It was a wonderful day; the sort of special spring weather that Dubbo turns on for weddings, openings, fetes, and other important occasions.

Saturday, September 24, 2016 marked the 95th anniversary of Dubbo City Croquet Club, held in conjunction with its spring championships.

We had a wow of a time. It was bonzer, chipper and first-rate, ticketty-boo; we had an absolute ball!

The balls were the primaries and the secondaries and the rarely-seen tertiaries were brought out.

There were hoops everywhere, except under bodices and crinolines as the dress code was 1920s, rather than 1880s.

Each lady of croquet (is the correct term “croquette”?) dressed in style. Crocheted gloves, lace trimmed pantaloons, canvas shoes, jewelled reticules, and petticoats, frocks for the "more mature matron", an abundance of pearls and other adornments. A flash of ankle from behind a demure dress was spied during more spirited play. Elegance and style in motion. We were simply thrilled!

The gentlemen styled themselves to equal the ladies. Braces, bowties, collar stays, hair oil, centre-hair partings, period hats and other accoutrements, plus-fours, plus-twos, Argyle sweaters.

And the variety of what you can do with hoops and a set of croquet skills! How many hoops can you make in 95 seconds? Can you run a slalom of hoops with the least number of strikes? How far can you jump a ball? Hit the dolly or knock a score card from its hook. Accurately place a ball from a given distance? Make a hole-in-one? Roquet another ball through a hoop? Play one-handed?

One gentleman of croquet (is the correct term “crock”?) did so well on the skills challenges that the stewards called for a swab.

Off-court, members and visitors examined the historical display comprising newspaper clippings and photographs and art work by local school children.

Morning tea and lunch were served and the culmination of the day’s activities was the partaking of High Tea. Delicate sandwiches, meringues, cakes, biscuits, the best Ceylon tea and robust coffee were greatly appreciated. Fine crockery and the best tea-sets beautifully complemented the table linen, including some pieces with fine embroidery.

The Dubbo City Band provided entertainment, and a fine speech by the club’s president, Peter Heywood, was well received.

He thanked Elizabeth Allen for the high tea, Ruby Riach OAM for her judging, and others who had contributed to the success of the day.

Mr Heywood also welcomed local politicianTroy Grant and visitors from Wellington and Hazelwood clubs, and congratulated winners of the various competitions and raffles.

My dear, it was a hoot! Oops, "hoop"!