8-6 and tie the match at 8-8. This was a fantastic performance from both of the debutants and augurs very well for the future.

Posted by Lee, 5th July

Handicap: Bury Peelers 4 Fylde 2

Bury:
Barbara Young, Geoff Young, Paul Kenworthy, Jean Partington
Fylde:
Andrew Webb, Martin Bradshaw, Terry Vernazza and Ken Harper

This top of the table match started under leaden skies and drizzle but the conditions did improve later. The Fylde players struggled initially with the slopes on the Bury lawns but then started to find some form. However, Andrew and Martin couldn’t get the better of Paul and Geoff and lost 26-14. Terry and Ken fared better but eventually lost narrowly, after time by 20 hoops to 19.

After a refreshing lunch and delightful fudge cake, players settled down to the singles matches. Barbara Young was in excellent form for Bury and soon despatched Andrew Webb. On the other lawn, Terry Vernazza found a good rhythm and notched up the first win for Fylde against Geoff Young. Martin Bradshaw was involved in a terse struggle with Paul Kenworthy but eventually succumbed, leaving Bury 4-1 in the lead. In the final game, Ken Harper gained the early advantage and held on to win by 9 hoops after time.

Posted by Terry, 6th July

golf: PENDLE AND CRAVEN 18 FYLDE 4

FYLDE:
Alan Morton, Cath Morton, Philip Bass, Catherine Bass
PENDLE:
Abdul Ahmad, Walter Flattery, Geoff Whitaker, Barbara Wilkinson
Fylde slumped to their third defeat of the season at aptly named Cemetery Road, Earby last Wednesday. Fylde were unable to breakdown the Pendle team in the morning doubles with Abdul Ahmad playing a significant role in his own positional and shot play coupled with his constant advice to his partner players. The best Fylde performance match saw Alan Morton and Philip Bass taking A Ahmad and G Whitaker to a tie break hoop finally losing 7-6. A Morton had run hoop 6 to keep the match at 3-3 and had set up a winning position for hoop 8 when G Whitaker won the hoop with a shot from 23 yards. The Fylde battled to stay in the game with P Bass tying the game at 6-6 with a 12 yard hoop shot but Pendle secured the win. At lunch Fylde were 6-0 behind. The afternoon singles were a disappointment to the Fylde team although Cath Morton did give them a winning start by beating W Flattery 7-4. Fylde added further wins from Alan Morton beating W Flattery 7-3 and G Whitaker 6-4. Catherine Bass completed the points tally by beating W Flattery7-4. On the day Pendle and Craven played well and were too good for the Fylde team.

Posted by Alan, 9th July

Advanced: Bowdon Cannons +9pts Fylde

Lee, Peter, Liz and Mart travelled to Bowdon to meet Lorna Frost, Colin and Christine Irwin and Alan Mayne. The morning doubles both went to Bowdon, Colin peeling 4 hoops for his mrs. who then neatly finished off the last two hoops and peg. After a nostalgic look at the use of butlers in Croquet over lunch Lee took on Colin and gave him a run for his money getting pegged out at fourback. Alan beat Peter in the best part of three turns but Liz and Mart came through to reduce Bowdon's match points to 9. The lawns in readyness for the Northerns, were superb and the weather scorchio.

Posted by Peter, July 13th

Midweek: Southport 2 Fylde 4

SOUTHPORT:
Keith Roberts, John Taylor, Brian Lewis, Anne Mitchell
FYLDE:
Martin Bradshaw, Betty Bates, Alan Morton, Ian Theakstone.

Fylde travelled to Victoria Park for this Association Croquet match. In the opening doubles Martin Bradshaw and Ian Theakstone made a confident start, scoring steadily. J Taylor and B Lewis began to match them but Bradshaw and Theakstone gradually forged a lead which they maintained until the end of the game winning by 6 hoops. Betty Bates and Alan Morton were 3 hoops behind when Bates hit in and made a break to Hoop 6. Morton hit in and put Fylde further ahead by taking his ball to Hoop 11. A Mitchell was making her debut at this level of competition and with her more experienced partner K Roberts, the Southport pair set about closing the gap. However, Betty Bates ran 6 hoops and took up a position to allow Morton to take took both balls to Peg but misjudged the roll shot and was only able to peg out his ball. Betty Bates completed the job with a 12 yard peg out to give Fylde their second win 26-12. At lunch, we had a 2-0 lead. Martin Bradshaw extended the lead to 3-0 when he beat comprehensibly beat K Roberts 26-0 . Fylde then had two defeats which put the match back in the balance. Betty Bates could not overcome J Taylor who won by 15 hoops. Although Alan Morton fought hard he eventually lost by 2 hoops to B Lewis. Ian Theakstone was well in control against A Mitchell and took the lead early on and never looked threatened eventually winning the game by 20 -10. This win puts Fylde into second place in the league table.

Posted by Alan, 16th July

short: fylde 8 Chester 8

This match marked the first under the captaincy of Ian. With the important Longman game on the next day the captain rested some players for this match. Lawns 1 and 4 were puddled and so the new lawns were pressed into use. The morning games were shared with Betty and Ian scoring points followed by wins for Peter Betty and Ken giving us a handy lead at lunch.

Catherine's lunch was wonderful and everyone was well fed, meanwhile Phillip and Liz mowed and rolled the new lawns. In the remaining games Ian scored two wins and Ken one. The weather was cool and breezy with some sunny spells.

Posted by Peter, 19th July

Longman Cup 3rd Round: Southport 3 Fylde 4

SOUTHPORT:
Simon Wolffe, Brian Lewis, Eileen Gallagher and Freda Smithies
FYLDE:
Martin, Terry, Betty and Leonard.

Exciting sporting moments were not exclusive to the Open golf final day taking place up the road at Birkdale (private helicopters nearby were an occasional reminder) when we visited Southport for this third round tie on a sunny and breezy day.

Leonard and Betty demonstrated their considerable guile and skill in the doubles against Simon and Eileen but the home pair eventually managed to impose themselves in a close game winning by +4. In the morning singles Terry continued to play the sound croquet which is his trademark against Freda and pegged out +15 with plenty of time to spare. Martin and Brian were generosity itself to one another for some time and neither player took command; but Martin pulled ahead to win +4.

In the afternoon singles, Terry was always ahead against Brian and was a comfortable winner +15. Leonard and Betty took on Eileen and Freda respectively and their opposition occupied a lot of time on the lawn. Betty eventually succumbed -6 and Leonard was unlucky in losing by -1. Martin had a dogged battle with Simon, and having gained a lead, was eventually helped by Simon accidentally peeling his rover ball from some distance so that Martin was able to peg out this ball with about 15 minutes remaining. This effectivly secured the game +6. So a 4-3 victory takes us into the area quarter finals where we meet Nottingham or Bury.

Posted by Mart, 20th July

Handicap: Pendle 5 Fylde 1

Pendle: David Pollit, Robin Delves, Eileen Gallagher/John Snowden & Peter Dewhurst
Fylde: Lee, Andrew, Martin & Betty
A glorious July morning saw Lee race ahead and stop at 3 back in his doubles with Betty. Robin and Peter could not make much progress and Fylde secured their only point of the day +13. Andrew and Martin struggled against David and Eileen who ran out relatively easy winners +18. Roles were reversed in the afternoon when Lee came up against a very much in form David who won quickly +22. There was a not disimilar tale to the other singles with Andrew, Martin and Betty all succumbing -18, -13 and -17 respectively against Robin, John and Peter. The real ale at the local and Pendle's hospitality went some way towards easing the journey home.

Posted by Mart, July 26th

Midweek: Bowdon Griffins 4 Fylde 2

Jenny Dennis & John Saxby beat Peter & Ken +12 Tony Camm & Sue Cooper lost to Liz & Betty -7T Jenny beat Liz +5 Tony lost to Peter -8 John beat Betty +13 Sue beat Ken +12

We had a wonderful sporting day in very sunny conditions. The lawns were damp at first after overnight thunder but soon speeded up in the heat.

Posted by Peter, 28th July

GOLF: Fylde 10 Culcheth 12

FYLDE: Alan, Catherine, Philip & Catherine
CULCHETH: Bob Connop, Anne Connop, Alison Chartres, Catherine Poole
Fylde narrowly lost to Culcheth in what was Fylde’s best performance of the season to date. Fylde won the opening doubles match in a tie break 7-6 but Culcheth levelled with a 5-4 win in game 2. Fylde took the third game 7-4 but again Culcheth levelled the match at 2-2. Culcheth won the last two doubles matches to lead 4-2 at lunch. In the afternoon singles Alan Morton lost on tie break hoop to Bob Connop 6-7 but Catherine Bass had a stunning 7-1 win against Anne Connop. However , Culcheth won the final two games to take the round 3-1 and take the match score to 7-3 in their favour. Fylde fared no better in round 2 with only Alan Morton beating Anne Connop 7-2. So with 8 games to play ,Fylde were 4-10 behind and looking at a potentially heavy defeat. However, Fylde suddenly started to play well and and halved round 3 with wins for Alan Morton 7-3 over Alison Chartres and Philip Bass beating Bob Connop 7-4. This inspired Fylde to a good performance in Round 4 by winning all four games to take the final match score to 10-12 in favour of Culcheth.

Posted by Alan, August 2nd

GOLF: Fylde 7 Bury Souths 5

The rain was underway before Bury Souths arrived at the club and steadily lived up to the weather forecast for the whole morning. In the knowledge that a re-match would be virtually impossible to arrange in the event of abandonment, the captains agreed to play the Singles games first. This gave the prospect of completing at least 12 games (over 50% in accordance with league rules) before lunch compared with the standard 6 Doubles games. In the first round, Ian Theakstone won 7-3, scoring a superb hoop with a tricky shot from more than 9ft away, Geoffrey Lipshaw made a convincing 6-3 win and Catherine Bass (Fylde Captain) won 7-2. Philip Bass took his first game to the Golden Hoop, but just narrowly missed adding a notch to his mallet and completing the set. In the second round, it was Ian's turn for the Golden Hoop, but once again, Fylde was denied victory. Bury started to rally winning two of the games bringing the running score to 5-3 for Fylde. In the final round, with 11 games completed and a score 6-5 in favour of Fylde, all the other players watched Philip through the steamy clubhouse window as he took Sheila Bruckshaw (Bury Captain) to the Golden Hoop. This time Philip was not to be denied and, crucially, Fylde held on to the lead. By lunch, puddles had begun to form on both lawns and in particular around hoops on Lawn 1. The rain was unrelenting and eventually both lawns were unplayable. After lunch Bury was offered the opportunity to complete the match or, at least, further games, on the new lawns 5 and 6. After extensive discussion and in view of the rain which had continued unabated, Bury Souths confirmed that they did not want to continue. At that point the match was concluded.

Posted by Catherine, 9th August

SHORT: Fylde 7 Bury 9

Fylde: Ian (c), Leonard, Catherine & Phillip
Bury: Richard Harvey, Graham Brightwell, Len & Coleen Firkin
The lawns were still flooded from the Saturday downpour. but as lawns 5 & 6 were playable it was decided to double bank and use them. Ian and Leonard won their opening matches whilst Phillip and Catherine Bass were denied theirs.The second round saw wins for Ian, Leonard and Phillip. So at lunch Fylde were 5-3 up. However,the afternoon matches were dissapointing as we could only muster 2 further wins by Ian and Leonard Which resulted in a 9-7 defeat.

Posted by Ian, August 10th

Mid week: Chester 2 Fylde 4

Fylde: Liz (c), Martin, Ken and Ian
The mornings doubles saw Martin and Ken win against David Guiton and Alan Clare + 5 with Ken having a couple of good breaks. Liz and Ian barely got going against Elmyr Hughes and Gareth Edwards and lost – 14 as they struggled to hit in on the Chester lawns. The score was 1 all at lunch, which was accompanied by a very heavy shower. The club house was a good place to be. In the afternoon Ian found form and won comfortably against Gareth 26/16 (the only game which did not go to time!) Martin had a comfortable win against Alan Clare 23/10 and unfortunately Ken lost just a comfortably to David Guiton 13/23. The final game was a struggle in which Liz eventually got the lie of the Chester lawns and scrabbled back from 10 hoops down in the last 30 minutes to win 18/16 on time.

Posted by Liz, August 21st

handicap: Fylde 4 Chester 2

Fylde: Andrew, Martin, Terry and Alan
Chester: Richard Smith, Dennis Holden, john Dawson and Peter Morgan

Despite the sterling efforts of Phillip and others, the Fylde lawns were not in a playable condition so the match was switched to Chester. The match started in humid, cloudy conditions and the lawns were playing slowly but inconsistently and the hoops had been set very tight. Both teams, but especially Fylde, struggled to cope with the conditions. In their doubles match, Andrew and Terry could not find any form and were well beaten on time by Richard Smith and Peter Morgan. In the other game, Martin and Alan started to pull back their deficit , Martin putting together a substantial break to level the game as time was called. Chester missed the roquet and Martin then ran a difficult angled hoop to give victory by a golden hoop. By lunch, the sun had appeared and an alfresco meal was enjoyed by all. In the afternoon, all the matches were fiercely contested but the Fylde players started to find their form and put breaks together. Wins for Alan, Andrew and Terry gave Fylde a final victory of 4 – 2.

Posted by Terry, 31st August

September 6th Longman Cup

At home to Nottingham but...

Advanced: Bury V Fylde (+27)

A beautiful day at the beautiful venue of Heaton Park. Bury were lacking their top two players so Lee, Peter & Liz took on Ken Anderton and the Youngs. We won eight of the nine games and netted a useful 27 match points from the encounter. Lee's index moved within two poins of triggering to handicap one.

Posted by Peter, September 13th

Golf: Fylde 8 Llanfairfechan 14


FYLDE: Alan , Cath M, Philip, Cath B

LLANFAIRFECHAN: Anwen Williams, Georgina Llewellyn, Val Kenyon, Graham Lewis

This game was only able to take place through the efforts of Liz assisted by Alan and Cath M on the day before the match to extend the playing area of. lawns 5 and 6. A phone call from Ian at 7-30 on Saturday morning did not bode well as their had been rain overnight and the lawns were muddy. The lawns were very soft in some areas but playable. Llanfairfechan duly arrived (2 hours 10 mins) and play started in warm overcast conditions. Cath M having seen the playing conditions elected to play in her muilti-coloured wellies. This proved to be a sensible decision as white trainers did not stay white for very long. The first doubles match had a dramatic finish when Alan/Cath B thought they had won hoop 12 to tie the game at 6-6 only to find that on the advice of a Spectator Referee that the timer had indicated the end of play before Alan hit the the ball through the hoop. Meanwhile on lawn 6, Cath M and Philip lost on a tie break to Graham and Anwen. The rest of the doubles matches were won by Llanfairfechan to take them into a 5-1 lead at lunch. The weather was now pleasantly warm but Lawn 5 was still muddy in the hoop 3 part of the lawn. In the first round of singles only Philip won beating Graham 6-5. Cath B hit ran hoop 8 with an angled shot from 15 yards but went down 5-7 to Val. In round 2 it was Philip who again who was leading the way with a tie break win over Anwen. Alan lost on a tie break to Val who hit her final through the back of hoop3 from 20 yards to set up the winning position. Fylde could now only draw the match but only Alan won in round 3. Fylde went into the last four games with only pride to play for and so they won every game to close the gap to a 6 game defeat and finish the day strongly. Philip was Fylde’s best performer with 3 singles wins and earns himself a Mars Bar from the Captain.

Posted by Alan, September 13th

Short: Pendle 4 Fylde 12

Fylde travelled to Pendle on what was to turn out a glorious day,both weather and result. Altough the lawns were muddy in places we held our own. The 1st games saw Ian Betty and Ken win in style with Ian going to peg with 1st ball and no bisques. The 2nd round games saw the same 3 win with Betty scoring an excellent hoop from 20ft. Lunch was served including a glass of wine each (I think there was a ploy here). So the afternoon started with Fylde needing only 3 games to win the match. Have no fear, the 3rd round was enough with wins again from Ian Betty and Ken. Marching onwards we secured a further 3 wins from the intrepid 3 with Ian pegging out this time in 17 mins. These wins have resulted in a decreased handicap for each of the winners today! So all in all a fantastic result. Well done team.

Posted by Ian, September 13th

Advanced: Southport Duke's Folly 3 Fylde 6 (+29)

Lee, Liz and Peter faced John and Barbara Haslam and Terry Foster. Excellent weather but difficult conditions with the lawns on the slow side. Each Fylde player lost to John but won their other two games.

Posted by Peter, September 20th

Longman Cup: Fylde 6 Nottingham 1

Fylde: Martin (c), Terry, Betty and Alan
Nottingham: Martin Beacon, Michael Finnigan (c), Don Martin, Derek Blow

Blue skies and bright sun greeted the teams for our home Longman Cup quarter final at Pendle, our lawns still suffering from excess moisture. Your captain changed tactics by putting himself and Terry in the doubles with Betty and Alan playing two singles, and did they rise to the occasion in the morning disposing of Michael and Don 26 - 11 and 26 - 5 respectively. Martin and Terry found difficulty in finding consistency against Martin and Derek who ground out a win 26 - 13. So, 2 - 1 to us at lunch which was a magnificent Sunday lunch affair thanks to Betty with assistance from Liz.

In the afternoon singles Betty continued her dominating form and swept aside Don 26 - 6 in double quick time. Martin got to the peg with both balls before the other Martin came back but contrived to lose his way by starting to run extra hoops. This let in a grateful opponent, Martin winning 26 - 15. Terry got back to form and beat Michael comforably 26 - 12. Alan match with Derek was a more dogged affair but Alan triumphed by 4 hoops. A 6 - 1 win.

Wrest Park here we come (again).

Posted by Martin, September 21st

Midweek: Fylde 5 Bury 1

Fylde: Liz (c), Martin, Alan and Ian
Bury: Geoff Young, Malcolm Hardman, Margaret Anderton and Len Forkin

Bury turned up at the crack of dawn. Fortunately Liz was there early to greet them. The morning doubles saw Liz and Ian take on Geoff and Margaret whilst Martin and Alan took on the comedy double act Mac and Len. Liz and Ian won +4 and Martin and Alan won +9. Two up to Fylde at lunch. The afternoon singles also mainly went Fylde’s way with Liz winning quickly over Geoff +11. Ian was next to finish +11. The other two matches went to time. Martin was the eventual winner over Mac +5 in a closely fought game and Alan unfortunately lost -1 to Margaret who was Bury’s only winner on the day. The Bury team coped well with the Fylde lawns and remained cheerful despite the conditions which were so different from Coronation Park. We are now in with a chance of winning the league. It all depends on the final game between Pendle and Bowdon.

Posted by Liz, September 24th

Handicap: Fylde 2 Crake Valley 4

Fylde: Andrew, Martin (c), Leonard, Alan
Crake: Tom Griffith, Mark Miller (c), Brian Walker, Linda Walker

As their nearest neighbours in the League, we welcomed a Crake team, including the Walkers for whom this was their first match, under a blue sky and bright sun. A heavy dew made the ball run fast for much of the morning doubles. In their match with Andrew and Alan, Tom guided Linda round admirably and they were able to frustrate the home pair, running out winners by 5 hoops. Mark did a similar double act with Brian after Martin had gained an early lead. The home side were playing catch-up after Mark reached the peg and a second win by 9 hoops was recorded by our visitors.

We had hoped that Leonard's chocolate eclairs and apple strudel would weigh down the opposition in the afternoon singles but to no avail. Andrew was not at his best and Tom had a fairly straightforward win by 15 hoops. Brian gained in confidence against Leonard and a very close game eventually went to our visitors by a single hoop giving them overall victory. Alan found Linda quite a handful and Martin, whilst always ahead of Mark, looked as though he might be caught up. However, the home players both secured wins by 2 hoops.

Posted by Mart, September 27th

Golf: Fylde 8 Chester 14

Fylde: Liz, Alan , Cath , Marilyn
Chester: Alan Clare, Paul Taylor, Jayne Taylor, Pat Clare

This long awaited re-arranged match (previously abandoned) had much to play for as a win for Chester would secure the league title . Fylde were struggling to find players but Liz came to the rescue having arrived back from Paris after a hectic week-end schedule. Marilyn made her debut for the team. The weather was cool and showery but the lawns looked good. Thanks to Ian for the white lining on Sunday.

Morning Doubles
Fylde got off to a winning start with Liz and Alan beating the top Chester duo 5-3. Alan had his best doubles performance winning all 3 games.Alan and Marilyn beat Paul and Jayne 4-3 and Alan/Cath beat Alan and Pat 7-4. So all square at lunch 3-3. It was agreed to tell Liz funny stories to keep her going through the day. Alan Clare was another victim of being locked in the toilets when Jayne didn’t realise he was in the building and locked the door. Alan M suggested an honours board in the pavilion as we have now had two eminent guest players locked in. (Bowdon and Chester)

Afternoon Singles
In round 1 only Alan had a win 7-5 against Paul. Marilyn put up a good performance in her first singles match by taking Jayne to hoop 12 only to lose 5-7. In Round 2 , Liz started to hit form after her opening defeat to Alan when she beat Paul 7-5 but again it was the only Fylde win although both Cath and Marilyn were within one point of taking their games to a tie break. Alan ran hoop 6 from 14 yards in his game against Alan C but that was the only highlight. In Round 3 Alan and Liz both won to bring Fylde within 4 match points at 7-11. Chester palms were now beginning to sweat aided by Alan’s announcement that in Fylde’s last home game we had won the last 4 games. However, Chester were home and dry as they won round 4 by three games to one to win the match and the league title. Mars Bars will be awarded to Liz and Alan with Liz winning the player of the day with 3 singles wins.

Posted by Alan 29th September

Fylde 6 Southport 0

I have tried for the past fortnight to get a handicap team together for Saturday, the only person available is me! I'm sorry to mess you all about but there is nothing else I can do but give Fylde a walkover.

Posted by SCC Captain, 1st October

Crake Valley cancelled

Crake have withdrawn from this fixture and several others. Some teams have played Crake and achieved scores, will those scores stand? We just do not know. Pendle has conceded several walkovers in the Advanced league. The going rate seems to be +40 points, will this be ratified by the controller? It seems too much. Will Fylde's score against Pendle stand? We just do not know.

Posted by Peter, 1st October

Longman Cup Semi Final: Fylde 4 Purley Bury 3

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (c), Terry Vernazza, Betty Bates, Alan Morton
Purley: Ron Sherwin, Audrey Sherwin, John Reynolds, Margaret Hampson

A Friday evening inspection revealed the Wrest Park lawns to be in as good shape as ever for the return of Fylde to the scene of their triumph a year ago, and we all felt good about being there as holders. Saturday greeted the teams with a very strong cold wind however, testing everyone's efforts at smooth stroke making. Never has so much clothing been exhibited by so few! Martin and Terry played Ron and Margaret in the doubles but never really hit their stride.It was a close affair throughout, and Ron nursed Margaret effectively through the game, Purley winning plus 1 on time (the closest possible margin). In the morning singles, Betty swept ahead and disposed of Audrey by 26 - 3 with plenty of time to spare. Alan's game with John was a much more dogged affair, but Alan's grit pulled him through by a single point. 2 - 1 up at lunch.

The afternoon's singles brought no respite from the weather - the Michelin men and women carried on. Martin found Ron a testing opponent, and having established a lead had to spend a good deal of time watching him claw his way back to a 26 - 18 victory. Terry meanwhile was back on his mettle and got past Audrey winning convincingly 26 - 18 with time to spare. One further win required to take us into the final and Betty continued her good form beating John 26 - 20. Alan was not able to make a significant impression in his game with Margaret which he lost by 7 hoops, but victory had been secured 4 - 3.

Posted by Mart, 4th October

Longman Cup Final: Fylde 4 Parsons Green 3

Fylde: Martin Bradshaw (c), Terry Vernazza, Betty Bates, Alan Morton
Parsons Green: Gary Duke (c), Sue Davies, Rob Minshall, Anne Robillard

After a second convivial evening at the Star & Garter, steady overnight rain (continuing until about 4pm) had produced lawns that were totally sodden. Balls travelled about half their normal distance with a plume of water tracking their route - very difficult conditions with a contained game the order of the day. Gary guided Anne effectively through the doubles against Martin and Terry. The conditions seemed to make time pass slowly, and with Gary employing destructive tactics, the PG combo ran out winners by 5 hoops with time called. Betty found Rob a very sound player and was not able to repeat her previous day's success, succumbing by 6 hoops. Alan meanwhile plugged away against Sue and was not to be denied, winning by 4 hoops at the end of time. 2 - 1 down but lovely hot food awaited. The afternoon singles saw Martin finally getting his act together. While Gary got increasingly colder and damper, he took control completing a 26 - 0 win. Terry took a long time to get back into his game with Rob, by which time his opponent was too far ahead, losing by 26 - 20. Betty meanwhile had completed another big win taking care of Sue 21 - 5. So with the match 3 all, it was left to Alan to hang on to a slender lead against Anne. To great joy time was called and a victory by 4 hoops gave a very proud Fylde back-to-back wins. In the 81 year history of the Longman Cup, only four clubs have previously had the distinction of achieving this feat. Well done to all.

Posted by Mart, 5th October