Croquet winter blues and how to avoid them.
This has been my first year of croquet and as the season drew to a close my heart began to sink. The thought of several months of nothing began to pervade as I wondered what would or could take its place during the winter.
I am not sure how many types there are of people who play croquet but it has certainly become a passion with me. I am not the fair weather type person, but playing on a extremely cold winter's day doesn't inspire me. It would have to be mild, as swinging a mallet with thick gloves on could prove difficult. I would also want to consider the grass. So in the first week I did feel seriously bereft. Am I the only person who feels/felt this way. However our croquet club, Bowdon in Cheshire, had a variety of ways of keeping the club spirit alive during the winter non playing season. First of all every week on a Tuesday and now also on a Wednesday, between the hours of one and five o clock we play Canasta, quite a quaint but ever so exciting game of cards. Canasta cards are not easily purchased except at John Lewis, which show how few people must play.
Tuesday is the more popular of the days and one of the members, a Mrs Jean Teare comes in early every Tuesday and makes a different home-made soap. As there could, and have been up to 20 people arriving between 12.15 and 12.30, this is no mean feat. Not only that, Jeans cooking is of Cordon Bleu style and we are blessed with names like Leek Potato and Onion, Bacon and Lentil, Carrot and Coriander, as well as Scotch Broth, Mushroom ect ect. She even gives us toasted crusty bread to have with it and will never accept any recompense as says she does it for love, and that is true as for her soups are lovely and tasty. As an important part of our institution Jean makes the start of the Tuesday session jolly as we all sit around our long table supping our bowls of soup and chatting.
Come one o clock it is Canasta time and depending on how many people, tables of four are played. Usually canasta is played with a partner, but you can play singly with two, three or five players. Maybe more, I would have to look at the rules. Vague ideas of St Mary Mead and Miss Marple do come to mind as I sit and play, as we are a comfortable lot of highly entertaining beings, male and female usually approximately balanced.
Half way through is afternoon tea and biscuits and how I wish I drink tea, but of all the things British, tea is something I dislike the taste of, so it is coffee or water for me. Our canasta has developed certain words, which come up during the course of the afternoon. Nausea Bagwash being one of them , no clues for what that means, nor for 'Give me Bone' but 'Hubris' is another begotten word. In case you don't know what it means I have looked up the dictionary definition which is arrogant pride or presumption. The Latin, tempus fugit also gets mentioned several times or is that 'Tempers Fudge' it if you get my drift. Sometimes it is like learning a dictionary just being there. I am not sure which is more fun, playing for listening to the play. The play however is very serious and although we have no bad losers, winning is the name of the game.
Another way of getting though the dreary winter is Pam's Youth Club. Now Pam, bless her cotton socks, would I am sure, not tell me off when I say she is not in her first flush of Youth, although mentally she might be. This is a fortnightly event on a Friday which starts approximately eight-ish and closes when the pub shuts. Pam set it up I gather, some years ago, and is another very caring lady who brings food and jollity to the evening. We play shove twopence it being the nearest coin we have. Pool on a very nice pool table, donated by Richard a year or two ago, chat and drink at the bar, with maybe some canasta if anyone wants to play. Now that we are half way through the bleak midwinter, I feel a little cheerier and look forward to playing this year, hoping we will have as good a summer as last year. I don't know how other clubs get through the winter but maybe this article might generate clubs who do nothing into action. Maybe they already do things we might like to know about.
I wasn't born with a silver spoon nor a great talent but what I was blessed with, was common sense and persistence, and as I play this year, I am sure there will be several Nausea Bagwash expletives coming out of me, even thought it is not my saying but in the words of Calvin Coolidge, 13th president of the USA., nothing can take the place of the persistence. I will be a really good croquet player eventually and to this end I thought the full quote could be helpful for others who have just started.
'Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will no; nothing Is more common than the unsuccessful man with talent.
Genius will no: unrewarded Genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
