Sunday, Nov 23 is quietly known as Stir-Up Sunday. Some would appreciate the date as National Espresso Day.
Stir-Up had nothing to do with cranking up “aggro” to irritate opponents, but the tradition of starting to make Christmas pudding to be shared among family and friends five weeks after the preparations.
And National Espresso Day is a modern, fun observance celebrating espresso.
Either way, the name fits the occasion of the annual Guns & Roses Matchplay, which saw eighty-eight golfers (44 men and women on each side) competing at the Tampines Course.
So combined, they mean a get-together in friendly competition with banter and laughter tossed in to stir up the fun element.
And what an interesting event it was, with the competition going almost to the wire with the Roses leading by just one point after 17 holes.
Eventually, Roses won by a 12-10 margin, to reclaim the title after a long six years in the event inaugurated in 2017.
On an almost perfect day for golf – the heat taking a little toll, but the cloud cover and a gentle breeze making the conditions enjoyable, it was level pegging all the way with lady captain Wendy Soh and Norlia Embong leading the Roses charge in Match 1.
Sachi Hosokawa, Loh Kah Ing,Petra Jarosilova, Valerie Argembeau, Jessica Tan, Zhu Liang Hui Hui, Ding Jiao, Vickey Cong, Dorothy Lim, Gladys Chen, Sue Yap, Park Min, Alicia Leong, Jasmine Chew, Crystal Low, Shee Foong Ling, Esther Chew, Kaen Wang, Sirikit Oh and Jessica Beh contributed well to Roses’ victory.
There were 20 lucky draw prizes (the top prize of a NSRCC flight voucher went to Linda Wee) and a host of novelty prizes.
The best dressed pairs were Angelina Caia and Diane Loh for the ladies, and David Lim and Tarun Dhingra for the men.
And significantly, many ladies proudly continued to pin on the Red Roses, further emphasising their victory during the prize presentation.
