I think many of our members will be interested in the news from Marji Simmonds-Gooding. Many of the newer members will not know her of course. She is the daughter of Wendy Pennock, one of the original members of ABC. She used to live at Birchetts Brook, a large house at Holmbury St Mary, where they hosted the Pennock Trophy for a number of years. In the early days the trophy was played for by the ABC club members plus large numbers of members of Wendy's extended family. It was always a very sociable and boozy occasion with the drink provided by Anthony Simmonds-Gooding in bottles delivered by the wheelbarrow-load from his garage.
After Wendy's death the running of the Pennock Trophy moved to Kirdford and the Simmonds-Goodings came along and played a couple of times before they moved away to live in London.
The last time I saw Anthony, I was playing golf at Gatton Manor near Ockley. I was about to play my second shot on the third hole when a ball thudded into the ground no more than three feet from where I was standing. I looked to see where it had come from and there was a very large man striding towards me. I seized my 7 iron and walked towards him. It was Anthony, full of apologies, offering to buy me drinks in the clubhouse afterwards.
Joan Dyas sends us the following email:
From: Marjorie Simonds-Gooding
Subject: RE: Pennock Trophy
To: dandyas@talk21.com
Date: Thursday, 10 June, 2010, 15:55
Hello Joan
How wonderful to hear from you.... and many, many congratulations on winning the Pennock Trophy!
I am so sorry that this has taken so long for me to reply but we have been in Ireland where we spend a lot of time and I lost my blackberry on the ferry on the way over and then to make matters worse the whole broadband system seized up on the system I was on – the trouble with being up a mountain on the far west coast of Ireland!
We are now back in London and able to reply to you by email. We are both thrilled to hear that the Pennock Trophy is still going strong. I will forward your lovely email on to my sister Barbie and to our children (Wendy’s grandchildren) who will be very touched by this.
Anthony and I were also very touched that you had the picture still of the grandchildren in 2001. There are now 9 grandchildren and another due in November! If it wouldn’t bore you too much I will send the cards since then – i think i have copies of some of the cards since then! What is your address?
We are both very well and think of you all very often – what happy days we all had together.
I had breast cancer once (or twice) more since I probably saw you and I am now something of an amazing statistic as 3 breast cancers is very unusual if not unheard of, according to my oncologist and breast cancer surgeon! I feel exceptionally well, play tennis (2 hours at a time at Queens Club or Hurlingham Club, which are both on our doorstep), several times a week, play a lot of golf, sit in Youth Court as a magistrate and see huge amount of all the children and grandchildren, nearly all of whom live very close to us.
Anthony is Chairman of the new Rose Theatre in Kingston, which recently had Judi Dench in Midsummer Night’s Dream and has many other exciting productions and he is also still Chairman of other companies and charities.
We both feel very privileged that we are healthy and have so many friends and family and we particularly value all of you, Les Boulistes and the happy times we spent with you. We all still miss Wendy very much, but have such happy memories of her with all of you at Burchetts Brook and all the other boules venues going back as far as days at Crondal.
Congratulations again on winning the Pennock Trophy
With love to you all from both of us
Marji
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