Hardly a moment's peace over Xmas as the frantic badminton action resumes on a very early January 3rd this year...
03/01/13 Chaldon (A)
09/01/13 Sutton Adults (A)
10/01/13 Coulsdon & Purley S3 (H)
17/01/13 Epsom Downs (H)
25/01/13 South Beddington (A)
26/01/13 New Malden (H)
29/01/13 Wimbledon (A)
09/02/13 Ebbisham D (A)
17/02/13 Ebbisham B2 (A)
22/02/13 Fusion Leisure (A)
26/02/13 Woodcote (A)
14/03/13 Howard (H)
04/04/13 Ebbisham D (H)
18/04/13 Ebbisham B2 (H)
25/04/13 Howard (A)
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Friday, 14 December 2012
badminton match 7
Epsom Downs 5
St Andrews 1
Mens Fours Division 2
The presence of supersub Steve wasn't enough last night as we were thrashed 1-5 away by a solid Epsom side. A draw would've been a miraculous result given how poorly Ron played on the night. He may well be in his 80s but surely a player knows when it's time to call it a day and retire? Suffice to say he lost in straight games, even playing with Steve. I fared slightly better on points when playing with Ron, but couldn't take Epsom's players to a best of 3. Our only small piece of mitigation was that the surface was dusty and slippery and the hall was freezing, so shuttles weren't travelling fast or far at all. A lot of hard work for zero reward; staying in Division 2 it is!
St Andrews 1
Mens Fours Division 2
The presence of supersub Steve wasn't enough last night as we were thrashed 1-5 away by a solid Epsom side. A draw would've been a miraculous result given how poorly Ron played on the night. He may well be in his 80s but surely a player knows when it's time to call it a day and retire? Suffice to say he lost in straight games, even playing with Steve. I fared slightly better on points when playing with Ron, but couldn't take Epsom's players to a best of 3. Our only small piece of mitigation was that the surface was dusty and slippery and the hall was freezing, so shuttles weren't travelling fast or far at all. A lot of hard work for zero reward; staying in Division 2 it is!
Friday, 7 December 2012
badminton match 6
St Andrews 5
Sutton Adults 4
Hybrid Division 1
A good and important win at home against the 2nd toughest team in the division. Of their four men they fielded two strong players, John and Gary. The latter has always taken the limits of gamesmanship to acceptable levels with his loud on-court calls (mostly used to disguise little drop shots!) but we managed to silence him by the end of the evening. Sowji continued impressively and won all 3; Scott and Steve won 2 whilst Sarah, Gerry and yours truly won 1 each.
Sutton Adults 4
Hybrid Division 1
A good and important win at home against the 2nd toughest team in the division. Of their four men they fielded two strong players, John and Gary. The latter has always taken the limits of gamesmanship to acceptable levels with his loud on-court calls (mostly used to disguise little drop shots!) but we managed to silence him by the end of the evening. Sowji continued impressively and won all 3; Scott and Steve won 2 whilst Sarah, Gerry and yours truly won 1 each.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Challoner school
Benno asked if I wanted to play in New Malden at Richard Challoner school yesterday afternoon. With little else on offer in my hectic social calendar I agreed. There were 4 courts available, feather shuttles, but bewilderingly, more kids than adults - Vibul runs a weekend coaching session. There were three other very good players there, one of these was Ben Offei (Banoffee Pie). So Banoffee got to meet Bennofee! Amusingly when it was Banoffee's turn to pick a game, he said he wanted a strong game and left Benno out. Not that this would've placated him for long as me and Banoffee lost. Overall an interesting afternoon but the Penguin players are, after all, used to matches 2 divisions above me.
Friday, 23 November 2012
badminton match 5
St Andrews 1
Wimbledon 5
Mens Fours Division 2
The regular team was back in place for this match, with the exception of Paul "I've got to work" Southall. The visitors proved to be up for a challenge and the match constantly see-sawed between the sides. Despite us fielding a stronger player, Anushka, the first 4 rubbers were all lost in very close best of 3s, particularly the middle two rubbers which were only conceded by 2 points. So Wimbledon had already won the match and we tried to save a bit of face. Ron and I struggled but could only manage 18-21 18-21 against their man 1 & 4 before Anushka and Chris won the final rubber to at least get us on the scoresheet. A challenging evening against a team who will probably not even be the hardest we have to play this year, which makes it all the more deflating. With the two weakest team players already confirmed for the following match against Epsom Downs, it looks like Fours is set to stay in Division 2 for the foreseeable future.
Wimbledon 5
Mens Fours Division 2
The regular team was back in place for this match, with the exception of Paul "I've got to work" Southall. The visitors proved to be up for a challenge and the match constantly see-sawed between the sides. Despite us fielding a stronger player, Anushka, the first 4 rubbers were all lost in very close best of 3s, particularly the middle two rubbers which were only conceded by 2 points. So Wimbledon had already won the match and we tried to save a bit of face. Ron and I struggled but could only manage 18-21 18-21 against their man 1 & 4 before Anushka and Chris won the final rubber to at least get us on the scoresheet. A challenging evening against a team who will probably not even be the hardest we have to play this year, which makes it all the more deflating. With the two weakest team players already confirmed for the following match against Epsom Downs, it looks like Fours is set to stay in Division 2 for the foreseeable future.
Friday, 26 October 2012
badminton match 4
St Andrews 1
Chaldon 8
Hybrid Division 1
As everyone predicted, a tough home match against probable Division winners. Steve & Sarah were first on but lost in straight games. Then it was Scott & Sowji's turn to succumb to a similar fate, although reaching a respectable 17-21 17-21. I played with Gerry next, but he had an absolute howler and couldn't hit anything in the lines at all. We lost 7-21 8-21, so Chaldon had the first 3 rubbers in the bag.
The match got a bit interesting when Sarah and Sowji won the ladies rubber in a best of 3, producing a good final game score of 21-9. The next in sequence was Man 1 & 2 from each side. Steve was invaluable for this match as he had played Chaldon several times in the mixed 2 team. Though they fought valiantly in another best of 3, they couldn't quite see it out and lost by just two points. Gerry & Sarah resumed the status quo and lost in straight games, as did Sowji and I. Thus it was 1-6 to Chaldon after 7 rubbers.
Steve produced another great performance to nearly take another rubber off the opposition, but playing alongside the relatively green Gerry didn't do him any favours and, though they had a best of 3 too, they again lost by just two points. The final rubber of the night was myself and Scott vs their top two men, Clive and Chris. Just like Robin & Dennis in the New Malden match, this was always going to be an uphill struggle. We succumbed 8-21 17-21 and on another day, could've probably taken that to 3 ends too, but it wasn't to be.
Overall, Chaldon were far stronger than us and were value for the win, but with their strength in depth it was always going to be a big ask. If Steve had managed to clinch 2 of his 3 rubbers, the result would've been a more flattering 3-6, but would still have been a loss. Onwards and upwards...(after more practice of course!)
Chaldon 8
Hybrid Division 1
As everyone predicted, a tough home match against probable Division winners. Steve & Sarah were first on but lost in straight games. Then it was Scott & Sowji's turn to succumb to a similar fate, although reaching a respectable 17-21 17-21. I played with Gerry next, but he had an absolute howler and couldn't hit anything in the lines at all. We lost 7-21 8-21, so Chaldon had the first 3 rubbers in the bag.
The match got a bit interesting when Sarah and Sowji won the ladies rubber in a best of 3, producing a good final game score of 21-9. The next in sequence was Man 1 & 2 from each side. Steve was invaluable for this match as he had played Chaldon several times in the mixed 2 team. Though they fought valiantly in another best of 3, they couldn't quite see it out and lost by just two points. Gerry & Sarah resumed the status quo and lost in straight games, as did Sowji and I. Thus it was 1-6 to Chaldon after 7 rubbers.
Steve produced another great performance to nearly take another rubber off the opposition, but playing alongside the relatively green Gerry didn't do him any favours and, though they had a best of 3 too, they again lost by just two points. The final rubber of the night was myself and Scott vs their top two men, Clive and Chris. Just like Robin & Dennis in the New Malden match, this was always going to be an uphill struggle. We succumbed 8-21 17-21 and on another day, could've probably taken that to 3 ends too, but it wasn't to be.
Overall, Chaldon were far stronger than us and were value for the win, but with their strength in depth it was always going to be a big ask. If Steve had managed to clinch 2 of his 3 rubbers, the result would've been a more flattering 3-6, but would still have been a loss. Onwards and upwards...(after more practice of course!)
Friday, 19 October 2012
badminton match 3
St Andrews 6
Fusion Leisure 0
Mens Fours Division 2
My team's first game of the season, and already racked with all manner of abstention. With five players not taking part, I was forced to call in three reserves, who are all stronger than the normal team. Our lineup in number order was Steve, me, Ringo and Kaz.
Steve & I were on first and won 21-10 21-13. Ringo and Kaz then won 21-11 21-13. Steve & Ringo won 21-16 21-4. Kaz & I won 21-15 21-11. Steve & Ringo won 21-17 21-17. To complete a clean sheet, Ringo and I won 21-16 21-19.
Fusion weren't helped by their captain admitting that they didn't even have a club night to practice their badminton on, as they were a small social side. Ron showed up to watch in his badminton gear, despite saying he didn't feel quick enough to play. He took it upon himself to coach their man 2, a young Indian boy, after the game, which could easily have been perceived as condescending given the rout we just inflicted upon them.
With the match completed by 21:30 there was still plenty of time for a knockabout, and it was good to see half of their team join in for some rotated doubles games. An excellent start to the season that we could hardly improve on, except for perhaps not giving away so many lazy points in the final rubber!
Fusion Leisure 0
Mens Fours Division 2
My team's first game of the season, and already racked with all manner of abstention. With five players not taking part, I was forced to call in three reserves, who are all stronger than the normal team. Our lineup in number order was Steve, me, Ringo and Kaz.
Steve & I were on first and won 21-10 21-13. Ringo and Kaz then won 21-11 21-13. Steve & Ringo won 21-16 21-4. Kaz & I won 21-15 21-11. Steve & Ringo won 21-17 21-17. To complete a clean sheet, Ringo and I won 21-16 21-19.
Fusion weren't helped by their captain admitting that they didn't even have a club night to practice their badminton on, as they were a small social side. Ron showed up to watch in his badminton gear, despite saying he didn't feel quick enough to play. He took it upon himself to coach their man 2, a young Indian boy, after the game, which could easily have been perceived as condescending given the rout we just inflicted upon them.
With the match completed by 21:30 there was still plenty of time for a knockabout, and it was good to see half of their team join in for some rotated doubles games. An excellent start to the season that we could hardly improve on, except for perhaps not giving away so many lazy points in the final rubber!
Monday, 15 October 2012
badminton match 2
New Malden 6
St Andrews 3
Hybrid Division 1
A difficult match against a strong New Malden side who fielded two of their top men, Robin and Dennis. First on were Steve & Sarah, who lost in straight games. Then it was Scott & Sowji's turn - they won and levelled the match. I played as Man 4 so I was third on with Gerry. After a nervy start, just losing 21-23, we woke up and returned the compliment 23-21, but both me and Gerry made a few unforced errors and didn't make them move enough, losing the 3rd game and 3rd rubber. So, 2-1 to New Malden after the first 3.
Watching from the benches, I didn't think our ladies pair would win their rubber as both women had very similar styles of play with not nearly enough contrast. I was mistaken though. After a spurious line call by Sarah which hugely irritated one of their ladies (even though the closest player to the shuttle always gets to make the call) they too won in straight games, levelling at 2-2.
Scott continued to play well and won the titanic Man 1/Man 2 clash with Steve, putting us 3-2 ahead for what was to be the only time in the entire match. I was next on with Sowji but a combination of terrible play from me and not keeping a level head saw us throw away valuable points. I rescued a few towards the end of our rubber but it was too little too late. Similarly, Gerry and Sarah got shot down in straight games, putting New Malden 4-3 ahead with 2 rubbers to go. Unfortunately my final rubber of the day was with Scott against their top two men, which was always going to be an uphill struggle. We duly lost, again in straight games to give New Malden the match and put them 5-3 up. In the final rubber, Steve fought valiantly alongside an inexperienced Gerry but also conceded the final rubber.
Overall it was a bizarre match. Before we started play, I would have considered me and Steve our top two men but we managed to win just 1 rubber out of 6 between us. Sowji showed good potential for the future, winning 2 of her 3, and Scott proved his reliability, but we should have done much better. Still, their team was stronger than this time last year so a loss was probably expected.
St Andrews 3
Hybrid Division 1
A difficult match against a strong New Malden side who fielded two of their top men, Robin and Dennis. First on were Steve & Sarah, who lost in straight games. Then it was Scott & Sowji's turn - they won and levelled the match. I played as Man 4 so I was third on with Gerry. After a nervy start, just losing 21-23, we woke up and returned the compliment 23-21, but both me and Gerry made a few unforced errors and didn't make them move enough, losing the 3rd game and 3rd rubber. So, 2-1 to New Malden after the first 3.
Watching from the benches, I didn't think our ladies pair would win their rubber as both women had very similar styles of play with not nearly enough contrast. I was mistaken though. After a spurious line call by Sarah which hugely irritated one of their ladies (even though the closest player to the shuttle always gets to make the call) they too won in straight games, levelling at 2-2.
Scott continued to play well and won the titanic Man 1/Man 2 clash with Steve, putting us 3-2 ahead for what was to be the only time in the entire match. I was next on with Sowji but a combination of terrible play from me and not keeping a level head saw us throw away valuable points. I rescued a few towards the end of our rubber but it was too little too late. Similarly, Gerry and Sarah got shot down in straight games, putting New Malden 4-3 ahead with 2 rubbers to go. Unfortunately my final rubber of the day was with Scott against their top two men, which was always going to be an uphill struggle. We duly lost, again in straight games to give New Malden the match and put them 5-3 up. In the final rubber, Steve fought valiantly alongside an inexperienced Gerry but also conceded the final rubber.
Overall it was a bizarre match. Before we started play, I would have considered me and Steve our top two men but we managed to win just 1 rubber out of 6 between us. Sowji showed good potential for the future, winning 2 of her 3, and Scott proved his reliability, but we should have done much better. Still, their team was stronger than this time last year so a loss was probably expected.
Friday, 5 October 2012
badminton match 1
St Andrews 5
South Beddington 4
Mens Division 3
An intense match against the team who came up from Division 4. Being unbeaten last season could have imbued them with an eagerness and winning mentality that we struggled against at times. In general, the quality of the games was very high and we had to produce some solid badminton to see them off. Amusingly, there was a Chinese guy called Alan on their team who Ringo and I have come across at Penguin BC in Wimbledon on Friday nights. Ringo had also played against Alan's partner, so the inside knowledge definitely came in useful.
Ringo and I were first on, but lost in straight games against a pair we really should've beaten - two guys in their 50s whose only trick was seemingly a very slow serve - upwards of 10 seconds! Luckily our other two pairs were on hand to win the next two - our top pair Steve & Kaz crucially beat their top pair, whilst Matt & Anushka beat the Chinese duo of Alan & Robert, making the score 2-1 to us after 3 rubbers. Steve & Kaz worked their magic again by beating the oldest pair, but Matt & Anushka conceded to their top pair in a best of three. Ringo & I contributed a rubber by beating the Chinese duo to make it 4-2 after 6 rubbers.
In a tense finish, South Beddington fought hard and pulled back the next two rubbers. Matt & Anushka were unable to beat the oldest pair and, against our team's theory that Ringo & I would struggle against their top pair, contrived to give it a damn good go, only just missing out 21-11 5-21 20-22. We should definitely have won this rubber as we were 20-17 up in the 3rd game and somehow threw it all away. Not only would it have possibly made the final score 6-3 but it would have eased the pressure on the final game.
The stage was all set at 4-4 going into the final rubber of the match for King Steve to work his usual magic vs the Chinese pair. He hadn't bargained on how much they wanted to win the match, though! Although the latter had yet to win all match, they weren't to be beaten without a fight as they took our guys to a best of 3, which we only just scraped in the final game 22-20.
Overall, they were a competitive bunch that definitely gave us a run for our money, and the return match at Wilsons School will be very interesting!
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
arm/Vicky
Arm is feeling a lot better at the moment. The pain hasn't totally gone away, but it is very manageable. As I mentioned before, a significant part of my badminton game was reliant on my smash - and the injury meant that I couldn't hit the shuttle with any degree of power at all. So for the last few weeks I had to make increasing use of drop shots and net plays. Overall, it was very useful practice and I have learnt the lesson to include more of these shots in my game to vary the style and tempo.
I played badminton every night last week - Monday to Wednesday at St Andrews, Thursday as a visitor at Bookham, and Friday at Wimbledon - so I took a well deserved break over the weekend to recharge my batteries before another week rolled into view. I don't know where the time goes!
In other good news, on Facebook I recently added a girl I used to work with years ago at Chessington WOA. After talking long into the night I actually managed to extract her phone number and a date for tomorrow (well, today) at 9pm. Venue will not be disclosed until after the date to reduce the risk of certain people *accidentally* turning up! Stay tuned.
I played badminton every night last week - Monday to Wednesday at St Andrews, Thursday as a visitor at Bookham, and Friday at Wimbledon - so I took a well deserved break over the weekend to recharge my batteries before another week rolled into view. I don't know where the time goes!
In other good news, on Facebook I recently added a girl I used to work with years ago at Chessington WOA. After talking long into the night I actually managed to extract her phone number and a date for tomorrow (well, today) at 9pm. Venue will not be disclosed until after the date to reduce the risk of certain people *accidentally* turning up! Stay tuned.
Friday, 27 July 2012
ligament damage/court 3
Managed to tear a ligament in my right arm whilst playing badminton at Wimbledon last Friday. I had gone for a smash against an average player and my shot wasn't clean. A visit to the GP followed; he found the cause immediately and said whilst it would be painful for another couple of weeks, there was no reason I couldn't continue to play.
Over the weekend I was feeling the various joints in my arm whilst in the shower and 'clicked' the joint of my forearm/upper forearm back into place. Suddenly the pain level went down, but didn't go away altogether. I tried an experiment of playing some more badminton on Thursday (ironically at my high school that I hadn't set foot in for 10 years! - our usual venue had been booked) and, even more ironically, played one of the best round robins in months, winning promotion to court 3.
For those not in the know, Thursday sessions are run by Looi who is strongly linked with Penguin BC. They have a lot of Asian and Chinese players who are exceptionally quick, skilful players. There are 4 courts with a max. of 6 players per court in a round robin format, with court 1 being insane and court 4 being (supposedly) the weakest. The only snag with this setup is that pretty much every player on these nights is about two divisions (some more) above me in the local League. So, it is extremely hard to make any inroads or quantify progress.
My main reference points are Neil & Helen - they play in Division 1 in the winter season, and are normally on court 2. You can imagine how pleased I was to gain promotion whilst still not being fully fit!
Game 1: Phil & Horace 21 bt Gary & Louisa 20
Game 2: Phil & Louisa 21 bt Gary & me 19
Game 3: Phil & Jamie 21 bt Horace & Louisa 17
Game 4: Jamie & Louisa 21 bt Gary & Horace 16
Game 5: Phil & Gary 21 bt Horace & Jamie 18
1st Phil 84
2nd Jamie 79
3rd Louisa 79
4th Gary 78
5th Horace 72
Louisa had never played on the ladder before so my starting position was higher up. She did very well considering it was her first time at this session and as she was the only lady. I'm sure she'll join me and Phil next time!
Over the weekend I was feeling the various joints in my arm whilst in the shower and 'clicked' the joint of my forearm/upper forearm back into place. Suddenly the pain level went down, but didn't go away altogether. I tried an experiment of playing some more badminton on Thursday (ironically at my high school that I hadn't set foot in for 10 years! - our usual venue had been booked) and, even more ironically, played one of the best round robins in months, winning promotion to court 3.
For those not in the know, Thursday sessions are run by Looi who is strongly linked with Penguin BC. They have a lot of Asian and Chinese players who are exceptionally quick, skilful players. There are 4 courts with a max. of 6 players per court in a round robin format, with court 1 being insane and court 4 being (supposedly) the weakest. The only snag with this setup is that pretty much every player on these nights is about two divisions (some more) above me in the local League. So, it is extremely hard to make any inroads or quantify progress.
My main reference points are Neil & Helen - they play in Division 1 in the winter season, and are normally on court 2. You can imagine how pleased I was to gain promotion whilst still not being fully fit!
Game 1: Phil & Horace 21 bt Gary & Louisa 20
Game 2: Phil & Louisa 21 bt Gary & me 19
Game 3: Phil & Jamie 21 bt Horace & Louisa 17
Game 4: Jamie & Louisa 21 bt Gary & Horace 16
Game 5: Phil & Gary 21 bt Horace & Jamie 18
1st Phil 84
2nd Jamie 79
3rd Louisa 79
4th Gary 78
5th Horace 72
Louisa had never played on the ladder before so my starting position was higher up. She did very well considering it was her first time at this session and as she was the only lady. I'm sure she'll join me and Phil next time!
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Tamsin...
So the date-that-never-was got finally rearranged for last night. The setting was good, the wine decent, and the conversation ambivalent enough. It was fairly long for a first date (a fraction over two hours) but unfortunately there wasn't really any chemistry, any sign of the elusive 'spark'.
As she was the first date in months, I can only wonder how many more it will take...
As she was the first date in months, I can only wonder how many more it will take...
Friday, 29 June 2012
square 1
Nope, it's been postponed, her mum's in town to take in some of the tennis at Wimbledon. Stay tuned.
Monday, 25 June 2012
step 1
Don't ask me how, I've managed to get a date for Friday evening. Given my previous history, don't hold your breath...
Saturday, 2 June 2012
invented several years ago, the board game we know as Cluedo...
Seems that there was a murder very close to the 1st bus stop on Mollison Drive, which is, oh, only about 20 doors down from me. I hope it's an isolated incident - the road is actually very peaceful, notwithstanding the usual school traffic. Being a good citizen and all, I gave in a statement to the police yesterday as I heard a small group of drunk teenagers further down the road from my house in that direction between 1-2am. They appeared to be in good spirits but became aggressive maybe 5-10 minutes later. Then it all went quiet. Didn't see anything, of course, I was half asleep, but hopefully the police will piece something together and solve the crime.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Casablancas who has referred himself to therapy...
On the other side,
on the other side
nobody's waiting for me.
On the other side
I hate them all.
I hate them all.
I hate myself for hating them,
so I'll drink some more.
I love them all.
I'll drink even more.
I'll hate them even more
than I did before.
On the other side,
on the other side
nobody's waiting for me.
On the other side.
I remember when you came,
you taught me how to sing.
Now, it's seems so far away.
You taught me how to sing...
I'm tired of being so judgemental
of everyone
I will not go to sleep.
I will train my eyes to see
that my mind is as blind
as a branch on a tree.
On the other side,
on the other side.
I know what's waiting for me.
On the other side.
On the other side,
on the other side
I know you're waiting for me.
On the other side.
Thursday, 24 May 2012
was an emotional rollercoaster yet did not account for all his symptoms...
Step 1: Rediscover letters of 2001 from (quite possibly) first ever girlfriend.
Step 2: Swig of scotch and re-read letters thoroughly.
Step 3: Plonk her email into MySpace. Discover she hasn't been on there in 5 years. But on the bright side, she's dating a chav.
Step 4: Plonk her email into Facebook. Discover I can't message her, let alone add her.
Step 5: Friend confirms that they can't contact her at all either, so at least I haven't been singled out.
Step 6: As steps 3-5 are performed, wonder why I care so much about a girl who was nice to know once but is know seemingly a few steps away from wannabe WAG status.
Step 7: Repeat step 2 and wonder how it's possible the girl in the letters could transform into a chav.
Step 8: Give up. Go to bed.
Step 2: Swig of scotch and re-read letters thoroughly.
Step 3: Plonk her email into MySpace. Discover she hasn't been on there in 5 years. But on the bright side, she's dating a chav.
Step 4: Plonk her email into Facebook. Discover I can't message her, let alone add her.
Step 5: Friend confirms that they can't contact her at all either, so at least I haven't been singled out.
Step 6: As steps 3-5 are performed, wonder why I care so much about a girl who was nice to know once but is know seemingly a few steps away from wannabe WAG status.
Step 7: Repeat step 2 and wonder how it's possible the girl in the letters could transform into a chav.
Step 8: Give up. Go to bed.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
local Carshalton school advertised a weekend car boot sale, and...
That's where Dad and Catherine are headed, good luck to them - the weather's awful! It seems like SE England is perpetually overcast at the moment. I've given them two bin liners containing over 100 CDs to sell. Figure if I can get about 50p a CD, that's £50, better than nothing. And I'm not even there selling them, lol!
Thursday, 17 May 2012
first time in 74 months, a startling denouement...
Since I last used pseudo-newspaper headlines as blog titles, but I thought it was kind of cool at the time and I'm liking the idea again. (see what I was writing in March 2006) So, until I get bored of resurrecting this old practice, this is the way forward.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
badminton end of season review
It was a reasonable season for most of our teams.
Ladies :-
Having been promoted from division 2 last season, the ladies team found it tough to survive at the very top. The top pair of Helen & Sarah would usually win two or three of their rubbers, but the other two pairs would struggle to make any inroads into the rival players. The most frequent results were 4-5 and 3-6 losses.
Mens 1 :-
The season was defined by close 5-4 wins (of which there were 5 in 8 games!) and by the excellent Po & Dan who, despite playing every game, did not drop a single rubber all season. Tolworth won this division last year and were the favourites to retain their title, but Penguin did a Manchester City and threw a spanner in the works at the last minute with a 4-5 away win, so we won it on rubbers. Three teams tied on the same number of points tells you everything you need to know about just how tight it is at the highest level in the Sutton league.
Mens 2 :-
The team were not helped by the scheduling, with all the away games up first. We duly lost all four, followed by the first home game against a very strong Chaldon outfit. Our position looked precarious, but some strong team selection by Captain King eventually paid off, and saw us win 3 out of 4 home games to avoid the humiliation of demotion to Division 4. Ebbisham B2 only turned up with two pairs at each game, and so kindly donated three rubbers, as did Chart Centre on home soil. At least we won't have to play Chaldon next season!
Mens Fours :- (my team!)
Any of three teams could have won this division, so it was just as well we won our first 3 games all away 2-4, 1-5, 0-6. Chessington fielded a second-string team in the 0-6 away win (their excuse was their first team were all busy shopping at Bluewater!) and thumped us 1-5 when we had the return in the New Year; with a couple of players reportedly also playing for Bookham, this hardly came as a major shock. We cruised to a 6-0 home win against struggling Ebbisham D, setting up a showdown with Dorking for division winners and promotion. We needed to draw or win the last match, otherwise they would go up instead of us. Luckily, they were unable to put out a team and conceded a walkover, ensuring promotion to Division 2 for us next season.
Mixed 1 :-
Mixed 1 had a horrific season, losing 6 straight games and doing permanent damage to their hopes of staying up. By the time their solitary 6-3 win at home against Bookham came about, it was far too little too late. In mitigation, the team never scored less than 4 rubbers at home, so some of the games were closer than the scorelines suggest.
Mixed 2 :-
The team were extremely unlucky at the start of the year to lose the first two opening away games 4-5. They picked themselves up and had excellent form towards the end of the season, winning 5 of their last 6, including a notable 1-8 away win over Coulsdon & Purley. Unfortunately, Chaldon proved - as in Mens 2 and Hybrid - that they were a bit too strong for us, and pipped us to certain promotion, even though we had a better rubber difference.
Hybrid :-
An extremely long season for the Hybrid players with 12 games contested. We started in typical fashion, with an away loss to always strong Sutton Adults, closely followed by a 0-9 home thrashing at the hands of ...yep, you guessed it, Chaldon! In November, we realised the season had started and won the following three games before breaking up for Xmas. The latter of those three games was a turning point in my season as I won all 3 rubbers for the first time. When the season restarted in January, I won all 3 in a 5-4 home win against Ebbisham to make the glory last a little longer, and picked up our sole rubber in the 8-1 away humiliation at Chaldon's hands. We scored a good 4-5 away win against a more determined Ebbisham side, but had crises of all kinds on the night of the away New Malden match - Captain King being involved in a car accident that had the police swarming over Cheam Road. It was a miracle anyone turned up for the game itself, but unsurprisingly with our heads in the wrong place, we lost 2-7. We then showed up in Leatherhead to play Howard, who were stronger than expected and nicked it 5-4. The score was tied at 4-4, 1-1 in the final rubber: me and Kaz lost the last game by 2 points. Can't get closer than that! We claimed a walkover against Sutton Adults who are reportedly struggling with low membership and couldn't put a side out. The final match of the season was another cliffhanger, in which the score was 4-4 once more, 1-1 in the final rubber, and 24-23 to us on points. The final point of a dramatic season was won by Captain King and Gerry flinging themselves on the floor to dink it over the net and cement a strong 2nd place.
As for my own stats:
So I just about won more than I lost over the whole season... not bad considering I was included in some teams against crazily good opposition (ahem...Chaldon...)
Ladies :-
| Division 1 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Sanderstead Hall 1 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 26 | 18 |
| Coulsdon and Purley S2 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 57 | 33 | 14 |
| Chadacre 1 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 50 | 40 | 14 |
| Limpsfield 1 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 45 | 45 | 8 |
| Tolworth 1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 62 | 6 |
| St Andrews 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 26 | 64 | 0 |
Having been promoted from division 2 last season, the ladies team found it tough to survive at the very top. The top pair of Helen & Sarah would usually win two or three of their rubbers, but the other two pairs would struggle to make any inroads into the rival players. The most frequent results were 4-5 and 3-6 losses.
Mens 1 :-
| Division 1 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| St Andrews 1 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 23 | 12 |
| Penguin 1 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 25 | 12 |
| Tolworth A | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 28 | 12 |
| Coulsdon and Purley S2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 44 | 2 |
| Ebbisham B1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 60 | 2 |
The season was defined by close 5-4 wins (of which there were 5 in 8 games!) and by the excellent Po & Dan who, despite playing every game, did not drop a single rubber all season. Tolworth won this division last year and were the favourites to retain their title, but Penguin did a Manchester City and threw a spanner in the works at the last minute with a 4-5 away win, so we won it on rubbers. Three teams tied on the same number of points tells you everything you need to know about just how tight it is at the highest level in the Sutton league.
Mens 2 :-
| Division 3 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Chaldon 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 13 | 16 |
| Woodcote 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 41 | 8 |
| St Andrews 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 41 | 6 |
| Ebbisham B2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 42 | 6 |
| Chart Centre 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 29 | 43 | 4 |
The team were not helped by the scheduling, with all the away games up first. We duly lost all four, followed by the first home game against a very strong Chaldon outfit. Our position looked precarious, but some strong team selection by Captain King eventually paid off, and saw us win 3 out of 4 home games to avoid the humiliation of demotion to Division 4. Ebbisham B2 only turned up with two pairs at each game, and so kindly donated three rubbers, as did Chart Centre on home soil. At least we won't have to play Chaldon next season!
Mens Fours :- (my team!)
| Fours 3 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| St Andrews Fours | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 8 | 10 |
| Chessington Fours | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 15 | 8 |
| Dorking Fours | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 6 |
| Ebbisham D Fours | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 33 | 0 |
Any of three teams could have won this division, so it was just as well we won our first 3 games all away 2-4, 1-5, 0-6. Chessington fielded a second-string team in the 0-6 away win (their excuse was their first team were all busy shopping at Bluewater!) and thumped us 1-5 when we had the return in the New Year; with a couple of players reportedly also playing for Bookham, this hardly came as a major shock. We cruised to a 6-0 home win against struggling Ebbisham D, setting up a showdown with Dorking for division winners and promotion. We needed to draw or win the last match, otherwise they would go up instead of us. Luckily, they were unable to put out a team and conceded a walkover, ensuring promotion to Division 2 for us next season.
Mixed 1 :-
| Division 1 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Foresters 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 14 | 16 |
| Tolworth 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 33 | 10 |
| Gladiators 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 40 | 8 |
| Bookham 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 49 | 4 |
| St Andrews 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 44 | 2 |
Mixed 1 had a horrific season, losing 6 straight games and doing permanent damage to their hopes of staying up. By the time their solitary 6-3 win at home against Bookham came about, it was far too little too late. In mitigation, the team never scored less than 4 rubbers at home, so some of the games were closer than the scorelines suggest.
Mixed 2 :-
| Division 3 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Chaldon 1 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 28 | 12 |
| St Andrews 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 26 | 10 |
| S. London Harriers 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 41 | 10 |
| Coulsdon and Purley S3 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 35 | 37 | 8 |
| Ebbisham B | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 24 | 48 | 0 |
The team were extremely unlucky at the start of the year to lose the first two opening away games 4-5. They picked themselves up and had excellent form towards the end of the season, winning 5 of their last 6, including a notable 1-8 away win over Coulsdon & Purley. Unfortunately, Chaldon proved - as in Mens 2 and Hybrid - that they were a bit too strong for us, and pipped us to certain promotion, even though we had a better rubber difference.
Hybrid :-
| Hybrid 1 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Chaldon Hybrid | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 6 | 24 |
| St Andrews Hybrid | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 52 | 56 | 14 |
| New Malden Hybrid | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 55 | 53 | 12 |
| Howard Hybrid | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 52 | 56 | 12 |
| Sutton Adults Hybrid | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 44 | 64 | 12 |
| Dorking Hybrid | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 42 | 66 | 6 |
| Ebbisham C Hybrid | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 31 | 77 | 4 |
An extremely long season for the Hybrid players with 12 games contested. We started in typical fashion, with an away loss to always strong Sutton Adults, closely followed by a 0-9 home thrashing at the hands of ...yep, you guessed it, Chaldon! In November, we realised the season had started and won the following three games before breaking up for Xmas. The latter of those three games was a turning point in my season as I won all 3 rubbers for the first time. When the season restarted in January, I won all 3 in a 5-4 home win against Ebbisham to make the glory last a little longer, and picked up our sole rubber in the 8-1 away humiliation at Chaldon's hands. We scored a good 4-5 away win against a more determined Ebbisham side, but had crises of all kinds on the night of the away New Malden match - Captain King being involved in a car accident that had the police swarming over Cheam Road. It was a miracle anyone turned up for the game itself, but unsurprisingly with our heads in the wrong place, we lost 2-7. We then showed up in Leatherhead to play Howard, who were stronger than expected and nicked it 5-4. The score was tied at 4-4, 1-1 in the final rubber: me and Kaz lost the last game by 2 points. Can't get closer than that! We claimed a walkover against Sutton Adults who are reportedly struggling with low membership and couldn't put a side out. The final match of the season was another cliffhanger, in which the score was 4-4 once more, 1-1 in the final rubber, and 24-23 to us on points. The final point of a dramatic season was won by Captain King and Gerry flinging themselves on the floor to dink it over the net and cement a strong 2nd place.
As for my own stats:
| Player | P | F | A | ||||
| Jamie Gray | 17 | 26 | 25 |
So I just about won more than I lost over the whole season... not bad considering I was included in some teams against crazily good opposition (ahem...Chaldon...)
Sunday, 13 May 2012
reality bites
So I went to New Malden last night, to watch the production of 1066 and all that, which was admittedly quite good - or better than I thought it would be. My friend Anushka from badminton also tagged along, and was most unsuitably dressed for the occasion in a tracksuit and T-shirt...
A bit of background. Before last night, I hadn't seen Amanda for nearly 9 years. In fact my lasting memory of her was at a house party me and my sister threw in 2003. As with all parties, it was far too bibulous to make sense of, and we both ended up drunk in the same bed. But that's where the line was drawn. I didn't sleep with her because I wanted to matter to her when she was sober.
Amanda appeared to be cast in one of the lead roles as she featured prominently in several scenes, and showed a convincing command of several accents. The evening was enhanced (perhaps) by the availability of wine before the start and during the interval - and at £1.50 a glass, I certainly wasn't complaining!
After the final curtain call, I even managed to get in a few words with her. Unfortunately a dayglo neanderthal also appeared who I rightly assumed was the beau; we made our excuses and left. I sent her a text at about 10pm commending her performance once again and promised to keep an eye out for any future shows she was in, and went off in search of dinner with Anushka...we ate, I drank even more, I went home, I slept.
I woke up Sunday morning. This is where it gets interesting - she replied to my text at 3am thanking me for my support, saying she hoped we enjoyed the show. Shouldn't she have been with dayglo at the time? Now perhaps, once again, I am guilty of overanalysing something that doesn't need to be analysed - or maybe it's a clue.
Whatever the reason, I can't deny my fondness for indulging in rose-tinted nostalgia concerning women linked to my past. It is certainly not healthy and it invariably leads to "oh, you've found someone", which is pretty predictable. I don't know why the fuck I do it. If I ever grew up and realised it would almost certainly be a more fruitsome move to approach women who weren't in my social circle a decade ago, I might actually get somewhere in life...
A bit of background. Before last night, I hadn't seen Amanda for nearly 9 years. In fact my lasting memory of her was at a house party me and my sister threw in 2003. As with all parties, it was far too bibulous to make sense of, and we both ended up drunk in the same bed. But that's where the line was drawn. I didn't sleep with her because I wanted to matter to her when she was sober.
Amanda appeared to be cast in one of the lead roles as she featured prominently in several scenes, and showed a convincing command of several accents. The evening was enhanced (perhaps) by the availability of wine before the start and during the interval - and at £1.50 a glass, I certainly wasn't complaining!
After the final curtain call, I even managed to get in a few words with her. Unfortunately a dayglo neanderthal also appeared who I rightly assumed was the beau; we made our excuses and left. I sent her a text at about 10pm commending her performance once again and promised to keep an eye out for any future shows she was in, and went off in search of dinner with Anushka...we ate, I drank even more, I went home, I slept.
I woke up Sunday morning. This is where it gets interesting - she replied to my text at 3am thanking me for my support, saying she hoped we enjoyed the show. Shouldn't she have been with dayglo at the time? Now perhaps, once again, I am guilty of overanalysing something that doesn't need to be analysed - or maybe it's a clue.
Whatever the reason, I can't deny my fondness for indulging in rose-tinted nostalgia concerning women linked to my past. It is certainly not healthy and it invariably leads to "oh, you've found someone", which is pretty predictable. I don't know why the fuck I do it. If I ever grew up and realised it would almost certainly be a more fruitsome move to approach women who weren't in my social circle a decade ago, I might actually get somewhere in life...
Saturday, 12 May 2012
amateur theatrics
Long-time readers of this blog might, from this post's title, infer that I am about to launch into a rant on emo girls and/or undeserved, misplaced melodrama. You are WRONG!
What I am about to do this evening is go and see a production: "1066 and all that" that one of my sister's friends - Amanda - is starring in. Let me dispel some myths advanced by my inner circle right now. I am not "doing this to get some strange." Neither am I "stalking someone unattainable." Considering the production's nature and roots, I was slightly hesitant about whether it was worth the £8 advance fee... but this pilgrim has nowt better to do than soak up some culture/eye candy. I was also pleased to find they accepted my ticket booking on the phone rather than having to go the nasty service charge route of online ticketing outlets.
Alas, if you're reading this and are interested, you're too late, tonight is the last night swansong. If you read this in time, it's at St James Church, Bodley Road, New Malden. (By the A3 roundabout)
What I am about to do this evening is go and see a production: "1066 and all that" that one of my sister's friends - Amanda - is starring in. Let me dispel some myths advanced by my inner circle right now. I am not "doing this to get some strange." Neither am I "stalking someone unattainable." Considering the production's nature and roots, I was slightly hesitant about whether it was worth the £8 advance fee... but this pilgrim has nowt better to do than soak up some culture/eye candy. I was also pleased to find they accepted my ticket booking on the phone rather than having to go the nasty service charge route of online ticketing outlets.
Alas, if you're reading this and are interested, you're too late, tonight is the last night swansong. If you read this in time, it's at St James Church, Bodley Road, New Malden. (By the A3 roundabout)
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Monday, 7 May 2012
powered by
Not sure why, but the Google search function on my blog is utterly useless at the moment. I've tested it with words that appear in some blog entries from 2006 and it picks up nothing! So much for the indestructable force it heralds itself as!
Sunday, 6 May 2012
the weather outside is frightful
Spring should be here, but thankfully the English weather is reasserting itself and so May still feels like October of last year.
What did I do today? I got up at 15:30, went out to buy bacon & eggs, cooked the bacon & eggs, did all the washing up, had the most illogical argument on Facebook with some prissy primary school teacher on the subject of competence & standards, wrote 24 bars of a new piece for my rock opera, watched Match of the Day, played 7 games of online Scrabble, and somehow it is now ten to midnight.
Probably I should make better use of my life and the limited time we all have on this planet.
What did I do today? I got up at 15:30, went out to buy bacon & eggs, cooked the bacon & eggs, did all the washing up, had the most illogical argument on Facebook with some prissy primary school teacher on the subject of competence & standards, wrote 24 bars of a new piece for my rock opera, watched Match of the Day, played 7 games of online Scrabble, and somehow it is now ten to midnight.
Probably I should make better use of my life and the limited time we all have on this planet.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
I confess that even after years of its existence, I am still confused and bewildered as to the major attraction of Twitter. I define it as the modern illusion that people's conflated opinions matter to anyone but themselves.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
gloaming
Should really retitle this blog '3am thoughts'. Seriously, staying up this late watching The Apprentice on iPlayer and munching cookies cannot be good for either health or sanity...
Saturday, 21 April 2012
there's this sandwich
that I made two days ago, took to work and left in the car. (it was a cold, miserable day) Then I took it home, forgot about it and left it on the back seat of the car. Then I noticed it again today and took it inside. Now it's sitting on the floor of my room. I think I should eat it.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
badminton match 17
St Andrews 5
Dorking 4
Hybrid Division 1
Another very close 5-4 result with 3 of 9 rubbers going to best of 3. I opened well with Gerry, winning 16-21 21-15 21-10, then another strong mixed rubber with the easy-to-play-with Claire produced a straight games win 21-15 21-16, but, with club captain Martin watching on from the bleachers, my final partner Scott stumbled at the last, and we lost this tightly contested rubber 19-21 22-20 18-21. Luckily, when I don't win all 3, King Steve is usually on hand to win all 3, which is exactly what he did. We edged the match and took the points.
Dorking 4
Hybrid Division 1
Another very close 5-4 result with 3 of 9 rubbers going to best of 3. I opened well with Gerry, winning 16-21 21-15 21-10, then another strong mixed rubber with the easy-to-play-with Claire produced a straight games win 21-15 21-16, but, with club captain Martin watching on from the bleachers, my final partner Scott stumbled at the last, and we lost this tightly contested rubber 19-21 22-20 18-21. Luckily, when I don't win all 3, King Steve is usually on hand to win all 3, which is exactly what he did. We edged the match and took the points.
Monday, 9 April 2012
Sunday, 8 April 2012
horizons
I'm sitting in bed watching Dastardly and Muttley catch a pigeon with a nice bit of neat JD. And before you judge, what the fuck have you achieved in your life lately?
Saturday, 7 April 2012
pulmonary archery
Might as well start saving for the 2 seater sports car since I'm destined to be an eligible bachelor for the rest of time...
Friday, 6 April 2012
migration
I have imported my old blog (jamiealexandergray.blogspot.com) which, alas, will shortly be no more due to unprecedented levels of spam. Jamiegraymusic.blogspot.com is still running, although since my musical creative drive has been flatlining for a good 10 months, you shouldn't expect any updates on that anytime soon.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
badminton match 16
Howard 5
St Andrews 4
Hybrid Division 1
This was one of those games full of "what ifs". Overall, it was a tight game with 6 of 9 rubbers going to best of 3. Gerry started his 2nd consecutive game for us and he was my first partner. We bulldozed our way through the first rubber 14-21 21-9 18-21 and it was a similar story when I partnered Claire for my mixed rubber, winning 21-19 15-21 10-21.
Playing over 3 courts, the match was progressing very quickly, and we fought back well from being 2-4 down to levelling at 4-4. The stage was nicely set for me to once again be the hero by winning all 3 of my rubbers. I was optimistic as I would be partnering Kaz, but things aren't always that simple. A shame nobody told us the match was on our heads, or we might've tried harder! Kaz and I won the opening game of the final rubber well, 8-21 but then lost the middle portion 21-15 and contrived to lose the final game 21-19, meaning we lost the match by the smallest of small margins - all of 2 points.
St Andrews 4
Hybrid Division 1
This was one of those games full of "what ifs". Overall, it was a tight game with 6 of 9 rubbers going to best of 3. Gerry started his 2nd consecutive game for us and he was my first partner. We bulldozed our way through the first rubber 14-21 21-9 18-21 and it was a similar story when I partnered Claire for my mixed rubber, winning 21-19 15-21 10-21.
Playing over 3 courts, the match was progressing very quickly, and we fought back well from being 2-4 down to levelling at 4-4. The stage was nicely set for me to once again be the hero by winning all 3 of my rubbers. I was optimistic as I would be partnering Kaz, but things aren't always that simple. A shame nobody told us the match was on our heads, or we might've tried harder! Kaz and I won the opening game of the final rubber well, 8-21 but then lost the middle portion 21-15 and contrived to lose the final game 21-19, meaning we lost the match by the smallest of small margins - all of 2 points.
Friday, 9 March 2012
badminton match 15
New Malden 7
St Andrews 2
Hybrid Division 1
The New Malden renewal was preceded by King Steve being involved in a car crash in Cheam Village - unsurprisingly, the game started over an hour late. It would have been no surprise had Steve withdrawn but he insisted he wanted to play and take his mind off the crash. It didn't seem to work though - despite selecting weaker players, New Malden took the game to us and won convincingly 7-2 overall. I won both our rubbers with Claire and Scott. Gerry started his first game for the Hybrid team this year, but looked short of match practice, and we lost in straight games.
St Andrews 2
Hybrid Division 1
The New Malden renewal was preceded by King Steve being involved in a car crash in Cheam Village - unsurprisingly, the game started over an hour late. It would have been no surprise had Steve withdrawn but he insisted he wanted to play and take his mind off the crash. It didn't seem to work though - despite selecting weaker players, New Malden took the game to us and won convincingly 7-2 overall. I won both our rubbers with Claire and Scott. Gerry started his first game for the Hybrid team this year, but looked short of match practice, and we lost in straight games.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
badminton match 14
Ebbisham C 4
St Andrews 5
Hybrid Division 1
A messy encounter, not helped by me and Steve deciding to have a beer at the bar in the middle of the game! Steve and I somehow contrived to win our rubber 22-20 17-21 20-22 which left the opposition looking totally depressed ("we can't beat them when they're pissed!") but Laura played terribly when drawn with me, losing in straight games, and I endured a frustrating game with Kaz as we lost 22-20 15-21 21-19. Overall though, King Steve came through and won all 3 of his rubbers so we just nicked it, continuing to accrue vital points in the table.
St Andrews 5
Hybrid Division 1
A messy encounter, not helped by me and Steve deciding to have a beer at the bar in the middle of the game! Steve and I somehow contrived to win our rubber 22-20 17-21 20-22 which left the opposition looking totally depressed ("we can't beat them when they're pissed!") but Laura played terribly when drawn with me, losing in straight games, and I endured a frustrating game with Kaz as we lost 22-20 15-21 21-19. Overall though, King Steve came through and won all 3 of his rubbers so we just nicked it, continuing to accrue vital points in the table.
Thursday, 23 February 2012
badminton match 13
Chaldon 8
St Andrews 1
Hybrid Division 1
Sometimes you just want to scream, as if it's not bad enough having to play the freakishly strong Chaldon in Mens 2 (and for some of my team-mates, Mixed 2) they also decided to enter Hybrid this year. After getting our noses bloodied in the opening 0-9 encounter, captain Sarah K wisely chose stronger players for this renewal. Unfortunately, Ringo's knee was still giving him issues and we lost in straight games. I managed to win my mixed rubber (and our side's only rubber) with the club's best lady player Helen, without even needing to go to 3 games, which was a bit weird. We won 21-11, 21-15. Sadly, I couldn't keep up the momentum when partnered with Nick DC and that was also a straight loss.
St Andrews 1
Hybrid Division 1
Sometimes you just want to scream, as if it's not bad enough having to play the freakishly strong Chaldon in Mens 2 (and for some of my team-mates, Mixed 2) they also decided to enter Hybrid this year. After getting our noses bloodied in the opening 0-9 encounter, captain Sarah K wisely chose stronger players for this renewal. Unfortunately, Ringo's knee was still giving him issues and we lost in straight games. I managed to win my mixed rubber (and our side's only rubber) with the club's best lady player Helen, without even needing to go to 3 games, which was a bit weird. We won 21-11, 21-15. Sadly, I couldn't keep up the momentum when partnered with Nick DC and that was also a straight loss.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Thursday, 26 January 2012
badminton match 12
St Andrews 6
Ebbisham D 0
Fours Division 3
I probably overdid matters by including two Mens 2 players, Steve and Anushka, in the starting line-up against poor old Ebbisham D, but I wanted to secure victory as I knew both Dorking and Chessington were pushing hard for promotion as well. In the end, only 4 of the 6 rubbers were played as their man 3 injured himself, gifting us 2 rubbers. The rubbers that were contested were all won in straight games, ensuring we are still in with a shout.
Ebbisham D 0
Fours Division 3
I probably overdid matters by including two Mens 2 players, Steve and Anushka, in the starting line-up against poor old Ebbisham D, but I wanted to secure victory as I knew both Dorking and Chessington were pushing hard for promotion as well. In the end, only 4 of the 6 rubbers were played as their man 3 injured himself, gifting us 2 rubbers. The rubbers that were contested were all won in straight games, ensuring we are still in with a shout.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
badminton match 11
St Andrews 5
Ebbisham C 4
Hybrid Division 1
I started the New Year as I left the previous year, being our only player in the game to win all 3 with good scores of 21-7 21-12, (Steve) 21-19 21-7, (Laura) and 21-23, 21-17 21-16. (Paul) Grinding these results out should help us secure a solid 3rd spot behind Sutton Adults and Chaldon. I might be in with a shout of top Hybrid player at this rate!
Thursday, 5 January 2012
badminton match 10
St Andrews 1
Chessington 5
Fours Division 3
Having won our opening 3 games all away, maybe we thought about promotion a bit too soon! We were brought down to earth by Chessington fielding their usual team, which included a strong player who is normally based at Bookham. (no wonder!) Club president Hanson bailed at the last minute, claiming to have not been aware of the game, and Matt was drafted in at the expense of his dinner, but efforts were in vain this time. We were made to run off the excess Christmas pud as 3 of the 6 rubbers went to 3 games, but only Matt and Paul won theirs. Me and Matt took the Bookham player to three ends but lost 22-20 19-21 15-21, which was my closest rubber of the night by miles.
Chessington 5
Fours Division 3
Having won our opening 3 games all away, maybe we thought about promotion a bit too soon! We were brought down to earth by Chessington fielding their usual team, which included a strong player who is normally based at Bookham. (no wonder!) Club president Hanson bailed at the last minute, claiming to have not been aware of the game, and Matt was drafted in at the expense of his dinner, but efforts were in vain this time. We were made to run off the excess Christmas pud as 3 of the 6 rubbers went to 3 games, but only Matt and Paul won theirs. Me and Matt took the Bookham player to three ends but lost 22-20 19-21 15-21, which was my closest rubber of the night by miles.
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