Michael Henning Golf  Tel: 01444 414866    Fax: 01444 414450

We have experienced a very exciting summer with our eldest daughter, Rebecca, graduating with Bmus Hons from Royal Holloway University in July. The graduation ceremony was a super event, full of pomp and tradition, and with many, many proud parents witnessing their sons and daughters receiving their degrees.  Rebecca has been extremely busy throughout the holiday season touring with various choirs in the U.S.A, Poland, Oxford and Cornwall and will continue earning revenue from singing engagements over the coming months before, hopefully, commencing a Post Graduate course in London from October 2010. 

Emily has completed her first year at Southampton University studying Sport/Science and considering she appears to have conducted 365 days of continual social activities she obtained excellent 1st year academic results. She is moving into accommodation in October with five other young ladies which should be an interesting learning curve for them all. She continues to work at the golf club, when home, either in the bar or the kitchen, which she thoroughly enjoys, and to my acute consternation, she has a regular boyfriend who lives in Surrey and just happens to be at Southampton University also.

Rebecca at her graduation

Ben & Emily about to ride the waves

Ben has left Ardingly following his GCSE examinations and is enrolled at the Sixth Form College from September to study A levels. He has played a great deal of golf this summer and has currently a 5 handicap. The match scores between us this year are Ben 6, Dad 4, a situation I am fairly content with particularly as he plays copious amounts of golf compared to me, hits the ball further and has probably got a much better swing as well.   Anyway, I will improve towards the end of the season. Mind you, I stated that last year and failed miserably.

Amy is progressing really well, hoping that her Lupus has stabilised to some degree. She is, as ever, the epitome of positive thinking and her draconian diet regime, in our view, is instrumental in her improvement.   We enjoy our weekly ballroom classes in Brighton, particularly our well deserved drink after the class in The Grand Hotel, and she works two afternoons in the shop helping Mum with the buying of the ladies and mens fashion collections.   We took a short break in Cornwall at The Bedruthan Steps hotel in February with incredibly warm and sunny conditions and have just returned from five days in Boscastle with Emily & Ben.  Rebecca was already there participating in a music festival at St Endillion church so we met up when possible and took some super walks along the coastal path.   The coast guard look out building at Boscastle is where I proposed some twenty four years ago, which extraordinarily met with a positive response, and on this recent trip, Amy, for the first time since that day, managed the fairly steep thirty minute ascent from the harbour up to the same spot high on the cliff. She was determined that on this occasion, after many failed attempts over the years, that she was going to make it even if it meant crawling up there. 

Amy finally making it to the

The view of the coastguard’s

coastguard lookout after 22 years

lookout from the harbour at Boscastle

I visited Falmouth Golf Club where I was a Junior member many moons ago and happened to run into a friend with whom I played golf every day all those years ago who just happened to be finishing his round as we arrived. The stories that he seemed to remember much better than me were of great interest to Ben as he assumed, quite wrongly, that I was always impeccably behaved when I was a Junior golfer.   My other reason for disappearing to Cornwall at this particular time was to celebrate my birthday with a nought on the end, well away from the well meaning abusive comments from friends and staff at home.  My main present, which may seem bizarre to many of you, was a squirrel proof bird feeder for the garden. For me, that is a good a present as I could possibly receive.

'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'    Despite our parasol being smashed to pieces we brave it out on the cliff top at New Polzeath

The reason I love Cornwall so much is the land and seascapes.

Talking of birds, Mum, Dad and I spent a few days in Wales in July on a birding trip. Again the weather was absolutely fantastic and we greatly enjoyed a trip out to Ramsey Island, just off St Davids, and also visited The Gower, Brecon, Hay on Wye and many other places.  

The highlight was the spectacle at a Red Kite feeding station at which circa 150 Red Kites swooped down to snatch raw meat deposited by the farmer. Considering that this particular bird was virtually extinct a few years ago it is a great success story of conservation to witness these magnificent birds becoming so widespread again.   We are also travelling to France in September for a guided three day Birding trip which should be great fun.   That is a round up of family life, always frenetic and never dull.

Haywards Heath Golf Club   High Beech Lane, Haywards Heath, West Sussex  RH16 1SL

Tel: 01444 414866    Fax: 01444 414450