This was the 3rd of the Grand Slams of the tour but the 1st I played in. Drove the Dodge up Friday nite with Carlton and Laurie and were forced to eat at Little Chef as could find nothing else. However I ate a large portion of lemon sorbet cheesecake which I joked would help me play the next day! Set the tents up by car headlights and crawled into bed. Up at a sparrows fart and off to the beach for setup which was interrupted by heavy showers of rain. Finally started with 22 men's teams in a double elimination draw. We made hard work of our first match although won in 2 sets. Adrian's leg was a little sore from last weekend so he didn't move to freely. Neither of us felt we played that well and our 2nd game we lost in 2 sets. We then had a tough game to stay in the draw and move into the top 8. We lost the first set but came back to win the next 2 in a game where we had to fight really hard. Then another game late on Saturday to put us into the top 6 and ensure we were still playing on day 2! This was a slightly easier game against Dominik and Jose and we won in 2 sets. Adrian's leg had got worse during the day and he limped along all nite as we went out for some good pasta to load up for the next day. Sunday Adrian's leg meant he couldn't move much and with a semifinal spot up for grabs we went down in 2 sets. So 5th = and we are pretty happy with that and the AA rating that comes with it. Unfortunately Adrian may not be well enough to play the Finals next weekend in Brighton.

Sunday nite after packup we drove to Cardiff. I took Denise, Mel and Katarina for the long 5 hour drive. Stayed in a hotel and Monday (bank holiday here) I again refereed in a Dodge Urban Beach Event. Then another long drive home Monday nite via Guilford to drop Katarina off and then Sutton to drop Elfi off. Home at 1am! Very very tired and worn out today but a great weekend all up. Really looking forward to the finals and then the SWATCH FIVB junior world champs at which I will be a court manager.

See you in Brighton!