Dedanists v MCC @ Lord's Cricket Ground 8th February 2020
Dedanists v Club de Jeu de Paume @ Paris 24th-26th January 2020
On Friday afternoon the Dedanists team of Alastair Robson , John Farrall ,John McVittie ,Adam Lawrence , Martin Village , Carl Snitcher, Jonathan Ellis miller and David Philipps made their way together by Eurostar to Paris sitting in different parts of the train and eventually arrived at our hotel opposite the club in rue Lauriston where it was generally agreed that the hotel Pastel was a massive improvement on where we stayed year - this was the first of many improvements and innovations.
Secondly our first and only French member François Manage’ was part of the our team but was unable to play as he was injured . But he came to support us and was at the dinner On Saturday .
The third improvement was the extraordinary performance on Sunday of the ever youthful Adam Lawrence who was the joint winner of the Dedanists' Paris trophy ( a bottle of champagne ) shared with Rémy Salmon from Paris . The consensus was that the standout performance of the weekend belonged to Adam. Not only did he miss his first match ( which was rejigged) as he had overslept but he still scored 18 points as did Remy. Adams' victory followed swiftly on from his success in winning the Racquet d'or in Paris some 56 years ago in 1963/ 1964 when he lived there while training as a medic .And at the age of 87 still going strong - " too damn strong " were the words muttered sotto voce by some members of the team some 30 years his junior. Well done Adam.
A great dinner at the Petit Retro a local restaurant with wonderful art nouveau decor on the Friday night. On Saturday we were all up bright and early for the match against the locals starting at 9am.. There were 8 rubbers with each Dedanists playing twice with different partners against 16 locals. The Dedanists characteristically and generously allowed the home team to won by 6 rubbers to 2 .With 1 set of the first to 10. Paris won by 71 games to 51 overall!!
On Saturday evening 28 of us including members of the Paris club and their very fragrant other halves went to another local restaurant recommended by Francois . We had a terrific meal in a private room all on round one large table . Excellent service with everyone getting precisely what was ordered on time with many bottles of very good value wine , ensured we were all well fed and watered in the most agreeable of circumstances.
After dinner ,as it was Burns night, good looking Rod McNaughtan, a Scot, and his better looking partner Lucy Friday who were our guests at dinner . ( Lucy was very busy on the Friday with some complex aeronautical problem so was unable to make Friday ) took some of us to a bar miles away where more then half the team drank blended scotch and then some very expensive Laphroiag ( courtesy of Alastair whose father was born in Aberdeen, as was Adam ). With the Scottish connection established and well oiled many glasses were consumed into the very early hours !!
And then to the Sunday match amongst ourselves with some French members participating (Remy , Jean Paul and Gil ) which was jointly won by Adam and Rémy , It was all about the medical profession it seemed ,as a photograph shows (Dr) Robson presenting the coveted prize to (Dr )Remy Salmon and (Dr) Adam Lawrence with (Dr)David Phillips just missing the cut ( too many docs ... ed)- after that to the Gare du Nord, a quick bitette and a soporific trip back to Blighty , again on the same train but not sitting together
A great weekend in great company and some great tennis - and the final improvement . According to those who had been in all three trips, this one was the best so far
A Massive thanks to Dr Robson for doing a lot of the spade work and his oh so long speech at the dinner on Saturday night but he said it all , to our Paris Colleagues for making it all work so well and finally to good looking Rod McNaughtan who marked so professionally and accurately and good humouredly for nearly two days without a break
A terrific weekend ..... yet another successful Dedanists gig !!
Photos in part by Patricia Gallagher to whom also many thanks
Dedanists v Newmarket @ Newmarket 19th January 2020
Match Result: Newmarket won 5 - 2
Match Surplus: £125
Match Managers: Charles Granville & Josh Farrall
Well played Ruadrhi Duncan, Steve Milton and John Savile for winning all their matches for Newmarket - and Jonathan Ellis-Miller for doing the same for the Dedanists. Thank you to Andrew Knibbs for marking and clearing the on-court droplets of melting frost. Altogether a bracing experience for the Dedanists. On a cold and sunny January day, Newmarket were just too good.
Dedanists v Hardwick House @ Hardwick House 11th January 2020
Dedanists 3 1/2 - Hardwick 1 1/2
The match was played on a warm (for January) day. As always the court was in lovely condition, the balls were first class, and lunch provided by our hosts, Sarah and Ian Whittaker was superb.
One of the best aspects of the Match was to see Colin Butler playing after his trauma in the Match last year. He looked in fine form and his play produced a good draw as you will see later in this Report.
The first match pitched Valarie O’Donnell and Giles Stogdon against the fearsome ladies from Hardwick, Caroline Fox and Chantelle Harding. Giles apparently pleased to be on court with three ladies. The Dedanists pair were receiving R15/O15 and used their large handicap to good effect in the first set, winning 6-4. Caroline served brilliantly from the right hand side of the court finding a way for the serves to die on the back wall (I never knew you could do that at Hardwick). After winning the first set the Dedanists tired and lost the second set 3-6 possibly because Hardwick switched the receiver of serve. This cunning plan did not work in the third (short) set and the Dedanists ran out 6-5 victors. A very close match!
In the second match Robin Faux – a newish Dedanist - and your scribe were up against the well-known pair of Ian Whittaker and Colin Butler. The Dedanists started slowly (not unusual) and were soon 2-5 down but fought back to 5-5 all at which point Ian suddenly woke up and delivered two winning shots. Hardwick 6-5. In the second set the Dedanists started hitting the ball closer to the centre of the racket and with Robin playing inspired tennis won the set 6-3. The spectators then pointed out that the match had gone on forever and lunch would have to be delayed. This threat news galvanised the players into agreeing to an honourable draw.
Michael Llewelyn-Jones and Ian Hawkey (another newish Dedanist) came up against Michael Seymour (a Dedanist preferring to play for Hardwick!) and David Fox. Both extremely elegant players. The handicap was O15 in favour of the Dedanists. With Michael’s unique serving action and Ian’s steady play the Dedanists shaved the first set 6-5. The second set showed the youngsters (the Dedanists in case you were wondering) at their best and they ran out 6-3 for a two set win. The highlight of the match was Hardwick showing the youngsters how to lay short chases – much admired from the dedans.
The fourth match between Peter Harding and Sarah Whittaker for Hardwick against Linda Sheraton-Davis and Jonathan Ellis-Miller (a well matched pair in the length of their surnames but not in height), The Dedanist scraped the first set 6-5 after a well fought battle. The second set reached 3-3 then 4-3 to the Dedanists. Hardwick fought back to 4-4, the Dedanist got to 5-4. In the final game the Dedanist had a piece of outrageous luck at a critical point with a shot just hitting and toppling over the night. Obviously due to clean living.
The last match had Carl Snitcher playing for Hardwick. He was warned by the MM to make sure that he engineered the right result. He was partnered by with Sarah Brownlee who kindly played at short notice. They were up against the fast moving pair of doctors Alastair Robson and Adam Lawrence. Your scribe was marking so can’t remember a huge amount about the match except that Carl ignored the instructions about how he should play and Hardwick triumphed 6-4, 6-3 for a two sets to none win.
So the result was Hardwick 1 ½ and the Dedanists 3 ½. For a second year in a row a win for the Dedanists. Wonders will never cease! Your scribe is far too modest to tell you who was the only player to hit two winning galleries...........
The Surplus for Junior Tennis
On the day, we raised £210 for the Dedanist fund for Junior and Academy real tennis. Many thanks to all Dedanists and Hardwick members who donated.
Match Managers for the day
Ian Whittaker for Hardwick House. John McVittie for the Dedanists.
Results (Hardwick players shown first).
Caroline Fox & Chantelle Harding lost to Val O’Donnell & Giles Stogdon 4-6, 6-3, 5-6 (D)
Ian Whittaker & Colin Butler drew with John McVittie & Robin Faux 6-5, 3-6 (Draw)
Michael Seymour & David Fox lost to Ian Hawkey and Michael Llewelyn-Jones 5-6 3-6 (D)
Pete Harding & Sarah Whittaker lost to Jonathan Ellis-Miller & Linda Sheraton-Davis 5-6, 4-6 (D)
Carl Snitcher & Sarah Brownlee beat Alastair Robson & Adam Lawrence 6-4, 6-3 (H)
Dedanists v Wellington@ Wellington Saturday 7th December 2019
We arranged 6 doubles matches, each lasting 60 minutes and played to handicap, with the winning pair judged on games won on the hour, which is by far the best format otherwise it would prove to be a very long day. We played 3 matches in the morning, starting at 10.00am, followed by an hour for lunch then 3 more games in the afternoon, ending pretty much on the dot of 5.00pm. As it happened there was a match at 8.30am between Simon Roundell & Francis Moore (both Dedanists!) but in this instance playing the final of the WRTC handicap level 30-39 Singles Tournament - it was narrowly won 2-1 by Francis. Danny Jones day of marking started at 8.30 and ended at 5.00pm. A long day but many thanks Danny for that and for organising an excellent lunch and overseeing Wellington hospitality as usual. It proved to be a great day of tennis and sociability much enjoyed by everybody.
Now for a bit of detail. As I have said we had 6 matches and on the basis of games won, within the 60 minute time frame of each match, Wellington won 56 to the Dedanist’s 44 but, on the usual basis matches won and lost, we were the gallant losers 4 matches to 2. Probably a fairly typical Dedanist result!
See a selection of photographs, including a photo of a 2 very weary looking players (before lunch) and one showing an open mouthed rather grumpy looking Dedanist after losing his doubles match.
Our team, as per the match pairings, comprised the following:-
Michael Llewelyn-Jones & John Beatty
Simon Webster & David Dickson
Giles Pemberton & Julian Sheraton-Davis
Julian Sheraton-Davis & David Bevan-Thomas
Charlotta Ginman-Horrell & Guy Egerton-Smith
Valerie O’Donnell & Carl Snitcher
We collected £180 on the day from our players towards the Academy programme so thanks to all our team for their generosity.
Guy Egerton-Smith
Dedanist Match Manager
December 2019
Dedanists v MURTC @ Middlesex Saturday 23rd November 2019
This was a contest involving four doubles matches, and though we lost the match overall 3 - 1, every one of the games was, by general consent, very keenly fought with three of the four going to a third deciding set.
Carl Snitcher and David Mitchell-Innes started impeccably but eventually went down in three sets (6/4, 1/6, 4/6). The redoubtable Leamington duo of Miles Buckinghamshire and Alastair Robson then came even closer to victory, going to 5 all and 40 all in the final set (6/4, 1/6, 5/6). Valerie O'Donnell and I then contrived to lose 4/6, 5/6 (though, by way of mitigation, owing the opposition what turned out to be a very severe 15 in every game).
But the Deds finally triumphed, and avoided what would've been a cruel whitewash, when John McVittie and Jonathan Ellis-Miller took their match to 5 all and 40 all in the third set and... won the final point. I may say their achievement was all the sweeter to behold in view of the age difference between the sides (the Dedanists being by my calculation rather more than twice the age of the opposition) and the fact that their opponents, with much high-fiving, had been exhibiting signs of being just that little bit too confident of victory. Touché.
It was a good day of tennis, and the eight of us raised £120 for Dedanism.
I put together a team of 10 Dedanists to play in 5 doubles but was thwarted by Holyport, the home team, who could only muster 6 players, which was disappointing, but what with half term and the Rugby World Cup semi final I suppose that it was just about an acceptable excuse! It was agreed that 2 of our players, both Holyport members, Yuri Kugler and Guy Egerton-Smith (Dedanist Match Manager) would swop sides and play for Holyport to even things out to enable 4 doubles matches.
Checking our website I was pleased to see that the Dedanists won their recent match against Hamsters, following a 5-0 drubbing in the end October weekend match against Manchester (cant remember who the MM was), so it was important for us to put up a good performance against Holyport. We did.
A few of us arrived early at Holyport to watch the England v All Blacks semi-final. What a match and what a win. On the face of it it looks like the gods will favour an England win against the Springboks on Saturday. Let’s hope so. With England’s win it set us up well for the 4 doubles against Holyport, played off handicap. The Dedanists won the 1st, 2nd & 3rd matches 2-0, 3-1, 3-1 respectively and lost the 4th 0-2 to come out match winners 3-1. The Dedanist players, in order of the matches played, were Phil Devlin & Bruce Hogarth- Jones (his first match for the Dedanists), John Beatty & John McVittie, Carl Snitcher & James McDermott, Richard East & Liz Fisher. Extra congratulations must go out to our team as this was Holyport’s first defeat of the season!
Nick Parkinson provided an excellent lunch provided by his Gastropub, The Royal Oak, appreciated by all.
The players were camera shy, including Carl, so unfortunately we drew a blank here. The good news is that we raised £232.00 for our Academy programme.
We all look forward to the Dedanists Society AGM, the Lowenthal Trophy tournament and the dinner tomorrow Wednesday at Queen’s Club.
Guy Egerton-Smith
Match Manager
Dedanists v Holyport @ Holyport Saturday 26th October 2019
The Dedanists Society - Annual Dinner and Handicap Doubles Tournament
Queens Club Wednesday 30th October 2019
REPORT CREATED BY IAN HARRIS
(WITH THANKS ALSO TO FREDERIKA ADAM www.frederikaadam.com FOR THE PROFESSIONAL-LOOKING PHOTOGRAPHS AND TO CARL SNITCHER FOR THE OTHER PHOTOS)
I was told ahead of time that this annual event is one of the most popular in The Dedanists’ Society calendar; by the end of the day I could fully understand why.
Several of us were newbies this year; apart from me, Robin Faux, Bruce Hogarth Jones, Melvyn Plum and Giles Stogdon, the latter of whom will no doubt be amazed to see his name spelt correctly. Apologies if I have missed the names of any other newbies.
Friend Or Faux?
The details of the doubles competition was published in preview on this site, just below the Holyport match report, so it needs no repeating here. The use of the sliding handicap system made most of the matches tight. Your intrepid reporter watched two round robin matches before getting sucked into the competition himself; both of those were determined 4-4, 40-30 – it really doesn’t get closer than that.
The round robin play seemed quite fast and furious to me – possibly because most of the players are well above my “pay grade” in handicap terms. But also, I think, because pairs all felt they needed to come out all guns blazing in these short, sliding handicap matches.
My partner for the day was Tony Friend; we found ourselves pitched against Michael Shellim and Robin Faux in our first bout, which yielded the obvious pun in the above section heading. One wag suggested that most of us play real tennis but Robin plays Faux tennis. It didn’t seem Faux to me when Shellim & Faux beat us, but not before I returned a Robin Faux serve in a rather tentative, lobby fashion which somehow found the perfect length to beat a chase of half-a-yard on the floor.
Strange Case of P Cattermull and Mr Hyde
The semi-final line ups were:
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Luke Readman & David Mitchell-Innes v Paul Cattermull & Norman Hyde
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Johnny Saunders & Iain Harvey v Michael Shellim & Robin Faux
The first of those semi-finals, on East Court, was a rather one-sided affair; the sliding handicap failing to rein in Messrs Cattermull and Hyde, who got off to a rollicking start and just kept going. 4-0 was the score. The second semi-final, simultaneously taking place on West Court, was a much tighter affair, which could have gone either way, with Messrs Shellim & Faux prevailing 4-3; everyone loves a match that needs a deciding game.
The final was differently exciting. Once again Messrs Cattermull and Hyde got off to a flying start, metaphorically faster than even Norman Hyde himself on a Triumph motorcycle & side car. 3-0 they led, but then the sliding handicap started to take its toll, while Messrs Shellim and Faux upped their game. From 3-0 to 3-3 and once again a deciding, level game was needed to determine the outcome. In the end, it was Paul Cattermull and Norman Hyde who prevailed as worthy champions and winners of the coveted Lowenthal Trophy.
Go On, Ian, Try To Make An AGM Sound Interesting
Before the AGM, there was plenty of time for the libations and convivialities to begin. Your intrepid reporter held back from the libations at this stage, but certainly joined in the genial conversations. Valerie O’Donnell quipped that her white wine spritzer tasted like wine after brushing one’s teeth…but isn’t that what tonic water always does to wine? Fever-Tree might want that as a marketing strapline.
Anyway, the AGM, once it arrived, was unlike most AGMs that I attend. Sadly, there was very little room for rancor or debate, as Josh Farrall announced that membership was up, turnover was up, activity levels were up, the financial surplus was up and the academy results were improving year on year. I did feel like heckling out, “we can’t tolerate this! I demand failure, chaos, musing and debate”, just to liven matters up. But as a newbie I thought better of it; perhaps I’ll try some heckling next year.
Simon Roundell was the only new person to be nominated for the committee. He was sitting near to me, trying hard to damage his own chances by reposing in a Jacob Rees-Mogg style and bad-mouthing himself. He signally failed to put us off from electing him unopposed. Serves him right.
Then Graham Tomkinson explained what the academy is doing and why, which actually was very interesting and rounded off the business aspect of the evening in a very upbeat fashion.
Winners, Winners & Chicken Dinners
The Queen’s Club knows how to put on a good dinner and this dinner was no exception. Some forty of us dined and the atmosphere was very jolly, ably assisted by plentiful wines and good company. To be honest, the pictures tell this part of the story better than words.
Josh Farrall & Andrew Lowenthal awarded the main trophy to Paul Cattermull & Norman Hyde, with Josh alone doing the honours on the subsidiary prizes. I was most grateful for my “shot of the day” bottle of bubbly. By the end of the evening, when that award was made, most of the assembled Dedanists swore that they had witnessed the shot and that it was surely one of the finest shots ever played on a tennis court anywhere. That small dedans gallery on the West Court must have been absolutely ram-packed with people.
In Conclusion
I have written an idiosyncratic account of the day on my own blog – click here if you want to read that. I have also uploaded all 33 pictures (including those shown on this page) to a Flickr album – click here – once again many thanks to Frederika Adam www.frederikaadam.com and to Carl Snitcher for those.
But my final words must be words of thanks to all who were involved in organising this superb day but in particular to Josh Farrall and Carl Snitcher who clearly did an enormous amount of work for the event and didn’t even get to play in the tournament this year. It was a truly memorable day and I shall be sure to try and be available next year and indeed whenever I am able.
TENNIS
The real tennis tournament starts at 12 noon. Practice courts are available from 11 am. The final is at 5.25 pm. It is a handicap doubles tournament, played for the Lowenthal Trophy ( current holders Richard East and John Mcvittie) - Please note carefully the rules of play, especially those relating to ‘sliding handicaps’ and times
AGM
The AGM starts at 6.45 pm.
DINNER
The dinner starts at 7.45 pm in the Members’ Bar. It is expected to end at 9.45 pm. Dress is smart casual
The Rules
The Round Robin Mini-Leagues
The Players
Radley College v The Dedanists Juniors
Radley College 18th October 2019
Match Result: Radley College won 5 – 3.
The Dedanist team were all British Academy juniors. The Radley team were all College pupils. Radley College teams are always very competitive, especially when playing at home. And so it proved today.
The Hamsters v The Dedanists
Hampton Court Palace 10th October 2019
On this auspicious day, two new Dedanists debuted for the club: Ian Harris (that’s me!) and Simon Constantine. Coincidentally, it transpired that both of us had enjoyed playing fives at Alleyn’s School ‘back in the day’; in my case as a pupil in the 1970’s and in Simon’s case as the husband of one of the teachers in the early to mid 1980s.
Today’s match started as it meant to go on, with a nail-biting battle between Hamsters Charlie Kearl & Nick Carew Hunt and Dedanists Yuri Kugler and Robert Muir. The Dedanists prevailed 6-4, 6-5 with the handicapping system doing its job splendidly.
There was a “call of out” incident at one high-pressure stage in that first rubber, which looked close to bubbling over. I asked Carl Snitcher if it was the done thing for the fellow team-mates of the combatants to run onto the court and start fighting each other with their rackets, in the manner of ice hockey teams. “Most certainly”, said Snitch, but the opportunity did not arise again in this match. Perhaps next time.
The second rubber was between Hamsters Robert Frost & Tom Carew Hunt and Dedanists Giles Pemberton & Simon Constantine. The handicapping system did not do such a good job on this one; The Hamsters prevailing 6-0, 6-0. By all accounts both Hamsters exceeded their expectations, with Robert Frost in particular dominating proceedings. Well played.
The Hamsters also took the third rubber, with Michael Banks & Richard East prevailing over Alastair Robson & Carl Snitcher, 6-4, 6-3. This rubber must have been an ebb & flow affair, as your reporter retired from the dedans gallery with Messrs Robson & Snitcher leading in the first set and looking on course for the win, so many congratulations to Messrs Banks & East for turning the tables in that contest.
“Why did the reporter retire from the dedans gallery at a vital stage of the third rubber?” I hear you cry. In order to report on the luncheon, of course. What a splendid luncheon it was too. Magnificent pies with two mouth-watering choices (I tried both so can vouch for both):
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chicken, ham & leek
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steak & mushroom.
Lashings of peas, carrots and broad beans. A choice of two different sweet roulades for desert and bucket-fulls of bread to accompany the plentiful cheeses. Wine and beer aplenty also for those who were drinking (most, but not me today); apple juice for wimps like me.
Meanwhile there was a very tight first set in the fourth rubber (and I’m not talking about the waists of the players’ trousers after lunch), between Hamsters Maurice Beardsley & David Remington and Dedanists Christie Marrian & Norman Hyde. The Dedanists prevailed 6-4 in that tight set and then 6-1 in the second set, leaving the match beautifully poised at two rubbers each with two rubbers to play.
Enter your reporter, partnered by James McDermott; a gentleman I have played against occasionally but never previously partnered.
I had attempted to research our opponents, Elizabeth Woodthorpe & David Rowley, which sounds, when stated as “Woodthorpe & Rowley”, like a classic lawn tennis doubles pairing or a partnership of Jacobean playwrights.
Pursuing that line of fanciful thinking, I discovered that the Jacobean pair Middleton & Rowley wrote a tennis-themed play, “The World Tossed At Tennis”, almost exactly 400 years ago. That play was sponsored by the then Prince Charles who, five years later, became King Charles I and had the Hampton Court Tennis Court rebuilt on its current site. Things did not end well for Charles I and (at a more trivial level) nor did they end well for Woodthorpe & Rowley. Harris & McDermott prevailing for the Dedanists 6-1, 6-1. I think we did deserve our win but I feel bound to say that we had more than our fair share of luck, with many of my winners coming from the woodier parts of the racket. I did manage deliberately to land the shot that closed out the rubber on the facsimile of Henry VIII which graces the grille; I took childish pleasure in achieving that hit.
So with the Dedanists leading by three rubbers to two, the final set of combatants took to the court; Hamsters Alan Dallamore & Ian Mathers against Dedanists Iain Harvey and John Tacchi. By this stage of the day, most of the assembled party had either gone home or were enjoying the plentiful wines, so I was asked to mark the bout, which was a first for me.
I had never seen a real tennis abacus before, but found my way around it. It made me think of the abacus story, Gizmo’s Big Adventure, from our first book, Clean Business Cuisine .
But I digress. That final rubber went back and forth as frequently as a rubber band in an excitable schoolkid’s catapult. Messrs Dallamore & Mathers prevailed in the first set 6-4. Messrs Harvey & Tacchi went 4-2 up in the second set but the clock was ticking and the captains decided that the second set needed to be a “best of nine” rather than a “best of eleven” set. Dallamore & Mathers drew level at 4-4; if they were also to prevail in the deciding game, the rubber would be theirs and the fixture would be drawn. Instead, Messrs Harvey and Tacchi kept their cool and took the deciding game, rendering the final rubber a draw and the match the tightest of possible wins for The Dedanists, 3½ to 2½.
It was a splendid day in a glorious setting; many thanks to The Hamsters for their gracious and warm hospitality. Well done team for the (apparently rare) Dedanists win.
But of course, the future of real tennis always wins when the Dedanists play; this match raised £257 for good tennis causes. £180 from the Dedanist team, £57 from the Hamsters and £20 from an anonymous benefactor.
The Peripatetic Tournament
Held at Hardwick House on 28th September
12 teams entered this doubles Tournament, organised by Brigands, at Hardwick on 28 September 2019. The Dedanist‘s Society were represented by Ronald Paterson and Nick Browne. The tournament comprised 4 Groups with 3 teams playing in each Group. The Dedanist pairing faced two 45 minute games against Jesters and Hurlingham Pigeons. All 3 games were closely fought with our pairing losing out from progressing to the semi-finals by one Group point. The eventual winners of the Tournament were LRTA who beat Jesters.
The Manchester September Weekend Double Header
MCC v Manchester Dedanists v Manchester
Saturday/Sunday 28th/29th September 2019
The teams were 8 Players for the MCC match and 10 for the Dedanist match, which included 2 Manchester Dedanist members. In my capacity as Match Manager, for both days, I suggested that it would be sensible to stay in (sic) an hotel less than 5 minutes walk from the club. Most did. No-one complained at the £200 per night cost, or did they I cannot recall!
On Saturday night the team dined at the best Chinese restaurant in town, Yang Sing. A few of us had been there before. The starter, had by all, was a mixed concoction of spicy king prawns, which went down well, followed by heaps of other dishes and in the time-honored way over ordered. A group of overeaten players made their way home. Manchester was in lock down for the Conservative Party Conference but we managed it back to the hotel in the early hours.
We had one singles match all weekend and it was the first on court for MCC on Saturday with James Denham, obviously fired up by the spicy king prawns the night before, took little time winning his game 2-0. Following that match the rest went backwards & forwards with MCC winning the match 3-2.
On Saturday evening we all dined, together with 2 other supportive halves (Rose & Sarah) and some Manchester players, in the Club dining room and I am sure many of you will have experienced their excellent dinners, with an ample supply of very good wine followed by brandy and port. We retired to our hotel(s) in the pouring rain to get ready for the Sunday match.
It was quite evident to me that the invigorating effects of the spicy prawns had worn off by the time the Dedanist team of 10 were on parade on court on Sunday morning. We lost the first 2 doubles, both in 3 sets. In the next 3 matches out of a possible 36 games we managed only 15 games won. An overall match loss of 5-0. Never mind real tennis was the winner! Having said that we were at a distinct disadvantage on Sunday in that the Manchester court is constructed on a substantial slope as witnessed by the photos taken by Carl Snitcher. A definite case of home advantage.
It was a great weekend all round with the Manchester club as hospitable as ever and, from feedback from both team players, Steve Brokenshaw and Darren Long, together with Stella Heap, who is the long stand-in General Manager of the Club, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Next year the weekend of tennis will be at Lord’s.
A mention of the MCC & Dedanist players - James Denham, Iain Harvey, Norman Hyde, Simon Mansfield, Carl Snitcher, Anton Eisdell, Richard East, Guy Egerton-Smith, Tony Wedd & Mal Harding.
Guy Egerton-Smith
Weekend Match Manager
The Dedanists v Radley Club
Saturday 14th September at Radley 2019
The Dedanists won the match 6-1
From the Dedanists point of view, this match was remarkable for a number of reasons:
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We won the match by the emphatic margin of 6 – 1.
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The lunch and indeed the whole event was alcohol-free. New members playing for the Dedanists for the first time were surprised, too polite to comment and certainly concerned that this might be a Dedanist norm. Experienced members were shocked into playing out of their skins. Perhaps alcohol-free should become a Dedanist norm !? (ed: only joking).
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Two of our players dropped out at the last minute in extraordinary circumstances. Clive Stone, who should know better, incapacitated himself tossing the caber in a mock highland games in the Borders - a toss too far! Jonathan Ellis-Miller was suddenly hospitalised with sepsis. He has, thank goodness, made a full recovery.
The Jesmond Weekend
Jesmond v MCC v Dedanists
Saturday & Sunday 21st/22nd September 2019
A super weekend of top class tennis was displayed at Jesmond Dene as a three-way match took place between the host club, MCC and the Dedanists. The match was well organised by the professional at Jesmond, Scott Blabber and Jonathan Ellis-Miller for both MCC and the Dedanists. Unfortunately, Jonathan was unable to attend at the last minute so the captainship of both MCC and Dedanists was taken over by Simon Martin. However, he had little to do due to the superb preparation carried out by Scott and Jonathan.
The format was such that each team played a total of 10 matches over the two days. Most of the matches were doubles being played as first to 10 games. All the matches were competitive and played in the true spirit of the game and all marked by Scott.
The MCC team consisted of the following players;
Simon Martin; James Coley; Carl Snitcher; Sebastian Wood
The Dedanists team consisted of the following players;
William Lewis; Michael Llewelyn-Jones; Giles Stogdon; and Chris Stanton.
Anton Eisdell and Peter Dean playing for MCC and Dedanists as required!
Highlights of the weekend are as follows;
Carl managing to miss the train from Kings X on Friday night as he is unable to read the twenty-four-hour clock!
Martin and Coley unable to win a forty all game
Snitcher excelling with his oversize banjo racket and producing the champagne moment of the weekend as he hit a bullet forehand volley straight into the dedans to the galleries amazement.
Anton managing to win two matches with a gammy hip making any movement non-existent.
Sebastian and Peter playing good steady tennis including Peter playing a singles followed by a doubles straight after and managing to remain upright afterwards.
A mention in despatches must go to Sinead Coley a student at Newcastle University and daughter of James, who has only been playing for a short time. She represented Jesmond playing off 60 handicap and won two out of her three matches. Hopefully she will be a future MCC full member and be able to represent them in years to come.
Undoubtedly the blue ribbon event of the weekend was the final match between Martin and Coley for MCC v Thompson and Spurling for Jesmond. MCC were receiving 15 in handicap but at 3-7 down this did not seem to be enough as the Jesmond pair played faultless aggressive tennis on their own court. However, after a tactical master stroke suggested by the MCC captain of abandoning the defence of the galleries, MCC gradually clawed their way back into the match to lead 9-7. After a calamitous 17th game whereby Martin managed to net 4 times from the service end the match was poised at 9-8 in favour of MCC. They gave up two hazard chases but no matter; they were easily beaten and final game won to love. 10-8 to MCC.
The final result confirmed Jesmond as winners winning 6 matches with MCC and Dedanists both winning 4.
A superb weekend was had by all, including an excellent dinner at a local restaurant attended by 14 participants. Scott and all the Jesmond members made us all feel very welcome as always and I would recommend this fixture to anyone who has not played at Jesmond. A superb court with great hospitality.
The Dedanists Warwickshire Weekend
Saturday & Sunday 7th/8th September 2019
A group of Dedanists ventured - tentatively perhaps - north of Hatfield for their annual Warwickshire weekend tour of the tennis courts at Leamington and Moreton Morrell last weekend.
Things went swimmingly initially, with local Dedanists John Yarnall and Alastair Robson seeing off the first Leamington pair, Caroline Dixon & John Devis, who both play the floor game - which is a delight to watch (and the style these days of a minority of players).
The pendulum then swung each way for successive rubbers, which included a stylish singles match between Paul Cattermull and Leamington captain, Will Carbutt-Todd, which went to three sets and eventually to Paul, despite trailing 1-4. Again, stylish floor game from both.
The final rubber of the day - at 2-2 - went to three sets and '5 games all' in the third. Norman Hyde, playing for Leamington, at 15-40 (to receivers), served two elegant faults, thus losing the game, the rubber and the match to the Dedanists. That he is a Committee member for the Dedanists is (presumably) of no relevance.
A dinner was held in the club on the Saturday evening for members of both teams: Leamington must have one of the best tennis kitchens outside London - it certainly has one of the best dining rooms.
Sunday saw six doubles matches being played on the Moreton Morrell court, which, being built two years before the (second) court at Hardwick House, is very similar in style and ambiance and floor surface. Here, the Dedanists fared not so well: the first rubber was lost, the second won, but thereafter it was downhill all the way to a 5-1 defeat…
At Leamington Sat 7 September
DEDANISTS LEAMINGTON
J Yarnall & A Robson v C Dixon & J Devis 6-0; 4-6; 6-4 W
A Eisdell & J McDermott v D Howells & B Cunningham Batt 4-6; 6-3; 3-6 L
P Cattermull v Will Carbutt-Todd 4-6; 6-5; 6-5 W
P Mason & J Ellis-Miller v B Compton & C Sampson 3-6; 5-6. L
P Dean & M Llewellyn-Jones v N Hyde & I Steele 2-6; 6-5; 6-5 W
Dedanists win 3-2
At Moreton Morrell Sun 8 September
DEDANISTS
P Mason & A Dalton v P Lewis & D Harris. 1-6; 3-6. L
M Buckinghamshire & A Robson v J Franklin & B Spratt. 3-6; 6-3; 6-5. W
M Fattorini & P Cattermull v C Swallow & K Beechener 1-6; 5-6. L
C Snitcher & A Eisdell v D Aldwinkle & G West. 3-6; 5-6. L
M Llewellyn-Jones & J Ellis-Miller v D Prophet & J Rawstorne. 3-6; 6-2; 4-6. L
N Hyde & P Dean v K Beechener & P Lewis. 3-6; 6-5; 5-6. L
Moreton Morrell win 5-1
Notice of Annual General Meeting, Tennis Tournament & Dinner
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The Twelfth Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at The Queen’s Club, Palliser Road, West Kensington, London W14 9EQ at 7.15 pm on Wednesday the 30th October 2019 in Meeting Room 1, Centenary House.
By order of the Committee, CARL SNITCHER Secretary
AGENDA
1) To approve the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 31st October 2018.
2) To receive and approve the Annual Report, Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for the year ended 31st July 2019
3) Report by Graham Tomkinson / John Farrall on Academy coaching programmes.
4) To consider and agree the Benevolent Activities of the Society under Rule 4 of the Rules & Regulations, especially the Society’s support for Junior real tennis
5) (a) To re-elect the following members of the Society’s management
committee to a further term of 3 years:
John Farrall, Carl Snitcher, John McVittie and Guy Egerton-Smith (supported by the committee).
(b) To confirm Simon Roundell as a new member of the Society’s management committee (supported by the committee).
NOTE:
Nominations for committee membership closed on the 2nd of September 2019. No election process is required at this time because the number of nominations (one) matched the number of vacancies (one).
6) Report on the Dedanists’ Foundation.
7) To transact any other business that by the Rules & Regulations of the Society has to be or may properly be transacted at an Annual General Meeting.
Downloadable Application Form
Dedanists v Cambridge
Saturday 15th June 2019 at Cambridge
On Saturday 15th June The Dedanists visited Cambridge University court for an 8 match of ‘Set to 10’ fixture. At the half way stage the Dedanists were ahead 3-1 and everyone had played the first of their two matches. We were ahead of schedule and although the games were closely fought there was nothing for the highlight reel.
That was about to change. The last 4 matches comprised 75 games. Which as I’m sure you, dear reader, will have worked out means that 3 ended up 10-9. Two of these were 40-all to boot. Here are some words from the 10-9 that ‘only’ got to 40-30…
I shall remember for some time the shot our Cambridge opponents made when we were serving at 30-40 9-9 all with a two yard chase. The ball hit the penthouse and fell dead at 1 yard. Such is the game!
In the final Singles, Cambridge were leading 9-all and 40-15, and defending a 2 yard chase. Undeterred, the Dedanists won with one of their namesake shots… into the Dedans, before taking the match. Meanwhile on Blue, not content with a single 9-all, 40-all point, we decided to go for two with the second being Hazard the Line!
While the schedule was not actually in ruins at this point, it was in a certain amount of disrepair. The fixture was perhaps fittingly was tied at 4-all and all that remained was to see if we had been left any lunch (we were) and if the strategic reserves of Rosé had been found (they had not)
Many thanks to our trio of markers and especially Peter for his tireless organisation.
A link to a Google Photos Album of the these pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/dzCVnqY1WWV3rr9d9
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The Dedanists
Lunch!
CURTC
Dedanists v LRTA
Saturday 8th June 2019 at Hardwick House
This popular annual fixture took place on Saturday the 8th June on a lovely day at Hardwick House.
After arriving and before the first rubber at 10.30am, Candida and Charlotta (the newest member of the Dedanists) helped Tim to clean the court.
Once the Tomalins had decanted the mountains of food, Pam prepared her now famous Blood Mary and one or two members of the Dedanists team sampled the very tasty mixture but no one remembers who the other(s) were!! The clue is that the one person who did, was the person who normally travels to matches chauffeured by the Chairman but because of the Chairman’s move to Henley, had to drive himself !!
After Tim and Jonathan won the first rubber with a very tight second set, the Dedanists generously lost the next two rubbers in two . John McV and Julian played very well to beat Juliette and Linda in two with a very close second set, which was touch and go. That set up the match with winner takes all in the 5th rubber which in the end Rosie and Di won, to clinch the match This final rubber was expertly marked by Richard and made more complex with a handicap difference of rec 1/2 15 owe15 .
The ladies deservedly won the contest 3-2
The award for "the person of the match" goes to Pam Tomalin, who didn’t play, but provided a delicious lunch. Once this little secret gets out, we will be inundated with members wanting to play
It was a happy fun day at the beautiful Hardwick court, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Well done to the ladies!! "
Dedanists v Prested
Sunday 28th April 2019 at Prested
The best of eight rubbers Dedanist win 4-3 (with a drawn doubles.)
The Dedanists got off to a flying start with wins in the singles from Robert Muir and Ben Martin, followed by a win in the doubles by John Tacchi and Robert Muir, this was too good to be true and was followed up with losses in the singles by John Tacchi and father and son combination of Simon and Ben Martin in the doubles. Simon resurrected the himself after a distinctly 'iffy' doubles (not helped in the first set with a coughing and spluttering Ellis-Miller as a partner) performance to win his singles match. Ben Martin had to play a further singles match, as Jonathan Ellis-Miller could not play due to illness and was beaten. The final doubles match was something of a rarity, Ben Martin Aged 26 and Amy Pye (swapping sides) Aged 17 (total age 43 must be the youngist combined doubles age of any Dedanists pairing ever!)) drew the final rubber and secured the fixture win.
It was a great day out for all, the Prested folk are very friendly and welcoming. There was some really outstanding tennis. Many thanks to Rob Fahey and Ged for excellent marking and organisation. We look forward to returning next year under the stewardship of Chris Vigrass.
Jonathan Ellis-Miller
Dedanists v Hatfield
Saturday 16th March 2019 at Hatfield
A very enjoyable and well contested match took place at Hatfield House on Saturday. A large contingent of nine Dedanists put up a strong showing but, alas, went down two rubbers to four against a spirited Hatfield side. I confirm that I have transferred £135.00 to the Dedanists account to cover the nine Deds' players supplements for junior tennis. Carl - who, incidentally, was on fine form both on and off court - took some photographs which are below.
Match Results:-
Martin Richards vs Nick Brodie 6/5 6/2
Adrian & Jill Akers vs Jonathan Ellis-Miller & Carl Snitcher 6/4 0/6 4/6
Adrian Akers & Stuart Rose vs Michael Llewellyn-Jones & Doc Wyse 6/4 3/6 6/4
Alex Brodie vs Yuri Kugler 6/5 6/0
John Longhurst vs David Mitchell-Innes 6/4 2/6 5/6
Ros Emrys-Roberts & Robin Aley vs Clive Stone & James McDermott 6/4 6/3
Dedanists v Pigeons
Sunday 10th March 2019 at Wellington
A thrilling encounter at Wellington saw a rare Dedanists' triumph by four rubbers to one. Such was the strength of the Ds that three of the games were won in straight sets. Paul and David led the way with a resounding victory over S T-W and Patrick, much to Simon's dismay. He did not stop talking about it for the rest of the day. Vaughan and Michael provided the closest encounter, nicking it after one set all, and five all in the last set. The Ds borrowed a talented Paul Spraggs to help Norman to victory. John and Jonathan were clinical. To avoid a vale of tears from the Pigeons, Jonathan and James came a creditable second in their match in their usual sporting fashion, thereby averting a whitewash.
Any sense of competition evaporated over an excellent lunch and copious quantities of wine. Dan Jones, as ever, marked scrupulously and there were no pitch invasions.
Full results
Paul Cattermull & David Enticknap beat Simon Talbot-Williams & Patrick Jenkins 6/4 6/1
Vaughan Williams & Michael Llewwlyn-Jones beat Paul Spraggs & Patrick Jenkins 6/4 4/6 6/5
Norman Hyde & Paul Spraggs beat Donald Carse & John Deere 6/2 4/6
John Beatty & Jonathan Ellis Miller beat Barbara Carse & Matthew Page 6/5 6/4
Jonathan Ellis Miller & James McDermott lost to Andrina Webb & Richard Pettit 6/5 2/6 3/6
Petworth v Dedanists
Sunday 3rd March 2019 at Petworth
David Fortune meticulously prepared the running order and pairings for what turned out to be a delightful day at Petworth. Most of us had not seen the new dressing room facility and club area which is extremely comfortable and convivial.
The Dedanists' pair ,Julian Wilkinson and David Mills ( treasurer and Chairman of the Dedanists Foundation respectively) got us off to a splendid start, and when Josh and David F drew the next rubber, we thought that we might be in for a good day. but sadly they were the only pair to win.There were three drawn rubbers and the rest were lost , some very closely. But it was great fun and £165 was raised to support our junior programs
David F and his wife Caroline provided a sumptuous lunch, ( she has promised Babotie next time we play there, and for those who don’t know its a traditional South African dish ) and the Petworth members , who were there for the whole day, were all splendid hosts.
Louis Gordon had a marathon day marking expertly and consistently. So a big thank you to him. The match was played in good spirits with lots of good humoured banter from the Dedans, with the home team winning convincingly
After a long but a very good day we all left for our respective homes in the middle of a rain storm and in very windy conditions.. At the time of writing this report it seems as though everyone made it back home safely. Rod Taylor heroically played three times!! Just as well he lives around the corner from the club
Chairman Josh drove his supercharged Volvo back to London expertly in the driving rain and approaching darkness, and made it back in an hour and a half ........ in world record time, only waking up when startled by his passenger , the secretary of the Society , blurting out the name of a tennis player they were both having difficulty remembering
An excellent day in the country it was too.
Results (Petworth names first)
Robert Dolman & Simon Armstrong lost to Julian Wilkinson & David Mills 3-9
David Bevan-Thomas & Robert Muir drew with David Fortune & Josh Farrall 6-6
Allan Adair & Alan Chalmers bt Richard East & Chris Stanton 9-4
Anthony Palmer & Helen Linfield bt Rod Taylor & James McDermott 9-2
Simon Armstrong & Robert Muir drew with Julian Wilkinson & Josh Farrall 6-6
Robert Dolman & Alan Adair bt Richard East & David Mills 10-2
David Bevan-Thomas & Alan Chalmers drew with David Fortune & Chris Stanton 6-6
Ed Braham & Helen Linfield bt Carl Snitcher & James McDermott 8-6
Allan Adair & Anthony Palmer bt Simon Armstrong & Rod Taylor 9-5
Match Result Petworth 6 Dedanists 1 (3 matches drawn)
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Oratory v Dedanists
Saturday February 23rd 2019 at Oratory
Results (Oratory names 1st)
Georgiana Seigneur (55.3) bt John Yarnall (59.2) 6/4 6/3 Owe 15 Love
Peter Buckley & Mark Keogh (49.3) bt John Beatty & Phil Devlin(48.2) 6/3 6/0 Level
Robin Russell & Maggie Gibbs (71.8) bt Carl Snitcher & Adam Lawrence (68.6) 6/4 6/0 Level
Linda Sheraton-Davis & Maggie Gibbs (59.3) bt Simon Armstrong & Clive Stone (54) 6/1 5/6 6/4 Love Owe 15
Calum Maclean & Julian Sheraton-Davis (45.8) bt John Miller & Jonathon Ellis-Millar (56.9) 6/0 1/6 6 -5 Owe 15 Rec 15
Oratory win 5-0
The Seacourt Silver Racket took place in early February and had 24 entries. There was a qualification event in which 4 players qualified for the main event.
The Dedanists Society programme featured 5 individuals from our performance programmes and the results of those on the Individual Academy programme are shown below:
In the Qualification event , WILLIAM FLYNN (aged 16) firstly defeated Nick Warner 6/3 3/6 6/1 and then defeated Freddie Dixon 6/3 2/6 6/4. Two full 3 set matches in one day. A great result for William. He then lost to Lea van der Zwalmen in the main event.
NED BATSTONE went straight into the main event and defeated Nino Merola ( Professional from Radley) 6/5 1/6 6/4 (Nino started on – ½ 15) . This is the first time an Under 18 player has beaten a senior professional in a National Tournament!!! Ned then lost in the quarterfinal to Freddie Bristowe.
LEA VAN DER ZWALMEN , won 2 rounds of Qualification event , and having defeated William in the first round of the main event , then beat Tom Weaver 3/6 6/3 6/1 – a superb result for her. She then played Neil Mackenzie in the semi-finals but lost 2/6 1/6.
Overall , a great set of results for our 3 young aspiring players – well done to Seacourt for a superb tournament ( Drew Lyons and Aaron Flippence)
Graham Tomkinson
The Seacourt Silver Racket
January 30th - February 3rd 2019 at Seacourt
Ned Batstone (left) & Freddie Bristowe
Lea Van Der Zwalmen & Neil Mackenzie
Dedanists v MCC
Saturday 9th February 2019 at Lords
The MCC fixture is always very popular and this year was no exception. Of the 24 players in six games of doubles on court there were originally 21 members of the Society. In the event three had to withdraw for injury and /or family reasons but despite that 18 members participated . We were very pleased to welcome David Enticknap and Simon Webster who had joined recently. We hope this will be the first of many.
The first Rubber was at 10 am and we didn’t finish until approximately 6 pm, with a short break for lunch. The reason for the very long day was exceptionally that every rubber went to 3 sets. . Although the Dedanists team triumphed by 5 to 1, every match was very close and could have gone either way.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the day in part due to the conviviality of the Lords hospitality and general ambience . Good food and good company, good chats and lots of banter from the Dedans!!
Mark Ryan the head pro was in marking duty for the whole day and was in excellent form. A big thanks to him and the MCC for a great day
Results:
Sam Leigh 43/ Foreman Wickes 33 v Simon Webster 30/ John Whiting 41 6/4,3/6.4/6 D win
Ben Martin 54/Tony Friend 45 v Yuri Kugler 46/ David Enticknap 45 2/6,6/2.3/6 D win
Rod Taylor 63 /Chris Stanton 60 v Richard Wyse 53/ Iain Harvey 51 4/6,6/3,5/6 D win
Ben Martin 54/ Rodger Davis 41 v John McVitte 49/ Julian Sheraton Davis 42 6/3,5/6.3/6 D win
John Thirlwell 66/ James McDermott 66 v John Miller 69/ Adam Lawrence 70 6/4. 4/6,4/6 D win
John Farrall 57/Jonathan Ellis-Miller 52 v Carl Snitcher 64 / Linda Sheraton Davis 55 6/3, 4/6 6/4 M win
Dedanists v Jeu de Paume et Squash, Paris
Saturday 27th January 2019
After a long evening of eating and drinking (and for some a very late night’s drinking) we all traipsed to the court (one or two with sore heads) for our own Dedanists’ doubles tournament, with the obligatory (and much sought after) Dedanists’ tankard awaiting the winner.
It was played according to some novel rules: one point each for the winning pair, and a bonus point for any player hitting the grille. Each player played three 6-game sets with a different partner, with a rolling handicap, and two guests from the Paris club were invited to participate: Remy Martin and Francois Menage. To the Dedanists’ chagrin, Francois Menage (3 wins + 1 grille) ran away with the trophy - although there was, allegedly, considerable unspoken delight that David Phillips, last year’s winner (1 win, 2 grilles) and Norman Hyde, pot hunter ‘extraordinaire de nos jours’, (3 wins), together with Carl Snitcher (3 wins + many commiserations) were runners up.
So ended a memorable weekend in Paris for nine Dedanists (plus Pat Farrall). And a wonderful time it was too: good food in restaurants carefully and bravely chosen by Alastair to be within walking distance of the tennis court and hotel meant that the longest journey undertaken was to find a late night drinking establishment which was actually functioning on a Saturday night: odd, perhaps the ‘Gilets Jaunes’ were making proprietors keep their heads down.
The only person to make contact with the ‘GJ’ was the Chairman’s wife, who had ventured further afield to 'Les Grands Magazins’, and who was firstly soaked in a massive downpour before being locked into a building on her way back to the court - but that is another story!
This was the second successful year of this contest, which has all the makings of becoming a regular and enjoyable fixture in the Dedanists’ calendar; we are already thinking off ’tweaking it’ for our next visit in late January 2020.
Results:
0940 Snitcher & McDermott v Magnet & Zolidis lost 6/8
1020 Village & Robson v Risterucci & Schwab won 8/4
1100 Hyde & McVittie v Xavier & Thibaut lost 5/8
1140 Whiting & StJean Webb v Boulter & Zohari won 8/5
1220 Farrall & Phillips v Schwab & Salmon won 6/1
1300 Snitcher & McDermott v Munoz & Restericci lost 5/6
1340 Village & Robson v Melchior & Illegible win 8/2n
1420 Hyde & McVittie v Kressmann & Chappelier win 6-3
1500 Whiting & StJean Webb v Benline & Girod lost 4/8
RESULT: DEDANISTS WIN (6 - 4)
Marker: Rod Macnaughtan - all matches marked in French and English from the marker’s box
Dedanists vs Hardwick House
At Hardwick House on Sunday 12th January
Dedanists 5 - Hardwick 1
Dedanists win for the first time in five years. Trumpets sound.
The match was played on its scheduled day in January a cold but clear day. A blazing fire and various heaters kept the 24 players warm and the red wine chambré’d on the mantelpiece. As always the court was in lovely condition, the balls were first class, and players shed successive layers as play, if not the court, heated up. As you can see from the results below - which hopefully bear some resemblance to reality - the Dedanists scored a rare and hard fought win by five matches to one.
The records show that there was a 2-2 draw back in 2013. Since I took over as match manager in 2014 we, the Dedanists, have suffered loss after loss - until this year. You quite rightly may well conclude that this is a result my lack of management skills. I have always thought that the excellent hospitality offered by Hardwick has reduced our resistance and ensured our downfall.
After the match had finished there was very sad news about Colin Butler. After playing in the first match and while marking the second match, Colin became ill. He was treated by paramedics and then transferred to Reading Hospital where it was confirmed that he had suffered a serious stroke. All our thoughts are with him and his family. At the time of writing the reports were that he was still in hospital not being able to stand safely with other effects of the stroke also hindering his recovery.
The main features of the Match was first that 19 of the 24 combatants were Dedanists and second that five of the Matches – the ones that the Dedanists won, all went to a third and short (4-4) or very short (5-5) third set. The first match played off level paired Colin Butler and Fergus Brownlee - a most formidable local pair against Julian Sheraton-Davis and John McVittie. Julian and John had form in previous matches in the sense of defeat being snatched from the jaws of victory. After winning the first set and losing the second it all came down to 4-4 all in the final (short) set. After losing the next set to go 4-5 down, the Dedanists roared to victory by winning the last two sets.
The second match was expected to be very competitive. The well-established pair of Wise and Wyse were off the pace in the first set but came alive in the second. But, by that time, their opponents, Michael Seymour and the host Ian Whittaker were well entrenched and although the standard of play rose it was too late and the match ran out 6-1, 6-3 to Hardwick. One all!
The third match between Peter Harding and Sarah Whittaker for Hardwick against Linda Sheraton-Davis and Richard East was well balanced with Linda doing the running and Richard contributing to the score whenever the ball came near him. A very well chosen pair! The match could have gone either way but the Dedanists won out in the end.
Dedanists v Newmarket
Sunday 20th January
Sometimes it is an advantage to have a very small Club building. On an icy day in Newmarket the Club was soon warmed up by the hot air generated by the players on both sides. There was a slight inconvenience in that it caused some of the overnight condensation which had iced on the rafters to melt and require regular mopping in one or two spots on the floor, but it did not affect the quality of the matches or the bonhomie. It did allow Chris Stanton to demonstrate his acting skills with a perfect "Prat Fall" as he was the only player to hit a wet spot but like a true thespian he made it look deliberate !
Six matches - 3 Singles and 3 Doubles - were played with Newmarket prevailing with a 4-2 win.
Dedanists Newmarket
John Burnett v Dominic Tomalin 4-6, 1-6
Jonathan Ellis Miller V John Shneerson 6-1, 6-4
Chris Hollingsworth v Ken Smith 6-5, 2-6, 5-6
Josh Farrell & Chris Stanton v John Crawley & Jeremy Barnett 5-8
Chris Stanton & Carl Snitcher v John Crawley & Hazel Dunn 7-8
Josh Farrell & Carl Snitcher v Jeremy Barnett & Hazel Dunn 8-1
Dedanists Society Xmas Lunch
Thursday 13th December 2018
The annual Christmas lunch of the Dedanists’ Society took place at the Lemonia restaurant in Primrose Hill. Very convenient for some (well me then), not quite so for others. Fine grub and a varied menu to suit all tastes. Good value and great fun.
36 members and guests attended. Josh Farrall, as chairman, welcomed all with a speech that was generally applauded for being short, partially comprehensible and occasionally witty.
Guests included:
• Chris Bray, general manager of MURTC, who has done so much to support junior tennis. The Society sponsors the British Under 21 & 24 Real Tennis Championships at MURTC and he runs it. Other pros were invited but were unable to attend.
• Paul Weaver and Tory Wall who do a splendid job of updating our new website under the watchful eye of Tony Friend. Do check it out at and see what the Society is up to.
• Valerie O’Donnell to thank her for organising a wonderful day at the Fairlawne court in Kent for a group of predominantly members ( the very tidy surplus was generously donated to the Society ) and to wish her a speedy recovery from the her recent horse riding accident in Cyprus and subsequent airlift.
Judging from the number of bottles consumed and the wobbly demeanour of members as they left, a good time was had by all. For technical reasons and to the relief of some members, no photographs were taken. Most members paid via GoCardless which makes administration so much easier for the organisers - and we raised a healthy surplus to help fund our various junior programmes.
We now have 180 members. The room at Lemonia holds 45. Given the popularity of this event, we may have to move to a larger venue for next Christmas.
Carl Snitcher
Dedanists v WRTC
Saturday December 8th at Wellington College
Six doubles matches were arranged for this fixture which always attracts a good response from our members. WRTC are very welcoming and in its short lifetime we know the fixture to be an excellent day of tennis, hospitality and friendship. Wellington like to break off for lunch to give everyone a chance to sit, imbibe and natter to enjoy a very good luncheon. Showing undeniable Dedanist form we put up a fight but alas at the end of the day we lost 5-1. Sole winners were Willie Wilks & James Denham who were the only pairing to take the opposition to 3 sets (6-2, 5-6, 6-5 from 40 all). Our team players, along with Willie & James, were Paul Cattermull, Sebastian Lyon, Carl Snitcher, Anton Eisdell (played twice) Oliver Wise, Candida Nicholls, David Mitchell-Innes, Richard East and Sarah McGivern. They all played like true Dedanists - magnanimous in defeat (bar 2). We raised £200.00 from our team for the Dedanist cause which was excellent. A post luncheon photo is attached which includes a somnolent Dedanist post luncheon!
Guy Egerton-Smith
Non-Playing Match Manager
Dedanists v MURTC
Saturday November 24th
A kind of match did arise out of the ashes of a sudden cancellation, only four days before the event, by the Middlesex club's fixtures secretary (only the second time a home side has cancelled, at least in Norman Hyde's experience, in the last 35 years). After a robust exchange of emails and by popular demand, four Dedanists (Richard East, John McVittie, Carl Snitcher and Martin Village) took on four MURTC members playing doubles in different configurations in a series of single sets, all unmarked, over a period of nearly five hours. Some games we actually won, some we regrettably lost - the result was about even - but everyone had a good hit and the occasional pleasure of a moment of sheer brilliance. The atmosphere in the back of the dedans was extremely convivial, leavened as it was by Josh Farrall and Graham Tomkinson and the presence of a large TV screen showing the England/Australia rugby international. A very good afternoon's sport was had by all.
Martin Village
Tournoi des Trois Tripots
South of France October 2018
Le Tournoi des Trois Tripots 2018 took place in South West France between the 11th and 16th October. It was played on trinquet courts, converted for real tennis, mainly in Bayonne, Urrugne and La Bastide-Clairence - and also in Pau.
The Dedanists Omega team consisted of Carl Snitcher (captain), Rod Taylor, Graham Meek, William Lewis, Tony Cooke, Ian Wimbush and Anton Eisdell. We played marginally better off the court than on ! Our capacity to serve double faults when defending chases of a yard and better was a significant handicap.
But Omega faired considerably better than the Dedanists Alpha team which consisted of Josh Farrall (captain), Ronald Paterson, Simon Martin, John Beatty and John McVittie . Omega won two matches in the group stages (which was two better than Alpha) - and was beaten in the knockout stage by the Jesters. True to Dedanist traditions, both teams were unstinting in their efforts to give opponents a good game and help them win.
A good time was had by all. The Dutch team eventually won the tournament by beating the French in the final.
The most talked about incident was a motorway accident involving the Omega team. Having beaten Moreton Morrell on the Urrugne court, we were en route back to Bayonne when the car in front hit the central reservation, flipped and came to a halt,billowing smoke. Three adults and a child climbed out unharmed. The driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. Our car, driven by Graham Meek, unavoidably hit debris and punctured a tyre which took forever to repair (the wheel nuts were so tight that we couldn’t shift them and had to wait for assistance). So, no harm done - and a timely reminder to ‘carpe diem’.
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Dedanists' Society Annual General Meeting
Queens Club 31st October 2018
The event started at 1 pm with a handicap doubles tournament for 24 players / 12 pairs played on both courts at Queen’s. Each pair played 5 short matches. Low and high handicap players were paired together. A sliding handicap ensured that most matches were close. At 7 pm, John McVittie & Richard East played Iain Harvey & Tony Cooke in the final. Iain and Tony took a 3-0 lead. But John and Richard, with help from the sliding handicap, playeddoggedly on and achieved quite a comeback to win the Lowenthal trophy 4-3. Congratulations to them !.
The AGM, chaired by Josh, went off without hitch. Sarah McGivern and John Whiting were elected to join Andrew Hamilton as trustees of the Society. Norman Hyde, Freddy Adam and Graham Tomkinson were re-elected to the Committee for a further term John Whiting retired after completing two terms. No members put themselves forward to replace him, so the Committee will seek candidates in due course. Graham Tomkinson reported on the Academy coaching programmes that the Society funds and runs for the best young players in the country. Graham was thanked his excellent work in this regard. Finally, David Mills reported on developments at the Dedanists Foundation over the last year.
The AGM ended at 8.10 pm. Twenty five of us then retired todinner and prize giving in the Members’ Bar. A good time was had by all.
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Dedanists v Hamsters
11th September 2018 at RTC
On a glorious sunny, early Autumn, morning five pairs of Dedanists assembled at Hampton Court, which as ever was looking magnificent, for a fixture which is one of the highlights of our season.
The enthusiasm to play in this fixture was very considerably , even though there are a good number of Dedanists that are sojourning at the Trois Tripots tournament in SW France, so apologies to those we were not able to accommodate to play on the day.
Iain Harvey and David Mitchell-Innes opened the batting taking the first set from David Remington, the man with smart tassel loafers it should be noted!, and John Maddison. The second set was fairly even until in the fourth game coming from 40 Love down the Dedanists took the game to lead the set 3-1. However the Hamsters fought back and the set went to 5-5 with the 40 All match point falling in an unplayable fashion off the penthouse giving the narrowest of victories to the visitors.
The second match saw Oliver Buckley and home match manager Nick Carew Hunt take on Norman Hyde and Tony Friend. The first set saw the visitors go 3 - 0 down to the in form home pair but with steady play especially from Norman the Dedanists clawed their way back to win the first set by a surprising 6-4 margin helped by effective use of their handicap “Bisque”. The visitors again got off to a shaky start in the second set, with Oliver seeing the ball like a football and volleying very effectively to win numerous rests. The visitors were not out of it and clawed the third game back from 40 - Love down to hold the home team to a 2 - 1 lead. After then establishing a lead the visitors ( me that is, apologies Norman!) missed a couple of shots that should have been put away to concede the set 6-5 and take the game into the third starting at 3-3. Again with a Bisque in this short set providing a considerable advantage the set went to 4-5 with Nick serving to save the set. The visitors managed to get to three set points and needed all of them to win the match very narrowly …Whew!
The third match saw the lowest handicap players of Robert Frost, using the wrong hand, and John East matched against Chris Durham and Willy Wilkes. Willy and Chris played with characteristic skill and consistency, and with the benefit of a + 15, owe half 15 handicap romped through to take the first set 6-3. However after the Dedanists went to a 3 - 1 lead in the second set the tempo of the match changed after the home team brought it back to level on 3 and then 4 games each. It seemed that whenever the ball went anywhere near Frosty he had all the time in the world to return the ball and test the visitors, whilst John missed nothing and as a result the home team went through to win the set 6-4. In the third set the home team soared to a 5-3 lead but with great determination and splendid volleying by both pairs the Dedanists brought it back to 5 - 5 and an exciting final game was on. It was nip and tuck all the way, 15 All, 30 All, 40 All and then the match point going the Hamsters way for a well deserved victory in a tightly fought match which without doubt featured the best play of the day.
Your scribe having marked most of the last match moved from the dedans to join the second lunch sitting.Lunch as ever with the Hamsters is a very sociable affair with great pies and wines…Thank you Nick. Although we did not over indulge, as sometimes happens with the Hamsters, we were shocked to not even have reached the cheese when Robin Mulcahy and David Rowley appeared in the dinning room with news that they had beaten James McDermott and Adam Lawerence by a very swift and stunning 6-1, 6-0 ! Despite requests for comment on the match little was forthcoming from Adam and James, so further commentary is not possible. In the circumstances maybe thats not such bad news and we can leave it that in the true spirit of the Dedanists, the visitors wanted to set up a grand finale!
And what a grand finale it was to be.
The experienced Alan Dallamore, who was one of the first to arrive to watch the opening match, and John Yarnall were pitted against the bandana ( blue in case you ask….where did he get it from some may further ask!) wearing James Wilson and Robert Kilgour, whom we are all pleased is now fit and playing again and was by far the least old ( I did not say youngest) member of the Dedanist team!
To ensure fair play we were very grateful for the White Hat, AKA as Oliver for slipping in to the Markers chair to take control of proceedings in this crunch match.
As you would expect of the players on court honest calling of close hazard chases etc took place throughout the game and there were some long and impressive rests.
The first set was even stevens most of the way with the hosts prevailing 6-4. Our generous hosts then allowed the ever youthful James and Robert to level it with a parallel 4-6 win to set up a final set to seal the match result.
The tension was building. The dinning room had emptied, although a few took glasses of Fleurie or Picpoul with them to the dedans where it felt you could sell seat tickets for nearly as much as when Fahey played Riviere. The final set did not disappoint!
Whilst there were a number of shots which both pairs would not want to see replayed the standard was high on both sides and perhaps inevitably the game moved to 5 games All and how befitting of this great fixture it was. Evenmore than that as we went into the deciding game, with spectators recharging their glasses you will now not be surprised to learn it went to 40 All…
I can promise you the match managers can not take credit for the fixture going to the wire, although after last years fixture, please see Josh’s report, we always knew that the Hamsters under the excellent leadership of Nick had a number of algorithms to demonstrate they would be the winners regardless of the actual results. As it turned out the final match point was won by a maginifcant/fortunate (??) shot from John which sneaked into the dedans to nail it for the Hamsters.
What a wonderful ending it was to a great day of tennis, friendship, hospitality and of course we all take comfort for the exercise that the game gives us helping us to be able to shake off the calories from the pies and vino that is an integral part of these great days.
My thanks to all that played for the Dedanists, as well as Nick and his fellow hosts for making us so welcome and making it a great day.
Finally thank you also to the Hamsters for a generous £45 contribution to our funds which together with Dedanist contributions means we raised a not inconsiderable £195 for the great work the Society does.
A few photos are included however they dont reflect adequately the great day that we had.
We very much look forward to returning to RTC next year and any Dedanist that would like to play I would suggest should submit their availability for selection early, as I am sure there will be great interest in playing.
Tony Friend
Results (Hamster players shown first).
David Remington & John Madison lost to Iain Harvey & David Mitchell-Innes 3-6 5-6
Oliver Buckley & Nigel Carew-Hunt lost to Tony Friend & Norman Hyde 4-6 6-5 4-6
Robert Frost (wrong hand!) & John East bt Chris Durham & Willy Wilks 3-6 6-4 6-5
Robin Mulcahy 7 David Rowley bt James McDermott & Adam Lawrence 6-1 6-0
Alan Dallamore & John Yarnall bt James Wilson & Robert Kilgour 6-4 4-6 6-5
Hamsters win match 3-2
Dedanists v Manchester
30th September 2018 at MURTC
The annual double header between MCC at Lord’s on Saturday 29th September (MCC won 4-1) and The Dedanists at Middlesex University (MURTC) on Sunday 30th September against Manchester (MRTC) proved to be a competitive and most enjoyable weekend of tennis played in the true spirit of the game. Manchester produced a strong team and 4 doubles matches were arranged for the Sunday encounter. We had agreed 5 matches but unfortunately a slight misunderstanding led to one of the Dedanist team members, also a MRTC member, heading off to his home court on Sunday morning only to find his team were playing away something short of 200 miles due south! A bit of player re-arrangement sorted out the problem. The first 2 doubles match produced absorbing tennis with, in both cases the matches going to 3 sets with 40 all one point for the match. Manchester took the first 2 matches to go 2-0 ahead but the Dedanists fought back bravely to take the match to a 2-2 draw with another very close final 3 set match going down to the wire.
Matches
11.10am Paul Cattermull (38) & Simon Martin (35) v. Jamie Bebb (30) & Robin Barlow (35) 6-1, 5-6, 4-6 (40 all 3rd set) to MRTC
12.20pm Johnny Saunders (48) & Kerry Knight (68) v. Dave Moran (56) & James Barlow (51) 4-6, 6-2, 5-6 (40 all 3rd set) to MRTC
1.30pm Jonathan Ellis-Miller (54) & Tony Friend (46) v. Dave Moran (56) & Paul Seakins (41) 6-2, 6-4 to Dedanists
2.40pm Tony Friend (46) & John McVittie (46) v James Barlow (51) & Terry Jones (39) 6-4, 5-6, 6-5 to Dedanists
Result: Match drawn
£140 was collected to support Junior Tennis
Tony Friend and John Mcvittie change ends in the Dedanist final tense match against Manchester at MURTC on Sunday 30th September before going on to win 6-4,5-6, 6-5 to level the match 2-2
Notice of Annual General Meeting, Tennis Tournament & Dinner
NOTICE OF AGM
The thirteenth Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at The Queen’s Club, Palliser Road, West Kensington, London W14 9EQ at 7.15 pm on Wednesday 31st October 2018 in Meeting Room 1, Centenary House.
By order of the Committee,
CARL SNITCHER
Secretary
AGENDA
1. To approve the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 1st November 2017.
2. To receive and approve the Annual Report, Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for the year ended 31st July 2018.
3. Report by Graham Tomkinson on Academy coaching programmes.
4. To consider and agree the Benevolent Activities of the Society under Rule 4 of the Rules & Regulations, especially the Society’s support for Junior real tennis
5. (a) To elect four committee member from the following candidates who have been formally proposed:
(i) Freddy Adam, Norman Hyde and Graham Tomkinson (supported by the Committee),
(ii) TBA (others proposed before the closing date of September 1st ).
(b) To elect two trustees from Sir Andrew Hamilton and others TBA proposed before September 1st
Note:
If there is more than one candidate, then the election will be decided by a ballot of members attending the AGM.
6. Report on the Dedanists’ Foundation.
7. To transact any other business that by the Rules & Regulations of the Society has to be or may properly be transacted at an Annual General Meeting.
Great Britain Juniors v MCC
30th September 2018
On Sunday 30th September the Great Britain junior team played a match v MCC at Lords. The junior team was sponsored by the Dedanists Society and came away with a convincing 4-1 win. Match report below from Nick Warner (MCC Captain).
Many thanks for playing in the match today. It was a much more respectable performance (in terms of results) than in previous years and we even managed to win our first rubber for a very long time!
At 10am Richard Lawrence had a creditable performance against a very strong Ed Crowston, losing 1-6, 3-6 (owing 15, love).
At 1115am Nick Summerlin and Ben Jeffery dragged Maxes Jones and Whetton through the mill only for the latter pair to eventually prevail, 6-5, 3-6, 4-6 (level).
At 1230pm Harsha Boralessa stormed to a 5-1 lead against a talented Harry Purton, before deciding "enough was enough" and going on to gift the young upstart the next 11 games on the trot to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, 5-6, 0-6 (off Love, owe 1/4 15). Well played Harsha and thanks for sticking to the "juniors must be allowed to win at all costs" script.
At 1:45pm your humble captain turned the adverse tide briefly (purely for the sake of keeping up vague appearances) winning 6-2, 6-4 (love/rec 15).
The final match of the day at 3pm saw Whiting and Fletcher give a juinior pairing of Max Trueman and James Medlow a run for their (or, more accurately, the dedanists') money, narrowly losing the opening match 3-6 (off love/rec 15) before sharing the spoils in their the second match 6-5, 5-6 (off level). Congratulations to me for adapting the handicaps so ably and accurately on the fly...
Overall, Juniors bt MCC 4-1 though, if truth be told, tennis was the winner at the end of the day.
Thanks also Dinesh to your staff who was a most helpful and friendly lady the whole day.
Looking forward to seeing you all again next year. And hopefully not before.
All best,
Nick
Dedanists' weekend in Warwickshire
8th/9th September 2018
The first weekend of the season started at the Leamington Tennis Court Club with a blistering display of tennis by the mercurial Matt Fattorini, whose affiliations on the day were for LTCC. Despite valiant efforts by James Holden, guest and prospective Dedanist, he had no option but to graciously admit defeat. Alastair Robson and John Yarnall followed with some fine calculating tennis. The exciting encounter provoked Henry Bryant to protect the net and when the ball passed his sizable frame the agile Will Todd played a strong floor game; eventually the opposition pair prevailing.
A fine lunch followed and with 2 games down the match manager had to gently point out that the Dedanists were not used to changing in the ladies changing room; the men’s being in a state of disrepair following collapse of the ceiling. He mused that this may have had a bearing on the morning results.
The afternoon saw the ever perennial Josh Farrall play with new member James Leeper, who in the morning had travelled 200 miles from Cumbria. Despite a strong start the hard hitting home opposition proved too much. The excuses of a fixed flexion deformity of the knees following James’ journey, the shock of having to change in the ladies and the unfamiliar bounce of the Leamington court could have used but James and Josh remained ever cheerful in the true tradition of the Dedanists. Having accepted defeat, the match manager and Yuri Kugler fortified by wine and gay abandon had a blistering performance lead by Yuri who gave a lesson in volleying and returned almost every ball. At last a win to prevent the dreaded white wash. James Mc Dermott and Alastair Robson, the later playing his second game and who I have never heard decline a game of tennis, played the tricky Devis and McWhirter. Despite great efforts by both, they were overpowered leaving the Dedanists loosing 4 matches to one. Thanks were extended to Will Todd for the clubs hospitality and to Ben Taylor Matthews for marking.
We retired for dinner at La Coppola Ristorante where Josh regaled the history of the Dedanists to the younger members whilst we drank modest amounts of Italian wine. The dish of the evening Sea Bream, oven cooked in salt, Dorada al sale was highly memorable.
A ten am start at Moreton Morrell brought the predictable comments from Anthony Parmiter, who was slightly aggrieved by the early hour and disruption to his breakfast. Despite the grumblings, James McDermott was in fighting mode. Both played valiantly and were outplayed by John Franklin, relatively new to the game and wearing a sombrero! Smiles were maintained through gritted teeth.
Match manager and James Leeper sprang onto court and just about won the warm up. Sadly at 3 all a good match was expected but misunderstanding about front and back by the match manager broke the rhythm which lead to over hitting and the inevitable loss. Then to enter the Moreton Morrell Chairman, Andrew Hamilton, who initially wasn’t sure which side he was playing for but when the mists cleared teamed up with Yuri Kugler. A cohesive and classic game ensued even with a late comeback by Keith Beechener and Richard Seymour Mead, the Dedanists duo came out winners, just about breaking sweat. A pre-lunch photo on court took place where RSM wished to express his admiration or even ownership of AP’s pectorals!
Another good lunch and banter was followed by a nail-biting clash. Josh Farrall served perfect drag serves one after the other and John Yarnall gave his all but left handed David Prophet and canny Terence Drane brought matters to a head at 5 all in the final set. Unfortunately the pressure told and despite being at the serving end the hopes of Dedanists first team victory of the season fell away. Alastair Robson and Miles Buckinghamshire played the dead rubber, both Dedanists playing great tennis. Alastair returning some quality serves from Stewart Hodges, playing balls tight to the back wall and beating chase 2 or better. A pairing to watch out for the future! Thanks were extended to Keith Beechener for a most enjoyable day and to Tom Granville for marking.
In line with the Dedanists credo it is the playing rather than the winning prevailed. I have yet to find a tennis player who admits he didn’t want to win, even amongst the ranks of the Dedanists, fortunately there is always the next match!Match manager and James Leeper sprang onto court and just about won the warm up. Sadly at 3 all a good match was expected but misunderstanding about front and back by the match manager broke the rhythm which lead to over hitting and the inevitable loss. Then to enter the Moreton Morrell Chairman, Andrew Hamilton, who initially wasn’t sure which side he was playing for but when the mists cleared teamed up with Yuri Kugler. A cohesive and classic game ensued even with a late comeback by Keith Beechener and Richard Seymour Mead, the Dedanists duo came out winners, just about breaking sweat. A pre-lunch photo on court took place where RSM wished to express his admiration or even ownership of AP’s pectorals!
Another good lunch and banter was followed by a nail-biting clash. Josh Farrall served perfect drag serves one after the other and John Yarnall gave his all but left handed David Prophet and canny Terence Drane brought matters to a head at 5 all in the final set. Unfortunately the pressure told and despite being at the serving end the hopes of Dedanists first team victory of the season fell away. Alastair Robson and Miles Buckinghamshire played the dead rubber, both Dedanists playing great tennis. Alastair returning some quality serves from Stewart Hodges, playing balls tight to the back wall and beating chase 2 or better. A pairing to watch out for the future! Thanks were extended to Keith Beechener for a most enjoyable day and to Tom Granville for marking.
In line with the Dedanists credo it is the playing rather than the winning prevailed. I have yet to find a tennis player who admits he didn’t want to win, even amongst the ranks of the Dedanists, fortunately there is always the next match!
Leamington on Saturday 8th September
James Holden v Matt Fattorini 1:6
Alastair Robson & John Yarnall v Henry Bryan & Will Todd 6:5/5:6/4:6
Josh Farrall & James Leeper v John Devis & Roy McWhirter 5:6/2:6
David Phillips & Yuri Kugler v Hans Bilson & Will Todd 6:2/6:0
James McDermott & Alastair Robson v John Devis & Roy McWhirter 2:6/5:6
Dedanists 1 : LTCC 4
Moreton Morrell on Sunday 9th September
Anthony Parmiter & James McDermott v John Franklin & Peter WILSON 3:6/3:6
David Phillips & James Leeper v Tony Branfield & Andrew Jeffrey 3:6/1:6
Andrew Hamilton & Yuri Kugler v Keith Beechener & Richard Seymour Mead 6:2/6:4
John Yarnall & Josh Farrall v David Prophet & Terrance Drane 6:3/5:6/6:5
Alastair Robson & Miles Buckinghamshire v Stewart Hodges and Hugh Antrobus 6:3/6:3
Dedanists 2 : MMTCC 3
Welcome to the new season
Dear Dedanist,
We wish you the very best for the new season of 2018/19 and proffer the following in the hope of rousing your interest and inciting you to engage:
· Fixtures List
I attach our 2018/19 fixtures list. Match managers will email invitations to play in each match - but do consider applying to them now. Where a match manager is yet to be appointed, do email me.
· Match Managers
Do please email me to volunteer to manage one of these matches in 2019:
- March 10 Sun Pigeons at Wellington.
- March 23 Sat Seacourt at Seacourt.
- April 28 Sun Prested at Prested (organised by Team Fahey).
- May 4/5 Sat/Sun Jesmond Dene at Jesmond.
- May 19 Sun Hyde at Bridport.
· Website
Do check out our new website at: www.dedanists.org .
It summarises who we are and what we do. It invites you to forthcoming events (fixtures list, Christmas and garden parties .....). It reports on recent events (match reports, pro am ....). It updates you on the British Academy coaching programmes that you fund and we run. It invites you to contribute news and comment.
Web content is controlled by Tony Friend (tonyfriend@me.com). Do communicate directly with him to comment or contribute. Do use the dialogue box on our home page to join our mailing list and receive early notice of news and events.
· World Junior Championship - Aug 20 / 21 at Seacourt
We are sponsoring this first ever World Junior Real Tennis Championship which takes place at Seacourt on Mon Aug 21 and Tues Aug 22. The best young players, aged under 18, from the USA and UK are competing. Do pop in and watch.
· AGM, Tournament & Dinner - 31 October at Queen’s
Do put this in your diary now. Carl will be communicating more detail soon.
· Committee Member & Trustee Elections
We will be electing committee members and trustees at the AGM. Do consider putting yourself forward. Carl will be communicating more detail soon.
· The Dedanists Pro Am - Wed 3 July 2019 at Queen’s
A special opportunity for members of all handicaps to play doubles with the top professionals and world champions that we admire.
All the very best for the new season,
Josh (M) 07990 857 912
Committee Vacancies
1. Four members of the committee namely Graham Tomkinson, Freddy Adam, Norman Hyde and John Whiting are due to end their terms in November 2018. Graham, Freddy and Norman will be seeking re -election. John Whiting will be stepping down. There will therefore need to be an election (see below):-
2. Of the the two trustees, Andrew Hamilton and John Beatty also end their respective current terms in November. Andrew will be seeking re- election and John will be stepping down. There will also need to be an election (see below).
3. Under our rules and regulations, we are obliged to notify the entire membership of the aforementioned. The relevant extract from the rules reads as follows:-
" Members will by election fill all vacancies for Officers and other members of the Committee at the annual general meeting. Members who wish to serve as an Officer, on the Committee or as a Trustee shall send a letter to the secretary not later than one month before the AGM. The application should be supported in writing by two members proposing and seconding the nomination. Should the secretary receive more nominations than required to fill any vacancy, a ballot shall take place at the annual general meeting."
4 Any member who wishes to stand for election as a committee member or a trustee MUST PLEASE NOTIFY ME BY EMAIL BY NO LATER THAN THE 1st OF SEPTEMBER 2018 , as must those proposing and seconding their nomination.
5 Dependent on the response, there may have to be a ballot of those attending the AGM to determine who will serve on the committee or as a trustee.
Please note that the AGM and Tennis tournament will take place at the Queen's club on WEDNESDAY THE 31st OCTOBER 2018 (further details in due course). Please also see our new website at www.dedanists.org
Best regards,
Carl Snitcher ( 07836 678782)
Dedanist has letter on tennis published in FT
Sparks Dedanists' Pro Am Doubles Tournament
There were 20 players and an impressive turnout of pros namely Rob Fahey, Bryn Sayers, Chris Chapman, Andrew Lyons, Ben Matthews, Ben Ronaldson, Craig Greenhalgh, Ged Parsons and Neil Mackenzie. Every match was expertly marked by Howard Angus and Simon Marshall. So a massive thank you to all the professionals.
The competition was divided into four groups of five players (mini-leagues 1-4) with the winner of each competing in the semi-finals and the two winners meeting in the final
Freddy Adam was the winner of league 1, Colin O Shea league 2, David Phllips league 3 and James McDermott league 4 . The final was contested by Freddy and David as the amateurs, by Rob and Bryn as the pros and was marked by Drew Lyons. Freddy won after a closely contested match and became the first lady to do so. Well done, Freddy ! The prizes were presented at the splendid dinner by Josh with David Mills acting as MC.
The day was a resounding success. Everyone enjoyed it immensely.
Much of the background buzz was generated by the search for Clive Stone’s wallet. Lost during the first match of the day. Rumoured to be stuffed with cash and membership cards for private clubs of a certain repute. Eventually found by James McDermott in his own pocket. No harm done - but the potential for scandal unrealised !
The day raised over£4.5K for the Society (nearly a record). Those who had participated in previous years thought that this Pro Am was the best so far. There is no doubt that this was principally due to the enormous amount of work done by Josh, the skill and enthusiasm of the pros and the excellent catering and facilities provided by Queen’s.
Queens Club 4th July 2018
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Let’s get the really important business out of the way first. This fixture was awash with Dedanists on both sides, resulting in £255 being raised for the future of our game. Carl suggests that this might be a record for a single match and who am I, a mere cub reporter, to disagree?
While still dealing with the really important business first, readers will want to know what we had to eat. There was a signature Lord’s soup (very tasty, thick with vegetables), with a choice of shepherd’s pie or mushroom strudel as the main course, served with a healthy supply of multi-coloured vegetables. Lord’s does good cheese, which sealed the deal. My comprehensive market research, involving in-depth interviews and sampling some of the food myself, reveals that all the fare was delicious and well received.
Host captain Sam Leigh ensured that the wine was plentiful and of a fine quality. Dedanist captain Carl Snitcher might be forgiven for occasionally slipping into the host rather than visiting captaincy role, given his vast experience of being both. Indeed a great many of the players might be forgiven for getting confused as to whether they were representing the MCC or the Dedanists, especially those who had found themselves being switched twixt the teams on a number of occasions between selection and the match day itself.
Suffice it to say that I ensured that I had an MCC shirt and a Dedanists shirt in my kit bag for the day, just in case there was a further, late switch.
But this report is about a hard-fought tennis match. Such matches deserve a crowd and this match had a crowd. Brian Sharp, Peter Luck-Hille and Janie. Three’s a crowd; everyone knows that. So many thanks to the entire crowd.
I’m going to report the tennis itself in reverse order, for reasons of my own. I played in the last rubber, partnering Martin Village against the slightly nobbled pairing of Sebastian Wood & John Thirlwell. Our opponents’ idiosyncratic formation took a bit of working out, but once we worked it out, I thought Martin & I did rather well as a novel pair who had never even seen each other play before. 6-3, 6-2 to the Dedanists.
Some say the most watchable tennis of the day came in the fourth rubber, in which Peter Dean & Giles Pemberton representing the MCC took on Dedanists Johnny Saunders & Linda Sheraton Davis. The latter pair prevailed for the Dedanists 6/4, 6/4 and I must say that, having observed the conclusion of that rubber, I concur that the play was fine quality and very exciting to watch.
Giles Stogdon & Carl Snitcher representing the MCC prevailed over Dedanists James McDermott & David Enticknap 6/2 6/4. Eagle-eyed readers of this report might wonder why the Captain of the Dedanists was representing the MCC in this match. Grill Carl on that point, if you dare. I’m moving on swiftly to the second rubber.
Sam Leigh & Simon Martin for the MCC defeated Dedanists Simon Webster & Rodger Davis 6/4 6/3 in a hard-fought contest, as indeed were all of the rubbers I observed.
So, working backwards, we have MCC 2, Dedanists 2, with only the result of the first rubber yet to be reported.
This is where matters get a bit difficult, because Janie and I arrived during the second rubber, having left strict instructions for other capable folk to keep careful notes for me on the first rubber.
Unfortunately, everyone I interviewed, not least the players themselves, had subtly different stories about what exactly had passed in the first rubber. Everyone agreed that it was a very close match. Everyone agreed that Tony Friend & Paul Cattermull representing the MCC had narrowly defeated Dedanists Yuri Kugler & Julian Sheraton Davis, winning the deciding set 6/5. Everyone agreed that the MCC had started the match well, winning the first three games, while then losing the first set 6/4.
But beyond that, the details of the match were subtly different from each person I interviewed. I was told that the Dedanists had match points in both the second and third sets. But I was also told that the MCC won the second set 6/4.
Now, call me old-fashioned, but I can’t be having with the idea that a pair who won only four games in a set of tennis, had a match point in that set. “Ah yes”, said one witness vaguely, “the second set must have been 6/5 then”. “Perhaps there were match points in two different games of the third set,” said another eye-witness, with the sort of vacant look that only a third glass of Ned Pinot Grigio can induce. But the only blush visible was that juicy-looking glass of Ned, not the face of the vague witness.
There was nothing else for it. If I was to prove myself as an incisive reporter for the Dedanists, I would need to resort to high-tech investigative journalism techniques. Here is a link to the CCTV footage of the conclusion of the first rubber, joining the match in the second set at 4-4. Silent witness but good viewing. Proof positive that the MCC won the rubber 4/6, 6/4, 6/5 and thus the MCC won the fixture, narrowly, by three rubbers to two.
If there is anyone left out there who still wants to know more about this fixture, I have reported the day from a personal perspective on my own blog, Ogblog, where you can also find links to some more photos and CCTV evidence from each of the five rubbers.
It really was a most enjoyable day at Lord’s. Many thanks to all who attended, especially Sam Leigh and Carl Snitcher for organising the day.