FUND FOR CANCER RESEARCH… You may not know that Linda Davie has two daughters, Sara and Gail. And the latter is actually going to Kilimanjaro to raise money for Cancer Research. And as Alan wanted to thank Linda for the hard work she and her team has done on the referee front last year and this year, he made a donation for Gail’s trip, immediately followed by John Whitfield… Bless them all…

CINDERELLA FRAMBOISE… Here I was, minding my own business, I mean, taking the picture for the winners of the raffle, when suddenly I heard my name… I never won ANYTHING!!!! So here I am the proud owner of great looking Hi-Tec shoes, generously donated by John Whitfield, director of JW Sports, the Racquet Specialist… You see, I was sooooo right to come to Abingdon…

STUNNED BY MR BRONSTEIN… People who do know me are not expecting to see me speechless. Well, I was today, when SquashTalk Chief Correspondant Martin Bronstein, mentioned today that he had the big 70 coming up in a few weeks. Oh come on, Martin, 70? I do not think so! 55, yes, maybe, I personally thought about 51, 52… And if you think that I’m trying to be nice, think again. I’m not nice. No, honestly, I was stunned. I even had to ask to see proof, and his driving licence confirmed it ... date of birth 19th July 1935. “It’s all down to clean living” said Martin very calmly. “Clean living, exercise, lots of sex, and keeping up the crosswords… Age is a mental attitude really.” And he asked me to add that his body was the epitome of a great body… Like I said, I’m speechless…

BYE MARCUS… The man is leaving us, but then again, you knew that [portrait from Wimbledon]… But that’s it, he is really going now, and will be sorely missed by all who ever approached him… “We are really sad to see Marcus go”, declared Alan Horton, he is not only a great player, but also a gentleman on court, and he never argues with a referee…” “Hear hear” said all refs present, as in Wendy Danzy, John Masarella, Christine Bishop and of course, tournament ref Linda Davie. Yes, we’ll be sad not to see him around, I must say… But I heard (read [Shorts, issue 10]) rumours that Manchester/Pontefract Team in National League is thinking of flying him from Italy to play his League matches, so, maybe he’ll be back soon… Au revoir Marcus…

PLAYING TOURISTS… “I really look like a bl… Tourist”, don’t I”… “Ay”, replied Linda, looking at me with disapprobation… “What do you need your camera for?”… Yes, I know that I should learn to relax during tournaments, but come on, it was my first time in Oxford EVER, so I had to take a few pics… So, Linda Davie and myself walked around the Old Town, had a good sandwich in a quiet café just in front the University, strolled around the pedestrian ways, looked at some weird characters… In other words, yes, we had a pretty good time… A bit like tourists I guess…

THE BILL, LIVE… That was a good one, I must say… Mrs Linda Davie, among other activities Vice-President of England Squash and Tournament Ref of several high profile events, like Canary Wharf Classic and Super Series Finals, is a very organised lady. Not an unpaid bill or penalty, never a problem with taxes or any official office anywhere… So I must say that I was a bit surprised when we were stopped at a checkpoint by Police Officers on our way to visit Oxford… “Why do you stop us?” asked Linda with an extremely polite voice, but that meant: “Excuse me young man, what are you playing at?”… The poor Officer in question, 22 if a day, shy, wet behind the ears, lovely well educated man, suddenly became all red… “I’ll make some enquiries, Madam, and I’ll let you know as soon as possible…” Well, it seemed that a mistake was made somewhere, and that the car that Linda bought back in November was not registered in her name yet… “I’m sorry Madam, really, I’ll fill in the form, and of course, you will not have a fine or anything to pay, as it’s obviously a mistake”… “Do you want to check my driving license?” asked the Woman… “Oh, no, Madam, you seem too nice, I don’t need to do that”… Linda, NICE???? Poor man… And the Linda that was batting her eyelashes… He never had a chance… One thing is sure, moving around with Linda, you never get bored… And do not start me on our journey back from the club last night…