Commentary at the Chairmans is a difficult affair due to the lack of internet, phone signal or generally any form of communciation quicker than carrier pidgeon. I am planted snugly in the bar waiting for games to finish and so here is an update of play and conditions so far.

Hamptworth is a lovely club, with a small elevated glass shelter/club house which overlooks all 4 lawns. Lawns 1 and 2 occupy an upper plot at an elevation some 15 feet above Lawns 3 and 4. This means the top 2 lawns drain quickly and into the bottom 2 lawns making switching between lawns an exercise in adjusting ones croquet strokes for a differential of some 2 or 3 Plummers.

The lawns are playing very well and on day 1 would be considered fast at (guess) 13 Plummers on the top lawns. Since then we've had drizzle and overnight rain and they have not yet been cut and so they have definitely slowed. The hoops remain very firmly set and set well too a 32nd which has cause many rejections and blobs. So far only 2 tps have been completed, some for lack of trying and some giving games away trying (oops).

The rain has come out and the notably snail like players in our eight have begun slithering across the lawns resulting in many pegged down games. Fortunately they leave little in the way of a slimey trail behind them.

Hamptworth is set in a lovely neck of the woods (literally) and so off lawn we have had one lovely pub lunch so far and I imagine a few more to come.