CONTACT: Spring 1978
The question is, what will you be doing at 6p.m. every Tuesday evening from 2nd May till 5th September?
If the answer is nothing, may I suggest that you come to Stechford Hall Park, and have a ball with the Tennis Section?
The park is at the Fox & Goose, on the right, along the Coleshill Road near the Beaufort Cinema. Three all-weather courts are available, with a car park, and dressing rooms for both men and women close by. It can be reached by travelling on any of the following 'bus routes :- 11, 14, 28, 55, 93 or 94. The Club began in 1962 with a nucleus of players who are, to put it kindly (and I include myself in this) maturing.
No organisation can progress, whether it be a Club or a Bank, without a regular supply of new blood. The Club holds a variety of tournaments, Singles and Doubles Knockout for men, and a Singles League. The latter is open to both male and female competitors, but with women's lib in mind, the girls have to enter on level terms with the fellas. Three teams play in Birmingham Metropolitan Lawn Tennis League, in Divisions 1, 2 & 5, and a number of Cup and friendly matches are also played.
Further information can be obtained by contacting me at Pype Hayes, or Dunlop branches.
Peter Aston.
Firstly I would like to put on record my grateful thanks to all those Club members who rallied around me at the time of my father’s heart attack. A special mention has to be made of Larry Sharrard, for on the day of the attack I was due to play for the ‘C’ team against Kalamazoo. Naturally I had to withdraw to concentrate on organising my father’s medical welfare, which was complicated by my mother’s chronic illness.
At this point, despite certain domestic arrangements, Larry stepped in. What is more he, plus David Skett, Robert Grinham and Chriss Watson came back with a win of 3 rubbers to 1. The news of this gave me a tonic which raised my spirit from the nadir to which it had fallen. In addition I would like to make mention of two Stephens, Stephen Barnsley for taking over the running of the Club during my holiday, and Stephen Griffin for doing a similar job during my father’s indisposition.
Before the 1978 season started I felt schizophrenic about the ‘A’ team. I hoped for the best, and feared the worst. In retrospect all my fears have been groundless, for despite playing in the Premier Division of the B.M.L.T.L. for the first time their record so far is played 4, won 3, lost 1. As I put it in the ABC Advertiser, our team of John Ordish, John Britten, Graham Capener and David Turner had a dream start. They whitewashed Castle Bromwich, beating them by 4 rubbers to 0, 8 sets to 0, and 49 games to 17. Despite a hiccup in between, with a 3 rubbers to 1 loss against Woodlands Park, they have gone on to annihilate Wylde Green and Holly-Quinton. If they carry on like this the match against Beaufort-Allendale, the 1977 champions, could decide who takes the title.
The ‘B’ team, regardless of a disastrous start, (more about that later) have performed reasonably well. So far their record is played 2, won 1, lost 1. Now, about that start. In their first match against Sutton United one of the team did not show. The other team members, Malcolm Glenn, Ken Prentice and Stephen Griffin tried to find a replacement, but at 6.00p.m. they had an impossible task, which had a number of repercussions. Firstly, two rubbers had to be conceded which meant, at best, we could only draw, but the strain was too great and we slowly slid to a 3 rubbers to 1 defeat. In the 16 year history of the Club this has only happened once before, but on that occasion the person concerned had a prang in his car on the way to the match and could not complete the journey, so that may be discounted. Those who have played so far are Malcolm Glenn, Ken Prentice, Stephen Griffin and Philip Jackson plus Mr. X (I am sure our absent friend would want me to respect his anonymity, especially after the ear bashing I gave him).
The ‘C’ team have done quite well, as in addition to the win against Kalamazoo, they have drawn against Holly-Quinton and Curdworth, but lost to C.E.G.B. Those who have played so far have been Stephen Barnsley, David Skett, Stephen Griffin, Robert Grinham, Chriss Watson, Larry Sharrard, David Burke and Peter Aston.
The Club tournaments are like my investment account, gone dormant. The first round of the two knockout tournaments
have still to be completed. As yet no results from Divisions 1 or 2 of the Singles League have been received and only 4 from Division
4. One bright spot is Division 3 in which all players have attempted to play at least one match a fortnight, as requested. The attendance
at Club evenings, even though the weather could not be depended upon, has been good. It is pleasing to see that the Club is both managing
to retain its established membership, while still attracting new ones. Two who fall into the latter category are David Burke and Jim
Allkins. David has shown sufficient form to warrant selection for the ‘C’ team, and I am sure it won’t be long before Jim follows
suit. I have only two regrets; once again we seem to have been deserted by the ladies, with the exception of Carol Beamish and Margaret
Stanley, it has also been brought to my notice that we have not seen much of the two John’s recently. Nothing would make the members
happier than to have a sight of their credentials.
Peter Aston,
Hon. Secretary.
CONTACT: Autumn 1978
To start with let’s have a question – which two tennis events happened in the week ending 7th October 1978? Not an easy one this, so to put everyone out of their misery here are the answers.
One was the annihilation, by Britain, of the Davis Cup holders, Australia, in this year’s semi-final. The other, and it’s difficult to decide which is the more important, was when the ‘A’ team, in their first season as a Premier League side, were declared as joint champions of the Birmingham Metropolitan Lawn Tennis League.
They finished with 22 points from 5 wins, and a draw. Our players figuring in this success were Graham Capener, David Turner, John Ordish, John Britten and Malcolm Glenn. Three of the five wins, against Castle Bromwich, Holly-Quinton and Wylde Green were whitewashes, with our team taking 24 of the 28 sets played. The match against Hall Green was a mess. Over the years they have achieved a certain notoriety as the League’s default kings, and 1978 was no exception. Such lax behaviour might be tolerated in lower divisions, but surely a more dedicated approach is to be expected of a Premier Division side. Not so, for again at the last minute they tried to alter the agreed date.
This time, although their wish had been granted many times in the past, I was not prepared to accommodate them, giving them an ultimatum of ‘Play or have your conduct reported to the appropriate quarters’. They reacted by trying to ignore the warning, a grave miscalculation, for when the League was acquainted with the facts, and after due consideration, it ruled in our favour.
By contrast the match against Beaufort-Allendale, who share the championship with us, was a dream of a fixture. Malcolm Glenn, partnering John Ordish, made his Premier Division debut in place of John Britten, who was on holiday. They lost the opening rubber, but came good in the second by beating the competition’s first pair with comparative ease. Afterward John Ordish said Malcolm had slotted in well, and showed many of John Britten’s touches, high praise indeed.
At this point, with Graham Capener and David Turner one rubber up, and standing at 6-6 in the opening set of the second, the heavens opened up curtailing play for the night. This meant they had to return on another date to start the unfinished rubber again. As it is said, different times, different circumstances produce different results, and none more so than here. For unfortunately, Graham and David were unable to capitalise on their lead, going down in two sets. This gave us a draw, rather than a 3-1 win, which would not only have sewn up the fixture but the title as well!
While all this has been going on, the ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams have been in action as well. The ‘B’ teams performance of only winning two of their seven fixtures is a little disappointing, and with only 8 points from a possible 28 might suffer the indignity of relegation from Division 2.
On the other hand the ‘C’ team, with 15 points from three wins and two draws, stand a reasonable chance of promotion from Division 4.
Players who have represented the Bank in these matches are Malcolm Glenn, Ken Prentice, Stephen Griffin, Philip Jackson, Robert Grinham, David Skett, Paul Bumford, Stephen Barnsley, Chriss Watson, Larry Sharrard, David Burke and Peter Aston.
The Club has once again competed in the two knockout tournaments organised by the League, reaching the semi-final stage in both events.
The Club tournaments have been sluggish, with the Singles and Doubles knockout finals still to be played,. This is no criticism of Graham Capener, John Ordish or John Britten, who reached their respective finals some ago, only to be left pondering their final opponents.
Luckily, the Singles League has faired a little better, with Graham Capener requiring only one more victory to retain the Division 1 title for the third year in succession. All is not yet decided though, as he has to face Malcolm Glenn in his remaining fixture.
The real interest is in the basement of this Division with John Ordish, John Britten and Michael Jones
all fighting to avoid relegation. Whatever the outcome, Division 2 in 1979 should be a tough proposition.
Ken Prentice, with five wins, has already clinched the Division 2 title, and will be joined in Division 1 by Stephen Griffin. At the moment Peter Aston leads Division 3, but with David Skett still to play (someone he has never beaten) and Paul Bumford, Ed Slattery and Pat Murray queueing up to take advantage of any slip, nothing is certain.
Division 4, with only about a quarter of the matches played, is a disappointment. So the present leader, Nigel Bearcroft, could take the title – with the trophy and medal that go with it, - as a result of the others inactivity.
As everyone knows, nothing succeeds like success, or as I put it in my regular ABC Advertiser column:- Next season the 'A' team is looking forward to taking the title outright, the 'B' team intend, should they be relegated, to return to Division 2 at the first attempt, whilst the ‘C’ team hope to make their mark on Division 4.
Despite all this success new members are still required. If anyone does want more information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Peter Aston.