Farewell to a good friend

Colin and Maggie Palmer

Our President, Peter Terrington, read the following eulogy at Colin’s funeral in September 2011, Colin’s wife Maggie having sadly also passed away a year earlier.

I feel honoured to have been asked to say a few words about Colin, on behalf of Wells Town Tennis Club.

Several of the long established members of the club have known Colin for some thirty years, firstly as a relatively young club player and member of the Wells Castle Acre League team, and latterly as a mature stalwart of Club sessions and a long standing committee member.   

Colin will be remembered for his phenomenal spin shots, I think we all preferred being on the same side of the net as Colin to watch the consternation of the opponents as they tried to deal with them, many of which were unplayable, as they shot off at incredible angles in all directions, much to the amusement of Colin.  He could also whack the ball with some gusto, and it was not wise to advance too closely to the net when playing against him. In all Colin was a most competitive opponent, but he always played the game in a most sporting and gentlemanly manner.

It was very evident that Colin gained so much fun and enjoyment from his tennis but equally, over the years, he put in a lot of effort to ensure the future of the club.  Perhaps one of his major inputs was in monitoring the work of the contractors when the courts were so successfully refurbished some three years ago. His attention to detail kept the contractors, very much on their toes. It was also thanks to Colin’s building knowledge that such a long lasting roof was put on the club hut, to his specification.

 After he returned from working in Germany Colin became a very active and useful committee member, always keen to promote open events such as the Carnival ‘Come and Play’ sessions, which he on many occasions ran himself.  In fact over the years Colin carried out numerous tasks for the club such as marking out the courts with a line machine, strimming, hedge-cutting and generally doing anything he noticed required attention.

After the great effort in refurbishing the courts, there were very little funds left for the purchase of tennis balls. Colin came up with a novel solution and made a very grand little green wooden box with brass hinges in which he used to demand a pound from all members on Club night. Woe betides anyone who forgot their pound; Colin would provide paper for an IOU to be completed.

Colin will be greatly missed by us all and particularly his regular tennis partners on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. He would be very pleased that the club is now on such firm footing for the future, thanks, in no small part, to his efforts.