Founded in 1930, the Buccaneers is a wandering cricket club with Sunday fixtures, some all day, played throughout the South East of England including in Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and London.
"Let us take our stand and play the game, but rather for the cause than for the fame"
Why not join us for the Annual Dinner, held at the East India Club, Pall Mall on Thursday 27th October 2022 at 18.45.
Dr Sarah Fane OBE has been asked to propose the toast to the Club. Sarah is currently Director of the MCC Foundation and previously as a medical doctor visiting Afghanistan, she was inspired to set up Afghan Connection, a charity which, from 2002-20, supported some 500,000 children with Health, Education and Cricket in Afghanistan. The charity helped build and renovate 130 schools and trained more than 1000 teachers. In partnership with the MCC and alongside the meteoric rise of the Afghanistan National Cricket Team, it delivered cricket projects to more than 100,000 young people.
Why not also attend the annual Annual General Meeting before Dinner at 18.30. The agenda for the AGM will be available shortly.
Please note that due to cost increases, tickets will this year be £60 per person.
To book your Dinner ticket, please contact David Close at dclose@griffithsandarmour.com or on 07947 370069.
The plan had been simple. Turn up with 11 players and chase. But the game didn’t go to plan. The Buccs turned up with nine and were inserted, ironically by Mark Searle of Warborough, who then generously offered himself to the Buccs’ cause in an effort to level up the sides.
Although the batting card, of 10, was shorter than hoped, and both the pitch and the bowling were stickier and slower than desired, the Buccs innings began solidly with 22 off the first six overs. Archie Valentine’s departure (to his dismay, two runs short of his personal, even intimate, target) brought Archie Marsh to the crease. The subsequent 15 overs were the high point of the match for the Buccaneers, methodically moving towards what looked set to be a low but competitive total. Ollie Robertson led from the front but was overshadowed when his swashbuckling father, Neil, entered the stage and bashed 13 from 12 to record the best strike-rate in the family. After Ollie fell – another one, bowled – for an innings top-score of 36, Eric Wedge-Bull saw off his partner, mistaking him for a younger and quicker Robertson in a calamitous run-out. Briefly he and the bristling Rob Rydon looked like they would swing momentum towards the batting side. However, the innings eventually folded for a sub-par 134/9, not for the first time in Buccs history being cleaned up by a mesmerising spell by a Tilley.
What followed was a delicious tea. What followed that was sickening. The pitch dried and quickened, and the result became increasingly inevitable. Hamish and Ollie Robertson bowled a truly memorable opening spell which on another day might have bagged them several in the office: the Buccs had three slips despite only playing with ten, but somehow – incredibly – nothing worked. Ollie took a wicket with perhaps the only bad ball of the brothers’ spell, but Warborough & Shillingford cantered home led by excellent batting by their skipper and their former Oxfordshire opener. The penultimate word should go to the wicket-keeping of Andy Morgan, which was jaw-droppingly athletic and skilled as the ball zipped around. His first Buccs game of season ensured he remains an active player in his 56th season for the club. The final word should go to the hospitality of Warborough & Shillingford and the healing cosiness of the Six Bells. With rumours flying that the legendary luncheon might return in 2023, the team departed: chastened, but looking forward to the fixture next year.
O Robertson b Iswariah 36 A Valentine b Potter 13 A Marsh b Hassan 12 N Robertson run out 13 E Wedge-Ball c Hassan b Tilley 19 R Rydon b Hassan 15 H Robertson c Potter b Tilley 8 A Morgan c Ward b Charters 0 M Searle c Gregory b Tilley 5 W Okines not out 7 Extras 6 Total (39.4 overs) 134 all out
Bowling
I Potter 7-1-19-1 A Gregory 6-1-16-0 R Iswariah 9-2-14-1 J Hassan 9-1-47-2 J Tilley 4.4-0-14-3 P Charters 4-0-24-1
Innings of Warborough & Shillingford
F Iswariah b O Robertson 7 A Zagoritis not out 62 A Hobbs not out 64 Extras 4 Total (26.5 overs) 137 for 1
Bowling
H Robertson 8-3-20-0 O Robertson 6-1-25-1 A Marsh 5-0-29-0 R Rydon 4-0-19-0 W Okines 2-0-18-0 A Valentine 1.5-0-24-0
A warm welcome was received once again a the picturesque Follies Farm. The Buccs were put into bat by Follies’ skipper Henry Grant. Having not batted thus far all season skipper Hobbs bravely faced the first ball alongside Tom ‘The Wall’ Fletcher. The first over went for a healthy six runs, however none scored from the Hobbs bat, all wides. After standing steadfast The Wall was the first victim falling for six runs and there the top order collapse started. Hobbs fell for nine in the next over, quickly followed by Berry and Mann leaving the Buccs on 33 for 4. Stephen Moules entered the crease and immediately hit form with his trademark leg-side pick ups and straight drives. Metcalfe and Leech couldn’t give much support as they fell for five and nine respectively. It was the wagging tail (surely should have been batting higher up? Ed.) of Ollie Mann (24) and Rob Rydon (23) that supported Moules and added excellent shots and innings of their own. Ollie also hit probably the shot of the match with a perfectly timed cover drive, with a professionally held pose. Okine’s 3 N.O ensured that no Buccaneer was in the duck hunt that day, leaving the Buccs on a respectable 184-8.
A tea of cake, sandwiches and Provençal Rosé was had by teams and umpires as the Buccaneers prepared mentally for the defence of their total.
Mann and Rydon took the new ball, opening up with some accurate and pacy bowling littered with dot balls and those narrowly missing the outside edge on multiple occasions. However, sadly not picking up the wickets of the opening pair.
Metcalfe and Moules came into the fold at first change, Metcalfe struggling with his length at times allowed a few runs to be scored in between maidens. Moules struck with his first over followed by a double wicket over in his third. The first wicket fell at 76 runs, leaving the Buccaneers with a tall task to limit Follies to their total of 184. Follies batted well and confidently, seemingly knowing well the undulating contours of the wicket. Follies eventually knocked the winning runs in the penultimate over of the game, in what was a tight and well contested match.
The teams and throng of fans were treated to wine, beer and nibbles post match. The Buccs look forward to returning next year in the hope of getting revenge.
Innings of Buccaneers
R Hobbs ct [ ] b Lloyd-Davies 9 T Fletcher ct [ ] b Rowland 6 A Berry ct [ ] b Gibson 9 S Mann ct [ ] b Rowland 2 S Moules ct [ ] b Grant 74 W Metcalfe ct [ ] b Baker 5 C Leech b Grant 6 O Mann b Grant 24 R Rydon not out 23 W Okines not out 3 Extras 21
Total 184-8
Bowling Rowland 8-1-16-2 Lloyd-Davies 8-2-33-1 Gibson 8-1-44-1 Baker 7-0-47-1 Grant 8-2-37-3 Another 1-0-7-0
Innings of Follies Farm
T Green b Moules 46 C Scudamore ct [ ] b Moules 7 H Grant ct [ ] b Moules 5 C Baker b Moules 15 G Gibson ct [ ] b Mann 51 G Lloyd-Davies not out 8 J Lloyd-Davies b Leach 11 F Gibson not out 4 Extras 29
Total 186-6
Bowling O Mann 8-1-27-2 R Rydon 8-3-25-0 W Metcalfe 8-2-33-0 S Moules 8-1-40-4 W Okines 1-0-20-0 C Leach 5.2-0-20-1
An uncharacteristically hot and dry Betchworth CC played host to the Buccaneers’ fixture against Reigate Pilgrims as the June/July/August heatwave showed little sign of abating. As the mercury reached 32 degrees skipper Berry sought to arrange a 30 over thrash. Pilgrims’ skipper was, however, having none of it and insisted on a timed game with the last 20 overs from 6.30. Pressure was on to win the toss and Berry duly delivered.
J Marsh and M Harms opened up for the Buccaneers and were greeted by some very tidy bowling from our hosts. With Harms eyeing up a second ton in as many games he snicked off, bringing debutant Sach to the crease. What followed was a masterclass of low risk batting. Marsh and Sach traded boundaries and kept the scoring rate at a healthy 7rpo for much of the innings.
With a hundred in sight Sach was eventually caught by a stunning catch on the boundary 8 shy of what would have been one of the Buccs’ quicker tons. Clark and Valentine both came and went in their attempts to help Marsh to his hundred but he wouldn’t be denied for long. A towering six brought up not only his first (of what surely will be many) Buccaneers hundreds but the declaration too.
A cracking tea followed accompanied by free flowing ale from the nearby Red Lion to readied the bowling unit for the push for victory. Tight bowling from openers Rydon and Metcalfe kept the scoring in check, helped by a couple of wickets from Will’s swingers. The bowling was rotated in the blazing sun and the Pilgrims middle order started to play their shots. Enter J Marsh who followed his batting display with some lovely off spin and was ably assisted by his brother Archie’s leg spin in hollowing out the Pilgrims’ middle order. Still the big shots came and with 6 overs remaining all four results were still on the table.
Skipper Berry brought himself on and got a couple of wickets (one thanks to the umpire’s clear desire to bring a close to proceedings). So the equation for the Buccs was two overs in which to get the one wicket needed for victory . Despite a few close calls, the 10th wicket pair saved the day for the Pilgrims and time was called a draw played out.
A great match played in brilliant spirit, a welcome return to the fixture having been lost for the last few years. The Buccs look forward to returning both to Betchworth and the Red Lion for our House Match later in the year and to play the Pilgrims again in 2023.
Scorecard
Innings of the Buccaneers
J. Marsh Not Out 103 M Harms Caught 4 B Sach Caught 92 G Clark Run Out 2 A Valentine Caught 12 H Robertson Not Out 0
Extras 29 Total 243 for 4 from 32 overs
Innings of Reigate Pilgrims
Total 217 for 9 from 34 overs
Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets
R Rydon 6 1 21 0 W Metcalfe 7 1 36 2 J Marsh 11 2 65 3 E Wedge-Bull 2 0 19 0 A Marsh 4 0 39 2 H Robertson 1 0 4 0 A Berry 3 1 5 2
Scorchio. Nanny state warnings about being too hot to do anything were ignored. A run fest was expected as was a winning toss from the Buccs captain. Oh dear. With a brown outfield, a lot of chasing leather was expected.
Harry and Ollie Mann had other ideas. The first ball of the day was a perfect yorker but somehow kept out by OHJ’s opener. The next ball from Harry cartwheeled the off stump out of the ground.
Enter stage right, Mark Semmence, a true run machine against the Buccs. Some trade mark cover drives didn’t bode well, but then Ollie straightened one up the hill and the LBW appeal was upheld. Some acrobatic diving from Rich Hobbs in the gully snaffled another one. Before we knew it OHJs were floundering at 50 for 5 with the Mann brothers accounting for them all. Hobbs came on to bowl some liquorice all sorts and a full toss was smacked to mid off (safe hands from Harry). Hamish Robertson bowled an excellent spell (his first bowl of the summer) and got a wicket (safe hands from Ollie) Simon Leefe spoiled the effect by bowling their number 8 all by himself. Some resistance was put up, but Hobbs and Leefe snuffled it out and OHJs were all out for 139.
It was a thrilling low scoring game that everyone contributed to. Great food, beer and sherry was on offer and it is difficult to beat as cricketing day out.
Well this was going to be a piece of p*** to chase down. The captain, Rob Rydon, top loaded the order with Rydons (son Alex and brother Will) and was slightly chastened to find that he was the top scoring Rydon with 12. No matter, we had plenty of batting and Jim Mann and Jeremy Milne were steadying the ship until Jeremy was run out. Then Tom Fletcher and Simon succumbed to the offspin of Stuart Hall ( who in the end bowled a monster spell of 20 overs and took five wickets) and panic had well and truly settled in to Buccaneers. At 82 for 6 the match could have gone in all four directions, but Harry joined his father and proceeded to calmly chase down the runs. Sadly Harry was snaffled to another LBW decision and Hamish was needed to take us closer to the total It was fitting that Jim hit the winning runs and brought up his half century.
A crowd gathered to hear the closing speeches and listen to the Last Post as the flag was lowered on the OHJ’s cricket week.
Innings of OHJs
R Lunn b H Mann 0 R Willesdon ct Hobbs b O Mann 21 M Semmence lbw O Mann 19 B Moulton b H Mann 4 B Willesdon ct Fletcher b O Mann 0 S Hall ct unsure b H Hobbs 9 H Rose ct unsure b H Robertson 17 R Burgh b S Leefe 16 S Warrender lbw R Hobbs 35 O Welch b S Leefe 4 O Willesdon not out 0 Extras 14 Total 139 all out
Bowling H Mann 12-2-33-2 O Mann 6-1-23-3 H Robertson 6-2-12-1 R Rydon 2-0-9-0 R Hobbs 8-2-28-2 S Leefe 10-4-23-2
Innings of Buccaneers
A Rydon ct and b S Hall 10 R Rydon ct B Moulton b S Hall 12 W Rydon ct B Moulton b S Hall 4 J Mann Not out 51 J Milne Run out 5 T Fletcher lbw S Hall 3 S Leefe Lbw S Hall 12 H Mann Lbw B Willesdon 21 H Robertson not out 11 Extras 12 Total 140 for 7
Bowling S Hall 20-8-31-5 O Welch 4-1-2-0 B Willesdon 17.3-3-55-1 O Willesdon 6-2-13-0 R Burgh 5-1-12-0
The subcontinental conditions continued, as we returned to West Chiltington for what is often a competitive fixture – although this year would prove an exception. Falling at the first hurdle, Skipper Eswar lost the toss and West Chiltington, unsurprisingly, elected to bat. With the sun beating down and the conditions ideal for batting, the opposition, perhaps understandably, thought that a good chunk of their work had already been accomplished. However, little did they know what was to come.
Rob Rydon made the most of the new ball, demonstrating the danger of McGrath-esque plugging away in the corridor of uncertainty. He soon dismissed one of the opening batsman with a delivery that reared up and took the outside edge, almost taking T. Fletcher’s head off with it. This sparked a top-order collapse for West Chiltington, with Rydon picking up four of the top six and Wedge-Bull helping himself to the other two. With an unfortunate series of ducks in the middle order, West Chiltington steadied the ship with a couple of good partnerships. But some lethal pace from debutant J. Prinsloo and G. Smith, and A. Marsh’s beautiful, guileful leg-spin prevented the batsmen from putting together a meaningful recovery. West Chiltington were eventually all out for 113, batting 30 of their 35 overs.
After a splendid tea with ample clotted cream on offer, the Buccaneers set about knocking off the total. Openers Berry and Acton (debutant) started off the innings in style, dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground. However, they fell quicker than they would have liked with West Chiltington quickly bringing their overseas professional, Louwe, into the attack, no doubt recognising that the quality of the batting line up required it. J. Marsh batted with characteristic finesse but fell, unfortunately, to Louwe, who by this stage must have sniffed half a chance of victory having picked up two wickets and with the Buccaneers three down. But this confidence seemed to evaporate when Kalidasan opened his account by hitting Louwe back over his head for a maximum, prompting the immediate spread of five fielders from ring to boundary. He and Prinsloo knocked off the remaining runs calmly, with the Buccaneers gliding to victory in little over 21 overs and with seven wickets to spare.
West Chiltington Batting
C Wyatt ct Fletcher b Rydon 4 J MacDonald ct Berry b Wedge-Bull 17 Z.A. Jones ct Fletchr B Rydon 4 S. Collyer b Rydon 0 M. Louw c Smith b Wedge-Bull 0 A. Stclair b Rydon 0 N. North b Prinsloo 34 J. Hodgson c&b Marsh 12 C. Allcot 35* T. Beeks c Wedge-Bull b Prinsloo 0 C. Clark c Fletcher b Prinsloo 0
Total: 113 all out (30 overs)
Buccanners Bowling R. Rydon 5-1-9-4 E. Wedge-Bull 4-0-22-2 S. Moules 7-2-24-0 A. Marsh 7-1-32-1 J. Prinsloo 4-1-13-3 G. Smith 3-1-9-0
Buccanners Batting
A. Berry caught c Louw 17 R. Acton ct Wyatt b Allcot 21 J. Marsh lbw b Louw 19 E. Kalidasan 34* J Prinsloo 1*
Total: 114-3 (21.3 overs)
West Chiltington Bowling A Allcott 4-1-16-1 T Beeks 2-0-19-0 J Hodgson 5-0-20-0 M Louw 5-0-23-2 C Clark 2.3-0-9-0 S Collyer 1-0-6-0
Another visit to the pretty postage stamp of Frensham. Unlike last year when the match was played in pouring rain, the weather was fair. Frensham seem to prefer limited overs cricket but we agreed to play a declaration game. In keeping with the customary friendliness of this fixture, after a discussion between the captains about the respective strength of the teams, there was an agreement to forgo the toss. The Buccs would bat first.
Ludo Milne and James Marsh opened and put on 32 runs before Ludo was out for 12. James, having scored 75 not out last year, continued to delight with excellent shots. Brother Archie contributed 8, which brought Jeremy Milne to the wicket.
James Marsh in full flow
He supported James seemingly with effortless ease until James was out for a splendid 80 with the score on 181. In came Eric Wedge-Bull (16), followed by Caspar Milne, who clearly decided not to exert his father by running too much. Out of his score of 24 not out, 22 came in boundaries with only 2 singles. The Buccs then declared on 204 for 4 after 33 overs.
Evergreen Jeremy Milne also in full flow
Frensham must still be riddled with Covid, because fear of it prevented them from providing what in the past has been a splendid tea. So, having had a break to graze on whatever we had brought, we resumed, allowing Frensham 45 minutes plus 20 overs to bat.
Michael Starkey and Charlie Pexton took the new ball and restrained the opening pair, Charlie taking the first wicket in his third over and going on to claim two more a couple of overs later. Caspar and Eric followed. Frensham’s 3, 4 and 5 were out for low scores and it was clear that they were unlikely to overtake our total, their number 6, J. Powell, being top scorer. Once Archie had him caught for 34 it became a question of whether or not we could prise out the lower order.
Archie Marsh spins to win (almost)
Archie, Richard Hobbs and James all had a go. Richard was unlucky. The aged John Bryant at slip shelled two catches in quick succession off his bowling and the game petered out in a draw with Frensham on 132 for 8 after 32 overs.
Buccs 204-4 dec. Frensham 132-8. Draw
Innings of Buccaneers
LMilne 12 J. Marsh 80 A. Marsh 8 J. Milne not out 32 E. Wedge-Bull 16 C. Milne not out 24
Extras 38
Total 204-4 dec
Frensham Bowling (Overs, maidens, wickets, runs)
J. Powell 3-0-1-19 J. Frost 6-2-0-24 S. Platt 4-0-0-12 A. Warren 6-0-0-32 D. Coleman 6-0-1-34 North 4-0-2-31 Mohammed 4-0-0-30
Innings of Frensham
James Frost 7 A. Warren 18 Jordan Frost 10 A. Warren 0 M. Hashir 4 J. Powell 34 C. North 9 S. Platt not out 6 D. Coleman 1 J. Wallis not out 13
Extras 22 Total 132-8
Buccs Bowling
M. Starkey 5-0-0-22 C. Pexton 6-2-3-14 C. Milne 3-0-1-15 C. Wedge-Bull 4-0-0-34 A. Marsh 6-2-2-18 R. Hobbs 4-1-1-8 J. Marsh 2-0-0-8
As so often in recent years, the warming London sun welcomed us to the historic Hurlingham Club. This year battle was to be played over a 40 over format due to some fuzzy Hurlingham heads from the party the night before.
Bucc’s skipper Hobbs duly won the toss and elected to field, knowing that Buccaneers have always been a chasing side. Moules and Krunic took the new ball, bowling some fairly economical overs with Krunic taking two nice wickets in his allocation of eight overs. There were two notable injuries in the opening set, Hurlingham suffered a shock boot to eye, having to retire hurt. And Bucc’s own Ollie Metcalfe tearing a calf due to a distinct lack of warm up. Twelfth man Michael Harms stepped onto the field in the second over, who you’ll hear more of later. Wardy and Leefey took the reins at first change and kept the new batters (surely batsmen? ed.) pinned back as well as two wickets a piece in their spells. Will Metcalfe came on and immediately hit is marks swinging the ball with ease and clearing up the Hurlingham tail. Worth noting that the Buccaneers probably had their best day of catching in the field for some years, with even usually butter fingered Hobbs holding two. Buccaneers bowled out their opposition (9 wickets and one retiree) in the 36th over as the side retired for tea.
A traditional tea of finger sandwiches and various cakes was served. Accompanied by endless jugs of Pimm’s wonderfully prepared by the Hurlingham hospitality team.
Chris Leech and Michael Harms, two of our last remaining ‘proper’ Saturday cricketers opened up the Bucc’s line up. Leech’s eyes lit up again at the prospect of being able to crunch a couple of fours across the croquet lawn outfield without having to run a single for his 8 from 10 balls. Crighton came in at three scratching around for 13 from 20 (comprising 3 fours) and Berry’s stint at four saw some free-flowing arms before falling for 20 runs. Throughout these falling wickets the Harms constant remained. He stood at the other end harbouring strike and striking boundaries at an enviable rate. His final partner in crime was Moules who complimented him well on his way to a sixty ball century and guiding the Bucc’s to a seven wicket win in 23 overs.
Thanks go to both sets of players, officials and scorers. As well as the great support received from the sidelines. The game was played in good spirit and we thoroughly enjoyed and overstayed our welcome to the wonderful Hurlingham Club once again.
Innings of Hurlingham Club
Peterson ct Ward b Krunic 20 Logan ct Fletcher b Krunic 15 Tidwell ct Leefe b Ward 47 Dickins ct Moules b Leefe 1 Robyns ct Hobbs b Leefe 11 Vail lbw Ward 2 Chapman not out 26 Cripps ct Hobbs b W Metcalfe 11 Salt b W Metcalfe 8 Nunerley ct and b W Metcalfe 0
163-9 (35 overs)
Bowling
S Moules 6-0-36-0 Krunic 8-2-38-2 Ward 8-024-2 S Leefe 8-1-29-2 W Metcalfe 4-1-14-3 R Hobbs 1-0-9-0
Innings of Buccaneers
C Leech b Robyns 8 M Harms not out 108 J Crichton ct Tidwell b Robyns 13 A Berry b Logan 20 S Moules not out 12 Extras 5 166-3 (23 overs)
Buccaneers v Armadillos 15th May 2022 Sheffield Park
Dills 232-4 dec. Buccs 81-3. Match abandoned: rain
After the driest spring on record, it was inevitable that the rain would start falling as the captains went out to inspect the wicket at 11.30. The ‘dreich’ (for any Scots out there) did not stop until half an hour after play was concluded.
Despite the adverse conditions, a lot of cricket was played. The Armadillos were put in to bat on a green pitch that looked like it would do plenty. Ludo Milne and Jack Greenhearth enjoyed a few balls that popped off a length and Ludo in particular got some to jag sharply. The Dills openers chanced their arms and scored boundaries when they went aerial. Almost anything along the ground failed to get to the rope. At 57-0 Sammy Maclay finally holed out to the skipper at mid off for a well deserved first wicket for Ludo. Rob Rydon and Buccs newcomer, Tom Whitmore, tightened things up and slowed the scoring rate before the skipper came on and was launched for a number of maximums into the Sheffield Park shrubbery. Rich Hobbs fared much better and got the two Dills who had passed fifty (Morten Tilley and Hector Maclean) out with the aid of some smart catching from Tom Fletcher (who will be spending time nursing his aching limbs back to health after an acrobatic display behind the stumps). Jack picked up the last wicket as the Dills declared on 232-4, a good but gettable score.
Mention must go to the catering as the Buccs gorged on a world class lunch and tea, the latter proving too much even for the Buccs’ considerable appetites.
Having rained constantly throughout the Dills’ innings, conditions were not easy as Ludo and Angus Berry stepped out for a tricky half hour session before tea. With an increasingly wet pitch the ball was lifting nastily off a length and both batsmen did well to get to tea unscathed. After Victoria sponge cake, scones, sandwiches and a lager or two the Buccs openers continued strongly after tea, Ludo driving tidily through the onside and picking up fours when he lifted the ball clear of the wet tundra. Ludo eventually fell for a handy 37 after failing to clear the infield. Angus departed shortly thereafter when he walked, Gilchrist-like, after a thin edge went through to the keeper (unheard by the umpire). The Buccs ‘ reputation for honesty and fair play reinforced once again. Rob and Tom took up the run chase with enthusiasm, running quick singles and smashing the bad balls. Rob was finally caught and, with Rob Mason having faced his first ball as a Bucc, the two captains called it a day with the rain beginning to fall hard on what was now a bedraggled-looking Dills side.
The Buccs finished on 81-3, a commendable effort in tricky conditions and, with the 20 overs about to commence, it was probably honours even in the match as a whole. Both sides retired to the bar for some well earned refreshment.
