The Pitch

At the garden end of the grounds, behind a line of palms, sits the least solemn thing we own: a full-size five-a-side pitch in championship-grade turf, floodlit until late and marked out properly, because a casual game deserves a serious surface.

The Pitch is bookable by the hour — for guests, for members, and for the office team that has been promising itself a rematch since March. Bibs, match balls and chilled water come with the booking; a referee, a scoreboard and post-match suya on the terrace can be arranged with a day of notice.

Evenings are the hour to have. The floodlights come up as the heat goes down, and the only sound carrying back to the house is the honest kind — a shout for the ball, and the occasional unreviewable penalty claim.