Friendly vs The Northumberland Club

Friendly matches always take a bit of planning. This one took even more as the formal lunch would have clashed with England vs Germany in S Africa. We decided to break new ground - not only watching a TV, but also not insisting on formal dress. The walls didn't fall, and people seemed to have a good time until England's second goal was ignored by the match officials.And what of the match, our version of two fierce and traditional rivals but with a shared heritage? Well, each game (apart from from Phil Holmes and Tony Cawthorne who won easily), was close but we didn't manage to close them out, typified by my missed birdie putt on the 18th which meant we lost rather than halved our game. But the weather was fantastic, the course was in brilliant condition, the food great and the company enjoyable.

Its the taking part that matters, isn't it?