LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Readers are reminded that the views expressed in the letters pages of the Gazette are those of the authors only, and not those of their clubs, unless specifically indicated. IS TED THE OLDEST COMPETITIVE PLAYER IN THE UK? Ted Sisterson is 93 OVER-DEVELOPED When I first played croquet twenty years ago the then Croquet Association had a Secretary. Then along came a Manager, and now Croquet England has a Chief Executive. Now we also have more prize money. Part of the charm of croquet is that it is amateur and indeed amateur-ish. I am now thinking of taking up tiddlywinks as a refuge from the grandiose pretensions of the CqE power-brokers. Adam Moliver Cheltenham
years old and captains the Almouth Blue team in the Croquet North Golf Croquet competition. Here he is presenting the Division 1 trophy to William Steadman, the team captain of Croquet Bede at the end of the season. Ted has a
PS I do take it fairly seriously (handicaps 2.5 and 4, past Chair of Cheltenham CC for seven years, coach)...but not too seriously. AC HANDICAP BASE Thank you for the latest Talking Croquet, which has some interesting articles I haven't seen in the printed CE magazine. The article by Chris Alvey draws attention to an issue I have long been concerned about; namely inconsistent use of AC handicap bases. He states that the normal base used in the Northern Federation is 8. Yet, in the South-east Federation it is 6. My handicap has just gone up to 7. As a result, in SECF matches, I now get a bisque when playing higher handicapped players. Playing difference, or with a base of 8, I would not. (should this not read lower?) I believe I can use 1 bisque far more effectively than, as an example, a players with a handicap of 12 could. So if I want my handicap to go back to 6, I need to choose events where the base is 6 however, if I want to stay at 7 it is probably better to avoid these events. I strongly believe that Croquet England should consider requiring the same bisque base to be used in all play that affects AC handicaps, so that the system is fair to players whose handicaps are close to the base that has been chosen.
handicap of four and has played for 16 years. He is a good strategic thinker and a model for us all. There are not many games that people can continue to play throughout their lives, but croquet is one of them; we don't need to jump, run, twist or dodge faster opponents. And so, like pool and snooker, we can play for many years relying on accuracy and guile to keep us going. Peter Tymms (77)
ROGER'S TYPO UPRARE A genuine nugget from history. This concerns a joint-club tournament on a hot day in June 2023:
In a close tournament, hosed jointly at Sonning Reach and Chiltern Ridge, the winner emerged only at the final hoop.
Comment: Well, just as in this Summer 2026's heatwave, doubtless the relentless heat back then necessitated personal sprinklers; I put it all down to this Climate Change business.
Yours sincerely Colin McKenzie Ealing Croquet Club
Roger G Phyllis Court
www.croquetengland.org.uk | 10
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