Day 138 - Thanksgiving

For many months, we had debated whether or not the Mixed Event at Burhill should be followed by a Ball in the evening. I think it is fair to say that the Club were in favour of the idea, the members less so. And is things turned out, there was no marquee anyway...  What all were keen on though was to find a way of recognising the fact that today was the 4th July, without over-emphasing the fact given that relatively few at the Club actually have US passports...

Out of all those thoughts came the Mixed Event that we played today: a Red, White and Blue themed competition followed by an excellent BBQ of beef brisket (many thanks, Kevin!), washed down with Pimms and with a steel band in the background for atmosphere.  And a great day it was! 

Playing off the Red, White and Blue tees proved to be a welcome distraction from the norm - tough for the Ladies as some of the White tees were quite a challenge and, if you look at the scoring, tough for the Gents too who seemed to struggle to choose which club to tee off with on the holes played off the Red and/or Blue tees.

Everyone (or rather, nearly everyone...Andrew...) got into the spirit of the event by dressing up in some combination of red, white and blue. As a first, this meant that we even had people on the course in red and blue socks (I hope nobody turned in their grave at the thought!) - but it was fun to see how everyone had interpreted the theme.

The weather was fantastic - which meant that for the first time this year, we had players taking refuge inside from the hot sun on the terrace... who would'a thunk it in those cold spring months we had?!

Lastly, an explanation: why the title of today's blog? Nothing to do with giving thanks for the weather, the food or the camaraderie (all good causes though!), but rather a reference to my time at UCLA. When a student, I spent two years living in California in the early 80s. Surprisingly often in late November, I would be asked "do you guys celebrate Thanksgiving in England? ".  Eventually, I decided that the best response was "yes, but on the 4th of July", which usually produced a rather puzzled look...

P.S. Many thanks for the concern expressed today about my injured hand/wrist. It is definitely improving though I shall continue to take it easy until it's completely healed.