Knole briefly had a whiff of their first win of the season; quickly dispelled.
It was a night for old men to triumph and returning wounded to show glimpses of their former glories. Gareth rolled back the years to bamboozle Paul; and then Mark made light of the 40 something year age gap to perplex a talented Ryan. Mark's cuts were ideally suited to the cold court and he managed to frustrate the orthodox Ryan in five entertaining games.
That was the end of Knole's joy, though. Stefan stormed to the first against seasoned Alastair, who then found his own brand of flicks and tricks to ease through the next three.
Jerry in his first game back after his Easter skiing accident, found a few touches to give Scott a few anxious moments. But Scott managed to power through his own pain from his bruised biking ribs. Then Tim failed to deal with the Pusey returns - particularly tight on the backhand side. A pity that most of the match was a discussion with the marker, but honours even on the complaints front.
Bromley scraped over the line to deny Knole a pre Christmas present. The Anchor Christmas dinner afterwards was some consolation.
Mark prepares to cut
Christmas at The Anchor