Once again the 2024 Blue Ribbon Bowling event was held at Lucky Bowling on Sveavägen 118. A near record 15 players turned out. Defending champion Sean ‘Kungen’ Hargreaves was back despite having recently recovered from debilitating knee surgery whilst previous winner Condor was out sunning his flower in the Wild West of Australia and Kingsley was planting seeds in Nepal… The scene was set and the mob grabbed one or 2 cold ones before devouring the club sponsored Lucky burgers and chips. Somewhat prematurely, Jordo cracked one through the covers and immediately everyone made their way quickly to the bowling lanes…..
The scoring was free and fast just like Loges on the cricket field and many made it past the 100 mark. The far right lane was made up of Jordo, Big Bla and Jimmy O’brien and there were some high scores in the first round. It felt like we already had the finalists congregated. In the far left lane, Macca, Laser Larry and John Cullen were struggling with gutter throws, toilet visits and general poor play. In lane 2, Tesla was paired with the newbies Alastair and Abba Fernando. Alastair was still drinking the bar dry when the bowling started so they were constantly playing catch-up. Guru was floating around so it was difficult to know what lane he was assigned to however his greatest concern was beating Abba F.
The second game proved once again to be the high point. Jordo open like Condos arse with 3 strikes and from that point it was WA dust between him and the rest of the field however he pulled Big Bla and OB1 along with him and all 3 comfortably passed the 150 mark. And in the far left lane Lazer Larry (previous champ), Kelly Cullen and Macca were in a cat fight for last place. Loges was screaming like a hyena and 3M was scanning the talent on offer.
In the end, it was Jordo that won the night and he got his 4cl shot of tequila. 3M got a free beer for being best dressed and Kungen for being a good bloke and ManU supporter. Big Blue Austin handed over the trophy to Jordo but it was a bit of a tug of war as the protest he had left in had not been fully determined.
Well done one. Well done all. A great night to kick off the year.
Jordo won with 202 and will have his name inscribed on the trophy. Strangely, the 2022 winner was not present on the trophy but that maybe due to the rank cheating that went on that year…
A great evening was had by all participants, We warmly welcome the new members, Alastair, Fernado and big Dave the Victorian, to the club.
after the post match awards and drinks people made their home at a respective time.
We hope to see you all our next club event in March!
The sun was shining. Nerves nowhere to be seen. People dressed in pants. Some short pants. The grass glistening with the ice shavings of an early autumn, lagom mys, kinda day.
Who were we? Jordo doing his best Jesper Parnevik impersonation. All I can say is; plaits. Bruffy playing the Ned Kelly, or maybe Ben Cousins? Such is life tattooed across his soul. McDonalds McManus, bringing it for all the lefties. Big Blue, tracksuit free, “I haven’t played in 8 years” as he smashes another down the fairway. Tesla wearing a shirt that screamed “TESLA I DON’T FIT YOU”. Irish John the silent assassin, flying under the radar until the introspection became too much. Andrew “I walk a lot like Donald Trump” Smith. Needs more than a Thai massage for that. Kingsley looking very sporty, taking a leaf out of Big Blues book, mysbyxor all the way. And there was Condo. Can you be fashionably late on a Sunday morning? Church at a guess.
There was some good golf. There was some bad golf. And there was some really bad golf. Mulligans flowing like wine, bogeys the new par.
Jordo and Bruffy led out the first group in the golf cart. Golf cart! What are you 45? Oh yeah… McManus rounded off the first group. Never has a threesome had so much loneliness. Yeah. See you at the green. Cool. Blue, Tesla and John made up the second group. Condo, Guru and Kings bringing up the rear. Typical.
After a couple of calm opening holes, the third group decided they were being put under pressure, yes pressure, by the group behind them. Balls were raining down on Irish John and Big Blue. Risking life and limb was not part of the days description. And the group exerting the pressure? A group of 75 year old people with vaginas. “No, it WAS stressful! They asked when our tee-off time was!!” Yeah. Sit down. After some colourful exchanges that you wouldn’t necessarily hear around the Christmas table, the third group was allowed to playthrough the two groups in front of them. Lives were saved. This rushing may have cost Smith and Kingsley dearly at the end of the day. Condo was a mere bystander. All day.
But what a front nine. The silence. The grass. The sun. The birds. The freeway. The trucks. All those cars. Calming. After a quick “this could put you in the Emergency Room” toasted ham and cheese thing, it was off to the other side of the road for the back nine. The groups were changed round slightly, Condo playing the loner behind the golf cart in Group one, Blue joining forces with Smith and Kings, with Man or Machine McManus bringing the pain with Tesla and Irish John.
The 17th hole saw it all come together. 9 men (using that term loosely) all teeing off. The bravery of risking the wrath of the Saggy Boob Brigade was remarkable. Badges would have been given out posthumously if necessary. Fortunately, that was not necessary. Needless to say, because of this unspoken pressure, no one hit the fairway. Apparently, people could just keep hitting until they hit one they liked. Smith had three. Counted the third. That’s finance for you.
The 18th was emotional. There is no other word that might encapsulate the enormity of the occasion. The moment. The pressure. I mean the pressure! Closest to the pin won a meal from the Thai food truck. There has not been such a sense of destiny since Steve Bradbury did nothing and won gold. Could it be? Is it really true? Closest to the pin? BRUFFY!!! The stars aligned, the gods spoke, the winds moulded. It was beautiful.
After that, could the day get any better? Yes. It could. Big Blue won The Jacket. See you next year slow coaches.
The second ever Soder Tennis Master Final will forevermore be referred to as “Dump Gate” not to be mixed up with Korv Gate
Law, Smith, Condon, Kingsley
Qualifying Rounds– After exhaustive rounds of qualifying tournaments, the 2 best teams secured their spot in the season ending Söder Masters Tennis Final- At stake names in Söder history books and the donning of the famous Söder blue jackets. The 2 teams were by far the best teams throughout qualifying with the #1 seeded SuperMacs(Smith/Law) to play the #2 seeded Woodies pairing of (Kingsley/Condon)
Game Set and Match: Smith/Law (aka Super Macs) 8-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
Well done Smithy and Nick- awesome competitive game of tennis which could have gone either way, but the consistency just got too much for the Woodie’s in the end. I don’t think this is the last time we will see these teams go head to head in fact strong talk of a rematch has already begun in the offseason.
Player of the Match- Nick Law showing super consistency at all sports, in fact I reckon he could pick up Jordos worn-out old balls and doing something good with them
Summary
Went back to Smithy’s , couple of beers- the DK appeared like a ghost, jumped in Smithys boat for a tour of the archipelago and dinner at the marina with beers and no less than 10 shots each between conversations, back in Smithys boat in the dead of night with smithy whacking the throttle down. Back to smithys, Pizza and pass out- except for Nick who walked off into the woods to catch a bus and has not been seen since.
Let me start with
the crowd who turned up in their droves to witness what was billed
Australia vs Tesdorf’s bunch of #$@%.
The crowd, led by
a freshly returned Kungen who had recently broken Murph’s self gratification
record whilst in quarantine and Big Blue who had last been seen at the Soder
chess comp sitting on a couch sinking home brew and heckling what he called
“the fucking losers playing chess”
In fact, there
was a rumor that Big Blue was going to make a surprise appearance for the Soder
8 with a late call up, but after seeing him bowl his first ball in the nets,
which hit the left hand side of the net half way along and half way up, we
decided he would be more use sitting on the pine and continuing to sink piss.
Nick Law to no
one’s surprise also turned up after it was announced the club would be putting
on free piss, however upon his arrival it was clearly evident he had invited
himself to several graduations along the way and had partaken in much free piss
drinking already.
For the first time this series Bruffy managed to arrive with
the kit, enabling us all to at least look like we knew what we were doing.
Thanks Bruff, we all hope the dinner and bus 69 home with the lot was worth
it…?
To The game
A couple of new faces to the lineup, led by an injection of
much needed youth in Slugger Burnell, along with an injection of the Bruffy,
fresh off performing a highly publicised soixante neuf. Dropped was Brissler
and The Tip Rat simply because it was felt Joel and Bruffy were better blokes.
I have no idea who won the toss or even if there was one,
but Soder decided to field as we were in no doubt that we could chase down
whatever total the Idiots put together.
The Bowling
A very confident Soder took to the field, with Condo
offering Captain Jordo a fielding suggestion but was abruptly told to fuck off,
with that opening salvo out of the way, Bruffy and Slugger Burnell opened the
bowling with the goal of keeping the idiots under 130
Now from memory the bowling was pretty good but
unfortunately so were the batsmen, who scored at a good clip. Once again we
couldn’t get an early break through.
Unable to get a break through with the opening bowlers, the
ball was thrown to the big Yarpie who promptly pulled his own pants down to
reveal South African national flag on displayed on his pole pushers and was
promptly told to pull them up again or face code violation charges-
In he steamed! A missed catch by Bruffy on the boundary once again had us
considering a substitution for big blue, but with BIG BLUES bowling
demonstration still fresh in our minds we decide to persist with Bruffy. This
only made the barrel chested yarpie angry and fuck me if the wickets didn’t
start to tumble, with a classic catch by Kingsley who had forgone his
normal pre match 6 lines of O’Boy for a more low key approach- a great catch at
a crucial moment to break the partnership- game on..
In a classic 4 over spell Logan snared 4 for 33(could have
been 5) which was much welcomed ,as at the other end condo was copping some
stick being banged for around 22 of his first 2 overs and was promptly removed
from the attack.
Kingsley proceeded as he does on a night out on the tear, he
caught everything that came his way and set a new standard for fielding. His
bowling also proved economical 0\25 off 4
The skipper bought himself on and picked up1\7.
Once again condo was thrown the ball from the other end and
bowled a better line and length picking up his first wicket with a very good
redemption catch to Bruffy on the boundary which then brought Big Tesdorf to
the crease only to receive a large amount of verbal abuse which clearly got the
better of him. Condo lengthened his run up to 12 steps and steamed him, Tessler
went bang hoping for a 6 first ball only to sky a ball to the safe hands of
slugger burnell. GGGOOORN A GOLDEN DUCK! condo had two in row but most
importantly the prized scalp of tessler with no ink wasted in the scorebook
On a hat trick and with a slip in place, condo steamed into
the return of the retiring batsmen who promptly smashed the hat trick ball just
wide of condo who dived for the catch a good 3 seconds after the ball had
passed him. 2/32 returned by Condo with Slugger cleaning up the last wicket
1/24 a good return in his first game
Idiots all out in 18.4 overs for a gettable 155
A very good fielding performance, but the bowling at times
still too short and needing to remove an opener much earlier now the key target
for next game. Guru and Larry not thrown ball were heard to be plotting the
removal of Captain Jordo
Pick of the bowlers was the south african self dacker-
Logan, the best return in soders history, great bowling mate…
The Batting
In strode a new opening combination, Kingsley fresh off 75no
and Logan fresh off a self dacking looking for a steady start to the run chase
..Kingsley began where he left off with some sweet stroke play , clearly a man
in form, whilst Big Logan was watchful scoring at a watching paint dry rate
until his furniture got rattled 6 from 12.
In strode Bruffy hell bent on making amends for his kit faux
paus and make amends he did , scoring a nice 18 from 15 ,before being caught
behind. He and kings put together a nice partnership which had us just over the
required run rate target. Well batted by big Bruff, exactly the type of innings
that was missing in the last game from one of the other batsmen
With the fall of Bruff ,last games century maker King Jordo
swaggered to the crease to join his partner in crime and finish the match off
for us- we on the pine sat back to relax.
Kings did what was required hitting frequent boundaries
which kept the run rate ticking over, retiring for a beautifully compiled 50
off just 28 balls- six 4s and one 6- SR 178!!
At the change of ends we were around 90 off 10 ,50 balls to
make 65 runs, Jordo at the crease, kingsley to come back in and Kungen was
hence forth sent to get the barbie lighted such was our confidence.
With Kingsley’s retirement Slugger Burnell came into bat for
the first time this series with a mind set to finish the game quickly,
Unfortunately an edge behind? 4 from 3 not the return he had hoped for. At this
stage things were tightening up and with Jordos stroke play looking a little
more stifled than last game and Guru joining him at the crease the boys on the
pine started to sink piss in nervous anticipation.
Jordo made it to 31 from 19 before a controversial LBW
decision (clearly too high) saw him depart bringing Condo to the crease.
A watchful innings from Jordo which still saw his SR at 163.. not bad for a
quieter day!!
Now at this stage the top order had left Guru, condo, and
Larry with 45 to make off 20- somewhere along the line the run rate had been
forgotten.
It has to be said Guru looked in good knick middling the
ball and picking up 1s and 2s but it wasn’t going to be enough. Condo
communicated to Guru that Kingsley was required back in and Guru should get
himself out. Guru replied to this suggestion by running Condo out. 7 from 7 for
condo who needs to get moving with his batting.
Condo’s demise saw Larry Pascoe enter the fray.
Unfortunately, Larry was unable to get bat to ball with some good smart bowling
by the village idiots, keeping him on strike and with the clear goal of not
allowing run scoring machine kingsley back in.
This act of bastardry (clearly tactics Soder need to learn)
saw us run out of balls with wickets in hand going down by 18 runs
To his credit
Larry remained 11 no out off 14 and to his greater credit exacted revenge for
condo running Guru out for a steady but slow 7 from 11.
Pick of the
Batsmen- R Kingsley- another great performance mixed with stylish stroke play
and big hitting- great work!!
The Aftermath
All in all an
improved fielding performance, an ok bowling performance which needs to be
tighter and a slow as shit batting performance , a winnable game ruined by poor
batting tactics and a lack of BBQ utensils and fire lighting equipment for a
clearly enraged Kungen on the BBQ, who was heard to announce Jordos likely
death for his complete disregard for how a BBQ needed to run and that he was
now ducking off to lay a dugite in the forest before he was seen returning to
turn the sausages with his fingers!!
0 wins from 2
games an awful start after a much-hyped pre season. A win needed in game 3 or
heads will roll with big blue waiting in the wings……could it get any worse?
Soder man of the
match- a tie between logan 4 for 33 and kingsley who’s fielding batting and
tight bowling performance ensured he could not be left out…
Great BBQ- well
done Kungen and Jordo and great after match piss up…
After a well deserved spray delivered to Smithy from Bruffy regarding his manhood, smithy made good on his promise to actually turn up. This was despite Bruffy announcing he was skipping the 1st game of the year to romance the Mrs at their anniversary- The Big Bruffster really needs to get his priorities straightened out!
With Bruffy’s mind firmly on
delivering an epic night of wining and dining his Mrs, he actually forgot to
deliver the all important team kit, completely letting his mates down who were
then forced to wear kids equipment (Kinglsey had young Oscars junior pads on
which looked like two 2 band aids ) and to borrow the opposing teams kit, which
they were non too happy about. The boys batted without genitalia protectors,
thigh pads, helmets, all except smithy who of course had his own personalised
gold plated kit and refused to share it- that’s the team spirit we were looking
for smithy!! You really have become the ultimate effeminate Swedish male…-
I’d hate to have been on the titanic with you and you were the only bloke with
the keys to your own personal life boat!!
But let’s not forget about the
skipper who as usual set the benchmark for fashion arriving in a polka dot top
and carrying his mrs pink esky- he would have put the fear of christ into
our sub-continent- ffs! But when the skipper raises the question “who’s
got the kit?” Given ultimately it was his responsibility- we knew we were
under the pump before a ball had been bowled- however, fortunately for him,
redemption was at hand!!
Now let me get to the game
itself
Putting it simply we bowled and
fielded like old men, got whacked for 220 plus in 20 overs. A note to Kingsley-
please only 2 cans of red bull before games not 6 , a little excitable trying
to run batsmen out with throws that had no back up or they were already in
their crease 2 minutes before trying to throw the stumps down- there was
nowhere to hide from him….just a feed of mung beans and celery juice next
time mate.
Dropped catches, plenty of
wides and plenty of sun burn to the roof of our mouths as Sehwag and co got to
work hitting the ball over our heads.
1-34 (economy 8.50) was deemed
the best figures of the day- delivered by Whispering Death himself
Enough of the sub standard
bowling and fielding- a great deal of improvement to be had and some hard
lessons learned
Now let’s get to the batting-
223 the target- Larry “Drifter” Hagberg and Guru “late
lunch” Smithy marching arrogantly out to open the batting
It was at this point we
witnessed one of the great opening partnerships of our time.
With smithy obviously still
rattled by Bruffys spray and Jordo refusing to bowl him, he took vengeance upon
Larry by running him out without him facing a ball. Now most batsmen in this
position would have given smithy his 2nd well deserved and almighty spray in 24
hrs, but Diamond Duck Larry just trudged off to plot his next serial killing
victim and took up his seat on the pine. But smithy to his credit
committed his first selfless act in his lifetime and was summarily bowled the
next ball- Larry 0, Smithy 0, opening partnership 0 from 2 balls- well done
lads, ripping start to chasing 223…!!
Out strolled Brissles who after
being tonked for 15 an over (61 in 4 overs) was deadset wanting to make amends-
he did this by deciding to get jordo in asap and summarily gave his wicket away
to a suspected chucker, who has now claimed brissler as his new bunny, so
firmly did his suspect action worry Johnny- 5 off 9 balls
Now at this stage we have our
backs to the wall , but the skipper and his excitable 1st Lieutenant Kingsley,
had other plans and went to work, dishing up some of the oppositions own
medicine.. 2 sparkling, heavy hitting, classy 50s without chance , at that
stage gave us hope of posting at least a respectable score- still no thought or
chance of winning – or was there?
However – Jordos retirement saw
Murph scurry to the crease and in typical Murph style was talking big numbers
and in typical Murphstyle delivered sweet F.All , clean bowled for a silver
duck having wasted two precious balls, still he was talking his performance up
as he offered condo his genitalia protector as he passed by, but due to it
being an xsmall and covered in a thick yellow substance it was waved away-
condo now at crease with nothing protecting the family jewels and a pair of
dodgey sub continental pads.
Condo was greeted by Kingsley
who was due to retire ,with the confidence building words of- give me the
strike you wont need to do anything and nothing was exactly what was delivered
by Condo a slash outside off stump, thick edge caught behind 7 from 9
balls and took his miserable place back on the pine.
Now at this stage Logan came to
the crease with our 2nd retirement Kingsley having departed . Logan it has to
be said had been busying himself with eating 3 kgs of cold home made meatballs
and potatoes with a dash of cane sauce- how he actually was able to lift
himself off the pine to walk out to the middle was a feat in itself..but like
his eating, his batting was solid, showing some flair and some yarpie spine,
giving jordo who had returned to the crease some much needed support.
Now it was at this stage things
started to look up .. Jordo really went to work and bashed those chirpy sub
continentals all over skarpnack, at one stage whacking 3 sixes on the trot.
Such was his dominance that a ray of sunlight started to appear for the first
time of the match-we may actually get the runs to get a bonus point, 178 was
the figure. But Jordo unbeknown to the rest of us had hatched a plan with
Pantsman Kingsley aka Barossa Banksy, to actually steal the match itself
off their own bats! However there was still 1 problem- Logan…
Now logan in an act of genius
and directly after Jordo had reached a magnificent 100 off just 40 balls- the
likes of which I’m sure skarpnack had not and will not witness again, decided
that the best course of action was to not only get out himself but to invoke
the double play and run jordo out at the same time- with mission accomplished
Kingsley strolled to the crease, logan went back to feasting on his meatballs
and potatoes (14 from 11 – promising innings by the big south African) and
Jordo returned to his team mates to regale them with stories of his
greatness…
Now at this stage we were still
42 down with 6 balls remaining- 5 sixes would do it and a 12 off the last ball-
“cometh the moment cometh the man” – Vego Kingsley nearly pulled it
off , racing from a retirement score of 50 to be not out 75, bashing a 12 off
the last ball leaving us just 17 runs short of a very worried bunch of sub
continentals, who were starting to fray at the edges and who had clearly
dropped their bundle and were seen arguing amongst themselves. Clearly
Kingsley’s hyperactivity had got to them…
4 more balls and we might have
been home…!!!
Given the rest of us faced just
34 balls out of a possible 109 delivered scoring a paltry 26 out of 205 runs,
it really was the Jordo and kingsley batting masterclass that has no doubt put
the fear of god into the other teams- they will be firmly In the minds of our
sub continental friends next time we meet in the GF
Had we had just one more of us
stand up at bat ,or been a bit more fuller and direct at the stumps with the
bowling , we (aka jordo and Kingsley) would actually have got us over the
line…
11th June next game vs village
idiot- let’s call this one as it is- The Ashes- a big rivalry to be formed from
here on in against these geezers
Will be good to have an
injection of youth with the possible inclusion of slugger Burnell, and bad boy
Bruffy to cancel that youth policy straight back out
Special mention to the spy,
Nick Law who turned up drank free piss and left
Man of the Match- Skipper Jordo
what a superb innings, outstanding big hitting, cool as a cucumber in a crisis,
closely followed by the classy, crisp hitting and astute batting of Lieutenant
Kinglsey – 101 and 75 respectively great knock fellas, was a pleasure to
watch and lifted the spirits of the boys back on the pine…
Great to be back out having a
hit with a great bunch of competitive mates, looking forward to the rest of the
series…
The ”Corona safe” Annual Söder AFC Bowling
event 2021 took place on the 7th May at Gullmarsplan Bowling. Everyone was
charged up ahead of the event keen to see who would win the prestigious event
and take home the loudest shirt comp.
There was the usual banter and trash talk
on the Whatsapp channel prior to the event. There was also a sinking feeling
that Piney would not attend and challenge with his array of Pineapple shirts
and despite many attempts to smoke him out with pix from previous antics he
only chirped up at the last minute and gave Bruffy his blessing to take over
the mantle.
A hardy crowd of 15 turned up with André
acting as officiator to ensure that procedures and rules were followed.
Unfortunately, an early encroachment was discovered when Brissles was
discovered to have smuggled in his own pair of black trainers. Brissles weaved
and danced his way to the point of delivery throwing curl bowl after curl bowl,
racking up 5 strikes in a row. His lane companions were absolutely devastated
with Murphy wetting his pants and having to mop up the mess so no one would
“slip over”.
Brissles dominated both the practice and
comp round. Others focused on refreshments including a round that Guru ordered
with the proceeds of his bitcoin winnings. But there was no stopping Brissles.
He was an unstoppable force. The team in Lane 3 were so devastated for some
reason they didn’t get past the half-way mark in the deciding set.
Following the outclassing by Brissles there
was a protest over the use of own shoes but to no avail. Brissles prevailed and
the President was left so embarrassed by this rule encroachment it was left to
Secretary Tesdorf to hand over the trophy that was glued back together in one
piece. Then the beauty contest started, and it eventually came down to a
face-off between Bruffy and Larry (via his proxy Condor). The first heat was
tied 7-7 but Bruffy prevailed and won the equally desirable white Russian.
Finally, we were all turfed out by the wicked witch of the kitchen who demanded that Rappa settle his tab. Rappa passed it on to DK who settled outstanding business and we were off to Clayton’s for some Aussie classic music and a slab of Falcons. We then all sat round the bar table on bar stools admiring the Swans 2012 AFL premiership paper cut-out and making noises from all ends down Clayton’s digeridoo… Thereafter memories fade somewhat…
It’s all happening now, Söder cricket is on the up and up!
New cricket gear and a rare sunny day in Sweden means big numbers at cricket training. Bruffy has been perfecting his follow through and clocked his fastest just over Swedish speed limits. Murph keeps working on his Glenn Maxwell stance.
The 2020 bowling night was my first experience of a Södermalm AFC social competition. It was with a sense of excitement that I approached the grey bowling building beside Gullmarsplan which I was used to visiting for my daughter gymnastics competitions. I had met a few club members at the cricket, dad’s barbeque and tennis however the build up to this event on the what’s app channel indicated this was serious stuff. Film clips from the Big Lebowski, colourful bowling shirts, some American nut shouting at the public, serious trash talk and a broken trophy cemented a sensation to expect the unexpected. The trash talk was at another level than that Smithy served up at the tennis. When I arrived I was met by a barrage of new names and faces. Brissles, Tanka, Macca, Cordo, Smurf, Tip Tapp and Don Keys . I though “Shit, how am I going to remember all these names?”. We got served a complimentary beer and then the draw began. The names where put face down and then lotted into 5 groups of 3 and 2 of 2. Amongst the aussies we were also 2 swedes, and Englishman and a Mexican. Tip Rat requested a quick check of the associations statutes to see whether Mexicans were allowed and was assured this was fine in spite of the risk of the spread of Corona. The rules were simple. Top 4 results from the first two sets with 2 lucky losers joining them in the final.
As a lucky loser Tip Rat was confident of getting one of those places. Cordo and Kingsley were late and didn’t arrive until mid-way through the first set so it was all down to the second set for them. Larry and I were in a group of 2 playing next to the other group of 2 of Jordo and Don Keys. Quite quickly we had played our first 2 sets and noted that none of us were anywhere near the top 4 spots. Nevertheless, Larry and I got the best overall scores – well over 450! 2 of the top 4 came from lane 14 – Brissles and Tanka. They were joined by Rappa and Nick. Finally, the lucky losers were drawn and it was Tip Rat as expected and Macca who didn’t want to be a lucky loser and gave his place to Fergo. The final provided moments of excitement not the least as the bowlers kept changing lanes so it was not easy to see who was bowling in what lane. In the end, Rappa prevailed edging out Fergo by one point. Brissles came third but somehow Tip Rat made his way onto the 3rd step.
So there it was – Rappa 1st, Fergo 2nd and Tip Rat 3rd . After this we went to the restaurant to enjoy more beers and a burger. The president gave a summary of the year that had passed, number of members, number of paid members, number of events and upcoming events. There was an awards ceremony and a vote for the member with the best looking shirt that Fergo with his pineapple shirt won. After that it was time to head into town and Götgatsbacken. The evening continued and what happened at Brunos stays at Brunos….
On Saturday the 12th of September 2020, the inaugural Södermalm AFC Tennis Championships took place. Courts were booked at one of Europe’s finest tennis academies in Danderyd at the “Good to Great” tennis academy at Catella Arena. The academy was set up by the famous Swedish trio of Magnus Norman (coach of Stan Wawrinka), Mikael Tillström (coach of Gael Monfils) and Nicklas Kulti. All three have won the Davis Cup for Sweden and all three have been ranked among the best in the world during their careers so the stage was set for a big day indeed. 2 courts were booked on the brand new outdoor clay surface and 11 members from Sodermalm AFL put their names down to play. We could only take 8 players so Perillo, Briscoe and Kingsley were put down as reserves. Players were ranked by tournament director; Smithy based on a highly technical system that required the use of quantum computing facilities at one of the local hedge funds. The idea being that good players should be teamed up with weaker players in order for a more enjoyable tournament.
Rankings were as follows where A =
Ridiculously Good and E = Ridiculously Bad:
Smith = B+
Bruffy = C
Nick = C
Logan = B
Rappa = D
Alex = C
Condo = B+
Larry = D
Reserves:
Perillo = C
Kingsley = B+
Briscoe = B+
The tournament director then set the
draw:
Match 1 = Bruffy/Alex V Smith/Larry
Match 2 = Logan/ Nick V Condo/Rappa
Winners of Match 1 would then play
Winners of Match 2 and Losers of Match 1 would play Losers of Match 2.
And then the rain came………..
The light rain had a few of the players concerned about turning up but only one
player (Condo) dropped out due to non-rain reasons and was replaced by Kingsley
and so play began. All players had brought suitable attire including clay
shoes and a few bandanas were spotted. Smith who fancied himself for the
win almost had a heart attack when his partner, Larry turned up with a wooden
racket from the 1960’s and shorts tighter than Boris Becker at his peak.
Smith and Larry were taught a lesson in tennis from Bruffy and Alex and lost
the first set 4-6. Smith and Larry regrouped and in an epic turn around
won the second set 8-6 leading into a third set tie breaker. Bruffy and
Alex were rattled and in the tie breaker third set Smith and Larry got up
7-4. Alex had turned up in all whites and Bruffy had claimed that he had
been dazzled by his partner’s outfit. Dazzling indeed! Meanwhile on the
other court the Kiwi, Nick Law had been booming down some big serves together
with his partner the South African wonder Sean Logan and those boys managed to
get up over Rappa and Kingsley in 2 sets; 6-2, 6-2. The next rounds took place
immediately and Kingsley interchanged with Perillo and that proved costly as
Alex and Bruffy got up in the first set 6-1. Players then mixed and
matched on that court and no real “loser” was declared. Sensible indeed. On the
other court where the finals were to take place claims from Nick and Logan that
they were disadvantaged by being made to change court in order to play on the
court that Smith and Larry had just won on were taken to the tournament director
Smith and were disregarded immediately…… strangely. An epic final then
took place. Swedish Larry and the Aussie Smith were shocked by the
serving speed of the Kiwi and the net aggression of the South African and went
down hard in the first set 6-1. Smith and Larry regrouped and took the
second set 6-4 as the young Kiwi and not so young South African began to tire
and the double faults crept in. A third set tie break was going to decide
it and the 1960’s racket of Larry came through for team Smith and Larry who won
the third set 7-5 to be crowned the inaugural Södermalm AFC tennis champions
for 2020.
All retired to the change rooms somewhat
wet from the light rain and then convened in the Good to Great facilities for
lunch and beers. Some of the crowd then carried on in Hammarby for
further beers ……. A really great day and highly likely to be repeated
soon – stay tuned. Thanks to all who participated and to the club as
always.
Tournament Director (self appointed)
– Andrew Smith.
Friday evening Söder faced off against Djurgården CC at the JCG for the second time this season. It was clear that training had paid off, the boys came home with another win which puts them on 3 wins out of 3 games since the cricket section started.
Experienced tosser and Captain D Jordansson made the wise decision to start batting. A slow start by Söder with Djugården’s Benedict bowling 1-0 in the first over caused some early jitters, but what followed was a pretty one-sided affair. After excellent batting from Ryan (81), Söder ended up with 186/4(20). The Djurgården batsmen were really put to the test by the Söder bowlers and they finished on 109/9(20). Sean 2-11(2) and Macca 2-8(3) both took double scalps.
In preparation for Friday’s return game against Djurgården the stalwarts of the Södermalm XI practiced at Hägerstensåsens bollplan. Bruffy has been studying old Brett Lee videos to get his fast bowl action perfected and Murph has been working on his appeal. Headed by the Centurion Jordo Södermalm are looking good for Friday. Wasi Akrim and Waddaya Meanwasi are out of contract and won’t be playing.
On a sunlight morning, Team Södermalm pulled out from Älvsjö Station at 06:00 for their ride to Trosa. The destination, Trosa, is a charming harbour town with quaint houses and a canal running through the middle of the town to give it a feel of little Amsterdam. However, the route there is itself a beautiful stretch of road reminiscent of stages from the Tour de France – the flat sections at least – due to the expansive fields and forests, which on occasions roll out to meet the sea. There is also, halfway through, a ferry where the riders took a well earned rest since the pace was kept up at a respectful 26 km/h.
While the kilometers ticked off Andre gently provided us with the necessary encouragement and tips to complete the route and improve our skills on the road. Yet, the road is its own teacher as Jordo picked up the obligatory puncture and had to demonstrate his tyre changing skills under pressure. He clocked under 10 minutes, even with the insanely high ridges on his tyres. So I’m afraid the nefarious record of the longest tyre change is still held by Perillo. Although I’m sure he would want me to point to the fact that Jordo only had to contend with the front wheel unlike him. Thankfully, all of the riders patiently waited since they had been fed at a little cafe in Trosa and were on route to a waffle house for the snack on the way home. Life doesn’t get better than a bike ride with friends, fresh air and fika! …Unless you’re Andree, who quite enjoys the post ride shower with his bike.
This beautiful island provides stunning scenery and quiet roads that allowed the boys to hone their skills with slip streaming and just generally build up stamina. Those skills and stamina will be required as the relatively novice group aims to achieve the true ton: 100 miles or for you Swedes, 161 km. However, this training ride was more modest, yet one we are still proud of since we completed over a 100km.
During those miles we were lucky enough to find Daniel a new bike, to coordinate with his kit design. We wished him luck keeping up!
Beyond that, the group raised their average speed up to a respectable 25km per hour, but we still in general struggled to keep up with Kristoffer when he chose to put the power down. Thankfully we all knew that the Ekerö golf course would provide a nice cup of coffee to reward our efforts. Having said that, by the end of the day, I still stepped off my bike like John Wayne.
