Helloooo….testing, testing…. Ah there you are! What a joy and a privilege to be back. I won’t bore you with all the technical details as to why I have been silent these past weeks, suffice it to say it was an electronic curse and not idleness or lack of motivation on my behalf.
Probably the most exciting thing to happen since I last put pen to paper is ER winning the US Open Tennis Championship. EIIIR. We have a new queen, albeit her court has a different hue to that of Good Queen Bess. For Orb and Sceptre read ball and racket, for throne…..well I hesitate to comment. With the diverse background of Tiger Woods, the smile of the future Queen of England (K not C), the athleticism of an Olympic gymnast and the fearless attacking philosophy of a battalion of Gurkhas, she is the marketing man/woman’s dream. With the ability to string quite a lot of interesting and intelligent sentences together in a voice to gladden Henry Higgins’ heart, she presents such a complete package it’s almost beyond belief. Gal Gadot should surely be fearful when it comes to casting Wonder Woman III.
The next most exciting thing in my life has been a Richmond Hockey Club Golden Oldies reunion. This is an assemblage of old mates from forty years ago, that takes place intermittently, but typically every ten years or so. Needless to say, many of the folk who I had not seen for decades were slightly more wrinkly, stooped and hard of hearing, not to mention forgetful. I fear I may indeed have given a similar impression. Nonetheless, our three day sojourn in the beautiful Saunton Sands Hotel in North Devon was well worth the seven hour drive. The highlights were firstly a round of golf in gorgeous late summer weather on England’s oldest links, Westward Ho!. (The ! is part of the title of the Club and therefore it is perfectly accurate to follow it with a full stop, lest you were thinking otherwise in a moment of grammatical pedantry!). My 36 stapleford points were only good enough for second place behind a very good seventy two year old four handicapper who shot his age for 40 points. For some reason he was miffed that I was allowed to claim that my missing ball had been taken by a dog that had been seen in the vicinity. I duly took a free drop and made a birdie for 4 points. I just don’t understand his rancour? This was followed (after a night of ribald revelry that saw almost all the old knackers in bed by 10) by a gripping croquet competition on the hotel’s extremely undulating and ill-prepared lawn. Playing in pairs the combination of Mike Barford (Batty an outstanding cricketer and hockey player) and Nigel Draffan (ditto, not to mention real tennis) quickly established themselves as favourites in the knockout competition. Nicknamed Dratty they duly scooped the honours and the historic trophy; a small plastic replica of the Claret Jug. The exciting news (can it get more exciting?) is that the whole thing has already been booked in for a repeat performance in 2023. It was universally felt that as the majority of us have now passed our allotted three score and ten, more frequent gatherings might be wise to avoid the Law of Diminishing Returns….albeit in a King Neptune like manner.
I have been writing this either side of a major software download. Miraculously it still seems to be “here”, but will it be “there”. I shall now attempt the daunting moment of pressing the “Publish” button and hope that it doesn’t all disappear in a puff of smoke. If you are reading this I have clearly been successful. Lovely to be back in your Living Room….
ADayInTheStrifeOf 
Dear Mr. Tutt
I would like to thank you for your excellent golf commentary over the years. I have listened to a great variety of your “announcer” peers, from all the different channels, and you are without doubt the best. With your shrewd observations, rare ability to approach familiar scenes from new and fresh perspectives, and sharp sense of humour, you are unmatched in your craft. You even managed to draw out some of the others, encouraging them to formulate ideas and rendering them more interesting (fine, if you must ask, second best is Mark James, for his dry wit and the way he says “Tutty”).
For me, watching golf is a matchless form of relaxation and meditation, and your insightful words were an integral part of that experience. It is not the same without you.
I searched online for a way to contact you, and luckily I stumbled upon “A Day in the Strife of.” Unfortunately, two things gave me pause: first, you are a far better writer than I am; second, as you expressed in JaJa99 No. 142, a thank you note should ideally be hand-written. However, I was relieved to see that the indubitable author also proclaimed: “You can never go wrong if you write a card or letter to thank someone who’s done something for you, whatever it may be.” I can now cite chapter and verse for my assurance that my sentiments will be well-received!
I hope this does find you, so that I can convey my gratitude and appreciation to you, and wish you every success on your current endeavours. I hope Alison (your wife) and your children (your children) are aware of your excellent qualities. Perhaps a friendly reminder is in order.
Yours sincerely,
Avi Steinhart
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Thanks Avi, what a lovely letter. If I had a website, yours would be the leading testimonial. 🙂 With best wishes Julian
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