Hi Folks, I hope all of you are fit and well.

I have just returned from the Christel House Charity Golf Day in Tewksbury. James, our Developer, very kindly entered a team from Pearly Grey. This was a thank you to all the owner/golfers who have been traveling to PG over the years.

I arrived at the hotel very early on the Monday morning, at 2am, in fact. I was expecting to be greeted by Martin and Carol Andrews, who had traveled up from Essex. Martin is usually the last to bed, and I had visualized him standing at the bar! But to my disappointment, the bar had been closed hours before!!

Not to worry, I needed a good sleep so I could hopefully win the top prize of a two week holiday to South Africa!!

I met up with the PG legends & wags for a good hearty breakfast. The team was made up of a fantastic cross section of old and new owners.

Our captain, Cliff Jones, has owned at PG for over fifteen years. He used to play on the Golf Del Sur course with James, Jonno, and the gang all those years ago. The rest of the team was made of relatively newer owners:

Dave Easterbrook (6 years)

Dave Robbins (1 year)

and Steve Hutt (two minutes thirty seconds! he was our wild card).

My good friends Martin and Carol had come to support not only PG, but also their good friend Dave Robbins. PG was well supported as the wags accompanied these fine fellows.

The Wags: Carol Andrews, Jo Hodson & Debbie Easterbrook

I had already broken the news to them that I was actually playing for the GE money team!! So of course there was a lot of banter of me being a turn coat, etc!

My team teed off on a beautiful sunny afternoon. The Hilton Puckrup Hall Golf Club is set on the edge of the Cotswolds in 140 acres of secluded parkland. The championship course offers superb views of the Malvern Hills. Beautiful.

I absolutely creamed my first drive! Chipped on and sunk a forty foot eagle putt. The crowd went wild!

And then I woke up!

I did hit a good drive though but ended up with a bogey!!

The boys teed off an hour later. We bumped into each other when I was looking for a wayward drive.

I finished with a reasonable 35 points. I knew this was not going to be enough to win the first prize. I thoroughly enjoyed my round, though. The course had three lakes and I found every one of them.

The PG team finally finished about ninety minutes after I did. They all had played well on the first nine holes, but fatigue kicked in on the last nine and the scoring took a bit of a dip. Steve Hutt had struggled with a rib injury he sustained while Sumo Wrestling a week prior to the golf!! He still managed to register a decent score. Dave Robbins had started spectacularly on the first nine! But, true to form, he had a horrendous back nine. Dave “the Bandido” Easterbrook registered a good score due to his 24 handicap. And finally our captain, Cliff, had a good round, and we were so proud as he won the Straightest Drive Competition. Well done, Cliff.

After all the golf in the beautiful Gloucester sunshine. We headed to the club house for some well deserved aperitifs. We had a great time recounting our golf stories of the day.

What a fantastic set of owners, it was great to be in their company. We had a great day.

The day was not over yet, as we had the evening Gala Dinner to attend. We had a great evening, the high point being when Cliff got presented with his trophy for the Straightest Drive. The food was amazing. The Christel House Charity is a very worthy cause, and it was very moving to hear what great work they are doing with underprivileged children in places such as India and South Africa. I was very proud that the PG family attended.

After the very moving speeches we headed to the hotel bar, for a nightcap or two. We retold our golfing stories, the banter got funnier by the second, and a good night was had by all.

I would like to say a big thanks to all who made the journey and made this such a memorable day for Pearly Grey.

Talk soon my friends!

Dougie
Ps. Please leave a quick note if you read this. I am also considering maybe doing some PG road shows. Any ideas?

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