Day 168 - Whiteley Village

Some of the almshouse cottages in the village

Just across the trees from the 11th Fairway at Burhill lies the neighbouring community of Whiteley Village.  This is a retirement community which dates back to 1907 when the then benefactor, William Whiteley donated what was then an extraordinary sum of £1,000,000. This was used to purchase the land and construct the village, which remains in operation to this day, caring for its elderly residents.

Today was the occasion of the Whiteley Village Charity Day at Burhill and the organiser, Professor Mark Britton, was kind enough to invite me as his guest.  The format was a familiar one: 20 teams of 4, each counting their best 2 Stableford scores on each hole.  What was different this time was not only the opportunity to purchase a glass of champagne at the half way point but also the chance to win a brand new Audi in return for scoring a Hole in One on the 6th of the Old.  When asked if I wanted to enter this, my head said "no" (what are the chances of 2 holes in one on successive days?``) but my heart said "of course".  Suffice it to say that I am not the owner of a brand new car.

We did though have a wonderful day: great weather with the only drop of rain I felt being the one that landed on me as I was putting my clubs away at the end of the round, good company and a splendid lunch.  No prizes for us today though as our golf was good, but not good enough.  I very much enjoyed chatting to my lunchtime companion and our guest speaker, Ken Schofield.  Ken was for many years the Executive Director of the European Tour and I could have talked to him for hours!  He was very entertaining, as was Peter Wilkinson, the Chairman of the Whiteley Village trustees.

All in all, a splendid day which raised £000s in aid of what is definitely a worthwhile cause: I am already hoping to put my own team into a future such event!

Some photos of the event are available to view here.