Friday, February 20, was forecast to be fine, possibly a trifle damp and almost certainly a good day for a game of golf. It was! - And so a dozen dedicated Chicken Trotters left the coop and tried to coax lots of points out of the links.

They all succeeded in their own way and there were a few surprises when the cards were checked by our competent secretary, Steve Cole. Steve had been harassed earlier by Early Bird John Hancock, who was playing off a Trotter handicap of five - due entirely to his success on previous Fridays. John claimed victimisation, favouritism, racism and any other 'ism' as he objected to his excessively low handicap. Read on, justice will be seen to be done!

Seniors' captain Bart Youll had a double whammy, consisting of a fourth place in the competition, for no reward whatsoever - and - the only two of the day on the sixth hole. A sum of 60p in his pocket and no loss of shots - that's the way to do it!

Derek Bath moved skilfully away from his recent run of Booby prizes, scoring 29 points and third position, pipped on the back six by Ron Murphy. These two gentlemen won 30p and 60p, respectively, leaving the door open for Neil Dickinson to surge into first place with an unbeatable 34 points. Neil's reward was a single quid - and a catastrophic loss of five strokes from his inflated (some say) handicap.

As for John Hancock, he totally failed to play to his tiny handicap and qualified for the Booby prize, winning 30p - but - improving his handicap by two shots - Hurrah!

Now, I have been instructed by Chief Trotter Mickey Johnston to pass on the following gems of knowledge: This Friday, February 27, will be a normal trot - but - please read and inwardly digest the following arrangements for subsequent Fridays:

Friday, March 6, marks the South West Pembrokeshire Alliance Stableford competition, but never fear, Trotters are encouraged to sign in for this event - and to take out a Chicken Trotter card as well, playing the two competitions simultaneously and improving the chance of a victory. The only condition is that an early start is required, since the cut-off tme for handing in the Trotter card is 13:30hrs.

And last, but certainly not least – Friday, March 13 (ominously), is the final Trot of the season and an unusually important competition. We shall be competing for the Norman Badham Trophy and the Danny Carew Putter, both of which are extremely desirable trophies, and the tournament will be followed by the end of season lunch.

See you there!

M.F.