First match of the season got off to a nervous start waiting for Roy to show up. Turns out Roy had gone to Whitley Abbey School first and when he found no one else there presumably realised his mistake.

Phil and Steve lost the first rubber to 11 & 13 after making far too many mistakes but Matt and Steve B won theirs in two, setting in the last game and the new partnership of Roy and Leigh took theirs in a close 3 game rubber.

Phil and Steve then managed to redeem themselves taking an easy next rubber, while Matt and Steve B won theirs in 3 despite taking the first game  15-3. Perhaps it took the opposition the first game to realise Steve was a lefty ? Roy and Leigh battled bravely taking their next rubber to 3 again but unfortunately losing this time.

Going into the last rubbers we were leading 4-2 so Phil and Steve were feeling confident when they took the first game of their final rubber 15-5 but the opposition manage to get a big lead in the second game so it was with relief when we managed to claw back to take the second game 15-13.

Matt and Steve B's final rubber was a strange affair losing the first game to a close 12 only to then win the next to an impressive 5 before then losing the third game and rubber to 5.

Roy and Leigh once again decided to take their rubber to 3 games winning the first to 8 before losing the next to 9 and then finally losing the third to 1. I think they had decided just to get to the bar as quickly as possible at this point.

This was an important match to win to give ourselves a chance of staying up this year so well played everyone.

Many thanks to Harry and Graham for stepping in at short notice and remaining undefeated! With much anticipation of a great match at a great venue, we were very disappointed. Matt and Steve B. went on as first pair and with Matt and Steve slipping many times had to stop half way through the first game to try and allow the court to dry out. Once they resumed they lost the first and the second in quick succession as Matt could not trust his footwork at all. Leigh and Tim also found the floor slippery on their court and finished their rubber on the court Matt and Steve B. had played on. Ernsford Grange also played and abandoned their match too, as they also found the conditions unbearable and dangerous.

After the first 3 rubbers Balsall were leading 2-1 with only Steve B and Matt failing to win against AT7's best pairing, but still, you can't help thinking that if they had put as much effort into the game as they did into their team strip coordination, things may have been different.

The next 3 rubbers once again went 2-1 to Balsall this time Leigh and Roy lost out to AT7's number one pair. Going into the last round of rubbers it was 4-2 and all to play for.

Unfortunately Leigh and Roy couldn't quite snatch victory losing theirs in a very close 3 games. So it was now Steve D and Phil's turn against the as yet unbeaten AT7 pairing. We lost the first game to 9, then after a slight disagreement over the score in the second game, managed to take that to 11 which should have setup a good final game but the AT7 pair seemed to lose all focus and we won the last game 15-1 to clinch the match.

The final game of the evening was taken by Steve B and Matt in two games having won the first 15-0.

Thanks to everyone for a good team performance.

Team: Phil & Steve D (3-0) Tim & Steve B (3-0) Leigh & Graham (2-1)

I'd forgotten how bad the lighting and white walls were at Whitley Abbey School, also the floor seemed much slipper this time as well, but enough whinging. Having lost both Matt and Roy to badly timed holiday bookings, we were very grateful to both Graham and Tim for standing in.

The first round of rubbers got off to a good start with only ( name and shame ) Graham and Leigh losing theirs in a close 3 games. In the second round it was Steve and Phil who struggled but eventually won their rubber in 3 games while the other two pairs comfortably won theirs. The final rubbers were again comfortable wins all round to maintain our winning record so far this season.

A special mention to Steve B and Tim who managed to limit the number of points they gave away all evening to just 45.

Team: Matt & Steve B (1-2) Leigh & Roy (0-3) Tim & Steve D (2-1)

There was a last minute team change due to Phil injuring his ankle while trying to recapture his youth, sorry….., that should read circuit training. Thankfully Tim’s pre-season resolution of not playing any men’s games once again fell by the wayside, I can’t wait to hear his New Years ones.

Anyway, to the match, Roy and Leigh had a cunning plan to play second pair as this would give them the best chance again the oppositions second and third pairs before they got too tired for their last rubber. So Steve B and Matt played first pair and Tim and Steve D played thirds. We had three courts for the evening so we all went on straight, hence the lack of any commentary on these first 3 rubbers. SB&M lost their first rubber 9-15, 5-15 while R&L lost theirs 6-15, 10-15 and T&S won theirs 15-11, 15-13 despite slipping on the condensation forming on the bottom court. From here on it was agreed to just play on the top two courts.

2-1 to Monsoon at the start of the second round of rubbers. SB&M managed to take their 2^nd rubber to three but unfortunately lost in a wildly swinging rubber of 5-15, 15-8, 4-15 In the meantime R&L had a very close rubber but again we lost 11-15, 13-15 and finally T&S lost their first game in a very quick 3-15, the second game then started with a discussion between Tim and the Monsoon pair ( Steve decided to take a backseat ) over whether the shuttle was too fast. If you’ve ever wondered about that old saying “what happens when an immoveable object meets an irresistible force” I think we have the answer, although it did take 10 minutes to arrive at. Tim “irresistible force” Bartle got his way and the shuttle was tipped. We then went on to win the next two games 15-1, 15-8 to take the rubber. One of the Monsoon guys even refused to shake Tim’s hand at the end of the rubber.

4-2 into the last rubbers. SB&M lost theirs 7-15, 13-15 while R&L tactics proved well founded losing 3-15, 3-15 and T&S lost 13-15, 15-13, 15-13 The Monsoon guy even continued his discussion with Tim after the match using words I didn’t recognise and can’t find in a dictionary.

Team: Matt & Steve B (3-0) Steve D & Graham (1-2) Tim & Roy (1-2)

We lost a couple of regulars from Mens 1 for this match, Phil's ankle was still causing him problems and I believe Leigh was on holiday in Florida. So many thanks to Tim and Graham for filling in.

When we saw two of the Monsoon 2nd team we had played the week before turn up, we knew it was going to be a tough match, and so it proved. Steve B & Matt went on as first pair and despite losing the first game to 6 manage to dig in and take the next two games for the first rubber. Steve D & Graham took on Monsoon's 2nd pair who proved to be the weakest pairing and won comfortably 15-4 15-6, meanwhile Tim & Roy won their first game 15-10, lost their second 10-15 at which point Tim decided to have another argument with a Monsoon player. Well it worked in our favour last time. Unfortunately this wasn't last time..... and we lost the last game 15-10. So 2-1 up after the first round of rubbers.

SB&M easily beat Monsoon 2nd pair 15-1, 15-6 while S&G struggled in their 2nd rubber losing 6-15, 13-15 and T&R took theirs to 3 games but unfortunately lost.

So on to the final rubbers and at 3-3 all to play for. T&R as expected beat the weaker Monsoon pairing 15-7, 15-9 while S&G put up a better performance against the last pair but lost 11-15, 13-15. So 4-4 in rubbers and just S&M left on court at which point they had lost their first game 6-15 but managed to win the second game convincingly at 15-4 so we all sat down to watch the final deciding game to see who took the match. After a hard fought game and much digging deep S&M won it 15-11 and we proceeded to the bar to celebrate.

Special well done to S&M for winning all their games and ensuring we got the win.

Team: Steve D & Phil (3-0) Matt & Steve B (3-0) Graham & Roy (1-2)

Well, the first game back after Christmas and I think everyone was feeling a little heavier and slower but the first three rubbers got off to a reasonable start with S&P winning theirs 15-7, 15-12 while S&M took theirs 15-6, 15-6 and G&R lost theirs 10-15, 4-15.

The next three rubbers went 2-1 to Balsall again with S&P taking theirs in a very close and hard fought 15-12, 7-15, 17-16 while S&M won in an easy 15-5, 15-4 and G&R lost theirs 7-15, 6-15.

So with just one more rubber needed from the last three, things were looking good. S&P won theirs 15-13, 15-8 while in S&M's rubber ( you don't often see S&M and rubber in a sentence do you ) the opposition retired after a few points in the first game so we won by 15-4, 15-0 and finally in another hard fought rubber and after losing the first game 11-15 G&R took the next two games 17-16 and 15-11 well done. 

Team: Matt & Steve B (3-0) Leigh & Roy (2-1) Steve D & Graham (1-2)

Best match of the season I think.

Jubliee did their usual trick of turning up late but we weren't complaining, just thinking of the rubbers we could claim later. The match eventually got underway at 7:30 with S&M and L&R taking to the "only" two courts available despite Joan trying to offer us a third. S&M won in two 15-11, 17-16 and L&R took it to three but came back well in the third to win 15-13, 3-15, 15-10. An excellent start but one S&G couldn't quite match despite trying very hard, just losing 13-15, 12-15.

2-1 to Balsall going into the second round of rubbers in which S&M got us off to a great start by taking theirs in three hard fought games, playing some great badminton 15-11, 13-15, 15-11. Unfortunately L&R lost to Jubilee's number one pair 10-15, 8-15 while S&G managed to win their rubber 15-9, 15-0 ( yes nil ) helped by the fact that one of the Jubilee pairs had just mentally lost it. He was very unhappy that he was losing and was doing a lot of swearing and racket throwing much to his partner's dismay.

4-2 to Balsall into the last rubbers ( and the clock ticking down all the time, and no we down want another court thank you ) S&M took on the pair that S&G had just beat convincingly and with all the sympathy and compassion they could muster, beat them 15-5, 15-5 to seal the match. This now makes three matches in a row where S&M have won all their rubbers. S&G lost against Jubliee's first pair 12-15, 9-15 while L&R had won their first game but then lost the second before the match had to be conceded to us because the hall was closing, although in the end we didn't need to rely on that because we had all put in some excellent performances to secure the match.

Well done everyone, keep it up.   

Team: Matt & Steve B (2-1) Leigh & Roy (0-3) Steve D & Graham (0-3)

At first we thought we had the fixtures wrong as 4 out of 5 of Monsoon's second team turned up, much to our surprise.

Leigh finally had some justification for using the disabled car parking spaces as he arrived with an injured shoulder to partner Roy who in turn had a bad leg, but after the first rubber it was clear Roy was not going to be able to continue so we conceded the other two rubbers.

Steve B and Matt took all their rubbers to 3 games and only narrowly missed maintaining their recent run of getting all three rubbers, bad luck.

Steve D and Graham couldn't really help out losing all their rubbers in two games, sorry.

At least Phil is due back for the next match although it looks like Roy will be unavailable for the rest of the season.

Team: Steve B & Tim (1-2) Phil & Steve D (1-2) Leigh & Roy (0-3)

The first three rubbers all went Monsoon's way despite us forcing two of them to go to three games. S&T managed to take one of the next three rubbers 1-15, 17-16, 15-7 and in the final three rubbers P&S managed to get our final rubber 15-7, 15-11.

To summarise Monsoon were just too strong but the games were played in a good spirit and Tim didn't get involved in any arguments. Perhaps fatherhood has mellowed him.