The annual battle between representatives of Wolverhampton's Solicitors and Accountants was played out at Oswestry Golf Club on Friday 16th September. The players took to the first tee underneath a dark and brooding sky but things brightened up as the Solicitors got off to a flying start. Pairings Guy Birkett and Matthew Weaver and Phil Cowell and Adrian Hull both won their matches and it looked as though the Solicitors would avenge the drubbing they were given by the Accountants at last year’s event. Unfortunately, no sooner were they raised than hopes were dashed as the following three matches were lost to the Accountants. The vanquished included the pairing of Frank Calleia and Jonathan Taylor. Frank had done particularly well last year but on this occasion no longer trusting to his eyesight had invested in a cunning laser range finder which turned out to be somewhat myopic. James Sage battled nobly on on his own following some confusion on the part of his intended playing partner as to the date of the golf match (you know who you are Mark Hodgson!). With a squared match coming in, thereafter, the score stood at 3 1/2, 2 1/2 to the Accountants. Alasdair Hobbs then produced a victory for the Solicitors in the final match to square the contest. So honours even to the respective professions but the “Ryder Cup” format meant that the Accountants as holders retained the trophy for another year. All concerned commented that it had been a fun day and with the exception of James Sage's match all of the pairings produced evenly matched contests which, in many cases, went down to the final hole. If there are any golfing Solicitors out there who would like to participate in next year's event they should not hesitate to make contact with the Society’s Vice President and Golf Captain Guy Birkett at FBC Manby Bowdler LLP.
