Winners circle

 That is a title I have not been able to use for a while, but on Monday I managed to win the first round of the Senior Summer competition with a nett 69. I went round the front nine of Wallasey in a gross 38 or two over par albeit from the yellow tee's. That was progress for me as my golf has definitely been suffering due to too many invitations to play. Unfortunately it was back to reality in the second round when a nett 77 meant I came third overall and was unable to get my name on the silverware, or qualify for the Champion of Champions next season.

There are still a few opportunities to do that though with the Autumn event starting next week together with the Wintergreen and Winter knock-out to follow.

Mixed golf was again to the fore this week as my partner, Norma,  and I were again pipped at the post at the final hole in our latest Winter league match to take our record to a very consistent played three, lost three!! I played with a different lady partner in the mixed foursomes on Sunday though, but that did not go any better. well done to Rob and Bo Palmer for winning the event though. Some luck must have come to somebody that day though as our resident seagull deposited on the prize table!!

That someone may well have been me.  Norma and I broke our duck on Wednesday  when we beat the Ratcliffe's in the Winter league to drag ourselves off the bottom of the table, and then I was part of the winning team at the Visionaries event at Ormskirk. Ormskirk was set up wonderfully well, the sun shone and my team played OK golf which turned out to be enough to triumph.

So a few season highlights all crammed into a short space of time. The joy of the game is seeing how long it can be maintained for!!

And they're off

Probably the title which should have been used in March, but this week saw me play my first round of golf with my fellow Liverpool Captains year group. We were hosted at Haydock Park, the golf club not the race course, and by socially distancingg we were able to enjoy a round of golf and a bit of a chat. It was chucking down when we finished so the fact we were outside meant the umbrella's could keep us 2 metres apart!!

Clearly the group have not done anything they were hoping to. All the dinners have been cancelled as have various AGM and overseas tour events. I will become Captain in a few weeks when we have a virtual AGM via Zoom, how times change. I wonder what the Captains of 120 years ago would have made of it?

As the clubhouse refit continues uninterrupted by members activities we should have a very pleasant facility available once we are able to open the bar and provide food. The terrace is now twice the size and there are wall to ceiling windows looking out over the course.

Competitions start on 4th July, suspect the pheasants will be getting nervous

Whitewash

So home and straight into the old routine, a Friday night fuelled by alcohol, Saturday morning down the pub then into the lady's boudoir known as Rock an Rose for some tucker before going through the thrills and spills of England's mighty effort to beat France by 26 points. They hit the bar but given we beat Wales in Cardiff and finished above them in the table, a win was a win against France and everything pails into insignificance. There wer fourteen of us on parade, so a good weekend was had by all. Luckily SWMBO was on hand to drive home on the Sunday as I was a bit weary.

Monday gave me no rest bite as it was down to the golf club for the first Seniors game of the season, one which I was Chairman for the first time. I was voted in In Absentia on Friday.

We were playing Prenton, one of the closest courses to us, and I was under no pressure being paired with the new club Captain, Chris Kerin. There was an up side though, Chris plays of 5 so any lapse on my part could be more than compensated. Blessedly, my game held together pretty well, and we went round in level par better ball which gave our opponents little chance of a win.

It got even better in the bar when it transpired we had won 8-0, something which the more senior Senior's were struggling to remember doing before. It can, of course, only go one way from there though! My opening speech seems to have gone down well, so it's onto Prestatyn tomorrow and then our second fixture away at Vale Royal Abbey, always a hard place to get anything from.

A few days back and it seems like we have not been away. The twelve bags of washing indicate that we have though!  

Old Year reflections

SWMBO and I reverted to our traditional date night in for New Years Eve. I get the privilege of cooking, and we reminisce the year past. My speciality this time was weeping lamb with boulangere potatoes with French onion soup to start, and it was all yummy.

So what did we see as the years highs and lows?

Starting on the family front, we were blessed with our fifth grandchild, Alexander, who has now maintained the continuity of the Weathers line, blending a bit of Bulgarian into the Irish and English gene pool. A welcome surprise on Monday was the news that my cousin Mike and his long suffering partner Valerie, has finally tied the knot and were officially Mr and Mrs Weathers. SWMBO's mum also got over a major health scare which we were all delighted about.
SWMBO and I both lost relations towards the end of the year. SWMBO's Uncle Kevin died after a troubled few years, in his early sixties, and my Auntie Betty passed away on Christmas Day morning after a short illness. She was 92 so had had a fair old innings.

Domestically, the years highlight was the redesign and construction of a new bedroom for SWMBO, in less than two weeks while she was in Tanzania. We had a good family barbeque and both Tim and Kieran moved into new homes in the later part of the year. Kieran's move left us rattling around on our own in Chateau Weathers. Maxine survived a full year without working!

It was good to be involved in Wally's stag 'do' in Portugal and to be visited by friends and family from London, on a regular basis, but an acrimonious holiday in Turkey meant we have lost Lou, one of SWMBO's long term work colleagues, as a friend.  They say love is blind, and in her case she is the only one to be able to see any good in her new partner, Martin. Pity.

On the sporting front, I was delighted to break 80 on the golf course for the first time. I also fired a 82 around Southport and Ainsdale which was pretty special, and I am chuffed to be Chairman elect of the Seniors section at Wallasey next year.

We saw the year as routine when we started discussing it, but as you can see a lot happened.

So now we are into 2015 and I have 23 blog entries to try to beat to allow me to reversze the downward publishing trend. what can you look forward to then?

We are off to the States for a month in March going from Las Vegas to Hawaii and back to New York. There are two trips to Ireland, one for the Causeway Classic golf festival and one to coincide with the rugby world cup. I will be attending some of the world cup games too.

I end the blog as I started, with news of grandchild number six which should arrive sometime in February. So do stay tuned it will be another exciting year.

I have no wish to be PM

So said Boris Johnson many times , although the jovial, blond haired serial shagger is still considered by most of the popular press to be lining himself up for a shot at our Dave, once the next elections are out of the way.

I have very rarely dabbled in politics, and my comparisons with Boris Johnson are fairly limited, my hair is grey for a start. It does seem, however, that this may  be changing as I have recently been informed that I am Chairman elect of the Wallasey golf club seniors  section. At the moment the nomination is unopposed although one is usually assured of the majority of the house when endorsed by the outgoing member, as I am.

If successful in March, I will join a line of illustrious Wallasey members, many of them ex-captains, who have held the one year office.  The benefits are wide and varied. I get automatic selection to all the inter-club matches. These include Sandiway, Southport & Ainsdale, Heswall, Chester and Mere.
I get to tee off first with the opposition chairman, captain or senior golfer, the title varies from club to club, and, I get to address both teams as part of the after dinner 'entertainment'.

This speech usually consists of thanks to the host club, my playing partners and the staff. If playing away I  then announce the result of the match, and finally tell a story. It's this last bit that is thwart with danger. Will it be risqué?  Will the home chairman tell my story just before I stand up?should it be a joke, an anecdote or a parable? I will have eighteen such opportunities so hopefully will get the formula right by the end.

It's a huge privilege to be asked to take on the role,  given I am a soft Southerner and a relatively new member of the club. I look forward to being elected, and serving the Senior section, and wider Club membership during my year in office, with humour, humility and hospitality. Can't say fairer than that, and gentlemen, that reminds me..........

Better than a hole in one!!

No posts during May is a bit of a let down, but was due in most part to a holiday trip to Turkey with some of Maxine's mad mate's, one of whom was celebrating her 60th birthday. I took my bats along and managed to get five rounds in including two on the Montgomerie course which will be hosting the Turkish Open later in the year. It was a very well turned out track and I played it pretty well.

I always remember when I was off on vacation from work, little of my backlog got cleared while I was away, so there was a huge work effort when I returned and the holiday quickly became a distant memory.

The same thing happened this time, although the backlog was a series of golf matches which needed to be played in short order, when I got back. The schedule finished yesterday with a rare win in the first round of the Nike match-play. I worked out that I have played nine rounds in 12 days.

The highlight of those rounds has to be a gross 79 which I hit in the Twickenham Legend's v Hero's match at Hersham Village Golf Club. It was the first time I have ever broken 80 and did feel just a bit special. especially as I travelled down and back in the day!!

Other matches saw a second place at Wallasey, a win against Prestbury and a defeat away at the West Lancs course close to where we used to live in Waterloo.

So now I am putting my feet up for a while before I tackle some decorating and other little jobs which are building up.

Interesting the football fixtures have just been released and I can see the mighty Green's at Tranmere this year, as well as at Morecambe and Accrington Stanley. Might even get to Wigan to see Brentford.

The standard of football will be a little bit lower than that on display during the World Cup, but I am sure the quality of refereeing and playacting/cheating will be the same. Such is the price we have to pay for 'the beautiful game'.

That was the week that was

I am writing this as I watch the final holes of the Masters golf unfold at Augusta National. It's a course I would love to play, but have little or no chance of doing so. It is one of a few around the world where you can't just turn up, pay your green fee and play. I don't know any members so have resigned myself to missing out.

The week started interestingly with a dry run of the stag weekend I am attending in Lisbon during July. It was held at Twickenham RFC to co-incide with their winner take all match against Old Priorians. Up until this game T's had only lost three times in two years, all had been to Old P's. Sadly they have now lost four as they went down 20-28 to a very good side, in a proper game of rugby where no quarter was given or taken. Priorians will now be promoted by right, and T's will engage in a play-off against Saffron Waldron. If they win they will move into London 1, the highest level they have ever been in, Hopefully they can turn over Priorians next year.

On the Wednesday I was down in London again for a retirement lunch for my long time work colleague and golf companion Chris Finden-Browne. It is very easy to do London to Liverpool in a day, so I took the advantage to catch up with a few friends I had not seen since I left IBM almost 18 months ago.

Friday saw me having another lunch with IBM colleagues, this time in Manchester, and I sensibly retired hurt about 5pm, as I had a golf competition on Saturday morning and wanted a reasonably clear head. As it happens I was 68th out of about 150, not good, but could have been much worse. The Wallasey wind was blowing and it was a real battle to get round.

During the week, the RFU also issued instructions on how to obtain tickets for the Rugby World Cup matches in October next year. I have no appetite for the kick-off times, or the prices, so will be encouraging the usual subjects to look at alternative entertainment options which will allow us to watch the games on TV but maybe in Ireland or France.

So it's been a pretty full on week, and I am now looking forward to a more restful one coming up.....

Magical Mystery Tour

I agreed to see a friend for a few beers yesterday. We decided to meet at The Farmer's Arms in Wallasey Village in the hope that they had Fullers London Pride on draught. My friend, Steve, is a fellow exile from dan South and we play golf at the same club. The Farmer's Arms has a good range of real ale, but on this occasion the Pride was replaced by Timothy Taylor's Landlord, so we drank that....no hardship there.

Now that I have a free travel pass I decided to go there by bus. Big challenge! The Wirral bus network is very difficult to understand and is designed and run by people who , in their infancy, must have been limited to playing with train sets and buses in the confines of a very small bedroom. They must have also been tucked up very early at night.

Wirral buses seem to run in very small circles and start and end at the most obscure and inconvenient times. Take my journey last night. I needed to take two buses, the first of which conveniently stops out side the house. I needed to be at Wallasey for about 7pm, so decided to get the 6:15pm bus to Liscard where I would change.

Unbeknown to me, the 6:15 bus was actually the last bus on this route that night, but it got me to my change stop by about 6:35. I then had ten minutes to wait before my second bus arrived. This turned out to be the first bus of the day which arrived at 6:48pm and dropped me right outside the pub.

All sounds easy, until you work out that I could not get home by the same means, at a very reasonable 9:30pm. So I had to get the train back to Birkenhead and hop in a cab, so defeating the object of avoiding transport costs.

Further research indicated that the first bus was primarily a peak time bus for commuters and school children so it actually does not run after 10:00am or before 3pm. The second bus starts when the Wallasey loop bus finishes. While the loop bus runs all day, it stops at 6pm.

The ,majority of Wirral buses run in and out of the Birkenhead bus depot, either at Laird Street or Conway Park, and also call into Arrowe Park hospital. So if you are going shopping or are ill it's great. If you need to get from A to B particularly at night, its a nightmare.

We have a new bus which runs from our door to Liverpool, but guess what? The last bus back is 6:30pm, so no good if you plan a night out. The other popular bus to West Kirby (Cougarland as it's locally known) only runs every hour, so you have to be spot on to get there and back.

So it is no wonder I am having to drive much more than I used to, and when I study the bus map and find I can get to my destination, I then have to check that I can actually get back as well. Couple that with the fact the drivers are not exactly local, and I begin to realise where The Beatles got their inspiration from.

Dominic Foos

The Boys Amateur golf championships are being played on the Wirral this week, with my club Wallasey featuring on the first two days before the top 64 players then go into the knock-out stage at Royal Liverpool ( Hoylake).

I volunteered to be a marshal, so have watched the cream of European U18 golfers strutting their stuff for a couple of days. There were two Americans in the field but otherwise it was dominated by Brits, Italians, Germans, French and Spanish.

The weather on day 1 was wild, but that did not stop a few players beating par with 5 under being the clubhouse leader. The course standard scratch (CSS) at Wallasey was 76 which is 4 over par,  so the leader actually was 9 under in real terms. The CSS at The Royal was 77.

Day two saw conditions more favourable with the CSS reduced to 74 at Wallasey, and it gave me the chance to see the new wonderkid on the block, the German Dominic Foos.

Dominic is just 16 and has a handicap of +6. For non-golfers reading this that means he should play courses in six shots less than the par for the course. He is already being courted  by American colleges for a 2016 start, he has his own web-site, and a monogram designed on his initials DF, much like Tiger Woods does.

The question is though, is he really that good? Well frankly yes he is, but he is not commanding the European boys arena uncontested.

He played his stroke play rounds with Bradley Moore and Connor Syme and all three of them qualified for the knock-out stage due,  in no small part to playing holes 13 & 14 in a combined total of 10 under par. Connor lost in the last 32 but Dominic and Bradley have made it through to the last 16.

Dominic was 3 holes down against Harry Ellis, the English Amateur champion, but won 5 holes on the bounce to triumph   3 & 2. With good French, Italian,  Spanish, Belgium and British players still left in the competition, the final couple of days are going to be riveting. You can follow it all here, but remember you heard his name here first!!