Hello everybody. Do I dare comment on the weather? I am not sure that I should, as last month I said it was warming up and then we had snow! That was quite something to see. Two of our enthusiastic Morning Players arrived to play tennis that freezing Tuesday morning but after hitting balls around for a while they decided to rather go off to a nearby Coffee Shop for something warm to drink. From the shelter of the shop they (and many others) watched in wonder as the first flakes started to fall. What a sight that was! Happily, with the recent rise in temperatures, we have had a corresponding rise in attendance on Saturday afternoons. Club news Nothing much has been happening as far as the re-surfacing of part of the car-park is concerned. Our contractor was taken ill and ended up in hospital. We hope that the project will be completed in the near future. The light meters have been repaired after the break-in and we have installed extra sensors to protect them. It cost us more to fix the damage than the thieves actually got so hopefully they will decide that it was not worth their effort and not return. The ball machine is available for use every Saturday afternoon and we would like to encourage our junior members to come along and take advantage of this facility.
Committee Matters The committee member we are profiling this month is Linda Dickson. Lin was born on 29 June 1951 in Johannesburg. She lived in the Northern Suburbs until she was 4 and then the family moved to Alberton. She attended Alberton Primary in the building that is now the Alberton Police Station and remembers when the existing Alberton Primary School was built. She says that it was quite a day when they all walked from their old school to the new one! She then attended Germiston High School and later Damelin College where she matriculated in 1968. She participated in athletics in both primary and high school and played tennis in high school. In 1970 she left for England and went on to travel Europe which she thoroughly enjoyed. Instead of three months away from home that she had intended, she ended up staying away for eight years. During this period she learnt how to ski and travelled extensively through Europe. On one of these jaunts she met her ex-husband while visiting the island of Crete. He was a sergeant in the American Air Force and was stationed on the island. They spent eighteen months in Crete and were then posted to RAF Chicksands in Hertfordshire, England for three years. Both of her sons were born at RAF Lakenheath, England. Thereafter they immigrated back to SA. As a youngster she played tennis at Parkhurst Tennis Club and returned to that club once she returned to SA. She played league for Parkhurst for all the years she was a member and also joined their committee as secretary, which duty she fulfilled for many years until returning to live in Alberton. Not long after that she joined Alberhart Tennis Club and her two sons joined as junior members. She then was elected to the Committee and took over as treasurer from Colleen Jaich. Many years after her divorce she met Jim Bruce. He was also divorced so they decided to take a chance and bring their two families together. She is happy to say that all went well and today they are the proud grandparents of eight grandchildren with number nine on the way. Lin has given us photos of their latest holiday when the whole family got together in Italy for Jim's youngest son's wedding. All the sons from Dubai, Spain, Chris (the groom) from America and Jim's brother from Scotland as well as the entire SA clan got together in Tortona for the big event. Needless to say they occupied a whole hotel, bar one room, for the four days they were there.
Sightseeing in the surrounding area was done in hired kombi's and she is sure that part of Italy will never be the same again after their visit! A further four days were spent in Venice. That was certainly a holiday to remember and how wonderful to have the whole family there together. AGM The date of the Annual General Meeting has been set for 20 th October. Championships The Annual Club Championships will start on the 6 th October and will run until 3 rd November and the finals will be played on the 3 rd November. Sign-in sheets are available and a list of the rules for the Championships has also been placed on the board for everyone s information. We would really like to have a Ladies Doubles Veterans event, and entry to this will be open to All category lady members over the age of 45. We would really like to encourage some of the Morning ladies to enter. New Members We are very happy to welcome Clarissa van der Hoven back to the club and Goolam Suleman, Graeme Bushney, Louis Broodryk and Jessica Wade as new members. Entertainment
Development As part of our Community Development Programme we have approached the Crossing Over school and offered them the use of the courts on a weekly basis during school time to encourage emerging tennis players. They were delighted to accept our offer which includes the services of a coach as well as balls and second-hand tennis racquets for their use. This project has already started and was enthusiastically embraced by the pupils. A large vote of thanks must go to our Chairlady, Lisa, who spends much of her time making sure that the ideas that are proposed by the committee are actually implemented. Family news Addy van der Peet celebrated his 66 th birthday on Saturday 25 th August. Wife Lily sneakily smuggled a huge cake into the kitchen at the club and Addy was really surprised to have it presented to him at tea-time when everybody sang to him and wished him a very happy birthday. The cake was delicious and we all thank Lily for the gesture. Jaco Snyman had an unfortunate accident on his motor bike and broke his arm. He has had plates inserted and will be off tennis for a while. We wish him a speedy recovery. Morning Tennis The Morning Tennis players are still missing a few of their most dedicated supporters. Eddy Tak has returned from Canada but Julie Walker, Lynne van Greunen and Monica Rautenbach are still away. Golden Oldies Sue-Ellen Green has been travelling again, but this time not for pleasant reasons. Her daughter-in-law had an aneurism and needed help and who better to help than Sue? We are happy to report that Belinda is recovering from her surgery slowly but surely. Sue is currently taking a short break at Bakubung with her sister and is then heading back to assist wherever she can. Kids Corner Last month the Junior Doubles Tournament was cancelled as there were insufficient entries. We have scheduled another tournament for the 9 th September and hope to have a greater number of entries.
JUNIOR DOUBLES ROUND ROBIN TOURNAMENT Alberhart Tennis Club, Randhart SUNDAY 9 SEPTEMBER at 13:00 Entrance fee is R30 per player pay on arrival. Alberhart junior members play for free. Enter with your own partner couples may be boys, girls or mixed. Players must be able to score independently and serve from the baseline. Sections will be arranged according to relative strength of play, not necessarily according to age-group. Entries close on Friday 7 th September. Email all entries to alberhart@gmail.com, giving child s name, age and name of partner or sms Lisa on 0829041805. Birthdays Congratulations to the following people who will be celebrating their birthdays in the month of September: 1 st Pieter Wentzel; 5 th Storm Wade; 7 th Zanmarie Pienaar; 7 th Pieter Kritzinger; 9 th Gunter Teichmann; 9 th Riaan Barnfather; 10 th Pieter Wentzel (junior); 12 th Jennifer Hindry; 13 th Gerhard Mentz; 17 th Michael Wade; 18 th Andries Scholtz; 19 th Michael Shackleton; 23 rd Pinki Montlha; 27 th Dieter Lossl; 27 th Robin Louw; 28 th Molly Blake; Staying in touch We like to share your news so please don t keep it to yourself! Please remember that any news that you would like to share with the other members can be passed on to a committee member or mailed directly to alberhart@gmail.com