Today was the Vets Christmas Lunch and Golf. The pairings had all been pre-arranged in handicap order so that I found myself in our version of the marquee group: paired with Kim against the doughty pairing of Ronnie and Graham: this was going to be one tough gig! The format was Greensomes, with both of us teeing off and, fortunately, it was a day when my driving off the tee was on form. This meant that we could keep up with our opponents' length and the battle ended up being all around the greens.
A brilliant/fortuitous chip-in for a birdie by the Captain of the third hole saw us get our noses in front. We managed to hang onto our slender lead throughout the round, largely due the combination of some seriously good putting by my partner and some solid chipping by me. In the end, a stone dead 30 ft 9-iron onto the green on 17 meant that we had won our great tussle by 2&1. We enjoyed the match so much that we have agreed a return fixture in 20156 at Bramley, Ronnie's new club. It should be fun!
After the golf, which my/Wilson's team won by the slenderest of margin (8 to 7), we all headed upstairs for the Christmas lunch. This was a traditional turkey main course, followed by a chocolate-laced Christmas pudding: perfect on a December day after a morning's exercise.
Lunch over, it was time for the speeches, the day's prizes and the handing out of all the year's major Vets trophies. As Captain, my job was to hand out the shields, cups and salvers and to pose for the photos that followed. I was also asked to say a few words: I opted to be relatively brief, conscious of the fact that these type of events can go on a bit... As it was, we were done well before 4 pm - too early for some but in plenty of time for others.
If I am lucky, that will be my final turkey meal of the year.. I have a good few more Christmas lunches to come but I am hoping that they will be turkey-free zones...
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