CLUB CHARACTERS

Perhaps the first of our members that surprised me when chatting about his various occupations, was the well-loved Hank. The Dutch group have an annual lunch in his memory, organized by his wife, Dawn. In addition to his genial participation on our courts, he had been a Racing Driver! Not only that hazardous occupation, but what I found with a little persistence in our little chat,  the considerably safer  past-time of making stringed instruments! I hear that his double-basses were particularly successful.  

Here is a photo from November 2004: 

followed by one of Dawn from May of this year:

A much more recent discovery from casual conversations in the Club, concerns our English friend Edward Grimshaw. Not particularly vociferous during his doubles matches - even on the rare occasions when his dear wife, Lucia misses her volleys!  I can now reveal, by dint of my careful journalistic attempts on your behalf...........

You will recognize the intrepid explorer slightly younger than now; but not his exact situation.  He tells me he was here on the summit of Mount Scott in Antarctica, and that he made this ascent during his two year sojourn in that continent back in the 1960's.

Certainly, you must agree, a serious candidate for the distinctive title of 'Club Character'.

One more photo to emphasize the point: imagine surviving two days of continual snow in these surroundings!

So let's not complain too much if it rains all this week! But remember I'm always on the look-out for new material..........

I'm asked to remind you of various items which may interest some of you:

If you wish to re-contact the fitness expert, Christophe Dehays, he is not far away, and you will find details of what he does, at his website, www.selectgym.com .

There is a sale of home-made objects by a friendly neighbour on December 8th here in the Club - more details of this and of Christmas Choral happenings on notices in your favourite Restaurant.

My Best Wishes for a Happy Festive Season, signed by my namesake's local resident on a suitable perch, after the annual pruning of the willow tree.

a single click on a photo enlarges it

JOLLIFICATIONS

It was about ten days ago that our restaurant was particularly full at midday; latecomers had difficulty in finding a place for their vehicles in the parking lot. The main group leaving the courts after their usual two hours of doubles is now named 'Cosmo' I hear:  quite a joyful crowd!

A much smaller group, that we may call the 'Buter-Dikken' players, started off on the lower terrace with apéritifs & with the desire to celebrate the birthday of one of their number. This sporting gentleman came to us last year from Canada, & thoroughly enjoys our privileged climate; so he is encouraged to stay longer with us, not only through the good tennis, but by being offered a special headgear. Also, to aid the merriment, his friends attempted to surround him with floating soap bubbles. Anton is seen in the next photo starting his contribution.

Wolfgang followed this more successfully from the other side, as you see in my next photo.

I'm unable to explain the sudden sad expression on Adrian's face, for as you can see, his 'hat' is rather a lightweight affair.  Anyway he quickly returned to his usual happy demeanor, with the help of a glass of rosé. And then of course up the steps everyone to those beautifully set tables, & those tasteful 'plats du jour' and those delicious 'desserts'.  Here are photos of some of the participants at table.

One or two other items of news: 

The friendly masseur, Claudio who several of you met during the summer tells me he will be here again from 30th October to the 10th November inclusive. You may reserve a session as before through the details I gave in an earlier post. Here is a link to his website.

If you need tennis lessons, I have just posted photos of three of our teachers, with their mobile numbers on my other tennis website.

Good luck in your next matches;  and come to support our teams playing against other clubs - tomorrow the 14th, & the following Sundays.

à bientôt !

NEWS ITEMS

The Club continues to thrive under the new ownership; the restaurant has more & more enthusiastic adherents as the word passes from member to member & from friends to new friends: this is the way to success - the words that pass are congratulatory for both food & service, & the elegant set tables & welcoming staff are always inviting;  a credit to the Club. A superbly flowering hibiscus plant &  a championship player on the nearby refurbished court complete the happy picture.

The player is Jonathan Eysseric eldest son of Didier (Club Technical Manager) & Pascale, his wife. We shall see more & more of the rest of the family on court as time goes by: a formidable array!  Jonathan is of world class & is high on the list of French players.













Weekly visits of tennis groups of player are an ever-important part of the Vignal community; take the Tuesday morning Dutch group for instance.  They have excelled themselves recently by using 6 courts for their 2-hour session, that is 24 doubles players. Here they are, after an exhausting time, taking a well-earned drink before lunch.

We mustn't forget individual players who have contributed to the Club over very many years, I occasionally catch one or other of these friends in a suitable posture. Last week it was Andy Hill, now Headmaster of a School in Sophia, who provided me with an amusing photo. A good match player, both singles & doubles (often with his sporting wife, Bev), trencherman-supporter of the Tie-Break, he here seems to be helping to hold up the ancient fabric.

On this merry note, I leave you until next time, with two more items;

1. Don't forget that your restaurant is closed on Mondays.

2. Be careful to help preserve the newly renovated courts when watering them;

don't leave the spray in one area too long; move it around at about head-height

and don't neglect the outer surfaces.

Enjoy your tennis, & bring along more friends !

INAUGURATION

The renovated centre court has been admired by many members & tested by quite a few of us; comments have been appreciative.  The remarks of the first visitors were inaudible (a pair of local doves); the first two players were Claudia & Iefje.

A much awaited doubles match took place today from 10 am to midday: Claudia & Ken against Joyce & Olivier.  Initial briefing came mainly from Joyce, giving her new partner valuable tactical advice from her vast experience in this domain. 

It is not certain from this photo, what Olivier is answering; he is probably explaining why he can't possibly do what Joyce is asking him, & repeating how important it is for them to win this match. Ever since he & his sister Sandrine bought this Club, he often repeats, he has not yet won a single match!

The match started & continued spectacularly at great speed; service-volley tactics were common, rapid interventions, with all four players near the the net, then two running back to collect a high lob, terrifying smashes bouncing out of court!  In fact the sort of brilliant play we expect at this level & on this new, agreeable surface.  Three games all in the first set gradually gave way to a 6/4 win for Ken & Claudia; the struggle had been intense with numerous well-fought points. Here now are photos of the strong forehands of the two men: note how they hit off the right foot on an open-stance forehand, & then admire Claudia's ballerina-like service. What a performance!

The second set was a similar hard struggle with each player making errors & then brilliant recoveries. After a three games all, & a five games all, the Ken-Claudia team just won the match with 7/5 in the second set.

I don't know how Olivier managed to slip & fall down during this last set, but here is a photo showing how Joyce explained to him, what he did wrong.

Well done everyone!

CENTRE COURT

After today, the description 'centre court' of the Vignal assumes a new significance: a day's work of two men extremely well-versed in all aspects of 'terre-battue', construction, maintenance, & repair, have transformed our first-made(1) playing surface (2).

Let me elaborate; as external appearances do not do justice to the word 'transformed'.  I was able to watch carefully the first watering & scraping to remove the outer surface.  This was followed by the removal of a base-line, & the continued use of a remarkably well-conceived machine to churn-up a measured depth of the over-hardened surface material(3). This yielded a sizeable patch of reddish earth apparently ready for the sowing of some suitable crop!  Such a future was not to be of course;  the chosen area was that over-worn portion we all use too much, & which has contributed to the large puddles after rain.

The repairs consisted of a layer of terre-granitique covered with a layer of brique-pilée (3) assiduously rolled-in. The same procedure at the other end of the court; new base-lines hammered down,  the whole court spread with nearly a tonne of this agreeable red surfacing, has resulted in a centre court worthy of the best tennis clubs of France!  When your time comes, use it with respect!

A portion of the final result:

Notes:
 (1) This is the court made by the family, after the purchase of the land by Suzanne Gardet  in 1975. 
 (2)  The firm chosen for this work is well-known in other tennis clubs, Monaco & Roland Garros included.
 (3)  The american term 'claycourt' is justified in that roasting of clay is used to make bricks; these are crushed to give the material used for the surface layer. The colour comes incidentally from the presence of iron(III) oxide.

STRESS

In this gloriously warm weather, with your luxurious swimming pools close to hand; your tennis game facilities, relaxing conversation on the renewed restaurant terrace, prolonged lunch rendezvous;  few of  you may be feeling any of the stress that the New Owners may be experiencing during their multifarious new efforts and duties.

But a new factor in our environment has just appeared - on the ground-floor, south-west there is now a well-furnished bed with accomplished masseur in attendance !!

So it is here the few of you longing for a relieving anti-stress massage, will be treated: 

the first client emerged just this afternoon after a one & a half hour scéance:  a well-known character of the Club, she appeared radiant & with a completely new composure.

Many of you will surely want to follow this experience - this Claudio is from Paris, & will only be in this region for the summer holidays. Keep well & fit!

THE TIE-BREAK

Here is the adopted name of our new restaurant; not 'tea-break' you will note - but much more than a cup of tea. Since the opening last Monday, there has been a Plat du Jour, plus a Suggestion each day, with always a varied menu on the Carte. Here is a picture of the elegant setting, before the hordes of hungry tennis fans & friends arrived.

You can see the clear view of court number one, since the old cypress bushes have been removed on three sides of this restaurant terrace. (Make sure you reserve a more secluded court at lunchtime, if you are afraid of exposing your faulty techniques to the public gaze!)

Numbers enjoying the meals quickly increased during this first week of operation: by Thursday there were 36 at lunch; & by Friday there were 47!  You will appreciate the need to make early reservations in the morning with Olivier, especially in this period of beautiful weather we are all enjoying. I notice more & more visitors arriving from various wet or cold regions, coming in for a chat, perhaps a game of tennis, & surely a pleasant lunchtime meal in our good company. A few photos to record today's Sunday lunch:

Congratulations to all members of the new Club owners family, & to all of you who are helping to make this new venture a great success!

RAPID PROGRESS

Since the day the Club was bought, the premises have been gradually occupied by a host of workers of various trades & occupations. The place has been a hive of activity: first the cleaning by pressurised water of the concrete areas in front of the office & restaurant, then the washing & re-painting of the adjacent room, checking of showers & taps in the changing rooms, pruning & removal of bushes & borders. So there were teams of plumbers, cleaners, gardeners: in short, almost a regiment of workmen tidying-up the area.

Perhaps the greatest apparent change has been the removal of cypress bushes all round the restaurant terrace giving a new view of surrounding courts & players. Tennis lessons & games have continued as usual, with perhaps more interesting glances at the improvements in progress around them. This has not prevented acquaintance being made with members of the new owners' family;  they are tackling the learning of new names & faces of members & friends with an admirable  enthusiasm. How pleasant to see so many smiling faces enjoying this new beginning!

Happenings inside the restaurant were less visible but surely impressive. Drinks were continually served with speed & good humour; a sign of how we all will be served next week!

Yes, indeed, lunchtime meals will be available from Monday July 9th.

The teachers have been busy during this period, & I only hope that our Manu Heussner, has put in enough training to ensure his success in Paris to-morrow. Having beaten all-comers over 40 in the Côte d'Azur, he is now attempting to beat those in the rest of France in that category. He left for Roland Garros this afternoon.

A NEW BEGINNING

It has been a long wait since my January post, but I think my regular readers will have guessed the reason.  Quite simply, I had no definite news of the eventual sale of the Club. So here is what we have all been waiting for - the new owners of the Vignal, will be in possession from the 2nd of July.
So now we know! And the next question is how will this affect our tennis, reservations, refreshments, conversations, & meals in the restaurant?

In the case of our beloved game, I witnessed a summary inspection of the courts this morning: no doubt  substantial work on the clay courts will be instigated to correct faulty drainage, & lack of sufficient surface layer; but this will be quite an enterprise. I would expect only one court to be out of action at a time, but we will wait & see what is decided.

Reservations will be made in the usual way, your correspondent in the Office will be the new owner, Olivier Faubert.  His charming wife, Virginie, will be delivering your coffee & other drinks from the bar, & will be assisting the new Chef (name later) in serving the exquisite meals we all deserve! An important distinction from the numerous earlier restaurant gérants will be that there will be no lease - the business will be run by the Club owners themselves.

There have been two notable group events over the last months: a roundRobin followed by a meal & prize-giving by our Dutch contingent. You will see clearly below various well-loved characters, with the valiant Captain & organiser, George Buter in the centre.

This month of June saw the Ladies Group arrive in flowery apparel for a similar tournament. Here they are posing before the matches.

Again congratulations to the indefatigable Captain, Judy Arrieta.  This group disappeared after play, to the villa of one of the members, for a collective lunch & swim.

Look forward to a lot more tennis in the coming months, but keep a cap on, & drink plenty of water in the hot weather.  Keep fit & well!

A CHILLY SUNDAY

Much of the snow that fell the last day of January still lies hard-frozen around the Club & we are fortunate to have the hard courts & 3 or 4 of the terre-battues playable. Several courts were in use from 10 am onwards today - even after a minimum of -7C overnight.  Two events added some warmth to these arctic conditions: a team match against players from one of the Antibes clubs; & a new start in the Restaurant, with the wood-fired oven once again in service.  Farid & Adrian bravely combined to feed a cold group from the courts, with what I hear, were excellent pizzas:  more of this couple when we see how well this venture is supported.

Here is a photo of the First Team Men who won the Regional Match convincingly:

             Paolo Ferro                 Manu Heussner            David Gorman            Ken McNeill

Four singles matches gave us the score 3/1; the following two doubles matches gave the enthusiastic spectators exciting spectacles: our two teachers playing together, being particularly brilliant. Here they are in action:

I hope that watching such events contributes to the joys of playing in this Club; the aims of which I think, are not only to encourage better play, but to add to the feelings of being part of a happy, close-knit community.

The next important event starts on the 25th of this month - our annual Tournament.  This will mean that we are welcoming keen players from other Clubs in the region - we send out notices to over 130 other Clubs: in the Alpes-Maritimes & in the Var. Tennis is popular in France!  Some of you will have received a proforma so that you can register for particular events of our tournament on-line. Remember the last date for Series 4 is the 20th.

I now send out warnings of new posts to over 260 players & friends: although you may not add comments to the blog, I'm always appreciative of your replies by email. The blog is now attributed with over 3 500 page-views, so it seems to be helping the cause.

Best wishes for some more great tennis!

VISITORS

The Club receives most of its visitors during the summer months; but there are some who arrive at other times of the year. Last month we welcomed a Swedish player who had enjoyed playing at the Vignal last summer, & turned out to be a formidable opponent for our Irish Veterans Captain, Neagle Cathcart: in fact, so good that our member had a difficult job to win 2 of the dozen sets they played together. Quite a spectacle! Both of them now in the over 55 age group, here is photo taken back in 1972, when our Swedish visitor, Mikael Kirs, lost a Junior tournament Final, 6/1, 6/2, to Bjørn Borg!

So well done, Neagle; & Mikael was so happy with these matches that they will be meeting again in April on our courts. Try to be a spectator!

Now one of the marvellous aspects of tennis, is the fact that the game can be enjoyed at a multitude of levels. So my next photo is quite a contrast, but gives you a good view of the third author I mentioned in my last post, & who plays with us here. His pseudonym is  'George Cavendish', but his friends I've heard calling him 'Mike'. Here, he is revealed to you all:

Keep enjoying your tennis!

NEW YEAR

Let me record the extraordinary month of December 2011, when our tennis was only interrupted for a mere two half-days. From my records over 14 years, the average number of days lost in December comes to about 6;  so the one day of last year makes it by far the driest over this period. A reward perhaps after very rainy Decembers in the previous years of 2009 & 2010, but we certainly enjoyed all those blue skies!  After a day of rain yesterday, we are again fortunate with a sunny sky........ you may have also watched beautiful evening skies. Here's a record of the last evening colours of the old year......

No doubt I was too busy playing tennis rather than describing what was happening in the Club these last weeks. Parents of younger children will remember end of term festivities; there were Laura's hockey matches - red, the prominent colour worn by many; you can see some of them below as buns & cakes were enjoyed.....

On a literary note now; some of you will have already read at least one of Robert Camuto's books on wine & vineyards, & the more recent one by another of our authors, Peter Wise, on an interesting medical scientist, Claude Bernard. Yet a new author has arrived on the courts under the pen-name 'George Cavendish': you will find copies of his thriller, 'Riviera Terminus' in the Club Office, & you may even find out his real name one of these days.

But, above all, don't forget to get some vigorous tennis in to start the year on the right foot; & then, of course replenish your energies after all that running about........ in your Club Restaurant!
Bon appétit!