Dear Ladies
There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall that tells me that this will be my last Lady Captain’s update to Ladies’ Branch. Vice Captain Ita Hanna will be taking over the reins at our virtual AGM next Monday. It’s actually really hard to express how I feel given the last ten months faced with Corona Virus. The initial fear but overwhelming blitz spirit in spring was replaced in early summer by a feeling that the curves were flattening and we were able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. The news of several vaccines gave even greater optimism only to be replaced at Christmas with the threat of the new variant which has launched us into unchartered waters once again.
Despite all, I have really enjoyed serving as your Lady Captain for 2020. For most of the year we have been able to play some golf, even if our competitions have been somewhat curtailed and I have been delighted to play with as many of you as possible- especially our more recent members. I know that I displayed some really awful shots and I won’t even mention my putting, but golf for me has always been about the camaraderie and craic both on and off the course. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to entertain you at the Nineteenth hole- I had great plans for us all! I expect many of you are sighing with relief at the thought of what might have been! It wouldn’t all have been lederhosen and yodelling but hopefully it would have been a laugh and Colleen, Steven and their staff would have been kept very busy.
I’m not the only Captain who wasn’t able to have the year that was hoped for- Poor Peter didn’t get the opportunity to carry out his role as Captain of the PGA either. The appointment was such an honour for him and his family but also for Lurgan Golf Club- and he did look very good strutting about in his red blazer. Mr Captain Eugene and Council also felt the heat in 2020 as they battled to lead the Club through the pandemic. I think they have done a great job and on behalf of Ladies’ Branch I thank them. Our Club is in great shape thanks to Neil and his team; the course is the envy of many and I expect we will eventually get used to the new sheugh that is meandering across several fairways!
I have really enjoyed writing to you all each Tuesday regaling of life with Poor Henry who can’t cook won’t cook and doesn’t do the garden either! I hope that it has helped keep spirits up and let everyone know what has been going on- both in Aghagallon and the Golf Club. Our walks have been an opportunity to nosey into people’s gardens and to meet our neighbours- Pa McSherry must regret faffing about in his garage so often! The rubbish in the verges continues to really annoy us but the discovery of golf balls, empty buckfast bottles, sauce pans and spoons has given us something to talk about. Indeed, on last Tuesday’s walk I was very dismayed to see that the bead patterned spoon, chucked in the verge near Sheena’s has disappeared! It was the highlight of that particular route! I apologise to the many teachers amongst us for my poor use of English, but I will always maintain that the apostrophes really do disappear when they leave my computer. I wonder could Muriel be sabotaging them.
I really had hoped that when I handed over to Ita, she would enjoy a more normal tenure as Lady Captain. Sadly 2021 is starting off like another game of snakes and ladders and I truly hope that she will have many more ladders than snakes. I know that she will be able to rely on the steadfast support of the Ladies committee- just as they have supported me. They really are a committed and fun loving bunch of ladies.
On a personal note 2021 is a landmark year for me. Poor Henry and I have tried to be positive and have booked a couple of holidays (and COVID tests) for later this year. We are also going to be grandparents again in June and the babysitting duties will involve trips to Bristol. I’ve written my obligatory bucket list- walk one thousand miles, learn makaton, grow a pumpkin and stay married to Poor Henry. He really is very thoughtful. On New Year’s Eve he presented me with a framed spoon- bead patterned of course! And yes, it is the actual spoon that has been lying in the verge near Sheena’s for most of the past year!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Weidersehen, Goodbye!
Lady Captain Julie
