ABSOLUTELY | FOOD A ND TR AV EL
Anyone for tennis? Gemma Billington brushes up on her backhand in the Antiguan sunshine
T
he small West Indies island of Antigua is an intoxicating kind of beauty. From the moment you step into the stifl ing heat of its tiny airport and are taken through the lusciously green landscape dotted with a mass of rugged houses of bright, tropical colours, the Caribbean ambiance takes over. Exotic birds, goats, cows and stray dogs dart precariously across the road and curious eyes of fresh fruit street vendors (at the time of my visit there were actually more ripe mangos freshly available than could be harnessed and sold) peer through the car window.Curtain Bluff, situated on the southern coast of the island in St John’s, is a landmark resort not just for its renown and unwavering popularity, but also through its integral status in the community. And the timing of my visit couldn’t have been more poignant, during the hotel’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2012. Curtain Bluff (named in homage to the ‘bluff’ landscape on which the resort is built and the curtain shape of the waves that crash against it) was constructed
by pilot Sir Howard Hulford – a grand looking gentleman with colonel style moustache – after he spotted the rugged site from the air in 1962. At this time the local area, Old Road, was a poor and isolated fishing village. Though Howard died five years ago, he is spoken of both fondly and regularly, and his presence is widely felt across the resort. His vivacious widow, Chelle, is a common sight around the hotel on her golf caddy as she chats with staff and guests. Their home at the peak of the bluff is the venue for our pre-tennis week cocktail
as a professional island-wide tournament in 1975, but now draws a regular crowd of international enthusiasts and some of the biggest names in the sport. Organised by multiple Grand Slam winner Fred Stolle, the week is a mixture of friendly tournaments and tennis clinics and is a unique opportunity for tennis buffs and amateurs alike (of which I am most definitely in the latter category) to be taught by former world number one players. As I was to discover, there’s a reason that participants proudly sport Curtain Bluff Tennis Week t-shirts from previous years; the experience is rather addictive. Throughout the week, tennis participants are split into male and female groups and then separated into more manageable sized teams. During the clinics, the small groups are given a set amount of time in each court to practice a different skill with a different set of pros, before moving on to the next. Despite initially feeling like I had reverted to my gauche schoolgirl days – when sport was not exactly my forté – I quickly got into the swing of things (excuse the pun) and it was hugely informative, and, more pertinently, an enjoyable experience.
‘The sporting event initially began life as a professional island-wide tournament in 1975’ reception and has undoubtedly the fi nest vistas of the area; enabling you to see as far as Montserrat and St Kitts. A Caribbean getaway is obviously a tempting excursion at any time of the year, but my visit coincides with the famous annual Antigua Tennis Week, which I have gallantly signed myself up for. The illustrious sporting event initially began life
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