Peter Pan & Wendy, or is it Mike Cottee & Mary Pretty

Pretty hot stuff

The previous day was the hottest in London’s history (95.5° F); the London Eye closed (pods too hot); the M25 melted.

It did not deter 12 aspiring Peters and their Wendys (combined 120+ years minimum, but still in Never Never Land!).

We were accorded the honour of playing on the Bank of England’s exclusive match courts – albeit they were somewhat worn – no doubt suffering the after effects of the Wimbledon Qualifiers some weeks earlier.

Each set was a duel in the sun – each pair played 6 sets – no-one wilted there were no drop-outs – all competed and completed the course – in many respects one might say there were no losers but, for the record, the top 6 (in reverse order) were:

6. Janet Broster and Harry Schiller
5. Joy and Peter Dally
4. Sylvia Steward and Peter Finlay
3. Pam and Len Campbell
2. Anne Williams and John Draper
1. Mary Pretty and myself (Mike Cottee)

Mary played so well that she and anyone could have won – it was my very good fortune to be her partner and end a delightful day’s tennis as this year’s Peter Pan (tick tock tick tock tick!)
It would be tempting to cast David Page as Captain Hook but he ran the show gently and perfectly (it was anything but a pantomime). His resilience and good humour are amazing and an example to us all.

Mary and I each received our trophy from the other David (Tomlinson) whose name, with Enid’s, precedes ours on the cups. We are honoured indeed to follow in their footsteps.