Tag: real tennis

Alleyn Old Folk Take On The Old-School-Real-Tennis World, The Cattermull Cup, 11 & 12 April 2026

Me and Simon Barton in our Alleyn’s School shirts. Photo by Paul Cattermull

Soon after I started playing real tennis, in 2016, I ran into Paul Cattermull in the viewing gallery at Lord’s. Paul and I had worked together years before, at Binder Hamlyn. I told Paul that I was enjoying the game enormously but finding it really difficult.

But why, Ian? It’s a bit like cricket. Move your feet, get your head over the ball, watch the ball and keep your head still as you hit it…

Indeed, all the shortcomings and techniques I struggled with at cricket are also there to torment me in real tennis. But at least with tennis, if you make a mistake, you just lose one point. Well,15, if you are counting the time-honoured tennis way, but you get my meaning.

Technique wanting in 2016 and still

Actually it is more like fives than cricket – and at Alleyn’s I was just a bit more than OK at fives.

An Uneventful Day Playing Fives, 9 June 1975

Anyway, with perseverance and years of fun sporting activity, I have worked my way up the real tennis handicap charts to being very, very average at the game. Indeed, when the Tennis & Rackets Association re-based the handicaps last year, my doubles handicap straddled the median pre and post adjustment value of 55.

As I progressed from “absolute beginner” into “showing some progress towards ordinariness” category, Paul suggested that I find a fellow alum from Alleyn’s School to enter his eponymous “old school” handicap doubles tournament. It was a lovely idea, but for the absence of such an alum with whom to partner.

Then, in January 2025, just before I went into hospital to have my right hip replaced, I had an interesting locker-room chat with relative newbie Simon Barton, which I reported here, learning that Simon too went to Alleyn’s:

After Soccer At Alleyn’s: Barton Found In 2025, Plus Soccer-Free (Trying Hockey & Playing Fives) Remainder Of January 1975 For Me

Thus the plot was hatched and we agreed to attempt the tournament.

Simon is able to boast having had a single digit handicap and even now maintains a handicap of 14. Unfortunately for me and for our Cattermull Cup campaign, that’s his golf handicap. Simon’s real tennis handicap is in the 70s.

That makes the Cattermull Cup a tough ask for Alleyn’s. Simon’s handicap is above the cut off for this tournament and my limited ability will struggle to cover that shortfall. But we agreed that it would be good experience to give the tournament a go this year, albeit as the lowest ranked pair. We entered in hope, but not with expectation.

Alongside this uphill sporting endeavour, Simon and I have also formed a rather unusual, some might say ghoulish, connection over our avocational history research projects. I am looking at the MCC’s role in the development of cricket and tennis (real and lawn) in the mid to late 19th century, not least the extraordinary efforts of Robert Allan Fitzgerald. Meanwhile Simon, who is described by the website topdoctors.co.uk as an expert in sexual health, is, as one of his hobbies, researching the history of STDs in a similar period.

Parenthetically, biology teacher Tom Gascoigne would have been extremely proud of Simon’s post Alleyn’s medical achievements (as would Chris Liffen & John Clarke), despite Mr Gascoigne’s preference for researching sacoglossan penial styles rather than the penial afflictions of humans.

Robert Allan Fitzgerald, first paid Secretary of the MCC, 1863-1876. “Retired due to ill health” 1876 and died tragically young in 1881, a victim of tertiary syphilis.

I’m pretty sure that Mr Jenkins would have thoroughly approved of the unusual subject-matter in Simon’s and my history projects. With Mr Jenkins’s consent, I researched the 7th century origins of Islam for my third year history project and the 19th century origins of the cinema as my ‘O’ Level history project.

 Eadweard Muybridge – moving image pioneer. Mr Jenkins style of history favoured eccentric characters with unusual back-stories, especially chaps with fulsome beards

As Simon put it oh so succinctly after our third thrashing in three warm up matches in preparation for our tournament:

Simon Barton: Better on syphilis than at tennis…

…which I think is a great tag line.

As I have also been bringing Jacobethan music and drama to the world of real tennis of late…

Hampton Court, Tennis, Gresham, Music & Drama

…I might similarly go for:

Ian Harris: Better on Jacobethan music and drama than at tennis.

…but Simon’s poxy tag line is more infectious than mine.

Anyway, all the above blurb is merely a maxi preamble to my mini match report on the 2026 Cattermull Cup from the Alleyn’s School team perspective.

No Sets Please, We’re Alleyn’s: The Tournament Itself, Middlesex University Real Tennis Court

All the gear…

We were properly prepared. Simon procured a brace of Alleyn’s School tennis shirts, which went down well with the organisers. My choice of team name did not go down quite so well.

I had imagined that the teams had alum-oriented team names and that some of them might be imaginative and witty. But it turned out that “Alleyn Old Folk” was the only team with a waggish name.

We found ourselves in a group comprising Clifton (multiple former winners), Harrow 2 (Harrow are also multiple former winners), Highgate & Alleyn Old Folk.

Let us not delve too deeply into exactly what happened in our round robin group. Suffice it to say that we were not humiliated in any of our matches – no bagels and no breadsticks. Harrow prevailed in our group, deservedly so, winning all three of its rubbers.

When I called Janie before setting off for home, we had the following conversation:

JANIE: How did you get on?

ME: Not too bad – we came fourth in our group.

JANIE: That’s amazing! How many teams were there in your group?

ME: Four.

JANIE: Ah, not quite so amazing then. But did you enjoy yourselves?

ME: Of course we did.

As always with real tennis, it was a convivial yet competitive afternoon with a great bunch of people, many of whom I know well from other matches and tournaments. It was a great learning experience for both of us. In Simon’s case, his first taste of such a match/tournament against lower handicappers. In my case, the challenge of trying to find tactics that would give us a chance to win some games in the sets, as once you are in the mix with games on the board, anything can happen in a one-set-to-six shoot-out.

And there’s always next year, by which time, hopefully, Simon will have a bit more experience under his belt and a better (hopefully uncapped) handicap to bring to the party.

I am imagining what Simon’s and my sports masters would have to say about all of this.

Good on you, chaps. Fine sporting effort for the school. Keep trying.
Better luck next time.
Harris – would you please mark some matches for me on Tuesday?

Colin Page (1926-2021)
Messsrs Banson & Page watching on c1977

I told you both that you were utterly useless at sport.

Barry Banson (1933-2025)

Epilogue: The Finals

Janie & I played our traditional game of lawn an hour earlier than usual in order to get to Middlesex in reasonable time. At least I manged to scrape one set this weekend…just.

We arrived as the losing Sherborne pair were departing, bemoaning their narrow fate in a tight semi against Rugby (6-2, 6-5). On taking up our viewing positions, I asked one of the victors, Charles Whitworth, to encapsulate the Sherborne match in a few words:

Adrian Warburton’s devilish bobble serve,

came the reply.

We had arrived early in the second set of the second semi-final: Norwich School v Harrow 2. The Norwich School team comprised Tim Edwards, whom Janie and I got to know when we were in Newport Rhode Island for the World Championship last year…

US Trip 23 September to 8 October, Day Four: Cliff Walk, Tennis Talk, Museum Visit, Lawn On The Lawn & Dinner At Stoneacre Brasserie, Newport RI, 26 September 2025

…and Reuben Ard, whose finest ever performance on a tennis court so far, in my opinion, was his “electric virginals” rendition of The Earl Of Salisbury Pavan at The Royal Tennis Court during the 2023 Gresham Society Visit performance I organised and referenced earlier in this piece. The video below, thanks to Janie, really is a charming and atmospheric Elizabethan musical interlude.

Norwich’s opponents were Harrow 2, Sebastien Maurin & James Charatan, who had proved 2-much for me and Simon Barton the previous day in our group.

Harrow 2 also proved to be too much for Norwich in a close run match (6-5, 6-4), despite Reuben Ard’s relentless pounding of the grille and tambour. At one point he achieved a hat-trick of grille winners, which I have only ever witnessed once before, when Alex Gibson pulled off such a stunt in the 2023 MCC Club Weekend C/D Groups Final. Unfortunately there is no video evidence of Reuben’s achievement, which was rather more muscular than Alex’s, whereas the last two of Alex’s three grille shots are captured here:

I have ever since called that achievement the “Coup De Gibson”. I briefly considered changing the name now to “Coup D’Ard”, but that sounds more like something emanating from the manosphere than a real tennis achievement, so we’ll stick with Coup De Gibson.

Both semi-finals were played between pairs with vastly differing handicaps and were won by the pair that was receiving a significant handicap. The final was very different – just a four point difference separated the two – (Harrow received half 15 from Rugby).

It looked on paper as though it was going to be a tight match, but when it came to the action on plaster and wood and stone rather than paper…

…it was an incredibly tight match. I think at least half of the games went to 40-40. Certainly the first handful of games in each of the first two sets did so. It was compelling viewing and it was impossible to tell which way the match would go until the last few minutes, when the Rugby team applied one or two new tricks which did just enough to confound the Harrow pair. (5-6, 6-3, 6-4).

Callum Grier & Charles Whitworth of Rugby, receiving the trophy from Janie

Will Burns, James Charatan, Sebastien Maurin, Callum Grier, Charles Whitworth, Paul Cattermull & Jack Carter

It was an enjoyable watch in good company, as is real tennis’s way. Hopefully next year…or at least some year…I’ll be at The Cattermull Cup on finals day as a player rather than a spectator.

MCC Real Tennis Skills Night, Lord’s, 4 March 2026

The original Hinds Trophy being presented in March 2023

The following text (or an edited version of it) will shortly appear on the MCC website, along with some of the photographs taken on the night. When that happens, I'll add a link.

Sixty years ago, in March 1966, one of the most coveted trophies in global sport, The Jules Rimet Trophy, was stolen from its apparently secure display location in Westminster. A couple of days after an aborted ransom sting, a dog named Pickles discovered a parcel containing the trophy in a hedge beside his owner’s home. Pickles became an overnight sensation, the Jules Rimet was presented at the 1966 Football World Cup Final, before being retained by Brazil, then, a few years later, in Rio, permanently stolen.

The Hinds Trophy (aka The Skills Night Wooden Spoon Trophy), another of the most coveted trophies in global sport, recently had a similar journey. The original Hinds was snatched from its secure location behind the Lord’s hazard end galleries, at some point in the summer or autumn of 2024. No ransom was ever demanded, nor was any canine heroism involved, as far as we know. But just a few weeks ago, long after its replacement with a replica trophy, the original Hinds reappeared just as mysteriously as it had disappeared. The replacement Hinds will continue to be engraved and displayed.  The original Hinds is now preserved at a highly secure, secret location.

Ironically, the coveted Hinds Trophy was nearly won this time by Andrew Hinds’s own team, Three Ravens.  Numerically and temporally challenged in many ways, that team started with just two but ended up with four players. They need words, not numbers; the collective noun for ravens is “an unkindness”.

The ravens team was especially unkind to two teams.  By performing so well on the final discipline, they knocked Souldiers Three (Hugo Fenwick, Gavin Yeats & David Pritchard) into the Hinds Trophy slot.  Then, with the final scoring of the event, those unkind ravens denied Three Things In Store late surge to the top spot. Instead, Three Poor Mariners – Richard Boys-Stones, Mary Strevens & Huw Humphreys – were, fairly, reinstalled at the top of the podium.

The Close But No Cigar Award went to neophyte Gerald Slocock, whose ability to almost-but-not-quite hit a target might become the stuff of legend, if he maintains form in that regard.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award went to Shaheed “Sid” Rashid, not least for being the only player to score two points off one hit on the central beam of the dedans gallery.

The Philip The Bold Golden Moment Award went to John Thirlwell, for an extraordinary hat trick of coups du pataugeoire -landing the serve in a paddling pool – which is much harder than it sounds.

There is a serious purpose to skills night; honing skills.  True, most of the skills honed on such nights involve eating curry, drinking, singing and the like, but the evening does include some real tennis skills too.

Skills night unquestionably proves the skills of the MCC admin team who organise the event so well, and our tennis professionals, who make the game swing with great reliability.  Which is more than can be said for most of us players’ tennis swings!

Here is a link to the piece, with pictures, on the MCC website, available to those who have a suitable login. Apart from the pictures, it is the above text, unexpurgated. What are the editors thinking?

…and here’s a link to scrape of that piece with pictures.

Paterson Bowl Final At Lord’s: Eddy Gray v Ben Havey, 3 February 2026

The players greet graciously; the manner in which the whole match was played

Big Match Build Up

At the end of the MCC Club Weekend, a couple of days before this match, I reassured Tom Carew Hunt that I had put aside the evening to join him at the Paterson Bowl Final. Tom said:

I’m so glad, as I am now a serious doubt for being able to get into London that evening.

I had a dreadful feeling that I would end up master of ceremonies for the post match presentation; a feeling that was utterly justified.

That sense of dread was magnified when I arrived at Lord’s to discover that the RG Paterson Bowl itself was under lock and key in the MCC museum, which meant that it would not be possible to present the actual trophy on the night.

On reflection, I realised that it is, in fact, an MCC tradition to restrict access to trophies in this way – The Australians have had nearly 150 years to get used to such limited access in the matter of “The Urn”, win or lose.

I also had a slight sense of dread, on Eddie Gray’s account, when I learnt of the handicap Ben Havey was due to receive. Both players are relatively new to the game and both are fast improving, which is rather wonderful, but Ben in particular is currently going through one of those “growth spurts” that talented players can achieve.

I had done battle with Ben only a couple of days earlier, albeit at doubles. Here’s a single rest (rally) clip of me serving to him:

Let The Big Match Commence

So, to the Eddy Gray v Ben Havey match itself. Both players started a little nervously, I thought, with one or two uncharacteristic errors. It was the first “big final” for both of them. It was also the first big final for our apprentice professional Henry de Lord, who has been working on his own game with both of these players lately. But all three of them settled quickly and then did very well.

Jonathan Potter also represented the tennis committee on the night. He was able to comment from first hand experience on Eddy’s recent progress.

Eddy indeed showed us his array of weapons, with several forces to the grille and some superb winners on the floor too. But Ben also has powerful winners, plus a very strong defensive game. That made the nine point handicap difference extremely difficult for Eddy to try and overcome.

Here is one point by way of example, in which an Eddy error results in the glorious ringing of the winning gallery cowbells…but from the wrong side. “Hell’s bells” I like to call them – they used to reside in my late mother-in-law’s apartment.

Here is another really excellent rest (rally) in which both players demonstrated their fast-improving skills, eventually resulting in Eddy landing a hazard chase.

Very soon after that one, Ben’s girlfriend, who was sitting a little nervously close by, asked me if the match was nearing its end. I said

…if I have been counting correctly, this is now match point.

Which it was:

The result: Ben Havey bt Eddy Gray 6-1, 6-1 on handicap.

As their handicaps move towards each other (hopefully both still improving) I suspect there will be some close battles between Ben Havey & Eddy Gray, plus some excellent representation for the MCC by both of them.

We held a short presentation ceremony on court, during which I said that sort of thing and presented both of the combatants with their mementoes. I also gave Ben advice on how to visit his trophy and handed him his well-earned bottle of Pol Roger fizzy pop.

The MCC Tennis Club Weekend, Lord’s, 30 January to 1 February 2026

My self-report card: 10/10 for a wonderful weekend, 9/10 for effort, 6/10 for performance, 0/10 for results.

I have written at length about the MCC Tennis Weekend before and certainly don’t want to bore regular readers. For those who have not read about such matters before: the 2024 report majors on tennis derring-do and nervousness about method acting…

The MCC Tennis Weekend 2024: The Secret Diary Of Ian Harris Aged 61 and 5/12ths, 26 to 28 January 2024

…while the 2025 report majors on potty adventures of one sort or another:

The MCC Real Tennis Club Weekend & Related Potty Adventures, 31 January To 2 February 2025

This year I’ll focus on the tennis. To get the least interesting bit out of the way, I’ll simply say that my partner, Jeremy Norman, and I, did not do well. Group B was especially strong this year, as evidenced by our group’s runners up eventually taking the top prize – Mason Sharp Trophy. Someone has to bring up the rear in each group.

We did, however, try hard. We also provided some entertainment…in a good way. We even influenced the result of the tournament by eliminating one of the stronger pairs in our last rubber, thus providing the eventual winners a semi-final slot. The following clip shows probably our best, albeit in vain, efforts during that last round robin match.

20 stroke rests don’t happen all that often at our level.

At the very start of our campaign, on the Friday, we were up against Giles Stogdon – my partner from last year, who literally produced a “lights out tennis” moment on court:

Jeremy Norman and I are absolutely convinced that, had it not been for the lighting deficiency on court for the rest of the tournament, we would have prevailed in all of our matches. 😉 . We would say that, wouldn’t we?

As for the Chair of tennis, Graeme Marks, he seemed hell bent on using the prerogative of the chair to sneak those extra few points that can make all the difference. A net cord that still makes the winning line, a spin-backer onto the grille ledge, another spin-backer into the dedans from his partner in crime, Paul Wollocombe…

…not that such “tactics” were enough to get them through to the semis, despite recording a good round robin win against the eventual trophy winners. Such is tournament tennis sometimes.

I was able at least to relax for most of the Sunday, after playing my heart out for pride just before lunch. The semi-finals and finals were a good fun watch, not least because of the convivial (and at times almost rowdy) atmosphere amongst those members who chose to stay and watch the concluding afternoon of the tournament.

It really is always a grand finale and enjoyable afternoon, regardless of the quality or excitement of the tennis matches. This year, as it happens, the tournament built up to a humdinger of a Mason Sharp final, which went all the way to a deciding game.

Firstly, for those who want to watch it, the final of the Osborn Parker (C/D Groups). Iain Harvey & Sebastian Maurin v Andrew Hinds & Giles Watkins.

Secondly, for those who would like to see the whole match, the final of the Mason Sharp (A/B Groups). Steven Bishop & Paul Cattermull v Nigel Smith & Paul Wickman.

If you only fancy the last three minutes of the big final, having already learnt that it went to a deciding game…here is just the deciding game:

It is most unusual for a team from the B group to prevail in the final – let alone the runners-up from the B group. In this case, even more unusual because Paul Wickman went home after their round robin loss on the final morning assuming that his pair had been eliminated. In fact, as the group had panned out, the comparative scores meant that Havey and Walker needed to thrash me and Jeremy Norman in the final round robin rubber of the group in order to overtake Smith and Wickman.

I did berate Paul Wickman, while also congratulating him on a fine tournament win, for assuming that Jeremy and I would be thrashed. “I hadn’t thought it through to that extent”, was his excuse.

Fortunately, “going home” for Paul did not mean “going over the hills, far away and unable to return.” He and Nigel put on a fine show, both in the semi-final and the final. Two of their very best rests were in the semi-final, which I shall use as a closing clip for this piece.

The atmosphere at Lord’s was terrific all weekend. So much effort goes in from staff and volunteer organisers to make the tournament seem effortless on the weekend itself. The organisational effort and skills cannot be demonstrated in a 90 second YouTube clip…but, fortunately, the tennis skills and effort can:

Looking forward to next year already!

Real Tennis British Open At Queen’s & Victory In Australia by Richard Whitehead At Lord’s, 22 & 26 November 2025

Richard Whitehead talking, Alan Rees listening.

Two Men’s Singles Semi-Finals & The Women’s Singles Final At Queen’s, 22 November 2025

Janie and I warmed up for this event by having our regular hour of “lawn” at Boston Manor, albeit at 10:00 rather than our regular hour of 11:00. We then hot-footed it (if you can hot-foot by car) to the flat dropping off some old computer equipment headed for charity, then picked up Janie’s flashy new specs, then got to The Queen’s Club about 30 or 40 minutes into the first match.

Simon Talbot-Williams greeted us both warmly from his stewarding position, while simultaneously telling me off “for being late”, before helping organise our seating.

Just as well we warmed up for the event, as the dedans gallery had a real chill breeze feel to it, despite the nicely positioned radiator near our feet.

Must have felt even colder up there in the “makeshift media gallery”.

We caught the end of the match between Nicky Howell and Rob Fahey. Then saw all of the match between John Lumley and Bryn Sayers.

After taking some tea and chatting with the assembled real tennis glitterati, Janie and I saw Claire Fahey’s historic win in the final against Tara Lumley.

Our first sight of women’s tennis played at the highest level

Historic, in that the women’s final hadn’t been at Queen’s for decades. We both thought that the format including both men’s and women’s matches was an excellent idea.

More of this men’s and women’s tennis on the same day, please, Janie and I say.

On searching on-line for the results, Google’s AI Overview, for once, has not hallucinated. The following summarises matters expertly.

Men’s (Open) Singles Semi-finals

Two Men’s Singles semi-final matches were played during the afternoon. 

  • Fixture: N. Howell bt R. Fahey
  • Score: 6/2 6/2 6/5
  • Start Time: 2:00 PM
  • Fixture: J. Lumley bt B. Sayers
  • Score: 6/5 6/3 6/2
  • Start Time: 4:00 PM (approx) 

Women’s Singles Final

Claire Fahey defeated Tara Lumley in the final match, which began at 6:45 PM. 

  • Fixture: C. Fahey bt T. Lumley
  • Score: 6/0 6/0 

What the AI cannot do is express how much we enjoyed our afternoon and early evening at Queen’s, watching high grade tennis. It’s just a shame it was unseasonably cold!

Victory In Australia by Richard Whitehead, MCC Library Book Club, Lord’s, 26 November 2025

Janie and I very much enjoy these library book club supper evenings. This one, at which Richard Whitehead discussed his book about the 1954/55 Ashes tour, might not have attracted our attention, but for Alan Rees (head librarian) taking pains to let me know how much he had enjoyed that book and was thrilled to have secured an evening with Richard.

Save the date…

said Alan a good few weeks before the evening was announced. Hence, once it was announced…we pounced to get tickets.

We were very glad we did. The food and company is always good. On this occasion, as a bonus, we found ourselves next to my real tennis pal of old, Jim Chaudry. Jim has been “off games” for some while now, but I occasionally see him at cricket and have spotted him a few times at the library book club dinners, but until this time, not at my table.

Jim knows how to hold his knife and fork, whereas…

The food was, as always, excellent. Janie went into full tilt food porn photo mode this time.

Both courses depicted on arrival at her place. Thanks, Janie.

As usual, after the talk, the Q&A, and the book signing, Janie and I went home thoroughly pleased and satisfied. That’s some of my holiday reading for our next trip sorted out for sure.

US Trip 23 September to 8 October, Day Five: Strolling, Lunch/Exhibition Doubles At The Club & Tournament Dinner At Newport Beach House, Newport RI, 27 September 2025

Daisy (Janie) making an exhibition of herself at the Newport club

Mercifully a less action-packed day. We took it easy in the morning and ambled back to the Newport Club via some shops that Janie wanted to see and the wharf area where we took some pictures.

A Streetcar Named Fisher doesn’t have the same ring to it as A Streetcar Named Desire

A street car that defies description

They didn’t lie to us – not a spare court in the whole club

With the World Championship over, the afternoon was a far less formal affair, with the main combatants pairing up with Newport pros Tony Hollins and Josh Smith to play an exhibition doubles for us.

The lunch once again was very good and it gave us a chance to chat with some of the members, not least Paul, Chris, Noel, Ellen, Kelsey and Sarah who made us feel very welcome. We even met Sarah’s mum that afternoon.

The informal atmosphere enabled us to view some of the tennis from each of the Newport vantage points, which was a nice bonus.

By the time we got home for a rest ahead of the tournament dinner there was not much time, but still we (I) had a short rest and then we Ubered it to the Newport Beach House for the dinner.

We chatted with the young Lumley’s for a while over cocktails and then sat at a table for the meal with some very interesting people, including Jonathan Pardee to Janie’s right and an architect-regular-combatant of Jonathan’s to my left.

After dinner, we chatted with Freddy, Judith (Freddy’s mum) and Rob Lake for a while, until it dawned on us that we were almost the last people left around!

ROB: “let me tell you a thing or two about Ealing Lawn Tennis Club…“

Gosh it had been a tiring few days, but very enjoyable and interesting.

If you want to see yet more pictures from that day, yes really, here’s a Flickr link – and/or below:

US Trip 23 September to 8 October, Day Four: Cliff Walk, Tennis Talk, Museum Visit, Lawn On The Lawn & Dinner At Stoneacre Brasserie, Newport RI, 26 September 2025

If the cap Fitz…some beards simply defy description

This turned out to be a crazily busy day but very enjoyable.

With the weather now restored to dry…even borderline sunny, and thinking that we’d get no other chance for exercise, we took a long, photogenic cliff walk.

Here’s our route…except we cannot take the start of this route…

…traversing the island to the forty steps, then being re-routed as a small chunk of the rout just south of the forty steps is being repaired…

Salve Regina…

…hac lacrimarum valle

…but then walking the cliff route past The Breakers, as far as The Marbles, then returning via Bellevue Avenue.

Less than two hours but more than 90 minutes of walking. Lots of photos.

Then, quick shower and change and off to the Newport Casino Theatre where I was to deliver my “1875 And All That” talk.

Nigel (above) prepares to hand the baton to me…

My talk seemed to go down well. I heard no snoring, no walking out in disgust and people were polite enough to say that they had enjoyed it. Judith, Freddy’s mum, was especially effusive in her praise.

Judith, effusive.

Here’s the very paper I presented – I talked through a little more than half of this paper:

1875 And All That

We enjoyed the whole afternoon of talks, although only I had remembered my jumper and Janie was feeling the cold more than me, so I let her use the jumper while I suffered in near silence about the cold. Near silence, I said.

As the weather had improved, Janie and I enquired about playing tennis on the grass, only to discover that the place was so very fully booked out on the Saturday that our only sensible slot was 17:00 that afternoon. We worked out that we could still see the museum, dash home to change, dash back, play an hour of lawn, dash back to change again and still get to the conference dinner on time. So we agreed to do that and I handed over an infeasible guest fee for an hour of lawn and a clutch of tennis balls.

Me & Jimmy Conners (above), Janie & Steffi Graf (below)

We gave the museum and the hall of fame a solid but quick once over

The museum tour was very interesting – well laid out in the modern style and with more space available than we have at Lord’s for the cricket equivalent. The International Tennis Hall Of Fame gallery was a bit of a highlight. The opportunity to chat with some of the other speakers and attendees of the conference while milling around the gallery was also a highlight. Janie and I took it at fairly high speed though, to ensure that our timings would allow us to fit in the prized extra item of an hour of lawn.

Freddy grabbed us for this photo op. as we arrived courtside in our whites

We were back in our whites about 15 minutes ahead of our slot. Kim in the pro’s shop took pity on us and showed us to a court that we could use straight away. “Centre Court” (ie the middle one of three) at the side of the court tennis building. We very much enjoyed our hour, playing alongside a friendly bunch of regulars who made us feel very welcome. It was a great honour, privilege (and expense) to have been able to play on the grass at Newport. A big tick on the bucket list.

Exhausted, but unbowed, we returned to the apartment, showered and changed there, then on by Uber to the Stoneacre Brasserie, where we dined with the conference crowd.

Sitting nearest to me and Janie: Michael Wooldridge, Adam Inselbuch, Nigel a Brassard, Marc Lewinstein, and Marc’s dog. All made for excellent conversation apart from the dog, who was very well behaved such that I didn’t even notice their presence until the end of the meal.

It had been a superb but utterly exhausting day.

Want to see even more photos from this day? Click the Flickr link here or below:

US Trip 23 September to 8 October, Day Three: The Elms, The Tennis & The Moorings, Newport RI, 25 September 2025

Bend it like Camden

Another wet day.

With the pre-tennis match reception starting no earlier than 13:00 (we planned to arrive a little later than that) we had time to visit one of the nearer mansions, The Elms, during an ingeniously-picked break in the almost-relentless rain that morning.

Some of the regular houses on the way to the mansion were quite grand.

We found the inside of the mansion rather hideous in its ostentation and faux-baroque grandeur…

…although the kitchens and gardens made the visit seem very much worthwhile.

As seen in The Gilded Age, apparently.

We resolved to take in the other mansions, all of which must be similar in most ways, by dint of a well planned cliff and street walk the next day, weather permitting.

Despite not being drowned like rats that morning, we still freshened up and choose to Uber it to the Newport Club rather than risk getting soaked in our glad rags.

We enjoyed a fine lunch and then witnessed, from the Club Room, Camden Riviere winning the World Championship again by taking three of the day’s four sets to complete the task 7-1 in just two days.

Want to see more than just a couple of photos? You can see all of the play on our day by clicking the link below. You can occasionally see me and Janie sitting up in the top right hand corner of the club room:

John Lumley put up a fine fight on that second day. It was a great honour and privilege to attend that day and to be on the court itself to see the trophy presented.

John Lumley (above) came an honourable second on Day Two.

Tony Hollins rounded off the formalities

We returned to our apartment to change into more casual clothes, then went out to try a local restaurant with a good reputation for seafood – The Moorings. Obviously super-popular, even though it’s was out of season they had no tables, but could offer us full menu at the bar, which was very well appointed.

We ended up being served by a very interesting barman/maitre d, who seemed a bit suspicious of us at first, but once Janie asked him a question about the NFL football he became our best friend.

“Let me explain the offensive backfield in motion and offside penalty rules to you…”

Superb clam chowder and lobster rolls, with a fine Napa Valley Chardonnay. A very enjoyable evening.

We took a gazillion pictures that day. If you want to wade through all of that eye candy, then click the Flickr link here or below.

MCC v Real Tennis Hong Kong – A Rare Tennis Fixture At Lord’s, 15 July 2025

Unfurl the flags! (This picture by Tom Carew Hunt – all pictures by Tom or me)

It was the day after the remarkable Lord’s test match between England & India:

Four Out Of Five Days At The England v India Lord’s Test, 10 to 14 June 2025

I didn’t exactly need another day at Lord’s so soon, but I am mighty glad nonetheless that I had such a day.

As is almost traditional on the day after a test match, the MCC had arranged a club day on the main pitch; in this case between MCC and Hong Kong Cricket Club. You can read all about the cricket and even watch the matches in full by clicking here.

Real tennis Hong Kong dragon, not to be confused with a Welsh dragon

Tom Carew Hunt, in liaison with Charlie Barrows of Real Tennis Hong Kong, thought this occasion an ideal excuse…or should I say opportunity…to have an MCC v RTHK fixture on the same day.

It was a very bright idea which made for a very enjoyable day.

Ton Carew Hunt in the Lord’s dedans gallery, no doubt expounding on another bright idea

We MCC members had several conversations about ensuring that we were able to introduce all of our visitors into the pavilion during the day, only to discover that it was a “relatively relaxed” day, with no requirement to sign guests in.

After my rubber, I “introduced” (or rather, made an unnecessary attempt to sign in) John McVitie, with whom I supped in the Bowlers’ Bar watching cricket for a while, until an untimely short shower temporarily put paid to the cricket.

In the end, despite there being plentiful cricket to watch, I spent most of my time in the dedans gallery, where the majority of the tennis players were hanging out, watching tennis and chatting.

I did offer to mark a rubber or two, but Charlie Barrows was keen to mark most of the match. Tom marked one rubber, which I am told included a controversial call. But, sadly, my investigative journalism came to nought when the players all clammed up under interrogation. Strangely, it transpires that the video camera, normally in full flow throughout such matches, was suspiciously turned off during our match. “Fault-er-gate” will thus remain one of those unsolved mysteries.

Richard Wyse, Peter Brunner, Anthony Prince & Bill Higson line up for the final rubber

Below is the results card, showing, in excruciating detail, everything that Joe Public might like to know about this fixture, and more.

Although MCC took both the men’s and women’s cricket matches on the field of play, Real Tennis Hong Kong pipped MCC in the tennis fixture.

But more important than the result was the warmth and friendliness of the atmosphere throughout the day. Of course, most of the RTHK players are long-term friends of the MCC players through the real tennis community, plus, in many cases, through also being members of the MCC. It was lovely to spend a day at tennis and cricket in that relaxed and congenial setting.

Yes indeed, RTHK and MCC could do with more ties!

Mixed Disability Cricket, Mixed Ability Tennis, Knight-Stokes Cricket Competition For State Schools, Plus Throw-Backs To The 20th & 19th Centuries; Four Activities In 24 Hours At Lord’s, 25 & 26 June 2025

The last ball of England’s innings

Mixed Disability Cricket, Afternoon, 25 June 2025

I had hoped to get to Lord’s a bit earlier than 4:15 on Disability Cricket Day, but work and other necessities intervened. By the time I got to Lord’s, most of the peripheral activities had finished, although there were still plenty of people enjoying their day around the Nursey Ground, especially the small stand at the side of the Cricket Academy.

Some of my steward friends urged me to hurry round to the pavilion side of the ground, lest I missed the whole of the flagship match between England and India, as England were seven-down for diddly-squat.

But this was no day for hurrying – I ambled around with my tennis equipment in hand, with a view to stowing the equipment and working out where to sit.

I had no jacket and tie with me, but suspected that it would be a “relaxed dress code” day and that my smart casual look would be sufficient to gain entry into the pavilion.

I asked one of my steward friends whether it was relaxed dress code today.

Totally relaxed – they’ve even told us we can let people in wearing flip-flops today.

I was flabberghasted.

I wish I’d phoned to ask before I left home. I’ve always wanted to wear flip-flops in the pavilion.

Relaxed dress – I still have this longyi somewhere…and flip-flops

On asking one question about the nature of this disability match, another friendly steward handed me a programme – then I found a seat on the front terrace.

The programme was helpful in answering my questions about what “mixed disability” is. In short, there are three categories of disability cricket:

  • Physical Disability;
  • Deaf / Hearing Impairment;
  • Learning Disability.

This mixed disability format requires a mixed team because all three categories of disability need to be represented in the top four batting and each category needs to bowl at least 25% of the overs – thus requiring a minimum of two bowlers from each category.

Clever.

By the time I had got my head around it, the England innings had revived somewhat and were making a good game of it for the last few overs of its 20 over allocation.

That said, India set off in the power play looking as though they would make short shrift of the 124 target.

At that juncture, I realised that I needed to go to the dressing room and change for my next gig – real tennis club night, which I curate, so it would be rude to be late.

It’s a shame I was unable to stay and watch the match play out, as it turned out to be a real humdinger.

On my way out, as I progressed through the Long Room, I ran into Arfan Akram, besuited in a conventional MCC stylee, whom I know well from his role with Essex and my role with the London Cricket Trust.

London Cricket Trust 2022 Awards, Southwark Park, 4 October 2022

After greeting me warmly, and us both agreeing that the disability cricket day seemed to be a great success, Arfan asked,

are you going to write this up on your blog?

You don’t say no to Arfan without good reason.

Yes, of course,

I said.

In truth, I was really impressed by the quality of the cricket. It is the first time I have seen this mixed disability format. I think it is a great idea, to showcase the best of the disability cricketers and to encourage players in each of those three disability categories to aspire to make the most of their talents.

I can’t find any video from the match I saw, but here is a YouTube of the mixed disability match earlier in the day, MCC v Middlesex D40 First XI, which was also a humdinger:

…and here is a link to the highlights package from the fourth England v India Mixed Disability match a couple of days later.

Mixed Ability Real Tennis Club Night

I tried to explain to anyone who’d listen to me that I should be allowed to represent at mixed disability cricket, given the ravages of time and the advent of Pinky, my brand-new hip.

I was politely informed that I wouldn’t be good enough, not that I really needed anyone to tell me, given the quality of cricket I had witnessed.

No such impediment for real tennis club night. We play a mixed ability format, the criterion for which is quite straightforward – all are welcome regardless of ability.

Just as well that criterion is simple, because real tennis is a complex game which we amateurs play on handicap. For “all are welcome” sessions such as club night, where several of the players tend to be of unknown or unsettled handicaps, I favour the use of sliding handicaps, to ensure that each set will tend towards a tight finish. Works almost every time.

Again, no footage from club night itself (heaven forbid) but I do have some footage of several of us regular “Club-night-istas” at play in early February, just before I parted company with Pinky’s organic predecessor.

Of the four of us depicted, only me and Mike Lay were at Club Night this June. Mike was my nemesis on that February “quarter-final-like” occasion, and proved to be so again at Club Night, even though my ability to move has already come on leaps and bounds since February and the op.

It is wonderful, though, to be back on court playing with my friends again, without pain and at something starting to approach the level to which I aspire.

Back To Lord’s The Next Morning For Some Endorsing, While The MCC & MCC Foundation Launched The Knight-Stokes Cup

Young people…at Lord’s…enjoying themselves? Whatever next?

After a physiotherapy session first thing (planned, I hasten to add, not a reaction to the tennis the night before, which my body seemed to absorb most satisfactorily), I returned at 9:15 to Lord’s for a full morning of candidate endorsing.

When I agreed to endorse on the morning of 26 June, I didn’t realise that we’d end up doing the interviews in The President’s Suite of the Grandstand, while the MCC and the MCC Foundation launched the wonderful Knight-Stokes Cup for independent schools:

In some ways, there was something incongruous about conducting candidate endorsement interviews on such an auspicious occasion. Hardly any, if any of the candidates we interviewed that day had been to a state school. Still, the MCC can only do its best to try and widen its demographic; the Knight-Stokes Cup is one of the better ideas behind which the club is throwing its weight.

My interviewing partner for the session was Steven Bishop, another real tennis enthusiast who, coincidentally, had been one of my nemeses in the 2024 real tennis club weekend – on that occasion in a nail-biting semi-final:

But I digress.

We mostly interviewed young folk in this session and tried our best to present a very 21st century demeanour. Steven, in particular, spoke with them in detail about the MCC Foundation and the wonderful work it does, both nationally and internationally.

Steven did, however, on one occasion, while waxing lyrical about all the wonderful work the Foundation does overseas, mention Zaire, which slightly took me aback, partly because I had no idea that the MCC Foundation was active in DR Congo (I’m not 100% sure it is), and secondly because that country hasn’t been called Zaire since the previous millennium (1997 to be precise). I held my tongue. At least that small error is steeped in the late 20th century and not the 19th century, where the typical and unfair caricature of an MCC member, blissfully unaware that Queen Victoria is no longer with us, is perceived mentally to reside.

After six interviews I parted company with Steven and progressed, after a very short break for some lunch, to…

Steep Myself In The MCC’s 19th Century History – Research In The Library On Spencer Ponsonby-Fane & Other Related Topics

As part of my research for my forthcoming talk & small treatise on the emergence of the laws of tennis (lawn variety) around 1875, a central character in that story is Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane, who chaired the MCC Tennis committee at the time those laws emerged and who also founded what is now MCC Heritage and Collections, including the Library and Museum.

Alan Rees in the library, as usual, was enormously helpful and had found some fascinating stuff for me to examine – some of which is highly pertinent to my talk and some of which is the sort of wonderful rabbit hole down which I like to dive when doing this sort of research.

One such rabbit hole is a beautiful new addition to the MCC collection: The Ricardo Album, which anyone can examine on-line through this link, but it was a wonderful experience carefully to browse through the pages of this mid-Victorian photograph album.

When Alan told me about it, I thought the Ricardo in question was John Lewis Ricardo, perhaps the most famous of the nephews of the great political economist David Ricardo. But no, the cricket-loving Ricardo who was one of the first members of I Zingari and thus hanging out with Spencer Ponsonby and the like, was one of John Lewis Ricardo’s younger brothers, Albert Ricardo, whose wife, Charlotte Ricardo, aka Daisy, compiled the album.

It’s a shame that John Lewis Ricardo was not the cricketer, as I wanted to say that he was “never knowingly under bowled”. I’ve said it anyway.

It was quite a coincidence wading through Daisy’s photo album, given that it was Janie (aka Daisy’s) birthday.

The Origins Of Ged & Daisy, Bali, c10 December 1993

Soon after 4:00, I decided that it would only be polite for me to return home and start preparing the birthday meal that I had promised my own Daisy, so I headed off around 4:15, almost exactly 24 hours after I arrived for the first of my four activities, having spent more time at Lord’s during that 24 hour period than away from the place.

Glorious, it was.