diaries and be there no later than 30 minutes before the first tee time
Next Events
| Thursday | 18th December | Londoner Brew Pub | Annual Party | Confirmed | 19:00 | for 19:30 |
| Saturday | 27th December | Bangpakong Riverside | Monhly Medal | Confirmed | 07:24 | 8 Out 8 In |
February 9th
A very full day and some very full golfers
A most unseasonal, slight amount of rain was falling as at 08:00, I pushed open the door to the Bulls Head Pub; the venue of the first leg of the annual golf clash between these two neighbouring Bangkok drinking and social venues.
As the door opened, I caught the aroma of a full, “slider” cooking and already, there were golfers sat down, chatting or reading newspapers; their taste buds being titivated and tantalised by this traditional English Morning Fare.
Billy Brunsdon’s staff did a great job ferrying our breakfasts and coffee refills and as I was, “doing a 200-Bob” Job, I was especially grateful to the Bulls Head attention and prompt service. The food was great and provided the perfect lining for the planned fun and libations over the coming hours.
Ironically, Mr. 200-Bob himself, Tony Lovell ducked into the Pub to pick up some information, including the Technical Prize Paraphernalia of Near Pins and Tee Box Markers, as he was skipping brekkie and heading straight for the course, to do his Duty Officer’s bit at Royal Lakeside; hence the big guy and I were working in tandem to relieve people of Match Fees, Breakfast and Dinner Money.
In between bites, taking your dosh and giving out change, I had a chat to a few of you regarding the ISSUE of Non-conforming drivers and it was most interesting to hear your views. Thank you for all for your impromptu and candid feedback.
As I was sitting quite close to Val Ashman, for not the first time, to my recollection, I was not surprised to see half of Val’s breakfast being packed up to take away; incorrectly, I guessed for the stray dogs at Lakeside, but no for the Ashman’s own canine incumbent. Val confidentially explained that she had promised the dog… I guess that the interpretation of , “A Dog’s Life” may differ from the norm in the Ashman Household. Perhaps, we should ask Barry…
Many people decided against getting on the bus and elected to drive from the Bulls Head to the course themselves, or skip the breakfast and go directly from their homes to Royal Lakeside. I believe that the bus is an integral and traditional part of the day and personally, I would like to see a better take up on the bus, where there is a great atmosphere, which even George “Idi” Okrasa’s jokes could not spoil. Michael Bain, one of our newer members managed to read his newspaper, whilst Idi was in full flow; I do envy Michael’s powers of concentration.
Billy Brunsdon is really a star and much of his preparatory work goes unheralded and unnoticed to many. Billy had put one of his guys (perhaps one of the girls might have been better, Bill?) on the bus and, “Bill’s Boy” was a very enthusiastic and diligent beer monitor; some of us may feel that he did his job a tad too well.
The Bus Driver must have been wearing a very light right shoe, or was moonlighting from his hearse-driving job, because it was a very sedate trip. The bus eventually arrived at the course, with very little time to spare, especially for the players, who were off early; never mind, we got there and any pain felt would have been nullified by the bus beers.
As ever, Royal Lakeside awaited us in very good condition and always ready to punish us for loose shots or bad golfing decisions. The newly appointed Captain of the Bulls Head Team did need some help with understanding golfing etiquette, when people are still playing a hole and the advice was not slow in being delivered. Never mind, it’s a Fun Day!
Our first nines were very swift and not surprisingly, we had some compensating delays on the cross-overs. I can assure you that after nine holes, our group was feeling no pain, except for an occasional twinge as Mark Scheepers or I glanced at our score card; we were getting a bit of a mauling from our worthy opponents, Laser Gun & Macka!
Almost as soon as you know it, we are back in the Club House, grabbing a shower and change and after a couple of beers, heading back to Bangkok by car or bus, according to our plans. As sure as all good beer is wet, our Bus Driver stopped at a Mom & Pop Shop, for us all to grab some liquid sustenance for the trip home; the perfect catalyst to ensure that we all tried out the toilet on the bus.
In less than 4 cans, we were back on Sukhumvit Road and leaping off the bus for the third and final leg of our Day of Endurance, which was ending at The Londoner Brew Pub, where one of their very special (imho) Carvery Buffets was awaiting us.
As always, we received great service and friendly smiles from the Serving Staff and as I strolled up to say, “Hello!” to my mate, Vicharn, the Chef, he told me that dinner was ready and awaiting us.
I gave Bazza the nod to announce dinner and glanced ravenously at the food, which was sat on the hot plates, with no queue. With a soupcon of guilt, I grabbed a plate, unselfishly volunteered to be everyone’s food tester and returned to my table with my impolitely early meal, whilst Barry announced that Ladies & Children would be served first. Whoops!
AGS Four Winds generously sponsored our event and this meant that we were able to put out some wine on the tables for people to enjoy with their dinner, as well as purchase trophies and Technical Prizes. We are very grateful to Paul Wilkinson and AGS Four Winds, who financially enabled us to add the garnish to a very enjoyable (and full) day.
As we ate our fill and supped our selected beverages (the wine was very popular), the two opposing Captains, Martyn Smith and Barry Scaife, waited for Boss Band to take a break before jointly summing up the day and highlighting people who scored well and presenting prizes to those of us, who were skilfull or lucky enough to warrant a pot, bottle or voucher.
Everyone who played were winners on the day and I noticed that the prizes of Mr. Jameson’s fine whiskey, never made it out of the door! Hey! It tastes much better when imbibed with your golfing mates, anyway.
Before the final Team Match Play result was announced, Barry & Martyn thanked all who put the day together and in particular, Billy from the Bulls Head and Sakorn from The Londoner. Special thanks were proffered to AGS Four Winds, who not only sponsored, but took part in the golf-fest, too! For the record, Londoners managed, by a very small margin, to prevail over the Bulls Head and the trophy will now sit proudly at The Londoner Bre Pub.
All that was left, was to enjoy the remainder of the evening in good company and when done, return home, with perhaps some of us correctly predicting Sunday Throbbing Heads.
On behalf of The Bulls Head & Londoner’s Golf Teams, our thanks to all who took part or helped to put on a very special and enjoyable day. I for one, am pleased that it occurs just once each year!
On 23rd of this month, the scene changes to Bangpakong Riverside for our monthly Stableford Competition. It looks as though we will be close to the ceiling in numbers, so get in early to avoid disappointment.
On 8th & 9th March, we have a weekend away in Chantaburi at Soi Dao Highland Golf Course and if you’ve never been there, you are missing a golfing gastronomy. If you can play to your handicap at Soi Dao for 2 days, you will surely win the 2008 Londoner’s Shield and we will all be filled with admiration for your feat. Do hope that you can join us for our, “second major”, two days of fun and golf in a truly magnificent setting and one of General Bharawee’s special BBQs. Special Guest will be Mr. Jameson, who assures me that he will be there in person.
In closing, on behalf of Captain Bazza and your Committee, I thank you warmly for the wonderful feedback on and appreciation of, our statement on Non-conforming drivers. You have made all of the guys, Frank, Howard, Jim, Tony, Barry and ths, who addressed this on your behalf, feel richly rewarded by your comments. Thank you!
Scott Rowley, Secretary