Love Match

After the match

It was finals day at the club this week. We turned up expecting the continuing downpour which had flooded many roads nearby but the inspired timing of the matches meant it was mostly dry by the time it was our turn to play. From our combined efforts, Nasser and I are now the plate champions – another medal! At my age I should treasure these victories. There won’t be too many more of them for me.

I joke with my doubles partners that I am in love with them when we play well. As many of my partners know, I am very fickle with my love. This time I was true to Nasser throughout the run of the tournament.  We got into the plate by the toss of a coin! How fortuitous - the club coach had decreed it so!

Here I must mention other love matches of the week. Mark from Cornwall came to stay with Syd, his 6-month-old dog. Syd is truly delightful and such a good-looking dog to boot. I could imagine him in a beauty contest telling the compare that his hobbies are farting and digging up the garden and he would like to see world peace.  

Syd wearing his green socks

Sadly, Syd had an accident where he was run over by a car in my village. I saw it unfold in slow motion and could do nothing about it. The lady driving was so shaken knowing that she had hit a dog; she needed almost as much aftercare. The injuries weren’t too bad in the end but Syd has already seen one of his nine lives slip through his paws.

While we are talking about matches, I’ll tell you about my attempts to get a bonfire started in the church graveyard. The village clean up session on Saturday was well attended. I started on the gutters around the church. Then one of the helpers needed help starting the bonfire. The matches wouldn’t strike so I popped home, picked up some kindling, a lighter and fire-lighting fluid and started mini fires round the outside of the pyre.

The wood smouldered and caught but I couldn’t sustain a flame big enough to get the whole thing ablaze. Trust me, I worked really hard on it. When I finally got things burning, the heavens opened and put the fire out. Schade! It didn’t take much persuasion, while the rain poured I retired to the arse-end of the village to sample Peter’s homebrew for the remainder of the day. This was a good move, my failure as an arsonist no longer haunted me. Since it has been raining torrentially overnight and this morning, I doubt anybody could get a fire going, matches or no matches!