Unfaithful Slap

sorry all school teachers for the bad grammar and lack of punctuation but my left hand is all bandaged up - so its one finger typing instead of the normal two - so you could fly to new york and back by the time ive finished this .....
anyhow i had a wrist op yesterday - and as i m a brave soldier it was done under local - that means you can hear all the sawing chopping tearing noises while you re desperate to scratch your nose. actually it was an all female team - yeah lucky me - and they were wonderful.
so i m now adjusting to life without use of best hand - no driving or writing for 3 weeks  no tennis for 6 weeks  but cant complain cos this is my first real injury in 15 years coaching ....
unless ur really lucky injury is part of life for sports people - and of course for tennis players the dreaded lateral epicondylitis - tennis elbow - is the most unwelcome visitor.
of course it can be caused by things outwith tennis - like spending 3 hours with a screw driver puting together an easy assembly chest of drawers ...
i am not trying to sound a smartie pants here but i can tell quite quickly if a players technique is risking tennis elbow - it can often be late contact on the ball - but more often it is caused by placing the thumb behind the grip for more support on the one handed backhand - and you end up 'pushing' at the ball with a bent elbow ....
ok we're getting a bit technical and thats why i recommend the 'unfaithful slap' you know the situation - wife has just discovered husband has gone astray.....  the hand starts low and finishes high with of couse his cheek in between - to bend the elbow would lose all velocity - you have got to straighten the arm ......
enough from me - have you ever to shut a zip with one hand?  ..........

Books and Covers

I have just returned from a week at Champneys, just outside London - a truly superb place if you're into good food, fitness and a healthy lifestyle.  Have no fear, wine is on the evening menu and just to further entice you guys out there, there are loads of ladies drifting around in white robes with painted toe nails (aha I hear you say - that's why he goes there!!)
I tend to give them a body swerve but one afternoon I noticed a Body Sculpt class on the programme. Now I'd just had a 'Mens Facial' so was on a bit of roll - so thought I would get myself sculpted as well.
Going into the studio it was apparent that highly toned young females were in abundance - in fact I was the only man there.  I was pulling up my socks to hide my white legs when the instructress (bronzed and honed to perfection) raced over to me and said  "Are you aware this a really fast aerobic class?"    I was tempted to reply "and your point is?" but just grunted in true Scottish tradition.
Anyhow at the end of the class, the 'leotard' brigade were towelling themselves down and looking a bit flushed - whereas I was thinking it was a long warm up - well slight exaggeration but you get my drift.
As an aside, I took my seat for the flight back to Edinburgh alongside a rather angelic elderly lady with a tweed skirt and very sensible shoes.  Actually I was pleased because normally my flying companion is a heavy tattooed body builder, with acute wind and reeking of beer. Anyhow my eyebrows were slightly raised when my lady companion ordered double vodkas - fair play I thought - then, wait for it, out of the corner of my eye I saw what she was reading - "Chapter 4 Rivers of Sex"  (the author is William Boyd if you want to google it).
My conclusion from the above episodes is that first impression are often misleading.  When you first look at Lionel Messi he appears small and slightly rounded but arguably he is the world's best footballer.  Andy Murray to the 'non-tennis' person comes across as being awkward and lacking style but he is now ranked number two in the world.
So my words of wisdom for today are never judge a book by its cover. 
Rivers of sex - I wonder what that's all about!!

Handy Andy

Happy New Year everyone.  Ok it's nearly February but one has been terribly busy.  Golly gosh I'm beginning to sound like Virginia Wade.
Well the same Virginia has had to eat her words because not too long ago she said Andy Murray was a drama queen and lacked mental strength.  Anyone who watched him beat Roger Federer saw a player with supreme fitness, mental strength and great tennis talent.  Well done Andy!
As an ex milk-boy, paper-boy, boy scout and ball-boy, I have to spring to the defence of the Swansea youth who tried to hide a football ball up his jumper. Many moons ago, I got into bother at Carnoustie Panmure's ground for kicking the ball onto the Barry Road.  My commendable action meant Carnoustie held on for victory and my subsequent life suspension from ball boy duties was unwarranted!!
I reminisce!  Back to the present and one hopes Murray will sort out the other Scottish tennis star,   Jock Ovich on Sunday morning.  Go for it Andy!