Good morning from Cairnlea.

Or more properly the Victorian Croquet Centre.

In front of the clubhouse are 4 lawns, surrounded by eight floodlight towers (of which more later). There are then three on either side. All these ten are oriented the same way, with the South boundaries of 1 and 2 nearest the clubhouse.
There are two more lawns at the far end, at ninety degrees to the others.
So that makes twelve, making this the largest in the world, equal with the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.

The numbering: Court 1 is in front of the clubhouse and to the left, to the right Court 2. Beyond 2 is 3, to its left 4. Then proceed in an outward anti-clockwise spiral, so 5, 6, 7 to the left; 8, 9, 10 to the right, and the two far courts are 11 and 12.

(My snooker club in Cambridge numbers its tables in an inward clockwise spiral. The club pros are Gentleman Joe Perry and former World Champion Neil Robertson, who hails from Melbourne.)

Here are today's matches:
(The number on the right is the lawn; L= late start. The numbers on the right are the head-to-head games, from the first player's perspective.

L Robert Fletcher v Jim Nicholls P34 W30
1 Ian Burridge v David Maugham P88 W21
2 Jenny Clarke v Duncan Reeve P0
3 Richard M Smith v Greg Bryant P1 W0

L Paddy Chapman v Kevin Beard P2 W2
4 Dominic Nunns v Matthew Essick P0
5 Samir Patel v Felix Webby P0
L James Galpin v Ben Rothman P0

6 Mark Avery v Simon Watkins P2 W2
7 Harry Fisher v Peter Landrebe P1 W1
L Edward Wilson v Jeff Newcombe P4 W2
8 Ian Dumergue v Simon Hockey P21 W7

9 James Death v Peter Ross P0
10 Chris Shilling v Stephen Mulliner P11 W4
11 Stephen Forster v Dwayne McCormick P21 W13
12 Logan McCorkindale v Reg Bamford P0

I received a message from Sam suggesting three matches to target. Two of them are on the show-courts!

We're off!
L1T1 Maugham Yellow 10yN and 4yW of 4th corner
L1T2 Burridge Black hits Yellow from A-baulk, rushing it peg-high on the E bdry.
Rolls Yellow 6y N and 2y W of hoop 1. Black 2y NW of peg.

.

L1T3 Maugham Red at Yellow from A-baulk. Misses to 2nd corner.

L1T4 Burridge Blue at Black from B-baulk. Hits!

L1T4 Good croquet stroke from Burridge: Black at 2, Blue has 2-yard rush. Not so good - 4y W of hoop 1. Rolls up, 5' hoop - gets it! With rush.

L2T1 Clarke Blue 7yN of 4th corner.
L2T2 Reeve Yellow near 2nd corner
L2T3 Clarke Black misses Blue from A-baulk to 1y N
L2T4 Reeve Red hits Black from B-baulk

L1T4 Burridge Blue has made 2. Decides not to extract Red from 2nd corner.

L2T4 Reeve Red rolling to 1 from 8 yards. 3' angled hoop. Gets it, may be hampered on Blue.

L2T4 Reeve Red can't hit Blue. Shoots at Yellow, misses to just E of 2nd corner.

Burridge is still on a 3-ball break, has reached hoop 5.

L2T5 Clarke Blue misses Black (18y)
L2T6 Reeve plays Red, cuts Yellow a few yards South. Take-off to Clarke's balls near 4th corner. Short. 6-yarder at Black. Hits.

L1T4 Burridge Blue has reached 1-back, and finally uses the fourth ball.

L2T6 Reeve Red is approaching 2 with a stop shot from 3y W. Makes hoop, hits 5-yarder. Fair croquet stroke avails 3y rush on Blue to 3.
Approaching from 4y, overhits.

I haven't mentioned the weather.
It's cold and wet.
Relatively cold, but I'm in long trousers, which is not why I came.

L2T6 Reeve Red retreats to 1st corner.
L2T7 Clarke Black hits Yellow (4y?) Croquets Yellow 2y W of 2. Hits Blue, take-off to Red. Hits 4-yarder.

Burridge's clip is on 3-back, I presume he meant to make 9?
If one was feeling generous, you could call this an OSL.

L1T5 Maugham Yellow at Black from A-baulk (13y). Misses.

Sorry I'm not always looking at the right lawn. I'm guessing on court 2:
L2T7 Clarke approaches 1, not good enough, joins up.
L2T8 Reeve Red hits Yellow (18y?). Takes off to Black / Blue. Makes 3 off Blue, with rush to Yellow.

L1T6 no idea sorry. no progress made
L1T7 Yellow misses 7-yarder. Would have had 4-ball break had he hit.

L2T8 Reeve Red has picked up 4-ball break.

L1T8 Burridge Black misses 15-yarder.

L1T9 Maugham misses 9-yarder. Now joined up near 1st corner.
L1T10 Burridge Black is on N bdry. Shooting at Blue, which is by the peg. Poor shot, hits the peg, bounces off to E bdry, maybe 8y N of 4th corner.

L1T11 Maugham Red rushes Yellow to 2. Take-off to Blue. 5' rush to 1. Rolling up from 3y. 3' hoop. Makes it, has 3-ball break.

L2T8 Reeve Red has made 2-back. Seems he's planning an NSL.

The weather.
Saturday was damp, about 20 degrees.
Sunday, Monday, sunny, about 26, very pleasant.
Tuesday some heavy rain showers.
Today persistent drizzle, maybe 15?

Reeve has made 9 with NSL.
L2T9 Clarke lifts Blue from near hoop 2. Shooting at Red / Yellow from A-baulk, maybe 7y E of 1st corner. Misses to South of Yellow.

L1T11 Maugham has 4-ball break.

L2T10 Reeve Yellow rushes Blue South, croquets it to 2, misses a short Red. Sign language would have us believe he got some hill.

Black is still hampered on Red and Yellow, so...
L2T11 Clarke Blue misses Black to near 4th corner.

L2T12 Reeve Yellow misses 4-yarder.

L2T13 Clarke Blue taps Yellow, croquets it 3y SE of hoop 3. Red will be going near 2 as she tries to get a rush on the NSL ball.

L1T11 Maugham Red has made 1-back, parks Black at hoop 2 for an MSL.

L2T13 Clarke Blue rolling to 1 from 6 yards. Makes it. The Red ball is halfway between the peg and hoop 2.

It's best-of-3 today, best-of-5 for second round onwards.
The original plan was to have some double-banking today, but thankfully that won't happen.

L1T11 Maugham Red has made 9, I have no idea how the balls got here. Yellow is in the front of hoop 4, he's taking croquet off it. Blue is 12yN and 2yW of 4th corner. Black is the MSL ball at 2.
Yellow is put though the hoop, is 3y S of hoop 4.
Red is going to 2nd corner.

L2T13 Clarke Blue is at hoop 3. I thought she was trying a TPO, but in fact she's in worse than death posi, and is approaching 3 with an irish peel. That works, but the hoop is not clean. Misses hampered 5-yarder.

L1T12 Burridge lifts Black to A-baulk, hits 8-yarder at Yellow.

L2T14 Reeve misses 5-yarder.

Essick has won the first game on lawn 4.

L1T12 Burridge croquets Yellow near 6, rushes Blue near Red, rushes Red 5y S of hoop 1, 4' hoop, makes it.

L2T15 Clarke Blue has hit (something) has made hoop 4, but no ball anywhere near 5.

L1T12 Burridge Black makes 2 and hits Blue near 2nd corner. Has 4-ball break, Blue is going to 4 if he fancies the quadruple....

L2T15 Clarke Blue is rolling to 5 from 7y E. Not bad, runs hoop beyond 6. Still not what you'd call a break.

Burridge's clip is on 4. I'm assuming missed return roquet after 3.

L2T15 Clarke Blue now rolling to 6 from 7 yards. 4' hoop, makes it. There is a ball within 4 yards of 1-back!

L1T13 Maugham Red misses 13-yarder.

L1T14 Burridge Black misses 16-yarder.

L1T15 Maugham Red hits 6-yarder.

Please realise that all distances are approximate. I can't run onto the lawn with a tape measure every time someone approaches a hoop.
And for metricated people: y = yards, ' = feet, " = inches

L1T15 Maugham Red constructing a leave.

L2T15 Clarke Blue still making hoops

Clarke fails 2-back. That's bad.

L1T16 Burridge finesses.

L2T16 Reeve has 2y lift shot for an instant 4-ball break. Should be able to pick up standard TP.

Ref is on lawn 2 as Reeve needs a sweep shot after 1. Copes.

L1T17 Maugham stop-shot approach to 2 loading 3 goes well. Has break.

So who's your money on for the Championship.
My local bookie suggests
"I think the event is fairly wide open and would offer 5-2 choice between Fletcher and Bamford.
This is the longest price for the favourite entering the knockout stage for many years."

L2T16 Reeve Yellow jawses Red in 4-back after 3.

L1T17 Maugham eyeing up delayed TP

Avery has won his first game +17.
"Good game. I hit 2/2, he hit 2/3.
Bloody miserable weather."

L2T16 Reeve Yellow plays just about good enough croquet stroke after 5, rush-peels Red.
His 1-back pioneer is 3y NW of hoop.
Going for penult peel after 6, bounces off.

L1T17 Maugham has given up on the delayed, still has 4-ball break.

This is the tenth AC World Championship of the 21st Century.
(There wasn't one in 2000 so let's not resurrect that argument.)
Of the nine so far, Reg Bamford has won four. In four of the other five, he lost to a Kiwi.

In his first game, Bamford is on a TP against Logan McCorkindale of New Zealand.

L1T17 Maugham has Red at 4-back, should he fancy an STP.

L2T16 Reeve Yellow is for 4-back. Now needs straight double peel for the finish.

Death wins game 1 +22 TP. Three rush-peels!

L1T17 Maugham Yellow peels Red thru 4-back at 4-back. Not able to do any more peels.

L1 clips: Maugham Red penult, Yellow peg; Burridge Blue 3-back, Black 4.

L2 Reeve lining up rover peel from at least 3 yards. Peel fails but he makes hoop.

L2 clips Reeve Red rover, Yellow peg; Clarke Blue 2-back, Black 1

Maugham's leave: Blue is inches East of peg, Black 8y W of peg. Red with rush on Yellow into lawn from E bdry.
A fairly horizontal spread in other words.

But Burridge's Blue can see Black!

L1T18 Burridge Blue hits Black (8y)

Essick wins +26tp +26tp
The second game was fifth turn.
Robert Fletcher v Jim Nicholls will soon be starting on court 4.

Sorry didn't see Reeve's leave, he set up near 4th corner.
L2T17 Clarke Black misses Red (13y)

Burridge is making some hoops with Blue.

L2T18 Reeve Red makes rover off Yellow, no rush to peg. Blue is 4y SW of 2, Black near 4th corner.
Reeve is lining up 9y peg-out, pointing toward middle of B-baulk. Ref is on.

L1T18 Burridge Blue pegs out Yellow!

L2T18 Reeve Red misses peg-out. Yellow ends up 2y shy of B-baulk, further West than I thought. Red joins up with Yellow.
L2T19 Clarke Blue misses Red (12y)
L2T20 Reeve has 4-yard peg-out. Misses with Yellow, Red hits peg in the croquet stroke.

L2T21 Clarke Black joins up with Blue.
L2T22 Reeve shoots at peg from S bdry, misses.

L1T18 Burridge Blue is thinking where to go. The Black is 9y N of 4th corner. Blue goes to W bdry, a few yards N of peg-high.
Red clip on penult, Black clip is on 4

L1T19 Maugham lifts Red to 3rd corner, hits Black.

L2T23 Clarke makes no hoops. Guarded leave near 2nd corner.

L1T19 Maugham Red rolls Black S of rover going to Blue. Goes off lawn!

L2T24 Reeve Yellow to middle of East boundary.
L2T25 Clarke Black rushes Blue near 1st corner.

L2T25 Clarke Black fails hoop 1. Black and Blue are about 8y apart.

L2T26 Reeve Yellow misses Blue

L1T20 Burridge Blue has leave.
L1T21 Maugham Red to 1st corner.

L2T27 Clarke Blue hits Yellow (6y). Has 3-ball break.

L1T22 Burridge Black makes 4, looking to wire both balls near 5.

L2T27 Clarke Blue has reached penult.

Presumably Burridge's wiring was successful.
L1T23 Maugham Red to near 3rd corner.

I hope you're enjoying the simultaneous three-ball endings.

L1T24 Burridge has leave. Black is on S bdry, presumably wired from Red (?). Blue is 5y into lawn.

Clarke has reached 1 and peg v peg alone. No lift of course.
Yellow is between hoop 4 and 4th corner.
Blue / Black laying up near 2nd corner.

L1T25 Maugham Red to 4th corner

L1T26 Burridge Black makes 5, but is hampered. Blue must be wired from Red by hoop 4. Black is tapped NW of 5, also wired.
L1T27 Maugham red to 3rd corner.

L2T28 Reeve Yellow to middle of East boundary

L2T29 Clarke Blue rushes Black to East boundary. Croquets Black toward 1st corner going to Blue...
Black looks heavy, will it stop...?

Black goes off lawn by 6". Disaster!

L2T30 Reeve trivial finish.

Reeve wins game 1 +14

I may have missed a turn or two on lawn 1. Black clip is on 6, Red is on penult.
Red ball still in or near to 3rd corner.

L2T1 Clarke Black 9yN of IV
L2T2 Reeve Red near II

(Roman numerals denote corners, as per Wylie)

Burridge is in a pattern of playing rushes to 6, deciding they aren't good enough, and returning to W bdry.
Maugham still near 3rd corner.

Sorry got L2 opening completely wrong.
Please ignore antepenultimate comment.

L2T1 Reeve Black 9yN of IV
L2T2 Clarke Red 1'S of 2nd corner
L2T3 Reeve Blue deliberately into 2nd corner
L2T4 Clarke Yellow misses from B-baulk

L2T5 Reeve Blue fails 1 off Red.

L2T6 Clarke Red makes 1, no rush.

Lawn 1 still in holding pattern.

L2T6 Clarke Red plays fair roll after 1, now needs to approach 2 from 8' to the West

Players on lawn 1 call referee, who is now looking for ROT.
Your guess is as good as mine. Impasse??!

L2T6 Clarke Red has made 3, almost a 4-ball break now.

I think the impasse regulations are the same as back home, roughly ten turns of Golf Croquet. Burridge wouldn't want that.
Anyhow, Burridge has now ventured off the W bdry and has laid a rush within 3 yards of hoop 6. Presumably wired.

Maugham either deems or adjusts slightly.
Burridge improves wired rush.

Clarke has reached hoop 6.

Past midnight back home, but surely you can't go to bed now!
On the other hand, lawn 1 may be in same position when you get up.

Maugham either deems or adjusts slightly.
Burridge improves wired rush.

The ROT (Liz Fleming) and Graeme Roberts (NZ ref) are menacing lawn 1.

Burridge makes hoop 6. The crowd goes wild.

In case you've forgotten, Maugham is for penult alone, having been pegged out.
Burridge is now 1-back and peg.

There are no time limits on these games. At the moment.

L2T6 Clarke Red blobs 3-back.

Burridge has roqueted Black after 6, and is looking where to go next. The West boundary is looking favourite.

L2T7 Reeve Blue knocks Red out of 3-back.

ROT: "Dave wanted an impasse. Ian didn't!"

L2T7 Reeve Blue picks up break.

Other games (but not matches) have been finishing.
I'll leave you to look them up, they're on the recent page!

Maugham still thinks third corner is the place to hang out.
1-back is of course a lift hoop.

Visiting the hedge I bump into Harry Fisher.
"How's it going?"
"Not well. My mallet has broken. I was on a finishing turn.
"I've lost game 1, I've borrowed a mallet from a referee, much shorter than mine.
"Do you have a mallet?"
i assure him he wouldn't want mine.
Dave Trimmer is not Harry's favourite person at the moment.

Maugham is shooting! Misses.
I think Burridge is trying to organise a lady's peel.
(Thereby not conceding a lift)

Reeve Blue has reached 2-back, Yellow has been left by hoop 2.

Burridge trying to wire himself from Red on West boundary. Might have left a sliver.

Reeve has made 9, NSL

Burridge thinking about last stroke of turn.

L2T7 Clarke lifts Yellow, makes target from 5y W of 1st corner. Misses into contact with Black.
Reeve is squinting at ball at hoop 4. I don't think it's ideal.

Burridge still thinking. Corner 3 might be spot, but that's hampered. Now looking at wired spot in A-baulk.

Death has reached peg and peg v 3 and 4-back.
He offers this tip: when setting up for straight rover peel, don't put the side ball 1' in front of rover.

Maugham Red misses whatever fraction of Black he could see, is now 4 or 5y W of 3rd corner.

Clarke is in on lawn 2 with Red, makes 3-back.

Burridge Black to A-baulk, 3y E of 1st corner, 4 or 5y W of Blue. (and wired, if Burridge hit the right spot).

Clarke got in by hitting a 20-yarder.

Maugham Red shoots at Blue, missing to the West.

Burridge keeping the refs busy as he seeks wired spots.
Red is just out of 1st corner.

Clarke made one hoop, has leave.

Burridge leaves Black on N bdry, presumably wired.
Blue is 5y S of Black, presumably open!

Maugham goes 4y W of 3rd corner.

Clarke's leave wasn't the best.
Reeve finesses.
Clarke Yellow makes 1 off Red, work to do to pick up break.

Burridge Black misses Blue to A- baulk.
Maugham Red misses Blue

Clarke makes 2 off Red with no useful rush. Blue is just out of 3rd corner, Black between 4 and IV.
Take-off to Blue. Roll to 3 looks good. Through 3, again no rush.

Burridge Blue to A-baulk.

Maugham staring at Burridge's balls. Will he shoot?

Clarke takes off to Red, Christs it off.

If you don't know what Christs off or other weird phrases mean, https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=tech/other/jargon

Avery lost game 2, Fisher has won game 2, so both go to deciders.
Death keeps popping out then returning.
"have you won yet?" "No."

Clarke is now approaching 5 from near 4th corner. Not in front.

Maugham's Red has returned to 3rd corner.

The progress of Burridge v Maugham is not helped by players having to return to the relative warmth of the clubhouse between turns.

Reeve hits a 20-yarder.

Maugham shoots at (fraction of) ball near 1-back, misses.

Reeve Blue had hit Black to near 4th corner, takes off to Clarke near 2nd corner.

Burridge Blue peels Black thru 1-back going to Red. Takes off to do a scatter on Black.
Burridge is upset. Surely he hasn't wired both balls on the scatter?

Death returns again
"have you won yet?" "Yes."
Edward Wilson v Jeff Newcombe will be starting on lawn 9.

Maugham is asking ref for wiring lift. Black is just S of end of B-baulk, Blue on East boundary.
Burridge is wont to bemoan his luck, but this would be really unlucky.

Reeve had leave.
Clarke missed 20-yarder.
Reeve picks up break, will be attempting standard TP.

Maugham does not have a lift. Shoots at Blue, missing.

Burridge Blue taps Red, takes off to Black. Big roll sends Black off in 1st corner, Blue 2y E of Black.

Clips: Burridge Black 2-back, Blue peg; Maugham Red penult, Yellow box.

Reeve Black has jawsed the 4-back peel of Blue after 3.

Maugham Red shoots at Black, missing to 1' N of ball.

Reeve Black rush-peels Blue thru 4-back after 5.
He doesn't get position for peel of penult after 6.
This could be a match-winning turn.

Burridge Black rushes Blue to behind 2-back, takes off to and hits Red.
Stop-shot approach sends Red 2y E of penult. Black may have an angled hoop, but doesn't risk it. Back to A-baulk.

Reeve peels penult with a death roll going to his 2-back pioneer.

Maugham Red to 4th corner.

A player's hat blows onto court 2, behind Reeve so he's not distracted.
But he has blobbed 3-back!

It's getting windy out there. The eleven nations' flags are fluttering beyond courts 11 and 12.
Eleven a disappointing total. No Irish players, only Jose Riva and Andrejs Savinovs from continental Europe.

Burridge has leave.
Maugham to 1st corner.

The wind is making the balls wobble on the ground.

Clarke is in with her backward ball (for 5).
Now thru 6 with 4-ball break.

Clarke 4-back and break v Reeve 3-back and rover.

Burridge will be doing another stop-shot approach from near 1st corner.

Reeve's blob of 3-back was from 15" in front.

Burridge sends Red a bit further this time - maybe 4y W of hoop 3. Guards shot.

Burridge and Maugham also played each other in the first round in 2016 (Florida). Maugham won that 2-0.

Maugham Red to 2nd corner.

Burridge Black makes 2-back, rushes Blue 2y E of 3-back.
Approaches 3-back trying to adjust Blue to a wired spot.
Runs 3-back.
Taps Blue.
Rolls northwards.

Clarke still on break, has reached penult.

Burridge has reached a lift hoop again!
Maugham stays near 2nd corner.

Burridge offers another untakeable shot.
Maugham deeming.
Burridge marches over to 2nd corner to see Red's perspective.

Lawn 2 clips: Clarke Red 4-back, Yellow peg; Reeve Black 3-back, Blue rover.

The ref's called again on lawn 1. The ROT is summoned.

Reeve has a "last shot". About a 12-yarder with Blue. Hits Black, fairly centrally.

Reeve Blue takes off to Red / Yellow near 2nd corner.
Now rushing Red to rover, ends up 3y W of hoop.

Reeve fails to approach rover, joins up.

After more chat with the ROT, Burridge leaves a tight wired rush for Black.
Maugham deems.

Burridge inches nearer 4-back.

Clarke hits 20-yarder with Black.

Sorry,
Clarke Red hits Black (20y).

Clarke Red approaches 4-back from 3 0r 4y East, putting ball to penult.
Good shot, runs hoop, should finish, needs to dig Yellow out of 2nd corner at some point.

Lawn 1 refereeing:
It is bruited:
(a) they are in a ten turns before impasse declared;
(b) there is a referee in charge.
I cannot confirm either of these.
Maybe imposing a time limit might galvanise the players?

Meanwhile Jenny has 9-yard return roquet after rover....

Hits!

Clarke wins game 2 +7

So you shouldn't trust rumours. We are not in ten turn situation - yet.

Referees hovering, Maugham deeming.

Burridge Blue peels Black thru 4-back. Red still in or near 2nd corner.
Another scatter. Both balls off E bdry. Blue 4yS of 3rd corner, Black 10y N of 4th corner

Maugham Red shoots at Blue, missing to the South.

Burridge Black penult Blue peg, Maugham Red penult, yellow box.
No more lifts (other than wiring)

Blue rushes Red south. Croquets it 4y NNW of 4th corner, taps Black.

Lawn 2 pausing for lunch, referees diligently resetting hoops.

Burridge has big roll to the vicinity of 2nd corner. Nice and deep without going off.
Maugham misses Blue into 2nd corner.
Burridge has chance to finish but I don't think it's that kind of game.

Burridge Black hits Red, stops it 11y W of peg.
Rush to penult. 2y N of hoop. He is approaching it!

Stop-shot approach sends Blue 1y N of peg.
Hard to tell how long his hoop is - 18", but that's +/- 6". Straight anyway.

Makes hoop. Has rush on Blue to rover.

Burridge Black approaches rover with Blue. 2' hoop...

Burridge Black makes rover, roqueting Blue in the hoop stroke.

Burridge is about 4y S of rover.
Rolls both balls to the peg.
Burridge pegs out Black.

Maugham Red hits Blue (12y)

Just a snick, Blue is still 1y SE of peg.

Maugham takes off to penult (?!)

Maugham does not reach.

Maugham scatters Blue (7y).

Blue is 6y E of 4th corner.
Red is 4y W of 1st corner.

Burridge Blue dribbles at peg, watched by ref...

Burridge runs after it, it's close...

Misses by 1", goes 1 yard past

Maugham Red misses Blue.

Burridge wins game 1 +3

Well wasn't that 4 3/4 hours of fascinating entertainment?
What did they say about Wagner?
"Monsieur Wagner has good moments, but awful quarters of an hour!"

I'm going to have some lunch, hope to be ready when either of the two show-courts resumes.

No rest for the wicked, they have restarted on lawn 1.
Game 2
L1T1 Maugham Yellow 13y N of 4th corner
L1T2 Burridge Black 1y SW of 5

L1T3 Maugham Red at Yellow from 2y W of 3rd corner.
Close... misses to 4y S of Yellow.

L1T4 Burridge Blue at Red from A-baulk...

...misses, coming on just north of Red.

L1T5 Maugham Red taking off to 1 from Black, about 2y to the NE.
2' hoop... blobs it.

Not sure where Red is, but Black can't see much of it.
L1T6 Burridge Black at Blue (nr E bdry), misses

L1T7 Maugham Red to W bdry, 4y N of 1st corner.

L1T8 Burridge Black has longish (2y?) rush on Blue, does well, rushing 2y S of Red.
Makes hoop 1, has break..

Lawn 2 Game 3
L2T1 Clarke Black 9yN of 4th corner
L2T2 Reeve Yellow (just S of) 2nd corner
L2T3 Clarke Blue at Black from A-baulk, missing to 1y N

L2T4 Reeve Red at Blue/Black from B-baulk. Misses to 5y N of 4th corner.

L2T5 Clarke Blue makes 1 off Red.
Now approaching hoop 2 from the corner...good shot leaves 4' slightly angled hoop...

L2T5 Clarke Blue fails hoop 2

Burridge has reached 1-back

L2T8 Reeve Red refuses expensive 8-yarder at Blue, misses 14-yarder at Yellow

L2T9 Clarke Blue joins up near 4th corner

L2T10 Reeve Yellow misses Red (10y)

We do have sunshine.
Still pretty breezy.

I believe I owe Mr Burridge an apology. Stopping at 3-back (as he did in game 1) is clearly his strategy, to prevent the TPO.
Red and Yellow are cross-pegged.

Clarke has picked up break with Blue.

Burridge has made 8, left a diagonal spread, with the western ball only 5y from peg.

L1T9 Maugham lifts Yellow (the western ball) to A-baulk.
Shoots at Bllue (or Black)
Hits hoop 4, bounces off 5y N of 4th corner.

L1T10 Burridge Blue ignores the 6-yarder at Yellow, rushes Black near Red, rushes Red 2y shy of 1, take-off approach.
3' hoop...

Burridge makes hoop 1 with just the right amount of wire to yield a rush on Red.

In game 1 I speculated about Burridge attempting a quadruple, and he promptly broke down.

On lawn 2 Clarke has reached 1-back.

Burridge Blue has made hoop 4 off Black.
He is yet to touch Yellow this turn.
No quadruple attempt.
No attempt to pick up Yellow yet.

Burridge Blue has not run 6 cleanly, and is shooting at his 1-back pioneer (6y).
Hits.

Burridge's 3-ball break is dissolving.
He fails 1-back.
Maugham needs to hit something.

Clarke has made 9 hoops

L1T11 Maugham Red misses Black (12y?) to near 2nd corner
L1T12 Burridge Blue hits Red (7y).

L2T11 Clarke Blue makes 9, has OSL.

L2T12 Reeve lifts Yellow to B-baulk, shoots at Red with Black / Blue in the background.
Misses to 4th corner.

L1T12 Burridge Blue has made 1-back, and is unaccountably 5 yards from his 2-back pioneer.
He manages to snick that, but then fails the hoop.

L2T13 Clarke Black has made hoop 1
She will be needing a good rush to 2 in a minute...

L1T13 Maugham Yellow has made 1

Clarke's rush looks adequate.
Yes, she's through.
May even pick up a standard TP, though the hoop 3 pioneer isn't especially close to the hoop.

L1T13 Maugham Yellow fails 2, off Red

Clarke wisely concentrates on making sure of the break rather than a risky standard tp manoeuvre.
Even so hoop 3 looks missable, maybe 5'. Runs it well, has 5-yarder return to hit.
She's distracted by something or someone, restalks, hits.
Will she go for delayed TP?

L1T14 Burridge Black misses 11-yarder

L1T15 Maugham Yellow goes round the houses to pick up 4-ball break.
Needs a solid ball round to steady the ship.
Clarke has Blue as the hoop 6 pioneer, so maybe a solid ball round is apt here too.

Amazing! Just visited the loo and neither top 20 player has broken down.

Clip update:
L1 Burridge Blue 2-back, Black 3-back; Maugham Red 1, Yellow break (currently 6)
L2: Clarke Blue 4-back, Black break (currently 2-back); Reeve Red 1, Yellow 1

I have a chance to look what else is happening.
Death v Mulliner is the first definite second round match.
Also through: Essick, Webby, Hockey, Bamford.

One of my experts has been busy doing research.
The only player to have had as bad as a record as 66.7% in the Block, then win the Championship, was Robert Fulford in 1990.
But that was 4/6, not 6/9.
So, no player has lost 3 block games and gone on to win the title.
Hoping to break that record this year: Robert Fletcher, Simon Hockey, James death and others.

L2T13 Clarke Black has an 8-yard return after rover for some reason. Hits it.

L1T15 Maugham Yellow has made 9.
Blue is the customary MSL ball on the left-hand wire of 2.
Black tho is not in NSL posi, it's about 14 y N and 2y W of 4th corner.
Red has rush on Yellow out of 4th corner, I presume a single ball for Black

L1T16 Burridge Black plays Black as it lies, misses Yellow to just W of Red.

L2T13 Clarke Black has another OSL.

L2T14 Reeve plays Red as it lies, hits Black (13y).

L1T17 Maugham Red has 5' hoop 1. Runs it by 3". Now looking to see if Blue has wiring lift.
The hampered shot looks difficult. Yellow is about 4y away. Maugham is on his knees.

L2T14 Reeve Red overhits take-off approach to 1, fails hoop

Maugham has the ref on.
Kneeling sweep thru hoop.
Misses.

L2T15 Clarke Blue hits Yellow (20y)

Avery has beaten Watkins +12 in the decider

Burridge is asking for a wiring lift for Blue.

The first referee had a quick shufti and said yes that's a lift.
Burridge thought some testing may be required, and sportingly waited for Maugham to return from the gents'.
Maugham has now appealed, and the ROT is on.

I was distracted from lawn 2.
Clarke may be finishing. Blue has just run penult.
Now approaching rover off Black, with no other balls in the vicinity.

Burridge has been granted his wring lift.

Clarke wins game 3 +26

Lucky escape for Jenny after Reeve had a finishing turn in game 2.

L1T18 Burridge Blue hits Yellow (10y, target)

I've been informed by a disappointed opponent that Essick's first tp was 6th turn.
That's an eleven turn match.
Obviously Matthew had a hot brunch date.

L1T18 Burridge Blue rolls up to 2-back from some distance (8y?), makes it.

Mulliner and Shilling stopped for lunch, and returned to find the balls swept off the lawn by an overzealous referee.

L1T18 Burridge Blue will be going to the peg.

So Fisher has won 2-0 with his borrowed mallet.
I mistakenly took him literally when he said he'd lost game 1.

L1T18 Burridge Blue has made penult, and left Yellow at the hoop. Looks to be close to the southern side of the eastern wire.

Reeve is generously lending Fisher his (similar) mallet for tomorrow.
They both have airline shafts, so Fisher will be using his top with Reeve's bottom.

L1T18 Burridge Blue has left Red 4' E of 5. Black is in 4th corner, Blue 1y to the north.

L1T19 Maugham lifts Red to B-baulk in front of hoop 3, shoots at Yellow.
Misses to 1y N of 1st corner.

Burridge is examining Yellow to see if it will rush to Red. Or maybe whether it is wired on Red

L1T20 Burridge Black cuts Blue 3y E of 3-back.
Overapproaches, fails angled hoop.

Clips: Burridge Blue peg, Black 3-back; Maugham red 2, Yellow 4-back.

Maugham has had a look a Yellow, now examining Black.
Yellow is shooting at Red. Clearly further off the wire than I thought.

L1T21 Maugham Yellow misses Red into 1st corner.

L1T22 Burridge Black runs 3-back, rushes Blue 7y W of peg ish.
Black rushes Red into the corner for a cannon.
Does not move Yellow in the cannon, just plays for a simple rush.
Rush is short, perhaps 2y E of 6.

L1T22 Burridge Black rolls up to 4-back. Longish hoop (4 or 5'?).
Runs it to boundary.

A good croquet stroke required now.
L1T22 Burridge Black plays pass roll, Yellow to rover.
Black has rush on Blue pointing roughly right, but he's 8' away.
Unwanted cut, approaching penult from 6y...

Has angled hoop, maybe 15 deg, can't tell how long... maybe a yard.
This is for the match....

L1T22 Burridge Black fails penult.
Red is in baulk.

L1T23 Maugham lifts Yellow to 1st corner, cuts Red 3y SW of 5. Takes off to Blue.
He is looking to make 4-back off Black.

Do we think Maugham is going to peg out Burridge?
I'm not sure I can cope with another 3-ball ending.

L1T23 Maugham is indeed planning to peg out Blue. I think.
We may never know as he runs rover, but not cleanly.
The ref is on.

Maugham is on his knees again. The fact his mallet head is small is in his favour.
He hits Black.

The crowd wants me to keep an accurate turn count this time!

Blue is off the lawn.

An expert passes by casting doubt on Maugham's tactic.

Red is croqueted 12y W of penult.
Yellow is 1' N of 4th corner.

T24 Burridge lifts Black to B-baulk, tries to take posi, falls off to the West.

T25 Maugham Red to 4y W of 4th corner.

T26 Burridge looking at severely angled hoop, though it's more possible than we thought.

T26 Burridge Black fails hoop. Black bounces 2y E of hoop.

T27 Maugham Red hits Yellow.

My expert muses whether Burridge should have jawsed last turn.

T27 Maugham Red is trying to finish. Yellow is rolled to 3, Red not ideal on Black.
Thick take-off approach fails to get in front.

Smudger's out - Bryant beats Richard M Smith.

T27 Maugham Red goes off E bdry, guarding shot at Yellow,

T28 Burridge Black is shooting at Yellow (15y)...

Restalks...

Misses.

It's possible he was shooting at Red.
Black comes on just S of Red.

T29 Maugham Red rolls Black to 3 getting 1y rush on Yellow.
Rush is pretty good.
Again runs hoop, but not clean.
Can easily hit Yellow.
Big croquet stroke, again pretty good.

T29 Maugham Red overapproaches 3

The clip is on 3.
Yellow is 3y NNW of 4, Black 5y SSW of 3.
Red to 4th corner.

T30 Burridge Black at Yellow (14y)

Hits!

Yellow is rushed near end of A-baulk.
T30 Burridge Black takes off to 2y E of penult, takes what looks to be good position.

Maugham has a look at Black.
T31 Maugham Yellow at Red (15y).
Misses.to an inch north of Red.

T32 Burridge Black runs penult to the S bdry.

Black has 14 yard double target.

Burridge misses to the south, comes on in contact with Red

T33 Maugham Red plays open cannon.
(Or disjoint as they term it in these parts)
Not bad, needed to aim thinner. Black is 4y WSW of 4, Yellow 4y SSW of 3.
Take-off approach...

...is good.
Red runs hoop 3.
Rushes Yellow 5y N of 1.
Rolls Yellow to 5, 3y shy on Black.
Snicks Black.
Good approach.

Another hoop made, but not cleanly.
Had it not made, Maugham had lost the match.
Ref is on, but Maugham hits Black no problem.

T33 Maugham Red has reached 1-back. Yellow is just S of hoop. Ref is on again.

I'm speculating, maybe Red is being bounced off the wire into running position.
Plays it well, can now rush Yellow to 1st corner.
What's that shot called?
Frustratingly all my usual experts are 15y away.
[30 yard walk]
Apparently it doesn't have a name.

Something causes crowd reaction...

Maugham's 4-back pioneer is 3y SE of peg.

Good rush to 4-back.

T33 Maugham Red makes penult off Yellow.
Black is 2y SE of peg.

Approaching rover off Black, 4' NNE of hoop...

Has 1' hoop...

Again a lot of wire, but it's through.

Maugham wins Game 2 +2

Robert Fletcher has beaten Jim Nicholls.

Hoops on lawn 1 are being checked.

Wilson 4-back and peg v Newcombe 3 and 2-back (Newcombe game up)

Galpin is game up against Rothman.

Rothman stuck in hoop 6 on first break in game 2. Galpin is in.

Chapman is game up on Beard on lawn 5.

Forster beat McCormick in 3.

Some detail on Galpin v Rothman game 1.
Galpin pegged Rothman out.
Rothman was 4-back alone v 3-back and peg.
Rothman shot, hit 3-back and stayed there.

Lawn 1 decider

T1 Burridge Black 10y N of 4th corner
T2 Maugham Yellow to 2nd corner (or just south)
T3 Burridge Blue hits Black from A-baulk

T3 Burridge plays big roll. Sends Black off West boundary.

T4 Maugham Red at Yellow from B-baulk (13y).

Maugham misses.

T5 Burridge Blue at Red (6y). Hits.

Rothman is 1 and 2-back v Galpin 1 and break at hoop 3.

T5 Burridge Blue is through hoop 1 with a break.

On lawn 8 Newcombe has run rover. Looking to peg out Wilson.
That will be Newcombe 2-back and peg v 4-back alone.

Burridge has reached hoop 5

Sorry Newcombe v Wilson is lawn 9. Peg-out was achieved.

Beard has missed return roquet after 4 v Chapman on lawn 5.

Galpin's break has reached 1-back.

Burridge may well make 3-back this time, a strategic variance.

T5 Burridge Blue has made 9. Red and Yellow are by 4, Black is by peg. Not sure what leave he's going for. Roqueted Red in the hoop-stroke else an NSL may have been available.

I don't think this leave has a name.
Red is 10y W of peg.
Yellow is just out of 4th corner.
Black is 7y NNE of 4.
Blue has one more stroke, currently near Yellow

Blue goes 7' ENE of Black, further than player intended I think.
Is there a target from A-baulk?

T6 Maugham lifts Red to A-baulk, makes target from ~7y E of 1st corner.
Red hits Blue.

Galpin sticks in 3-back.

T6 Maugham Red croquets Blue to 2, doesn't get rush on Black to Yellow.
Takes off to Yellow, rolls between hoop 1 and 1st corner.

Burridge considers his options.

T7 Burridge Black at Red (15y).
Doesn't like it.
Maugham now has easy pick-up.

T8 Maugham Yellow has break.
Will we see a TPO?

T8 Maugham Yellow is making 2 off Blue, the wrong parity for the TPO.
After 2 Blue is croqueted to 4.

On lawn 9 Newcombe failed 3-back (or "bombed" as they say here).
Wilson on finishing turn.

Maugham is buffeted by the gusty wind.
He has reached hoop 5.

Wilson wins game 2 to force a decider with Newcombe.

Maugham's break continues.

T8 Maugham Yellow has left Black 2' from hoop 2 (wired from B-baulk).
Obviously doesn't want to concede another wiring lift!

Rothman is on a triple peel.
Now Robert Fletcher has played 11 games, he will magically appear at the top of the rankings.

T8 Maugham Yellow has made 9. Blue is inches ENE of 4, wired from A-baulk.
Red is 11y N of 4th corner. Yellow is left so that Red has a 4' rush to 1.

T9 Burridge lifts Blue to B-baulk. Shooting at Red, misses badly. Blue is 4' W of 4th corner.

T10 Maugham Red rushes Yellow 4y WNW of 1. Takes off to 1. Runs hoop with some wire.

T10 Maugham Red has big roll after 1, both balls slightly short of ideal.
Runs 2, roqueting Black in the hoop-stroke.
If there's going to be a TP, it will be delayed.

Wilson has a break on lawn 9.

T10 Maugham Red makes 3 off Yellow, takes off to Blue near 4th corner. Good take-off.

T10 Maugham Red makes 4 off Black. Black is going between 4-back and 6. He will be attempting the delayed tp... I think!

The hoop 5 pioneer isn't ideal, so Maugham rushes Yellow to help. Now Yellow goes to hoop 6.
Maybe he will attempt 4-back peel after 6?
Less likely to get the peel, but less chance of breaking down.

Wilson's break was 3rd turn, but he wires himself on his 2-back pioneer.

No rush for Maugham after 5 (another hoop and roquet, I guess), so any thought of peeling shelved for now.

Newcombe missed, Wilson is back on lawn.
Rothman's TP came down to a straight double, penult is peeled but not by much.

T10 Maugham Red makes 2-back off Yellow.

Galpin is 1 and 3-back, Rothman is ?? and peg, having a spread. We're not sure if Rothman has had one peel or two of the triple.

T10 Maugham Red will not be attempting the straight triple. May still fancy one straight peel...

Just three matches in play now, lawns 1, 8 and 9.
Chapman beat Beard.

No peels for Maugham, just a solid ball to the peg.

T10 Maugham Red has made 12.
Diagonal spread, Blue at peg.

Clips: Burridge Blue 4-back, Black 1; Maugham Red peg, Yellow 4-back.

T11 Burridge lifts Black to A-baulk. Shooting at Yellow or Red (16y). This is a "last shot"....

Restalking in the wind. Starting on the concrete surround.
Misses.
Not close.

Sam (10,000 miles away) has arranged for me to be bought a beer. Thanks, Sam!

T12 Maugham Yellow stops Black into the lawn, rushes Red S of Blue. Fair rush to 4-back. 2' hoop, run to boundary.

Sam's intermediary is not confident he'll be repaid.
He takes photographic evidence.

Maugham is finishing.

Maugham has run rover.

Maugham beats Burridge -3 +2 +17

Let me catch up with lawns 8 and 9. I may even relocate.

Am not allowed to relocate to the referees' area.
Rothman has failed rover, he is rover and peg.
Galpin is for 1 and 3-back, hits in with backward ball, but will struggle to pick up break with Rothman's ball in rover.

On lawn 9 Wilson is 4-back and break, possible opportunity for straight triple.
Newcombe's clips are still on 1.

The ROT, Maugham and other referees are having a conflab at hoop 5.
Discussing wiring lifts?

Galpin stuck in 3, Rothman could run rover, not pegging out this turn (unless he does so from E bdry).

Wilson settled for 4-back and peg with a spread.
Newcombe misses a long "short" shot.

Rothman had leave, Galpin missed 28-yarder.
Both Wilson and Rothman should finish this turn.

Wilson beats Newcombe 2-1

Rothman has a 6-yard peg-out.

Rothman wins game 2 to force decider with Galpin

Will the management move Galpin v Rothman to a showcourt?
They may need floodlights!
(About 2 hours of natural light remain.)

The players wish to stay on the same court.

They will be resuming on lawn 8.
The hoops are being checked.
One experienced manager (not me!) brands this decision madness!

Sorry, it was not changing court that is "madness", not checking the hoops.

Rothman hits 2nd turn, has leave.
Galpin hits 3rd turn, gets break.

Galpin's first shot was a supershot.

Galpin fails 3.

I spent the first three days visiting (briefly) the three satellite Clubs used for the Blocks.

Saturday to Williamstown. A nice two-lawn club with a large clubhouse.
I have already missed some excitement.
James Death has done a sextuple in his first game It featured a posthumous penult peel and a combination peg-out.
Ever obliging, Death does a TPO against Callum Hyland. Not the best contact leave, with a ball 6y W of hoop 1. Death was expecting to POP Hyland to 2 but it didn't happen.
Death considered 3rd corner for the last shot, and even pegging out both balls, but went into 4th corner.
Taking contact from that ball, Hyland played a reasonable croquet stroke, sending Death's ball near 6. He approached 1 from the boundary, and a good croquet stroke yielded a 2-yard rush pointing roughly at 2.
Sadly Hyland missed the rush entirely.
Death inched round a few hoops before Hyland was tempted into a long shot.
Hyland missed; Death finished.

That last paragraph was meant to be in italics.

Back to now, Rothman hits something, runs hoop 1 by a long way, misses hoop 2 pioneer.

Surprisingly, there was only one other sextuple in the block stage, by Reg Bamford.

Luckily, James Death and Callum Hyland are here to correct my misapprehension.
Hyland did not miss his rush to 2, he was wired from the ball.
My apologies to Callum.

There is talk of Callum repeating what he did at Wellington and manage a Z.

There was also only one other TPO, by Aiken Hakes against Reg Bamford. This was a losing endeavour.

Galpin hit a 9-yarder, a tickle but that counts. He's now going round.

A pleasant sunny evening, shadows extending over the court.

Galpin is 1 and 4-back, laying an OSL.

Sunday to Essendon. Another 2-lawn club, with a lovely clubhouse, if not quite as palatial as Williamstown's.
Watched Jenny Clarke beat Ian Burridge comfortably, even if her TP never got going. Clarke had a shaky start, losing her first game to Ted Salter, but then won the next eight.
Also saw Mark Avery complete a never-in-doubt Triple. Avery has looked very good over the last English season.

We had 73 TPs in the Blocks. I'd have expected more.

Rothman hit the lift.

Rothman is going round.

Monday
I arrive at Belmont Croquet Club at an opportune moment. Simon Hockey (Blue) has a 4 or 5' angled rover. Edward Wilson (Yellow) has a similar but longer penult. These are the only balls on the court.
Hockey fails rover, leaving the ball in the middle of the hoop - exactly where I know not.
Wilson runs penult to the South boundary, a yard or so East of A-baulk.
The referee is called to watch Blue. Wilson strikes hard, hits the right-hand wire. Blue is moved a foot or so north.
The referee pauses for moment, then calls roquet. But the opponent doesn't hear, he's halfway to rover. Now he realises, and returns to his chair. Wilson completes the trivial finish.
Was it a roquet? I don't know. It's hard to see how Blue moved so little if it was a roquet. It's also hard to see how it moved so much if it wasn't.
Reminiscent of Suter's key shot at Fulford in penult at last year's (British) Open.
Arguably the most difficult job for a referee. Would a high-speed video camera help?

Rothman has reached hoop 6.

Back to Monday:
I move to court 3 where Pete Trimmer is playing Chris Shilling. Trimmer is on 2/6, and even if he wins all 3 today it is probably not enough.
Trimmer is despondent about his shooting - "I don't think I've hit a shot of more then ten yards." He loves these lawns though - Stephen Forster is the greenkeeper here.
Trimmer has reached 2 and 2-back, Shilling may be finishing. But no, he grovels through penult. He refuses a 13-yarder for the game, though it would have given a lot away.
Trimmer makes 2 hoops with his forward ball, then leaves a diagonal spread - an interesting choice when one is not conceding a lift. Oops!
Luckily the ball by the peg is not wired, yet the shot from there to Trimmer's balls is hampered. He takes it on, missing. Can Trimmer do a standard TP?
The short answer is yes, but it's probably the least standard standard TP I've seen. Balls were rushed into other balls, croqueted into hoops. The highlight was an angled 1-back which Trimmer played for hoop and roquet, but didn't get the roquet. Luckily there was a ball 9.5 yards away, so he could hit it.

Exciting news, croquet fans.
The ROT has relented and allowed a wholescale invasion of the referees' area.

Galpin Red 1, Yellow 4-back; Rothman Blue 1 Black 4-back
Diagonal spread with Red at the peg.

Galpin lifts Red to B-baulk, shoots at Blue / Black. Misses to 3y N of 4th corner.

Rothman scythes his rush. Was it to hoop 1 or to Yellow? It's halfway between.
Fair croquet stroke.
Rushes to 2y ENE of hoop 1.

Rain expected in 13 minutes.

Rothman makes 1.

Rothman has break, yet to visit Red.

Back to Monday
In the meantime, Hockey v McCorkindale has started on the same court. Logan McCorkindale is yet another up-and-coming young Kiwi. Hockey is on 4/7, McCorkindale on 5/7. Hockey really needs a win, but McCorkindale is in first. Held up by the double-banking, he puts the first break down at 5. Hockey promptly croquets a ball off the lawn, and McCorkindale is soon on 5 and 4-back.
But in making the leave, he misses a short trickle at a ball near the peg, giving an easy start for Hockey.
Hockey makes nine, has an NSL, with McCorkindale's 4-back ball at 3-back. McCorkindale lifts the other ball and misses from A-baulk.
Hockey rushes that ball North, putting it to 2 going back to partner (a useful trick). He picks up the break and then...
Well then I go to lunch. I presume Hockey finished with a standard TP, in which case croquetscores has the wrong margin. I should fact-check this, but if you're reading this I haven;t done so!

Rothman picks up Red before 4.
Approaching 4 from a few yards to the side, 4' hoop...

runs it with control. Murray control.

Will Rothman (Blue) try delayed TP?
No, Black is the hoop 6 pioneer.

While Rothman plays his boring ball to the peg, here's some more of my adventures on Monday.

Rosemary and Fiona kindly invited me to join them for lunch, and it is decided to go to Geelong beach. Unwisely I am given a phone and told to navigate. Instead I tell some satnav anecdotes. Such as Jim Field [Somerset croquet player], who has Joanna Lumley voice his satnav. [British actress, New Avengers, Absolutely Fabulous, voice many find sexy]. Jim likes the end of each journey, when Joanna says "You have reached your destination, darling".
We missed a couple of turns, but did get to the beach.

Still a reasonable crowd, at least a dozen.

In the olden days [1980s], one might hear of a promising handicap 6 player at Cheltenham who might be on the circuit in a year or two.
Both this Worlds and the last in 2018, I have met two Englishmen for the first time.
At Wellington it was John-Paul Moberly, this time James Galpin.
Both came into the game because through Golf Croquet.

Rothman has reached 3-back.

Back to Monday.
We then located a cafe providing fish 'n' chips. Now in my chippy back in Blighty, I have a choice of cod, haddock, perhaps plaice, sometimes scampi. None of these was on the menu, at least not with those names.
Rosemary takes charge of ordering. "Three butter-fish please." "Sorry we're out." "Three flake then". "Sorry".
By now I think we're in a Monty Python sketch, but eventually three flatheads arrive. I think maybe we'd call them goujons of something.
The sachets are weird. There are two little plastic containers of sauce in each portion. I try peeling off the top and attacking the plastic, to no avail.
Fiona shows me. You hold it upside down, then squeeze upwards. Tartare sauce squirts out of the middle. Easy.
Emboldened, I go for some ketchup. "No Andrew, squeeze upwards. Don't worry, the 5-year-olds I teach have trouble too."

Rothman has reached 4-back. There will be zero peels.

Rothman has run rover

Clips: Galpin Red 1, Yellow 4-back; Rothman Blue peg Black 4-back

Rothman is having a spread.
Ref is on, fixing old peghole.
Rothman skims Yellow.

Rothman has wide join in 4th corner and 7y N of corner.
Presumably Red and Yellow are (slightly) open.

Galpin plays the balls as they lie.
Red misses Yellow (8y, couldn't see all of ball)

Or maybe he could?

Rothman Black hits Blue (7y)

Crowd say Galpin should have taken more time over his "last" shot.

Annabel says hello. Hello, Annabel! Why aren't you here?

Rothman Black makes 4-back

Rover pioneer is a few feet South.
Rothman makes penult, roquets Red.
Rothman needs to extract Blue from the boundary before rover.

Rothman Black takes off to Blue, rolls it to the peg.
Reasonable position on Yellow.

Black sticks in rover, but it must have some spin to run thru by inches.

Rothman beats Galpin 2-1

So long folks, see you 08:30 tomorrow morning.
Or 21:30 this evening.
And if you're in the USA, work it out for yourself.

Best-of-5s tomorrow.

Cheers, Andrew