Our Club Xmas Social is to be on Friday, 15th December at the White Bear, Cotham. It is booked from 7.30. Hangers on and attendants of all sorts are of course welcome. There will be a dart board and a pool table. Food can be ordered. Thanks to Anna Grodent for setting this up.
As our venue will be closed over Xmas, there will be no fencing at the club on the 23rd, 27th and 30th of December. However, Churchill FC have kindly extended their traditional Yuletide invitation to fence at their place on the 27th of December. It's always a delightful event and a welcome break from gorging and charades.
The winners of the McNeill Cup team sabre for November were Jon Dawkins, Sharon Hillier and Ross Grodent.
Ruben and Xavier Hillier secured good positions in a very tough field at the Millfield LPJS Sabre. Hats off to the twins for flying the flag for White Eagle!
The Elite Epee series is coming to our region with Juniors, Men's, Women's and Veterans events at Millfield school over the weekend of 6th & 7th January. For full details and entry forms visit www.eliteepee.com . We really should support this venture.
Saturday's friendly at Clifton College saw memorable performances from our foilists and epeeists. Though unaccustomed to the bendy blade, Lia Emanuel, Ross Grodent, Robert Hillier Nick Scott-Samuel and Tim Wye produced some nifty moves while Ruben and Xavier Hillier showed their Gallic-trained flair. Old Cliftonian, Robert Greenwood made a fighting return to his alma mater. Jon Mason, drew his foil in his Churchill FC guise to make it a triangular fixture.
The foil event had been a poule unique but the epee round saw six teams of three, split into two poules, with fencers fighting all those fencers in the opposing two teams in matches to five that could last only two minutes. That guaranteed each fencer six individual bouts.
In one poule (let's call it A) a White Eagle team took on two of Clifton's while, in the other (B), a second of our teams took on the third Clifton team and a Churchill FC squad made up of the suspiciously familiar faces Jon Mason, Vangelis and Michael Papantoniou.
For team A, Lia Emanuel got off to a scorching start by pinning the arm of her lefthanded opponent with accurate lunged stop-hits. It set a pattern of timed aggression that Lia sustained through the match. Ruben Hillier was inflinching against older and larger opponents, pulling off fearless and stylish lunges with excellent point control. Ross Grodent used his speed of foot and quick wits to handle highly aggressive and more experienced opponents, while effectively captaining the team.
In the other poule (B), a near internecine affair involved Churchill and White Eagle teams, with a Cliftonian third. In the Churchill crew, though new to competition, Michael Papantoniou kept his point where it could do good and let it find it's mark when his opponents erred: epee in essence. Papantoniou pere used his trademark rapid attack to good effect. I didn't see as much of Vangelis' matches as I'd have liked but I was impressed by what I did see, Captaining the clan was Jon Mason of whom I saw even less - though he was occassionally heard. Fight all the way, as ever, from Jon.
Our White Eagles (B) were a louche trio of Nick Scott-Samuel, Tim "Stage" Wye and Jack White. Nick's insouciance was taxed but never faltered as he paddled in the murky waters of pommelling for the first time in competition. Was in dynamic form, doubtless bring a degree of swash from preparation for his role in Zorro: The Musical. Jack White struck with unnerring counter-attacks to complete a dynamic trio.
The result, apparently, was a victory for all who took part. What is indisputable is that all who took part had a splendid time and they, and we camp followers were treated to an excellent tea by our Clifton hosts.
Thanks to Stuart Scorgie, Clifton's coach, and to the students of Clifton College for a most enjoyable event. Photos taken by Anna Grodent can be seen at our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bristolwhiteeaglefencingclub/
See you soon,
John