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.