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A load of balls

Cricketers in the Buckinghamshire village of The Lee say the future of their 133-year-old club is now in the balance following a ruling by their district council that prevents them using their cricket nets.

The ban was sparked by the complaints of 59-year-old Philip Moody, a retired company director whose sun lounge backs on to the club. In his complaint, he compared the noise of leather on willow to the "crack of a rifle".

Mr Moody was unrepentant yesterday, saying: "This is not a normal village club. I monitored play between the start of the season and August last year and found that they were playing about 75 per cent of the possible days."

Mail on Sunday (David Harling)

Weekend workout

Sometimes it is hard to know how to entertain a friend for an entire weekend. Especially a dark, wet January weekend. There is tea, cake and wine, but too much of any of these can lead to a silent slump. So, the week before a friend was due to come, I booked a home Pilates lesson and follow-up massage.

FT Magazine (Kate Baker)

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