No sooner do I write last month’s Tewin Magazine missive than we are hit by a weather bomb. For the best part of two weeks in early January the courts were hardly in use. A mixture of ice and/or rain put paid to play for a longer period than any of use could remember.

Personally, I am happy to make an early call to stay home and drink another cup of coffee, but even chairman Mike, with his trusted tennis ball machine, was deterred.

Such was the desperation for a match that the Saturday morning crowd almost decamped to Gosling for a match indoors, but the reality of trekking over the Welwyn Garden City, together with the significant cost of the court rental, didn’t drum up enough support.

Maybe we are the victim of our own successful fiscal policy. Our courts are owned by the parish council, and our membership fees are largely aimed at covering the current and future costs of the upkeep and periodic replacement of the courts, plus other incidentals and social event costs. We are, of course, run entirely volunteers.

Before moving here 24 years ago, I’d been playing at Harpenden Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (which like Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, reinvented itself.  Harpenden LTC seemed less posh to the proletariat).  Mind you, the fees are still posh. The annual membership at my old club is now £490 for an adult, plus a £250 going fee.

My son still plays there, gets high quality league and friendly matches every week and reckons it represents fair value for money. Compared with pickleball, padel or golf I am sure he’s right.

But Tewin Tennis Club is purposely kept as affordable as possible, with last year’s fees set at just £50 for adults and £15 for juniors. I am guessing members could afford to pay for the occasional foray to Gosling but it may take some forward planning. Food for thought.

Enough of my wittering. Please make sure you put the date of the AGM in your diary now, Friday 27 March, in the pavilion by the tennis courts.

Peter Burgess