1014 - Death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Danish king who invaded England ousting Ethelred 2, at the battle of Clontarf (Ireland) where the Danes were defeated by Brian Baru.

1114 - St Bernard became Abbot of Clairvaux, bought a big dog and a keg of brandy (not really!.

1214 - Genghis Khan, mighty Mongol leader, invaded China.

1314 - Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce defeats English army and gains independence for Scotland.

1414 - Battle of Agincourt, Henry V gains a resounding victory over the French.

1514 - Battle of Flodden Field, English victory over Scots.

1614 - Death of William Shakespeare. Dutch merchants bring coffee to Europe (Mocha) for the first time.

1714 - Accession of George 1st to the throne of Britain, beginning of the Hanoverian dynasty.

1814 – Abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte, who is banished to Elba.

1914 - Panama canal opened. Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo, First World War begins.

2014 - No major battles or royal interest stories to report - but 30 seniors competed in the 10th Eclectic competition on Tuesday, despite an adverse weather forecast.

Third place was claimed by captain Allen Watts with 37 points, playing off a miniscule handicap of seven. Bill Davies came second with another 37, playing to a more realistic seniors handicap of 17, while the glory, huge prize and first place went to a deserving Jim Martin, who equalled the CSS of 38 points off a handicap of 22.

Four players slotted their first putt on a par three, Jim Martin on hole 12 and Geoff Aston, Tony Morgan and Allen Watts on the downhill hole 17 - didn't they all do well?

Elsewhere, Roy Morgan was very pleased to have the prize from last week's charity raffle added to his account, while Dudley (cuddly) Williams and Des (paper, scissors) Stone were not too dismayed to see their handicaps expand by one stroke.

Jim Martin, our hard working competitions secretary, implores every one of us to get our entries into the forthcoming 'Waltz' competition completed by next Monday -and that, dear reader, completes this week's attempt to join the journalistic hall of fame!

M.F.

Monthly Medal

Eighty-two players entered the January Monthly Medal on Saturday, with leading scores and prize winners being as follows:

Division One: 1. Allan Morton 82-13-69 (medal plus £44.50); 2. Lee Lewis 79-6-73, on countback (£33); 3. David Hancock 85-12-73 (£22); 4. Stan Hudson 86-12-74 (£11).

Division Two: 1. Rees Simon Davies 89-17-72 (medal plus £44.50); 2. Philip Booth 91-18-73 (£33); 3. Hugh Phillips 100-25-75 (£22); 4. Stephen Williams 91-15-76 (£11).

Twos: Richard Morton, Roger Schooling, Darren Thomas, Ross James, John Gilman (£28 each, including rollover from December).

Bag draw: M. Brew, V. Lawrence, A. North, J. Peters, G. Evans (£15.80 each).

Pro Shop draw: H. Philllips (Footjoy Hydrolite golf shoes).

Handicap changes: Andrew Cope 7 to 8; Neil Evans 13 to 14; Neil Lovatt 11 to 12; Mathew McMann 8 to 9; Allan Morton 13 to 12; Richard Morton 2 to 3; Martin Neilan 11 to 12; Michael Schooling 5 to 6.

Junior Section

The next junior competition is this Sunday, February 2, and is a monthly medal.

Meet at the club for 10.30, with the first tee time being at 11 am.