DUTCH MEMBERS

The Dutch members distinguished themselves on Tuesday, after their usual hours of tennis, by eating together in the Club Restaurant, enlivening this Birthday Celebration with singing to the accompaniment of a friendly accordionist.

A happy event!

Thursday morning saw their 'élite' group of players on court, & in the evening two stronger members in singles matches of a high quality.

I was particularly pleased to watch Ernst Luckerath, absent from the courts for some months, beat our Welshman, Chris Benson, 6/3, 6/3 in a hard-fought battle on No: 2. Ernst's wife, Véronique, & children, Thomas, Caroline & Charlotte saw a little of this play, but above all, were welcome visitors after such a long time away. Three more children becoming trilingual!

On the adjacent court, the long, raking shots of our diplomat (retired), Jacques Barrère were being countered by the astringent, double-handed slicing of Kick de Vries - a formidable opponent.

Beautiful blue skies again in these warm September days; ideal for tennis!

RAIN AT LAST

The barbecue following the tournament was a great success, many more members & friends joined in the festivities than were present on the courts. The orchestra was discreet enough not to inhibit a vivacious conversation during the meal, but lively enough to excite the subsequent 'belly-dancing'.
We entered a rainy period shortly afterwards these happy events, & were lucky that bad weather had kept off for so long. Prolonged drought, followed by heavy rain, often damages villas & other constructions, especially in areas with a lot of clay. The south-east corner of our claycourts 2 & 3, was showing ominous cracks in the containing walls, & it was thought wise to prevent further movement without delay. Although still in the period of Ramadan, our friend Fred worked very hard to prevent further movement of these courts. Here are 3 photos to show the new cement mixer in action, & the resulting concrete constructions to support the wall & the weight of material it has to support. Note that the liquid cement has to be transported from the mixer into the previously prepared wooden framework (coffrage), where it solidifies. It is envisaged to provide support to the north-south wall also.
Some play has been possible on claycourts today, although they are not yet well-prepared: more sturdy members have managed matches on the hardcourts, rejoicing in some bright sun again, so soon after the downpours.

WATER

A pump was repaired just in time for the claycourts to be watered before the start of the doubles tournament at 3 pm. I was called in at the very last moment to replace Joyce in the first round, & managed 5/3 with the help of Nick Pearch against his 9-year old son Alexander & Gaby - a Belgian lady player. It was pretty hot at that time on hard court, & I was pleased enough to retire on the arrival of the official No: 27.
Matches of 8 games continued between the 28 entrants for 4 rounds, then one more round after a break for apéritif. Partners changed after each round according to each draw - some anomalies in the random results of these draws were noticed: in particular, poor Dawn found herself against Jean-Louis Leboucher for three of the five rounds. This new arrival is a serious opponent, well-versed in doubles' tactics - he arrived, introduced by his Brazilian wife, Monica, a valuable addition to the International Ladies Group.
These exertions seemed to be enjoyed by all, & were followed by a relaxing period of music by a group new to the Club; the barbecue helped the players & friends to recuperate their energies: which were further put into use by the more venturous, in various dances, well-supported by the band, & even by some belly-dancing!
All in all, a most successful day of events & new acquaintainces; the sort of occasion which no doubt will be repeated in the near future.
Sunday saw a few of the braver souls again battling on the courts; the swimming pool welcomed one last swimmer before the closure, & a few hours later, the long-awaited rainstorm appeared. (After record rainfall last year & the early months of this year, our last rain goes back to the last days of June! No rain at all during July, August, & the first 12 days of September!)
Here's a photo of a sky in September: the skies have generally been more colourful in the evenings of November. We shall see.

SUMMER'S ENDING

As the end of a glorious summer approaches, we have had no rain since the end of June. The supply of underground water for swimming pool, grounds & courts held up until a week ago. A depleted source may have contributed to damage to the pumps, but we are now suffering from powdery claycourts - also adversely affected by 3 days of Mistral recently.
Good matches have continued nevertheless, with Matt Frost & son Sacha, Michel Bartholomei, Jacques Barrère, Robert Camuto, Kick Roodhuyzen & family, Pierre Schydlowsky, Chris Benson, Ludovic Haziz, Jean-Philippe Goudeau being prominent in the play from 5 o'clock in the evening onwards.
Our Welsh wizard, Chris, seems to be playing even more than usual, perhaps as a relief after his arduous work as Chef in the newly-opened British restaurant near the Forum roundabout, Valbonne.
We have admired the aggressive style of play adopted by Matt's son, Sacha. Although this has not yet brought adequate rewards against his dad, he has now taken to training with more orthodox opponents. We expect a more rapid improvement from now on.
Mention must be made at this stage of our friend Mike Fiddes, who slowly accustoming himself to a more lowly position than the bridge of his 45 m boat, is proving valuable on court in prolonged training sessions with selected players. He has become the player with the proud boast of being able to keep monster Matt at the back of the court. Pas une mince affaire !
A doubles tournament is now planned for the coming Saturday afternoon, with an evening barbecue: the event promises to be as convivial as usual.