· Piers S
A Very Long Hot Summer (Of Mallets)
The dust (and the PIMMS) has settled
The 2025 Dubai Croquet season has drawn to a close, and the committee would like to thank everyone who took part, brought sandwiches, or otherwise did not interfere with the Captain’s victory lap.
Highlights of the season
- The Captain reclaimed the cup and wishes it to be known that it was “never really gone”.
- Hywell finished second, which he described as “a perfectly sensible result”.
- Ben achieved a personal best: losing in only four turns. We are proud of him, in our way.
- Tina’s picnic spread was widely agreed to be the finest seen on the lawn, and also the only thing anyone remembers from round two.
Looking ahead
Summer is coming, which in Dubai means we retire to the air conditioning like Hobbits to the shire to discuss croquet in hushed, reverent tones. But the mallets will return. The big tree will wait.
Until the autumn: keep your whites clean, your hoops straight and your excuses fresh.
Yours in glory, The Captain