And so it began; beautiful blue skies favourably looked down on the early birds. David Hutchinson made the excellent call to play on the middle court which was bathed in sunshine though Joel was taking no chances, he was sticking with layers and layers of clothing – there was a chill in the air.

Great to see Richard always start with the Haka and terrify the opposition.

Will this be the one that makes the papers? Will the Craven Herald or the Keighley News accept a Leicester City shirt? What an inclusive club we are. And don’t those courts look fantastic. We’d better look after them: the small print says not to sweep them so as Autumn comes on and the trees start to shed, the race is on for a leaf blower…which also sucks.

Time moved on and the 10 o clock 6 slowly brought in the clouds. Photographer Gill, Brian, Jan, Pam, Mike (will they play as a partnership) and Patrick kept Joel and me on our toes. Patrick even realised he should have booked in at 5 when we were on our knees. He did save the day by going for the WD-40 – not to keep myself and Joel in order but the gate lock which was a little temperamental first thing as was the main club house door which gave me a pre playing injury – good job the magic fairy keeps the first aid box well stocked.

11 o clock brought Diane and Glenn, Oliver and Charlie. Watch this space, future tennis star – you saw him here first. Your chairman didn’t even see it.

12 o clock high noon and Phil and Roy are on fire. I was glad to be able to play a set partnering Roy, the man who all those years ago on the bumpy grass at Skipton taught me a cool head and his mantra: get forward. We dedicated this set to our dear friend Awo Surbis – his picture is on the wall in the clubhouse. For those who didn’t know Awo, he was an absolute gem of a man who battled so hard against his invasion of cancer, continuing to play tennis with joy, good nature and a genuine interest in other people – a lesson for all of us. I enjoyed our many conversations about music and he introduced me to many an artist as well as taught me a thing or two about tennis. I loved his philosophy of music was like beer. He found Van Morrison and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord in his formative years then spent the rest of his life trying to find something better but never achieving it. Enjoy the power of beauty or the memory of your youth I say.

One o clock brought Kelvin and Sally and the club is so much better for their fantastic presence. Relatively new members who have immediately mucked in and do their bit. And watch out, that Sally forehand will give you a punch!

2 o clock and the temperature starts to drop but our spirits stay uplifted as Dom and Gabe take to the court to join us. For a bit of variety, we transfer to court one. Again, great to see a father and son getting involved and improving with every time they play.

Meanwhile warming up on court 2 were Charlie and Carol…well I say warming up. Thanks to lockdown, they hadn’t seen each other for a while so there was quite a bit of chattering going on over the net.

Carol did slightly regret going for the orange shoes as at times, she couldn’t see her feet. Her request to have the court colours reversed has been rejected. And then came the days secret weapon… the arrival of Bonnie who enjoyed taking part in a juggling demonstration.

Now surely someone will reply and send a caption for this picture.

Another brief knock with Pam and Gill before the final slot with David and Tom.

He’s looking good.

Either the photographer has hit the sherry or I’m starting to feel dizzy.

Whichever, we managed to reach the end all still upright and just about in one piece. Can’t believe how quickly the day went and thanks to all who supported and encouraged. Oh and thanks Edie for sneaking down some homemade biscuits…ssshhh, don’t tell Chris. So far, we’re well over the £400 mark so excellent effort everyone. Let’s see how club night goes on Tuesday.