Tennis, Darts and Questionable Athletic Credentials

a Love Musgrove fundraiser story

Disclaimer

This blog post is written in a personal capacity and reflects my own mildly unreliable recollection of events. Any tennis ability described may be exaggerated by charity, hindsight, or good doubles partners. Darts scores are regrettably accurate. No Radiology departments were harmed in the making of this fundraiser, and any future chess-based fundraising ideas are purely hypothetical… for now.

Last weekend I found myself taking part in a fundraiser organised by Love Musgrove, raising money for the Radiology and Cath Lab departments at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

This all started innocently enough back in November last year, when I spotted a flyer in the radiology department asking if anyone fancied playing in a fundraising tennis tournament.

Now, having watched our son play a lot of tennis over the last few years, I felt I had absorbed enough of it by osmosis to at least get the ball over the net. Possibly. Occasionally. And, importantly, it seemed only right to support Radiology—
a) because I worked there myself in 2015/2016, and
b) because we regularly ask them to perform miracles for our patients, particularly those with pancreatitis.

So I signed up.

And then promptly forgot all about it… until an email arrived reminding me not only that I had entered, but that the fundraiser also involved darts.

What could possibly go wrong, eh??!!??

Arrival, familiar faces and mild panic

On the day itself, my wife heroically took our son to a birthday party—but not before watching me play my first tennis match, presumably just to ensure there were witnesses.

On arrival there was a great turnout: plenty of players and lots of Musgrove Park Hospital staff. Some familiar faces, some new ones, all united by charity and a vague sense of sporting optimism.

We were split into two groups. The format was beautifully chaotic:

Doubles tennis, random partners
15–20 minutes per match
Tie-break points only
Whistle blows → points recorded → points stick with you
While one group played tennis, the other played darts (three darts, accumulate points)
Then swap

Three rounds of tennis. Three rounds of darts. New partner every round. What could possibly go wrong (again)?

Tennis: exceeding expectations (very briefly)

Round one:
I was paired with Chloe, who looked familiar—and sure enough, she works in the M&S café at Musgrove and plays tennis regularly. Our opponents were two younger players there purely for the fundraiser and very honest about not playing much tennis.

Result: 25–3.
I peaked early.

Round two:
Enter Robert—an absolute legend in his 70s who has played tennis and table tennis for most of his life. We were up against Chloe again, this time with Rob, who had a genuinely impressive serve.

After 15 minutes of proper rallies and questionable footwork on my part, Robert and I edged it 18–14. A moral victory, if nothing else.

Round three:
Paired with Andy, who (casually) works for the LTA and is based in Dunster. He knew exactly what he was doing, which balanced nicely with my strategy of “push ball over net and hope.”

Against two decent younger players, we somehow won 21–14. At this point I stopped asking questions.

Darts: returning to baseline reality

The darts were… less triumphant.

First round: 17 points
Second round: about 21 points
Third round: roughly 20-ish points

It is probably fair—and kind—to say that darts is not my sport.

Results, raffles and unexpected glory

After all six rounds, Ivor (the organiser and hero of the afternoon) counted up the tennis and darts scores. Winners were announced for each group, and the top two players received prizes via a blind draw from a shopping bag filled with miniature bottles of alcohol.

To my genuine surprise, my name was called as overall tennis winner in my group.
I was, as they say, generally chuffed.

Then came the raffle. Before heading off to the birthday party, my wife and son had bought some tickets—and promptly won two prizes.

Which meant I went home with:

A small bottle of alcohol
Another small bottle of alcohol
A very large bottle of Sanctuary Spa shower gel

Charity truly does give back.

A dangerous thought: chess inside Musgrove

While basking in my fleeting sporting success, another thought occurred to me:
a simultaneous fundraising chess event inside the Musgrove walls might actually be a thing.

Picture this: a simultaneous display in the hospital—possibly even a blindfold board thrown in for added drama—raising money for Love Musgrove while quietly alarming passers-by who wonder why someone is playing chess against eight people without looking at the board.

This may, or may not, be an idea I now feel compelled to pitch.
Watch this space. Or don’t. It might be safer that way.

Final thoughts

All in all, it was a cracking afternoon: good fun, good people, new faces, old colleagues, and a genuinely lovely atmosphere. I’ve no idea how much money was raised, but I’m sure the total will appear on the intranet soon—and whatever it is, it’s going to a very good cause.

Would I do it again?
Absolutely.

Though next time, I might practise darts.
Or tennis.
Or chess—blindfolded, apparently.