The culmination of the club championship took place on the weekend of 13th and 14th September.  There was a new look to finals weekend this year, with Lexus providing sponsorship, most obviously in the form of a couple of plush motors parked outside the clubhouse, one of which would be available to a lucky raffle winner at the end of the weekend (for a weekend).  There were also some nice new banners around the courts and Lexus ads by the net posts.  The weather by and large played ball, and we managed to get nine of the ten finals played over the two days.

So, to Saturday's play.  On Court 1 at the top, Richard Crook and Diane Short took on Gordon Rutter and Lilian Brown in the mixed handicap doubles final.  Gordon has always been the bridesmaid at finals, but we won't embarrass him my mentioning how many victories have slithered out of his grasp.  But on this occasion, with Lilian in steely mood, the pair of them got the better of Richard and Diane 4-1, 4-2.  So at last Gordon was the bride!

At the same time on Court 4 at the bottom, Guy Rollisson and Steve Wingate were taking on Richard Huck and Graham Fewell in the men's over-55 open doubles final.  This was a very tight affair, with never very much between the two teams.  Richard and Graham missed chances to move clear in the first set, and paid for not taking their chances, losing it on a tie-break.  The second set was nip and tuck, until Richard and Graham nabbed two games on the tort to win it 6-4.  So, to the 10-point tie-break.  Richard and Graham established a lead, only to be pegged back.  Eventually, they squeezed through 10-8 to take the title.

Next on Court 1 was Gavin Sked, hoping to retain his men's handicap singles crown, against Iain Hedley.  The pair had played twice previously, once in the preliminary round of the handicap singles and once in the open singles, with matches being shared.  This time, though, Gavin's greater experience and canny use of the slice did for Iain, and he came out on top, winning 4-3, 4-2.

Meanwhile, on Court 4, Gordon Rutter was looking to add more silverware, partnering Paul Johnson (PJ) against Paul Ward and Paddy Smith in the men's handicap doubles.  Paul and Paddy were giving Gordon and PJ a 15-0 start on the latter's service games, but this proved no stumbling block to the two Ps, who won the first set 4-2.  Gordon and PJ came roaring back in the second set, taking it 4-1, so a 10-point tie-break would settle the affair.  It was tight, but Gordon and PJ established a lead towards the end, only to agonisingly miss a great chance at match point.  Paul and Paddy took advantage, eventually coming through 12-10.

The last match on Saturday was the women's open singles final between last year's winner, Tracey Gaskill, and multiple previous winner, Jill Taylor.  In the first set, Jill raced to a 4-1 lead, only for Tracey to peg her back and have the chance to serve it out.  But things didn't go to plan, Jill broke and won the next two games to take it 7-5.  Things looked bleak for Tracey in the second set, as she once again fell 4-1 down.  But Tracey threw caution to the wind, got that famous drop shot working, and managed to win the next five games to take the set 6-4.  We were all expecting a very tight 10-point tie-break, but that's not what transpired.  Tracey surged ahead and kept the pedal to the metal, winning it 10-1, and retaining her title.

The weather forecast for Sunday was less favourable, particularly towards the latter part of the day, and there was a danger that the final pair of matches could be affected by rain.  However, the women's open doubles had to be postponed, as one of the players was decidedly under the weather.  This did mean, though, that we could get four matches played one after another on the two courts.

Opening proceedings on Court 1 was Simon Piper and Jake Fewell-Williams against Alex Laude and Colin Bentham in the men's open doubles final.  Simon and Jake took the first set comprehensively, 6-1, but the tables were turned in the second set, with Alex and Colin taking it 6-3.  So, yet another 10-point tie-break ensued.  This one went to and fro, and on match point to Alex and Colin there was a contentious call which was very sportingly overturned by Alex and Colin, as this was match point to them.  The sporting gesture was good for the game and showed the spirit it was played in, but wasn't so good for Alex and Colin's attempts to win the match, as Simon and Jake eventually clinched it 12-10.

The first match on Court 4 was the women's handicap doubles between the twins, Andrea Corless and Diane Short, and Janet Robinson and Lilian Brown.  Andrea and Diane had won a close match in the preliminary round against Janet and Lilian, and perhaps this gave them confidence to step it up for this encounter.  Neither Andrea nor Diane put a foot wrong, as they moved Janet and Lilian all round the court.  The tight games went their way, and they came out on top, winning 4-2, 4-1.

Next up on Court 4 was the mixed open doubles final.  Holders Tracey Gaskill and Graham Fewell were up against Jill Taylor and Mark Nicholls.  Jill and Mark eased away in the first set, only for Tracey and Graham to come back at them.  But it was too little too late, and Jill and Mark took it 6-4.  The second set was also close, but Jill and Mark played the important points better and came though 6-2, snatching the title away from Tracey and Graham.

The last match of finals weekend was on Court 1.  This was the men's open singles final, between the holder for the last few years, Alex Laude, and new member, Simon Piper.  Simon needed a little extra time to prepare, as he had a foot injury that had been hampering him during the men's open doubles final and could be a factor in this final.  As was de rigueur over the weekend, this was a very tight match, requiring a 10-point tie-break to settle the matter, after Alex took the first set 6-4 and Simon took the second set 6-1.  The strain told on both players towards the end, with the odd double-fault being sprinkled in between the superb winners and forced errors.  Eventually, Alex came through 13-11 to retain his title.

So, a big well done to all the competitors for providing such rich entertainment, and keeping a boisterous crowd in high spirits throughout.  The quips kept flowing from the likes of Albert Ball, Elizabeth Dodds and Steve Lloyd, and there were frequent calls of 'Hussar!', which is a new one on me and, I think, most of the rest of the crowd.  How a class of Hungarian light cavalry comes into tennis is beyond me.

The frivolities spilled over to the impromptu presentations at the end of each day's play, and went into overdrive when the draw to see who had won a Lexus for a weekend was made.  Steve Lloyd, after deftly knocking a trophy off the table, had the winning ticket and proudly posed in front of the brace of Lexi (if that's the plural of Lexus).

Special thanks should go to the umpires, Janet Robinson, Deborah Williams, Graham Fewell, Mike Hilderbrand and Richard Crook.  Both Mike and Richard had debuts as umpires and fared very well.  Janet had the task of umpiring the men's open singles final as the temperature cooled markedly.  She was well wrapped up, but it still looked pretty chilly up there in the chair for that mammoth match.

The main presentation of trophies will be at the End of Season Social Evening on Friday 10th October.  Hopefully there will be a good turnout to recognise the achievements of all the champions at this year's tournament.

Postcript: The women's open doubles was played on the morning of 8th October, with multiple past winners Tracey Gaskill and Jill Taylor proving too strong for Janet Robinson and Jane Cockburn.