It wasn't a costume

Spent most of yesterday at the Calgary Tennis Club.  It was the 100th anniversary of this venerable institution, right in downtown Calgary in the middle of a beautiful, old neighbourhood.  If anyone remembers the original Rideau Tennis Club in Ottawa, that's it.  Small-ish, quaint, working canteen, kind-of dilapidated locker rooms, vast balcony, eccentric members -- that's what it's like.  I love it.  No longer play tennis -- my hips won't permit it -- but I go down and watch B charm all the ladies in the round robins.  Very funny.  My job is to drink wine.

The place was festooned with artifacts and bunting and players were asked to don "vintage" tennis outfits for play.  B wore white trousers, a white shirt, wool vest, linen jacket and a "real" panama hat.  Hilariously, they handed out prizes for the best-dressed and most imaginative costumes and B won!  The hilarious part is that it wasn't a "costume".  That's how he actually dresses!  Brought up by his grandparents, B has very "Victorian" values and mores which linger to this day.

B and Mary, winners of the "costume" contest

 Part of the entertainment was an exhibition match between the resident pro and a young professional named Sam Garforth-Bles.  The latter won.  What a great match it was.  I thought of a young John McEnroe, playing at his local club in Queen's and then advancing to the heights of the tennis world.  This guy is something else. 

After the match we congratulated him and met his father, Tim.  Spent the entire afternoon and evening blabbing with them and dragging out "the old school tie".  Wouldn't you know it, the father is a Brit and went to Sandhurst, has Indian colonial roots.........all the same stuff as B.  I plan to keep track of Sam's career.  The guy is 22, won a tennis scholarship to Rice University in Houston, was named Alberta's Male Provincial Player of the Year, second-ranked under-18 player in Canada, ranked 88th in the world by the ITF, won a combined 34 singles and doubles titles, two-time Canadian national champion, winner of the ITF Costa Rica Bowl, competed in the Australian, US Open and Junior Wimbledon tournaments and is a member of the Canadian Davis Cup team.  He is completely cool. 

And polite!  My dear, almost to a fault.