President Josephine Taylor pictured here with outgoing President John Mandy and new Vice President Jane Philpott.
Message from our President
When I was asked, in early 2020, to be the next Vice President of West Heaton, I was very honoured and excited, having been involved in the club for nearly forty years. Little did I know that a Global Pandemic was about to hit us and life would be turned upside down! So, as I take over as President, things look a little different and I commiserate with John our Immediate Past President who has seen most of his planned events cancelled. I hope, John and Joy, that we can enjoy some better times together this year! The stand out thing from last year, however, has been the strength of community shown by our members and the enthusiasm to participate in any of the activities we have been able to offer.
During my early years with the club I played very poor social tennis and was introduced, fleetingly, to squash – my main involvement here being to cook occasional match suppers on a Thursday evening! Early in 1990, however, things changed when the club offered a Saturday morning tennis coaching session for adults (it seems incredible now to think what a novelty this was!). It was there that I met my future husband, Andrew, and the rest, as they say, is history…
Through him I became more involved in both tennis and social events and West Heaton has been at the centre of our lives for the last thirty years, with many of our closest friends also being members and, in fact, several having met one another at the club.
Over the years my tennis has definitely improved and in 2019 I started to play bowls, something I hope to continue in 2021. Unfortunately, playing squash fell by the wayside some years ago but I hope the squash players will be back on court soon and I will definitely be there to support the team when home matches are reinstated.
West Heaton has always felt like a special community for us and our two daughters – somewhere to meet and make friends, play some great sport and feel a sense of belonging and welcome. I will do all that I can to ensure that all our members view the club in the same way and I am looking forward to the rest of 2021, when we will hopefully be able to play our sports once again, come together for a drink in the bar or on the patio and enjoy some great social events.
Jo Taylor