On Saturday I received one of my first Christmas presents as the 1st team got the results they needed to go top.  Like all good Christmas presents it took a while to unwrap.  This was partly due to some excellent defending from an Old Lats side that started with 8 men, and indeed who almost took the lead, and partly because the 1st team found it difficult to play against 8 and bizarrely only really showed their true potential once Lats extra players turned up.  Still its results that matter at the moment, and they fully deserve their top spot on their overall league performance so far, and I am as you can imagine a pretty proud chairman!  All the better that it came on the day we unveiled the new kits which seem to have gone down well with most, and many thanks once again to Richard Jones who got the ball rolling on this.

The other game that I caught a lot of on Saturday was the big derby game, 8's v 7's, which you will see from above was comprehensively won by the 8's.  It would be slightly unfair on the 8's to say that it was due to the 7's having an "off day" (although that may have contributed), and the view in the bar that it was one of their best performances of the season so far.  From my perspective I was very impressed with the teamwork and how hard everyone in that side worked both when they had the ball and when they were defending - it really was an excellent display of unity and togetherness.  That result leaves our 7's and 8's 3rd and 4th respectively, and the if the 7's just erase Saturday from the memory banks and go back to playing with the style and commitment I know they have, and the 8's just carry on in the same vein, then I see no reason why both sides will not be challenging for the top 2 spots at the end of the season. 

I did also catch some of the 4's game - it was like old times with Stu bellowing in my earhole(!) - although this time off the pitch as he exhorted his players to great things.  A good result for the 4's here, and it should be remembered that this is a totally rebuilt side - almost all of last year's 4's have gone and it has not been the easiest task for the two newest captains to get the 4's back on track, and there is still work to be done.  But Saturday showed that they are very much on the right track, and I am sure that this was the first of many steps forward here.

So as we reach Christmas, in traditional style I will take the opportunity to reflect on the ghosts of past present and future.  It seems incredible that only two seasons ago, our first team were bottom of the league and I was required to apply for re-election to the SAL.  In my letter, I commented on the good facilities we have available, but more importantly talked about how our club was still rebuilding since coming back to Beckenham, and that we were attracting a number of new players.  Our 8's had just won the league, and so we were starting to get it right, but just needed to get some extra quality higher up.  Since then as a club we have worked very very hard indeed both on and off the pitch, and that hard work is beginning to pay real dividends.  When I wrote that letter, I could never have dreamt that we would turn things round quite so quickly, and as I look at the present we have one side top and three others very much in contention for promotion, but all sides with the potential to have an excellent 2nd half of the season to make this a very special season indeed.

And the future? Well that is very much down to us all.  The result of our hard work on and off the pitch is all starting to pay off, and we are all building something to be proud of here.  But the task has only just started, and all of us need to play our part to the full to ensure that we really do have something at the end of the day that we can all be very proud of.  The spirit, unity and optimism in the bar on Saturday was evident to all and no-one doubts the pride our players and members have in our club, but the prize is there for the taking, so lets make sure we all play our part in getting there.

Finally, therefore in this my last notes until the New Year, I would like to take the opportunity to wish you, your family and loved ones a very happy Christmas, and for us all a happy, prosperous and successful 2009.

Steve Martin-Lawrence, Chairman