everything since september

yes, i've been slacking on the blog updates but in reality, my life has been pretty boring this year...time to change things in 2009 :)


At the end of September (after 4 nations tennis, and Leon & Laura's wedding) I played the Scottish Open racketlon tournament - table tennis, badminton, squash & tennis. Each match consists of all four sports played up to 21 points against one opponent - every point counts! I came 3rd overall and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the squash. I've since bought myself a squash racket & shoes, joined a squash club & have been playing quite a few matches which I'm really enjoying - great game, physically & tactically challenging...just what I like!


In October I had my second dirty weekend - with a new partner ;) Mark & I completed a 2-day adventure race in the lake district - finishing the race was a challenge in itself as the weather was unbelievable the first day (severe weather warning with gale force winds & relentless rain) but it was worth persevering as Day 2 was blue skies & sunshine!! In a masochistical kind of way it was actually pretty fun, and we battled through the biking, running, and kayaking sections, as well as the mud in the camping field, which was so deep it came up to mid-calf!!

The flooding was incredible, but luckily our tent was pitched a bit higher up than some others...we saw a couple floating in a lake that formed on the Saturday! At some point in the middle of the night it just stopped, and Sunday turned out to be an amazing day. The off-road tracks were still very wet & muddy but at least the conditions were pleasant to race in, and the kayaking section was really enjoyable on a calm lake!


November took me to Norway with a a group of U/14 Scottish players for a European event, followed by captaining & competing in the winter county cup weekend.

We didn't have far to travel this year (Glasgow!) and we won the division, beating West of Scotland in the deciding match to gain promotion - Divison 4 next year, wahey! I had a couple of fairly easy matches, and one epic against Caitlin Steel - eventually winning 7-5 in the 3rd, exactly the same as last time...

I also ran an U/8 RED tournament at CTC which had a massive turnout of 23 kids - challenging but great to have so many kids competing!

We hosted a murder mystery party at the flat - Murder on the Dance Floor - which was great fun, with some hilarious character & costume suggestions!! Costume Designer Roxy Rhinestone, Judge Eileen Over, Show Host Woody Leave, Judge Marcus Hiley, Dancers: Dazzler Duck, Emmanuel Handler, Reeda Prompt & Wilma Waltzwurck

December - a trip to Belgium to visit Justine Henin's tennis academy, and to see how Emma (a girl I've coached for the last 2 years) is getting on. It was really interesting to see how the academy works, and the link between different training aspects.

Working in Edinburgh, Stirling & further afield has had its ups and downs this year, and I'm quite glad I've got some fun things to look forward to in the next little while. Christmas up in Braemar with family, followed by a week's skiing in Tignes (France) with friends. I'm back at work for a week early January, and then off to the Australian Open in Melbourne for the Grand Slam Conference & to watch some matches! I'm combining this with a bit of holiday as both Fiona's (Robertson & Flett) are living in Melbourne, as well as taking a short trip to New Zealand... doesn't get much better than that :) If I don't accidentally miss the return flight I'll be back in Edinburgh early February :)