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NEWS
Tennis - a curious game in which two or four people in shorts try to intercept soft green fluffy balls with butterfly catchers Hello Welcome to the new season and I hope this letter finds you fit and well and ready to go! The working party has already been out in force on March 3rd getting the courts and Club House ready for spring. A big Thank you to all those members that gave up their Saturday morning to help. You may have noticed the kitchen is finally finished with thanks to David Purcell and we now have a racy red weekly bulletin board to use instead of the back of the door! The AGM was held in February postponed from November, attended by the usual stalwarts of the club. Members were invited to air their views on the ongoing issue of Wednesday nights. Mark started the evening by awarding his special Chairman’s award to Simon Burr for his outstanding achievement in tennis last year. Winter news The Children in Need Tournament took place in October at the Cressex Indoor Centre, run as usual by Richard. Members from High Wycombe club supported the event by dressing up as school children and a total of £1878 was raised. In December we held our Xmas tennis and mulled wine tournament and, as always, it was played in festive fashion with the seasonable weather a bonus! The Valentines tournament was also well attended. Club nights have been steady throughout the winter and most members have been heavily involved in weekend matches. The results will be posted up on the notice board which has also had a facelift! The junior and adult coaching has continued thanks to Janet and Ian Finlay for making this happen. Reminder for floodlights! Payment is £1 per person per hr Club nights £1 per person per night. For Jenny At the end of last season the club lost one of its longest standing and much loved members. Jenny died after a short illness and will be missed so much by us all. Those of you that knew her will know how passionate she was about the club and she would have wanted us to carry on and enjoy it as much as she did. We are proposing a memorial for Jenny at the club and would welcome any ideas. We are all thinking of John at this time and hope he can regain his strength and enjoy his tennis again. Membership We have two new members, Nigel, who is over from Hungary for a short period visiting his Mum says that playing with us at Widmer end has been the highlight of his visit! Thanks Nigel! We also welcome Sylvia who is going to play in our ladies first team. We need to have a membership drive and propose to do a leaflet handout at Cosy Corner on the 14th & 21st April, so if anyone can spare any time between 10-12noon on either of those days please speak to a Committee Member. There is to be no increase in the fees this year and we are offering a £5 cash back incentive scheme for every new member you introduce and sign up! We are also holding 3 consecutive Fridays for local school children to come up after school to play for free and introduce them to the club. Quote taken from my book of tennis anecdotes. " Left-handers are the underprivileged minority who suffer from life being positioned for the right-hander. However humans put out an uncommon number of left hands for trophies- John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Rod laver, Maria Lawton………………" Edgley Cup We have decided to play this earlier in the season this year. For those of you that don’t already know Richard & Gill Edgley were very instrumental in the running of the club in its early days and when they left in the early 80’s they donated a cup. The rule they made was that women have to ask a man to play with them. So come on ladies Get your man! Please sign up for as many tournaments as you can possibly make as it really makes a huge difference to the club! Have a good summer! Dates for your diary Sat March 31st Pre season dinner at the crown at Penn 7.30pm Mon May 7th American T’Ment 12.00pm Sat 26th May Edgely Cup 10.00am Sun 15th July Senior/Junior Tournament 10.00am Sat 11 Aug Special Tournament. Keep an eye on the bulletin board for additional details
Jenny Steed loses her fight against cancer Jenny Steed, one of the longest serving members of Widmer End Lawn Tennis Club, passed away early on Friday morning 3rd November. She had been ill since March & put up a brave fight against her cancer. She had been a member for over 35 years & for several years was on the Tennis Club's committee. She played in the Ladies 1st. team for over 15 years & was in the team which, for the first time in Widmer End's history, was promoted to the Premier Division in the Bucks County Ladies Shield She also played for the Bucks County Ladies Vets team & just before she died, she became the first member from Widmer End to receive her County Colours. She always enjoyed her evening mixed matches in the High Wycombe & District League, in which she invariably partnered her husband John. Not many married couples manage to play together for most of their club careers, but John & Jenny always managed to overcome the inevitable differences that can occur. Jenny, however, often had a word or two to say about John's occasional 'poaching' at the net. Jenny was well known throughout Bucks & the surrounding area. She was a very talented player & also gave coaching lessons for several years. Her warm & kind personality on & off court will be sorely missed. About 200 people attended her funeral on 10th November. Donations in memory of Jenny can be made to the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home, whose nurses helped both Jenny and John over the later stages of her illness. On-line donations: http://www.justgiving.com/ourtribute Donation Form: http://www.irhh.org/home/funds/DecSingleDon.pdf
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