If anybody were to ask me: "What is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me?" I would have to say, "taking part in the 6th World Masters' Championships in Vienna." Thanks to Dave Walker and Lena Strang for suggesting I should travel with them to Vienna.

If anybody were to ask me: "Have you ever laughed so much that it hurt and the tears ran down your face?" I wouldn't hesitate; I would say, "being there, in Vienna; in the company of Dan Broughton." Dan Broughton was a constant source of fun. Inter alia he can sing 'Danny Boy' in Japanese which he did one evening mid-week. On another evening when we were celebrating our 'last supper' he told us an hilarious story of how he found himself on the stage at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth at the mercy of a stand-up comedian - Duncan Norville ("Chase me!"). There were two other guys hauled onto the stage as well and they were all instructed to assist Duncan Norville in his rendition of 'This old Farm had …'. Danny had to 'do' Norman Wisdom. The other two were told to 'do' John Inman ("I'm free" from 'Are you being served') and Frank Spencer ("Oooooh Betty" from 'Some Mothers do have 'em').

On another night he reduced me to tears at supper on the theme that certain (Gestapo style) formalities were necessary at the airport departure checkout because 'somebody' had 'duffed-up' the defending champion, the local Austrian six-gold-medals-hero - Herr Bondi Setzger, seen here laughing at one of my jokes!

The Budo Centre

My first impression of the Budo Centre was daunting. It has a vast arena with a high ceiling bedecked with flags from all over the world and a floor covered in tatami mats spread out and big enough to contain four contest areas. Loads of space between ensured that contestants stumbling outside their contest areas had ample time to 'break' and avoid each other.

Wednesday (30th June) we weighed-in and registered. Thursday (1st July) the fighting began. There were over 900 competitors from 24 countries spread out over two days. The deafening public address announcements bombarded our brains, 50% of which I couldn't understand. There were hundreds of big, intimidating judoka strutting around, most with grim unsmiling faces and looking a lot more skilled and experienced than me. Dan Broughton reassured me, "it is exactly the same on a rugby pitch; the other team always looks bigger and stronger."

Solihull put up a great show
Joyce Malley and Lena Strang

Do not suffer from their nerves. They each won two gold medals with positive aggression. (Joyce fought with a broken bone in her right hand!) They tore into their opponents like wild animals going for the 'kill'. It was wonderful to watch. And to be there and hear 'God save the Queen' played on presentation of their medals gave me a great thrill. We have all heard the expression: "being in the right-place at the right-time". This was definitely the right-place and the right-time.

Roy Muller was fantastic. He has the best ashi-wazas in the world and a formidable hari-gosh. He won his bouts convincingly, ending up with well-deserved medals: silver (in his own category) and bronze (in the open).

He lost to a hold-down to a Japanese. The Japanese tend to hold people down; I had one in my group and he held me down too.

But on the contest mat, she is as tough as the best of them. She won bronze and in the process collected bruises to her leg and face just below her eye. In her opening fight her opponent 'scrabbed' her face and caused some concern and discomfort to her right eye.

There were five contestants in my category. One from Switzerland, two from Austria and one from Japan. The Japanese - Takas Miyamoto beat everybody including me.

My eyesight needs about fifteen seconds to re-focus when I take my glasses off. As each fight began in less than that, I was unable to judge from appearance what I was up against until I was well into the 'battle'. Just as well with my Japanese opponent; he looked mean, cruel and unsmiling. I didn't see much of him. We stumbled to the ground and he took hold with kesa-gatame oblivious to my attempts to arm lock him from underneath.

However, later I enjoyed an unexpected moment of glory in my fourth and last fight, when I beat Herr Bondi Setzger. I didn't know it at the time, which was just as well, he was the defending champion. There is a photograph and a special write-up about him in the official Tournament Guide. Summary: I had four fights, won three, lost one and earned myself a silver medal. Thanks again to Dave and Lena.

Dave Walker has a room full of medals at home. He has already won Gold in the Multi-Nations at Norwich this year. Not to mention Bronze in Tokyo 2003 and Gold in Londonderry 2002, but in Vienna we saw him up against some tough muscular bastards and the road to a medal was blocked by shear strength and very little judo. No medals this time. But, even without, Dave enjoyed Vienna and his sense of fun was not affected.

Stan Cantrill is probably the most cunning fighter on the mat I have ever seen. He's got five or six top throws in his repertoire and watching him in action was what I thought this tournament was all about. No 'grunt-and-groan' tactics in his Judo. His fight with Roy Muller was particularly gripping and wonderful to watch. Stan won some, lost some, no medals this time, but it doesn't surprise me that he won Bronze in Tokyo last year.

Clive Biggs has got to be the most difficult judoka in the world to unbalance. I've never seen him thrown. It is no wonder that this year already he has won three bronze medals. Last year he won all three colours: bronze, silver and gold. And in 2002 a silver, but best of all, a bronze in Londonderry.

In Vienna, like big Dan, he found himself up against ugly (muscular) monsters and was unable to shift their feet off the ground. So, this time round, Clive, like big Dan, had to rely on his sense of humour (plentiful). No medals, but he lives to fight another day.

Martin Bullis always moves well on the mat and it was the same again in Vienna, but, even though he was seen to get his favourite grip, he was up against stiff opposition and as in most of the fights I saw, they played the 'rules' game against him. Martin's opponents were as awkward as they come and try as he did, they thwarted his efforts. No medals for Martin. But when his contests were over he was able to return to the stand and sit beside Kath. We couldn't do that!

Clive Douglas is our 'tough guy' but, Vienna attracts even 'tougher guys' and so it was, he lost to guys with longer arms. Clive is no fool on the mat. This year, he has already won a bronze at the Multi-Nations-of-Europe. Last year he won silver and bronze and in 2002, silver. His trophy cabinet is already half-full. Like his namesake he lives on to fight another day.

The 'grunt-and-groan' contestants, though, thankfully, not in the majority, were there in their scores and they annoyed me. What ever happened to Judo, the gentle way? This is a Judo Competition not a 'let's-see-how-long-we-can-hold-each-other-out-of-reach-contest!'

Some of the big guys from Russia, the Ukraine and Germany were terrible. They had no intention of winning by normal judo techniques - an occasional hip throw would have been nice, but no, not them. Their paths to glory - they hoped - would be through brute strength and knowledge of the mat boundary rules. They used their strength to hold their opponents out hoping the referee would penalise them for passivity. And if that didn't work they would 'plant' their opponents on the forbidden red boundary and keep them there until they (their opponents) were penalised.

If Gungi Kyzumai 7th Dan were still alive today he would have crept out of the stadium with a broken heart.

Dan Broughton - Stan Cantrill - Dave Walker - Martin Bullus - Clive Biggs - Clive Douglas all suffered at one time or another at the wrong end of these spoiling techniques. It even happened to me. In my second contest, I was amazed to find my Japanese opponent - all of 4th/5th Dan vintage (estimated) - resorting to these tactics! Shame on him.

The female contestants knew what to do. They moved and manoeuvred into potential throwing positions. They had the right spirit. They relied on skill and technical ability. The Vienna monsters could learn a lot watching the girls.

When you don't know the contestants fighting, you watch hoping to see a good throw. A bit like star gazing at night hoping to see a shooting star or a satellite. You can't watch all four contests at the same time. It's impossible. The public address system is continually addressing you with announcements, mostly asking contestants to be prepared to go on next. You try to spot the 'ippon' and inevitably fail, either because there isn't one - the more likely, or, you are watching the wrong mat! I felt a little bored during some of these long drawn-out sessions i.e. when a Solihull friend is not competing. But, a time-check reminds you that you haven't eaten or drunk anything (for hours) since breakfast and the remedy is outside in the foyer. Stepping out into the fresh air and doing a little bit of window shopping in the tent market made a pleasant change.

Roy Muller bowed his head to accept his silver medal and like me showed respect as they played the winner's national anthem. It's no disgrace losing to a gold-medallist. Silver is just as good - well nearly. When Roy stepped down from the podium I was one of the first to slap him on the back with congratulations. Roy with a lump in his throat, just about holding back the tears said, "thanks, I wish Peter was here to see this." It was an emotional moment. Very moving. I think we all thought of Peter and wished he could have lived long enough to be part of the celebrations.

There was a Japanese contingent at the hotel during our stay, competing in the Kata. They befriended us like we had known each other for many years. In particular they worshiped Dave. They were seen fingering his muscles in admiration. How on earth we managed to sustain conversations with them I do not know. They spoke hardly any English while our Japanese is restricted to Judo vocabulary. But what they demonstrated to us was, despite the language difficulty, they could show the utmost respect and courtesy. They bow their heads at the slightest incentive. At one point I found myself in the lift with about six of them. But, even when there was no room to bow they managed it, almost 'head-butting' everybody in the process!

The women looked lovely in their kimonos. A new experience to see kimonos 'live' rather than on the television or in a paper magazine.

On our last morning we found ourselves outside the hotel watching them sitting on their coach waiting for the 'off'. They started waving 'goodbye' to us. One silver- haired gentleman stepped down from the coach and ran across the road to shake us all by the hand. When he returned to the coach we (seven of us) responded by moving into position in line opposite the coach and on command, bowed our heads as a mark of respect and courtesy to them. You should have seen their faces. They were almost jumping up and down in their seats. They smiled the biggest smiles you have ever seen. They waved frantically through the windows. They loved our gesture. We turned away and fell silent for a while thinking, that was a good idea, glad we did that.

Watching the winners being presented with their medals, bending their heads, shaking hands with each other and standing to respect the National Anthems had (one) very funny moment. It came when the Republic of Ireland champion - Terry Watts received his gold medal.

There was the customary pregnant pause while we all waited for the Irish National Anthem. Suddenly everybody burst out laughing as 'they' played the Russian Federation National Anthem! No offence intended - no offence taken. Nevertheless, Terry was heard later to say, "they've had a whole year to find it!" (The Irish Republic National Anthem)

When you watch television and see contestants stepping up onto the podium to receive their medals I have often wondered what do they say to each other.

When it was my turn and our names were announced Takas Miyamoto the Japanese gold medallist led the way and stepped up onto the podium box number two (my box) on his way to the higher box (number one), I whispered loud enough for him to hear: "get off!" He didn't think that was funny.

Shaved his stubble. He resisted the pressure for three days but to everybody's delight he turned up next day without it! We were generous with our praise: "you look ten years younger!" Kath has a lovely smile; it was even lovelier from that moment onwards.

On the Sunday evening as we sat together for the 'last supper' I remembered that the Europe 2004 Football Final was being played as we ate. I asked around whether anybody had any idea who was playing and what was the score? None of our party were interested, but I was overheard by an Austrian gentleman sitting at the next table and he was able to say that the final was between Greece and Portugal but he had no idea of the score. He joined in our group discussion (Judo and all that) and we felt it would have been nice to get to know him better. He was (obviously) a carer. There was a disabled person sitting at his table in her wheelchair. He briefly engaged me in a discussion about Coventry City FC. But, that was as much as I could reasonably expect.

We managed to take some time-out to enjoy Vienna. We strolled around with Martin and Kath leading at a very leisurely pace. We looked at monuments (Mozart for example), beautiful important looking buildings some with massive archway entrances, horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping, carrying tourists, crossed umpteen squares and plazas and visited St.Stephen's Cathedral, most of us taking the lift to the top of the tower for a panorama view of the city. We were not to know that a few days later the President of Austria - Thomas Klestil - would die from a heart attack and his funeral service would take place here. According to reports there were some notable dignitaries including Vladimir Putin and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Cathedral funeral.

We were probably very fortunate that his death didn't occur sooner. The whole country spent four days in mourning and who knows the World Masters' Championships might have been postponed!

We also enjoyed a history lesson. A coach tour included a stop-off at the Schloss Schonbrunn (Palace) where we learned all about the Habsburg Empire, Marie Therese and Franz Josef and inter alia the Napoleon Bonapart connection. We were repeatedly informed that Marie Therese gave birth to sixteen children and on entering her bedroom were reliably informed that (the Tour Guide pointing at a massive bed) "This is where she did all her work!"

Something else we just missed here: rock concerts by Sting and David Bowie in the grand courtyard in front of the Palace.

We have to be grateful that this took place and was concluded in a satisfactory manner. We (about 350 of us) were invited to sit on the tatami mats in front of the 'top' table occupied by the organisers. The meeting saved the organisation from certain demise when they changed the constitution to vote twelve directors instead of the existing 3/4. A new Chairperson (from Italy - Christina) was elected and she took her seat of office immediately. Directors from all over the world representing as many countries as possible were voted onto the board. Efforts will be made to contact South Africa and bring them on board. Part of the formalities included thanking everybody for their support without which the tournament would not have taken place. And, the ceremonial handing over of a banner depicting (announcing) next year the World Masters will be held in Toronto.

We were by now familiar with the 'tram/train' specifically on the Baden to Oper line to the city centre. To get to our Farewell Party we had to travel in the opposite direction to a place called Guntramsdorf. We had prepaid return tickets (u.retour Bahn) 'G. Schoderg (our station) - Guntramsdorf (for the party)'. It was not a party as we would expect a party to be i.e. eating, singing and dancing, more a gathering of international friends sitting at separate open-air tables. No problems with that; the buffet food was great. And all you had to do, if you wanted to, was to stand up, walk about and make a nuisance of yourself visiting all the other tables. This worked for me, up to a point, but it has its limitations. Credit to Lena for getting us there safely in the first place. We all jumped off the train at the first sighting of Guntramsdorf only to find it was the wrong Guntramsdorf! There was another Guntramsdorf another stop further down the line. Thanks to Lena's fluent German she managed to talk us back on to the correct track, but not before we had done a circular tour of the wrong village looking for the 'pub'.

Baden is at the end of the train/tram journey - the terminal. It is a picture-postcard Austrian village with beautiful buildings and gardens and what we have come to expect:

Austrian open-air cafes. We strolled around relaxed in the knowledge this was our last day. We had coffee and cakes sitting beside a lake full of fish having just avoided a thunder storm and later visited a Rosearium - a huge garden full of Rose trees, all with their individual little notice boards with their names and dates of planting.

I only saw Lorraine on the mat for less than a minute. So, we don't know how good she is. Without knowing what she was letting herself in for, she became part of our group as we toured around and no different to the rest of us, bombarded by jokes and insults. We couldn't put her off. Unfortunately she lives too far away to keep in touch but while it lasted it was nice knowing her albeit briefly.