Charlie Baines writes: We had a great Open Day on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who made it happen. It was wonderful to see all the children playing tennis, all possible future tennis stars! And a warm welcome to our new junior coach, Jimmy who is today running the “Kids for Tennis” scheme this summer. Details here.

See the full Open Day 2018 gallery here.

And I want to add special thanks to Mel, who, to the point of exhaustion, has overseen the completion of stage one – the re-surfacing of courts 1 and 2, painting of all the courts (which look fantastic), plus all the work to make the clubhouse so welcoming and attractive and in pristine condition for Open Day. We would never have got this far so quickly without his expert input. So three cheers to you Mel.

Alongside Mel, our other Directors, Denise Tyler, Mark Cull, Steve Davies, Conrad and Jacob and Charlie, our Chairperson who have worked tirelessly in setting up the CIC (Community Interest Company) and negotiating with the Council for the lease.

Then there are all the members who have volunteered over the last few months to help with painting, cleaning, clearing rubbish, weeds and foliage, gardening, catering, and adding a bit of muscle when needed to move and clear heavy furniture. It really has been a joint effort to make QPTC the best and most welcoming club in Brighton. A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.

Conrad adds: Special thanks reliable waitress and cork popper Madeleine Brunner, and to our data gathering team of Nick Clarke and Barbara Michaels for assiduously gathering an impressive number of participants. We easily surpassed out goals. Volunteers Freya and Leah (above) kept the balls in court and the kids entertained, with special assistance from Terry Nevin.

Our wonderful photographer for the day was Eduardo A. De Freites, from Caracas, Venezuela. Thank you Eduardo for a giant stack of brilliant images of QPTC. We thoroughly recommend him for all your photography needs. Check out Eduardo’s Instagram page here.

You can also follow Eduardo on Instagram on his fabulous Brighton & Hove Photo Gallery, with pictures taken in our beautiful city. Check out @ThisIsBrightonAndHove.

NEXT ON THE MENU: Bruno’s Bonanza “Crepe, Cheese and Wine” Party on Sunday 8th July from 2pm till late. £5 for adults, free for children. Tickets must be bought from Bruno or Pauline beforehand so that we can cater for numbers. I’ll be sending out reminders but make a note of the date and get your tickets soon.