Munching at the Met

14 December 2018 / / No comments

Last night 14 members of the Club started Christmas off in fine style with an excellent 7 course taster menu at Cardiff Met which was designed, prepared, cooked and served by the students. We were welcomed with a glass of bucks fizz (non-alcoholic for drivers) and then worked our way through the varied menu that had been prepared for our delectation.

Thank-you to the students who worked hard in a very professional manner and a big thank-you to Judith Smith who organised the evening for us but was unable to attend herself due to another commitment,

Category: Social /

Winter Friendly at Caerleon

25 November 2018 / / No comments
On Sunday 25 November, Caerleon PC hosted the first winter friendly between our two clubs, with teams of 12 players on each side. The event was organised on a two-match format: 4 triples in the first match, followed by 4 doubles and 4 singles in the second. The weather was dry but decidedly parky!
In the triples Monkstone got off to a flying start recording 3 wins to 1, with Wiggy, Phil and Gareth winning their game 13-0 and Peter, Barney and Jayne winning theirs 13-2. Keith Nott, Judith and Sean were level pegging on 11 all in their game before Sean produced a spectacular carreau to win 13-11. Unfortunately, Roger, Tony and Barbara missed the bus, losing 3-13.
As the second match got underway, hopes were high and rose higher when Roger and Barbara won their doubles 13-2 and Tony won his singles 13-4. Two more wins would win the whole match. But to their credit the Caerleon players raised their game and won all their remaining 6 games to win 7-6 in a tight finish that saw Gareth lose his singles by only one point and Jayne and Barney lose their doubles by the same margin. The gap between defeat and victory can be very slim indeed.
However, it was a very enjoyable day made even better by a deliciously hearty soup to warm us up, plus lots of cake, in the bar afterwards. So many thanks to Tansy and the Caerleon members for their hospitality. We shall arrange a return fixture in the new year.
Finally, special thanks to Keith Nott and Barbara Kensett for stepping in at the 11th hour to make up our numbers.
Who ate all the soup! – Barbara, Pete and Barney of course
(hope they left some for Keith!)
Category: Competition /

President’s Cup

20 November 2018 / / No comments

The annual President’s Cup was up for grabs on Sunday. 22 members entered on the day for the competition which was played as a doubles melee. Play got underway on a chilly morning and at the end of round 1, Tony Smith, Tony Newton, Barbara Kensett and John Xiberras shared the lead with a win and a score of +7.

The pairings were changed for round 2 and after some close, and some not so close, games only 4 players were on 2 wins with Peter Kensett leading the way on +15 followed by Tony Newton & John Xiberras on +13 and Roger Griffin on +9.

Another change of parings and round 3 was underway. At the end of the round only Roger of the 4 players on 2 wins had managed a win. The last game to finish was between Bernard Adshead/John Xiberras and Phil Roberts/Lynda Hodges and nobody had realised the significance this game could have on the final result. With all the other players watching Bernard & John let a 13-9 lead slip and lost 12-13. Had Bernard & John got that final point John could have won the competition. Reviewing the scores later it also became evident that Tony Newton who also lost 12-13 in the final round could also have won had he not suffered that close defeat.

So a great competition finished with Roger being declared the winner on 3 wins and +13 closely followed by John & Tony both on 2 wins and +12.

President Mike presents the President’s Cup to Roger

 

Category: Competition /

Monkstone Club Triples

5 November 2018 / / No comments
Under overcast skies, eight triples teams assembled on Sunday to contest the club’s annual Triples competition. The draw for the teams had produced no obvious favourites, so it promised to be a very open tournament. There was one last minute change when Ian Baildon-Smith, who had only turned up for a chuck, gallantly stepped into the breach to replace Mike Wigg (ankle injury) and join Sean Smith and Phil Roberts.
The first round was taken very seriously by all teams as a loss would result in an uphill struggle. The four winning teams at the end of the round were:
Ian, Sean and Phil (+9)
Roger Griffin, Tony Newton and Gareth (+6)
Keith Nott, Gill and Michelle (+6)
Tony Smith, Barbara and Tom (+5).
In the second round Tony Smith’s team came unstuck against Keith Nott’s team, losing 8-12. However, Roger Griffin’s team came through with a 13-3 win, but this was equalled by Ian, Sean and Phil.
As round 3 got under way so did the rain. Only three teams could win the competition and this was quickly reduced to two when Roger, Tony and Gareth capitulated to Keith, Gill and Michelle by losing 1-13. Everything depended on the result of the game being played by Ian, Sean and Phil against Mike Jones, Jayne and Lynda. Would the wet conditions favour Mike’s team and give them their first win of the day and hand the trophy to Keith? No such thing. Ian, Sean and Phil put Mike to the sword with an impressive 13-3 victory and became 2018 Triples Champions, a team comprised solely of 2nd and 3rd division players, which goes to show the standard of play at the club. Congratulations to Ian, Sean and Phil!
Club Triples 2018 Final Result:
First – Ian Baildon-Smith, Sean Smith and Phil Roberts (3 wins, +30);
Second – Keith Nott, Gill Clark and Michelle Spencer (3 wins, +22);
Third – Roger Griffin, Tony Newton and Gareth Spencer (2 wins, + 4).

Sean Smith, Ian Baildon-Smith & Phil Roberts accept the Triples Shield from Club President Mike Jones (2nd from left)

Category: Competition /

Monkstone v The Barristers

30 October 2018 / / No comments

Last Sunday Monkstone PC entertained the Barristers, a team from the Temple Bar pub in Ewyas Harold in Herefordshire who play in Division 3 of the Marches league. On a glorious, sunny, if somewhat chilly, day a Monkstone team of Division 2 & 3 players took on the visitors in a match modelled on the Cup for Clubs format of singles, doubles & triples although it was decided that each game would only attract 1 match point. The games were played in reverse order to the Cup for Clubs with the triples being played first and ending with the singles.

Monkstone got off to a good start with Sean Smith, Rob Harris and Carol Maroney winning 13-4 but Phil Roberts, Gill Clarke and Judith Smith were unable to keep the momentum going down 10-13. All square at the end of the triples. The doubles started badly for Monkstone with first Carol and John Xiberras going down 11-13 followed by Lynda Hodges and Rob succumbing to the same score. Sean and Phil managed to pull one game back, winning 13-10.

So it was into the final round with Monkstone 2-3 down overall and needing to win four of the six singles to take the match. Monkstone made an excellent start with Judith and Gill winning 13-4 and 13-5 respectively but this was soon cancelled out by Lynda losing 10-13 followed by John going down to the same score. Phil brought the overall score back to 5-5 with a solid 13-6 win.

The script couldn’t have been written better with Sean nip and tuck with his opponent in what he didn’t know was the deciding game. With the score standing at 9-9, Sean seemed to lose his concentration and went down 9-13 leaving the Barristers as the 6-5 winners.

Congratulations to Bill Sparey and his team on their fine win. Everyone agreed that it had been a very enjoyable day and it was resolved to arrange a return fixture in Herefordshire next year.

Thanks to Joy Griffin and Vickie Adshead for providing the delicious leek & potato soup which warmed all the players up in the chill wind.

 

 

 

 

The team captains Bill Sparey and Roger Griffin (non-playing)

Category: Competition /
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