10:57am Monday 22nd June 2009
By Passing Shots
ANYONE for tennis? It may be the start of Wimbledon fortnight, but I am aching on Monday morning after three hours on Sunday evening playing tennis with Simon Stevenette, the vicar of Christ Church in Old Town, and his two sons, Thomas and Edward.
It was a beautiful evening as we played until 10pm under the floodlights at Chiseldon Tennis Club.
I got absolutely whopped by the vicar who doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard, but is just so accurate and never makes a mistake. Whereas Thomas and Edward hit the ball with pace, they were easier to pick off with top spin forehands and lobs, but Simon was devilish with his neat spin returns.
We stopped between sets to grab some orange and looked across at Liddington Hill and the Downs in front of us, and marvelled at what a wonderful evening it was to play tennis.
For Simon, he admitted it was a moment when he was simply glad to be alive. Because it was five years ago that Simon, who is also the Swindon Town chaplain, managed to successfully battle Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He underwent a gruelling six-month chemotherapy programme and at the time admitted: “Having this illness has given me a new appreciation of life.”
Before the end of his treatment back in 2004, a specialist at the Great Western Hospital's Osprey Unit said his tumour had reduced from the size of a melon to that of an orange.
The hardest thing of all during the treatment was that Simon was unable to get involved in sport as much as he wished, and so put on weight.
Looking at him dance around the tennis court on Sunday evening, he was back to his very fit best. Forehands, backhands, overhead smashes, it was nothing short of a tennis lesson, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Besides tennis, Simon also enjoys running when he can spend time reflecting on some of the issues he faces in a very busy life.
Sunday evening was a lesson in itself that we need to take pleasure in the joys of life, of good health and friendship, and to enjoy them to the full.
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