Ground stroke, not back stroke

It seemed strange to gather in the club house while the courts were covered with a significant amount of snow and then be told 'the season starts in 4 weeks time'.

I haven't been a paying member of a tennis club in a while. Seven or eight years when I was in school and two seasons in the late 90's. But I've been playing on and off for thirty years and it's probably the sport I like best despite being very keen on softball as a teenager.

Nothing much has changed, from the looks of it. The club is 101 years old, though the facilities are all brand new. Tennis is still a little 'elite'. 99% of the people invited to this new members introduction evening looked preppy. The ladies (Ponytail, lambswool sweater, getting a little too old for the student look. I mock, but in another dimension that would have been me.) were flirting with the pro within minutes. (No, not my type.)

Membership fees have changed. Quite a bit. I forked over 280 euro for a full membership and applied for advanced lessons (115 euro). Swimming's cheaper, but I hate it so very, very much.

So, by golly, I WILL show up for round robin evenings and social events and I WILL play with strangers, scary as they might be, and I WILL improve my serve after 30 years of mucking about.