Mid-summer Newsletter
The high point of the summer, the Club Tournament, is now behind us. But what a tournament it was! Well done to all who took part in it, to the losers and to the splendid winners. And a huge thanks to the team who made it happen – Alex Heath, Hamid Irshad, Alyson Fox, James Gubb, and Virunee Viravong. It is a lot of work to deliver a tournament like this and I know the team worked tirelessly to make it happen. I must also thank Ivan Savage, who produced the Tournament banner with our new Club crest. All right, it turned up just three days before the end but it has no date and can be used again!
Water Tap
In response to popular demand, we are installing a water tap near the junction of Courts 3 and 7. Do make use of it to refill your bottles instead of buying another plastic bottle to throw away. Many thanks to Manjit Roseghini for leading the campaign on this and to John Barton, aided by Ivan Savage, Manjit, and Judy Hammond, for making it happen. The photo below is of Manjit and Judy working away on this part-contractor and part-Club volunteer project.
Club Signage
The large Club signs by the main gate and on the Clubhouse wall have been removed to prepare them for the new Club crest. They will return soon with this installed, in vinyl. Ian Chilvers, the designer, has been tireless and thoughtful in helping us get the right designs for each use, including these, letterheads, the website, and so on. It has been a pleasure to work with him. Thanks also to Ivan Savage who made all this happen.
Website
Our revamped website is now ready to go live and this should occur in the next few days. We hope it will be a seamless process but will warn you if there is to be any significant outage. We have not gone for a radical revamp, but a modest one driven by the challenge that the platform for the present website makes it very difficult to update. We hope you like what we have done, the combined work of Owen Savage (principally), supported by John Barton, Virunee Viravong, and Clive Sherlock who provided most of the photos. By the way, if you find yourself in one of the photos and would rather not be there please let us know. We tried to ask permission from everyone, including parents, but may have missed a few people.
Outreach
You may recall that in 2023 we arranged for a number of young children from a Forest Hill school, all on pupil premium, to spend a week at our junior summer camp. We are repeating this programme this year, but for ten children. This gives girls and boys who have never had the chance to play tennis an opportunity to try it out and to do so in the company of other children and under the care and guidance of our coaching team. Alex Heath and Emma Michel are the drivers of this programme and many thanks to them for their enthusiasm and commitment. It is all paid for by our income from renting court time to local independent schools.
Clubhouse Project
I am conscious that we have raised expectations on this and nothing seems to be happening. In fact, a lot of work is taking place and we now have a Project Steering Group, comprised of myself, Bernard Stilwell, Caroline Beck, Hande Reardon, and Ilias Spanakis. Our immediate goal is to approach Southwark Council for a pre-application planning discussion to ensure that our initial ideas are likely to get planning approval. These involve a refurbishment of the present building and a partial new build on the broader footprint, to include a new block of washrooms, storage, and other facilities. We will also be talking to key stakeholders including our landlord (the Gallery), the Dulwich Estate, and our neighbours in College Gardens. This is a big and complex project and we are anxious to ensure that to the extent possible we avoid the risk of an unexpected large extra cost, by careful preparation.
Dulwich Picture Gallery
As you may have noticed, the Gallery has begun work on the sculpture park which is to be sited in the meadow adjacent to courts 5-8. We have been consulted throughout the evolution of this project and are very content with the plans and the arrangements for minimising interference and disruption to the Club.
A Volunteer-Run Club
Finally, Old College remains a largely volunteer-run Club. But you may have noticed that the same few names keep turning up. We are lucky to have a core group of members, committed to the Club and ready to give it their skills and time. Why not join us? It’s interesting, fun, and fulfilling. If you are interested in getting involved, let me know please; nigeljthorpe@gmail.com.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Best wishes,
Nigel Thorpe
Chair, Old College LTC Club Committee