David the Canadian National Golf Champion from Sascatoon and Mags celebrate their double birdie at Teign Valley Golf Course

The rain lifted long enough for the left-handed wonder from Saskatoon one David Katzman to pull off a miraculous score card whilst upholding Canadian National pride on the front 9 at The Teign Valley Golf course last night…………………his challengers were Mags from Exeter playing off a cool 19 handicap and yours truly bringing up the rear on 24.

What fun it was too…………..we played Skins (a scoring term I’d never heard of before) and with 8 holes completed I managed to pull up from last to second out of the 3 players on the 9th and final hole with a lucky fluky putt in time to see Mags buy the wets at the Clubhouse afterwards. She took it well but was technically the better player………certainly better looking at any rate!!

Having spent 10 days staying at Orchard Barn traveling round the County and vistiting most of the local National Trust properties and gardens, David and his wife Susan will be departing after breakfast early tomorrow morning driving to Heathrow and if their luggage doesn’t get lost at Terminal 5 they’ll all fly back to Canada following their holiday in the West Country.

It was a real pleasure having them to stay……….we shared many a laugh and joke together and I wish them well on their return home.

David and Susan Katzman from Canada round off their cruise at Orchard Barn for 10 days

Celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary in style David and Susan took a once in a lifetime transatlantic cruise on The Queen Mary 2 from Canada to Southampton, hired a car and via Stonehenge as an en route detour of interest trundled down to the West Country to stay at Orchard Barn for 10 days. They’d selected their venue from the Internet some months before and were not disappointed by the warm welcome that greeted them on arrival………..a Cream Tea of course followed by the bar opening at 6pm as usual. They felt at home at once.

Actually they felt more than at home because since then it hasn’t stopped raining ………..(typical English uncertain weather in July…!!) which is exactly what would be happening now in their homeland on the Canadian Prairies.

Anyway………..they loved Stonehenge and Cotehele so much that they joined the National Trust and today have set off for Castle Drogo, Killerton and Knightshayes Court…………wow, such stamina………..but then again David’s a School Principal (headmaster to you and I) and Susan also a teacher’s a Head of Department and they certainly know how to plan an action packed tourist schedule.

I took them to The Teign House Inn to watch the Tag Rugby last night, and over a pint of Jail Ale 4.5 and one of Pete the Publican’s famous tented burgers I explained the rules………….even though Heidi the ref seemed to be making half of them up as he went along I noted!! As usual Trucker was adrift and didn’t make it despite being invited to join us!!

Thus far their greatest concern has been driving not only on the other side of the road but finding less than inches to spare in places on both sides……….simultaneously………access to Cotehele was memorable I understand!!