St Andrew @ Wallasey

 Last night Wallasey hosted the annual St Andrews dinner, the third I have attended, with still two to go. I had a lead role in this one as I had to make my last major speech of my Captaincy . There were about 100 people in attendance and the in-house catering team did us proud with traditional Scottish fayre including the haggis which I got the opportunity to stab to death. The address was conducted by Tom Blackstock in his usual exuberant style with bagpipes accompaniment.

Then it was up to me to summarise my 18 months in office and I threw a few stories in to add to the entertainment. I was fortunate to recieve a standing ovation at the end of it which was a great surprise and very much appreciated.

We then adjourned to the bar to exchange stories and experiences with the ex-Captains and my personal guests, Jim Mitchell and Paul Spivey. Jim very kindly led the evening with the Selkirk grace  to maintain the Scottish theme 

Golf is now starting to return to normal with no formal events to attend so I can return to playing at the Club when I want to. That said, the weather has been awful with high winds and rain. We lost eight fence panels at home and I have obtained enough wood to replace them, so that will take me a few days. The price of wood was extraordinary and has increased three fold since I last needed to buy some. So at least I now have enough to see us through the next few years as most of the panels which came down were over 20 years old. The ones which remained and survived I had already replaced at some previous time.

The golf club lost the three elegant pine trees by the clubhouse but not any of the scrubby sycamore around which they were circled. So that will be a maintenance job for the greens staff that they were not expecting!

So two St Andrews dinners this week then we are into December and the festive dinner season. Lets hope the latest COVID mutation is kept at bay long enough for everybody to enjoy it. Ho ho ho!

Princes to paupers

Last week I was in Sandwich in Kent for the inaugural final of the Linksnet golf society. Kent is a long way from anywhere, even Kent itself, so the four and a half hour drive was not too bad and the company and competition were first rate. Princes golf course which hosted the event though was a real disappointment. The layouts were very samey and so had no wow factor about them and the service and food in the Lodges was very poor. So poor in fact that I wrote a letter of complaint. They seemed very non-plus about it all so i will not be back, nor will I recommend the place to anybody else.

Compare that to our day at Royal Birkdale a few days later when we were treated like royalty and had an excellent day with The Visionaries. My golf stood up to it pretty well and the meal afterwards was first class. even won a fiver from the captain of S & A which does not happen too many times in a season.

We are now well into the dining season, The Bromborough St Andrews dinner kicked things off and was a very pleasant red jacket affair and on Saturday we had the Leasowe St Andrews dinner, a more boisterous event. Sandwiched between the two was the Bidston Summer Ball which showed off everything good about Bidston. The girls could wear their finest adn the hospitality was first class.

Most clubs in and around Liverpool have a St Andrews event and it seems to stem from the fact that many of the great golf designers originated from Scotland, and St Andrews in particular so these dinners are in recognition of them, rather, than usually assumed, the patron saint of Scotland.

Wallasey hold their event this weekend when I do a speech summarising my 18 months in office. Then I am pretty much done in terms of official dinners and speeches at the club. Our incoming captain will be announced  to the members on 10th January.