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So it was with an air of something approaching sadness that us seasoned supporters trudged down to the club on Tuesday night, realising that for the next few weeks anyway Tuesdays would never be the same - there would be a void in our lives that would be difficult to fill.What would we do to replace the mirth and merriment occasioned by watching the teams battling against seemingly insurmountable odds to..... firstly put out a full team and then ....... try vainly and gamely to win a few points?

Anyway, Firsts and Seconds playing at home - so a double feast of fun was in prospect, and the first figure of fun spotted was Kev ‘GingerNuts' Tullett, uncharacteristically cheerful - ‘Always ok till I play, mate', he said, ‘Skip's put me on last not sure why...... (I am , I thought, JJ's hoping the game will be decided by the time Kev wields his racket in earnest...seems sound tactics to me )and', Kev continued ....uncharacteristically cheerfully....., ‘You know that bloke what Peter Nicol ( Squash Icon, ex World No. 1 , I thought) was talking about on Sunday...that redhaired guy.....Ginger Khan..well I looked him up on the internet but couldn't find any reference to him......(Ginger Khan...Jahangir Khan, you muppet I thought, as tears rolled down my face...how I laughed....!)

So, onto the squash and the Firsts on the exhibition courts - Ollie emerging victorious from the Richard Jones court with a resounding 3-2 win against........a twelve year old, full of natural talent, but having to play first to get back in time for The Simpsons, homework and bed. Justin ‘JJ' playing next, winning the first, 6-0 down in the second, blaming me for his poor play- ‘All your fault phil', he said, ‘whenever you appear I freeze...start thinking what's going to appear in the report'......Only accuracy, JJ, always firm but fair, I thought as I left JJ admiring his recently developed paunch and revelling in an unaccustomed win !

Singing and dancing in the Streets of BR 1 looking likely it was time to mosey on down to Courts Three and Four and see how the Seconds were faring :

Rich up against a young lass, which he seemed to quite enjoy.... and indeed very nice she was too, great style, powerful shots, length and line, a titanic struggle in place - 2-2. ‘Cut out those side wall mid length loose shots', I advised him and heeding my advice he ...went on to lose 2-3.Oh well, can't win them all, ...onto watch Garth against an opponent who,'Unbelievably', as Boothy said, ‘was more in need of counselling than our very own Iron Man of the Veldt'!But our Iron Man, roared on by some strange fellow countrymen came out a deserved 3-1 winner in what could have been a difficult game....for the Marker...So 1-1 for the Seconds and with Boothy earlier winning comfortably 3-0, The Seconds were well in control at 2-1.

Back to the Richard Jones court and watching Andy'No Nickname' Redfern - not too familiar with his play but very impressed as the game see sawed dramatically and reached its climax in the 5th with finely executed shots and and an outstanding 3-2 win for Andy.Good boy ! ,I thought, and although Billy had gone down 0-3 earlier - ‘Played cr*p phil', he admitted, not being one to mince his words...just as well then I thought that I didn't waste my time watching it.....the match was won and that meant that there WOULD BE Singin' and Dancin' on the Streets of BR 1 even GingerNuts being powerless to screw up the overall victory...

Anyway, nothing at stake....so no point watching him then..... and I went back to Court 3 where I noticed Saun Teeth ‘R' Us Buckley, resplendent in club centenary shirt not spectating...but...but.... playing...

Fearing the worse I stayed to support vocally and he responded well to my and George ‘NotSo'Wise's exhortations.......the boy done good !...vastly improved over last time out and exercising some element of control over the final destination of the ball, which, coupled with fine focus and court coverage resulted in a 3-0 win !

So, Seconds also match winners 3-1 and so Double Celebration and Double Singin' & Dancin' on the Streets of BR 1 guaranteed !!

Last match being with Peter on court and this looked pretty combative as Rich reported later.... nice and concisely I thought..... in summary.....neatly saying all that needed to be said...... ‘Won 3-2, played some outstanding squash too!'

And GingerNuts? Ollie' s report, slightly less concise than Rich's was :'Kev put all of Mr Nicol's advice into action and ground out a 3-2 win with the last game going to 10. Should have finished him off earlier but made for great viewing. Gave us a 4-1 win and prevented us going the whole season without a success.'

And The After Party?

As Ollie said :‘ Nan served up a delightful sausage, chips and beans supper with bread and butter. Tasty stuff and I always find my evening meal goes down best a little before midnight!'And the topics ‘round midnight? .. ‘Did you hear', says the irrepressible Boothy, ‘of Bambi Ben.....who, as you all know, has been organising the association with Peter Nicol and Prince Rackets .......well he's ..he's...he's , (trying to hold back his laughter), ,...only just gone and bought himself two Head rackets !!! Unbelievable !! ......‘ Well, how we laughed, tears rolling ...no streaming.....down our cheeks, Oh Dear! Oh Dear! ......always thought he was HEADless, we said,..... HEADing in the wrong direction possibly,..... thought he was a Get AHEAD person....but not too great planning AHEAD......bit HEADstrong maybe.....Oh dear, Oh dear, how we laughed !And chat about the Firsts being relegated - According to JJ - ‘Should never have been there really' - ‘ but made us a yard faster', he opined, absent mindedly stroking his paunch.....The Seconds achieving MTM....The association with Peter Nicol Squash and the great ,great time had by all last Sunday.....And of course the End Of Season Bash to look forward to...date tba, but hopefully before the onset of the Winter season and hopefully some slightly easier games...

Until then, as Strictly Come Dancing's Brucie would have said ‘Keeeeep Squaaashing !'

Phil

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