To those of you who could not attend the finals last night, I must attest to the fact that you missed out on an evening of spectacular spirit. The fact that our two most handicapped players reached the final and play-off respectively is testament to their remarkable abilities as squash players. I tip my hat to you both.
Ian had an uncharacteristic slump of form at the final hurdle and could not seemingly play his normal game against the unconventional style of play dished out by our poetically expletive-filled Michael Mayer. Michael has shown a remarkable degree of growth in his game in the last year and he managed to get out his great shout of joy at winning 3rd place in the main draw.
I watched with amazement as Phil and Marcus fought out a never-ending battle of attrition where both participants were sucking up oxygen like it was as rare a commodity as rain in Cape Town. A beautiful game of squash was witnessed where Marcus showed how hungry he was to get back into his game after a year long recovery from injury and he managed to put Phil to the sword and bend
the knee.
A deserving winner of the Plate - Well played Marcus!
I never saw the Helena vs. Gabriel game but understand that she not only represented her gender but her indomitable spirit shone through as she managed to put yet another notch in her belt of victories at Chamber Exiles.
The final was a true spectacular to behold as we witnessed what a “dead man walking” looks like!
We were all convinced that David Hamilton was going to have a heart attack as he was being outplayed in splendiferous style but Mister UnKind. Heart attack Hamilton still managed to fight for points here and there that kept him in contention to play the only trump card at his disposal - TIME!!! The highlight of the evening, for me, was the good grace of David Kind who despite winning the battle, lost the war on the most marginal of time errors , a mere 5 seconds. I am sure the nightmares will plague him for a while still.
His grace in accepting the decision was one that will win my most respectful admiration for as long as I am around. I was proud to know that this man is a member of our club and represents who and what we are. Without a word of complaint he accepted the ruling and shook the hand of the victor victorious! So, despite his “wtf” comment to John on hearing his handicap, he proved himself a worthy man to take on the challenge and come out the other side a hero in my books. Well done David KIND!!!! A Kinder man we have not seen. Mister Hamilton will have to take the rest of the week off to recover and cherish his moment of glory as I am sure his handicap in 2019 might be a hurdle too high to claw his way over. Other notable observations of the night were the manner in which Jae Lee marked the final - his firm hand and decisive calling was admirable.
The other upshot of the evening was seeing Ed Upton wearing his well earned prize of a Chamber Sweater with pride - they might not let him back into the Alberton club wearing it but that’s his problem not ours.
Our thanks must go out to whoever provided the snacks which kept the babalaas (sp?) at bay as we all slurped down the free ale.
A special thanks to Kobus who is now our resident biltong boer and is open to accepting orders for his deliciously tasty treat. Now we have a beer brewer and a biltong boer helping us keep Chamber Exiles a “local is lekker” kinda place!!!
Thanks to Ryan for keeping time in the final and being official photographer on the night.
The biggest travesty of justice the entire evening was the fact that Marcus Meyer’s better half ( sorry I don’t know her name) drew the raffle winner for the night and of all the underserving sluts in our squash kingdom - Digby Chapman - of all people, was pronounced the winner of the TV so generously donated by Warren. We thank you for your altruistic act to help raise funds for the club Warren and please accept our condolences for being Gerry’s brother-in-law (you could have done so much better)!
Well done John for another successful social tournament where we get to mix things up a little and play our compatriots from a variety of playing abilities on a more-or-less level playing field.
Long live Chamber Exiles - long live!
Gary D’illy
