Philip turned his hand to breakfast pretty well (boiled eggs hard enough for a salad nicoise!) after taking the dogs for their customary morning walk. Then it was in his VW Passat for a quick journey to his Club at Alsace for our much vaunted game of golf. We were yet again given a great welcome from the CE/General Manager, David Abercrombie and his dog, Caddy. David had been responsible, after a visit to Hoylake, for getting M1 and Philip back in contact with each other after the burglary at Hoylake in 1999 which had stolen all personal records. A delightful Irishman, David had been at the helm of his Club and course since the outset some 14 years previously. His avowed intent has been to create a links course even though the site is about 700km from the nearest sea shore! That he has succeeded is testament to his knowledge, goals, ideals and skill. The course was a delight to play. David had resisted any temptation to over-design the holes but had used the existing features in the predominantly flat terrain to good effect. The bunkering was minimal but with good placement and they looked natural, often with overgrown surrounds on the hole side, to obviate the need for revetted faces. Best of all, the course had reasonably tight fairways and firm greens so a ball could be heard to land before it ran on - and this despite the difficulty in establishing fescue grass cover. Congratulations well due.
Over coffee, we were introduced to the fourth player, David Kane, a cheery chemist who had established his own technical consultancy business in Basel. So the tourists took on the two local members 4BBB. Despite a valiant fight back by the tourists from being 4 down at one stage and with a brief period actually ahead on the back nine, Philip and David won on the last hole with a rock solid par 5. Ah well! A smashing day nonetheless.
On the way back to Schallstadt, we stopped off at Neuf Brisach on the French side of the Rhine to marvel at this perfectly symmetrical and seemingly impregnable fortified town designed and built by Vauban to the order of King Louis XIV in the late 17th century. This was thought necessary by the French king to protect the border after the former French town of Brisach on the other side of the Rhine was conceded to Germany under treaty arrangements. The strength of it's fortifications were fortunately never tested.
In the evening, it was our turn to entertain the Bamburys and to partly repay their hospitality. Renate had booked a table for supper at the very nearby but quite delightful Rossle (Little Horse) Gasthof. Under a roseate sky in the courtyard of this excellent hostelry, friendships were cemented, appetites were satisfied and exploits shared. It was inspiring to hear how their son, Bernie, a captain in The Rifles, who had lost the lower part of his right leg on the Cresta Run a year before, had recuperated and used his disability (is that the right word to use?) to inspire others, to run again (using an Oscar Pretorius type sprung prosthesis), to continue skiing and to have rowed the Atlantic. How's that for making the best of a personal injury? We took Renate to our hearts especially after she presented each of us with genuine four leafed clovers - just for good luck. A terrific day all round.
No comments:
Post a Comment