Author: David Guyton

About thirty members attended a planning meeting on the evening of Wednesday, 23 February, at Westminster Park Community Centre to discuss activities and plans for the coming season. Because of the covid epidemic, this was the first face-to-face meeting the club has held for two years and the first opportunity for newer members to meet members of the committee and to hear about some of the current topics being considered by the club. An informal and wide ranging discussion covered the various roles undertaken by committee members, the importance of volunteers in helping the club to run smoothly and efficiently, playing plans for the new season including roll-up sessions for association and golf croquet and use of the lawn booking system, the recruitment and induction of new members, potential improvement projects, and social activities. The views of all members are always very welcome and are taken into account during committee discussions and decisions during the year.

The next face-to-face meeting will be the AGM at 7.45 pm on Friday, 11 March 2022, also at the Westminster Park Community. This is a more formal event to receive the Chairman’s Report and annual accounts for the previous year, to review and agree the budget and membership subscriptions for the new season, and to elect officers and members of the committee.

Copies of the slides shown at the planning meeting and the agenda and papers for the AGM can be viewed and downloaded in the Members Only area.

 

Dear Members,

We have decided that the proposed Planning Meeting on the 23rd February  should go ahead.  Whilst the pandemic is not yet over, progress is being made to a return to “normality”, and we feel that it will be possible to hold our meeting at the WPCC in a safe manner.  The hall is spacious, and we will be able to spread out chairs to ensure a good distance is maintained between attendees.  Please wear a mask if you feel more comfortable doing so, and it would be helpful if you are able to take a lateral flow test (and test negative of course ! ) before attending.  The meeting is set to start at 7.45pm because there is a pllates class on in the room until 7.30pm. This will give time for the class to clear and the room to air before we arrive.

I do hope many of you will join us and let us have your views on whatever you feel you would like to discuss about the club.  There will be a loose agenda ( covering the topics I referred to in an earlier email ) but please feel free to raise any issue you feel is pertinent to the club.   We have received a few comments already, which will be part of the discussion.  If anybody else wishes to email me their thoughts before hand, or if they are not able to attend but wish to contribute, they would be very welcome.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Regards

Jayne Taylor
Mobile:  07810892311

Click here to view and download Jayne Taylor’s original e-mail dated 19 November 2021 describing the aim and scope of the Planning Meeting.

 

Dear Members,

Sadly the playing season has drawn to a close, and whilst we did not end the season with our usual New Years celebrations, a few of us did risk the weather and had an enjoyable few games of croquet (GC and AC) in lovely warm sunshine and under a clear blue sky !   Let us hope that was an indication of a bright future ahead for all of us in 2022.

The new season should start as usual at the end of March. I know that some of you would like it to begin earlier than that, but we are very much dependant on the Council to complete the winter maintenance activity and to cut and white line the lawns. A commitment to begin earlier than the end of March is difficult to secure.  Experience has also shown that the weather can be very unpredictable.  However,  I understand that our club volunteer  “groundsmen” are going to try and mark out the lawns early in March in the hope that the Council will be prepared to white line, and thus enable us to undertake the hoop layout.  If the weather is appropriate for play and we can start earlier than the end of March we will endeavour to do so. So watch out for emails and website announcements !

Meanwhile, as you know we are hoping to gather members together for an open discussion about the club. However, in view of ongoing concerns over the transmission of the covid virus,  your committee felt that it would be safer to delay the meeting originally intended for the 14th January.  Therefore a new date has been set for Wednesday, 23rd February, at the Westminster Park Community Centre, starting at 7.45pm.  It would be nice to gather a large number of our members together on that evening, for your committee to hear your views on the club and to discuss ideas for the future.  I sincerely hope that we can go ahead with that meeting in safety. In the meantime I look forward to receiving any comments on the topics suggested for discussion. The planned date for the AGM of the club has also been delayed until March 11th.

The Planning Meeting will also be an opportunity to celebrate the achievements  of the  2021 Season, and present  trophies as appropriate.  On that matter, it is my pleasure to announce that the winners of the trophies for most improved players in AC and GC are Sally Slater (for AC) and Paul Cronin (for GC).  Well done Sally and Paul.  The winner of the Peter Bingham GC Trophy ( based on the cumulative results of the Tuesday morning progressive doubles sessions) is John Hampson.  Well done John. Other competition winners were announced earlier, and if you missed any results at the time, you can find them on the web site.

All the best for 2022

Jayne Taylor

Dear All,

I am sorry that I have not been able to be at the club recently, and therefore have not been able to pass my festive wishes etc to you personally.  I hope you all have a very Happy, Peaceful and above all Safe Christmas and New Year break and I look forward to seeing you all in 2022.  Let us hope the season, and the year as a whole is a good one for you all.

Meanwhile   –   About 2022 ….

You will recall that I recently sent out a rather lengthy email about the Planning Meeting which we hope to hold on January 14th, in the evening at the Westminster Park Community Centre.    We still hope to do this, but we have to recognise that given the resurgence of Covid with the Omicron variant,  we may have to reconsider. Your committee will be meeting (electronically) on Jan 3rd to decide on this, and I will email you all with our decision immediately afterwards.

However, your comments on the topics referred to in my earlier email, or any other issues you wish to raise will still be welcomed by email. As of yet, I have not received any comments, but I live in hope.  Those topics and some background on them can still be found on the web site, Members Only section, but as a reminder they covered:

• • The organisation of the club
  • Weekly playing arrangements
  • Matches, tournaments and events
  • Recruitment
  • Club facilities
  • Club funding
  • Social activities
  • Raised topics/issues

We have decided that the lawns should be closed from Monday January 3rd for their winter rest, and to allow any ongoing maintenance by the Council to proceed.  Until then of course you are welcome to play, weather and lawn condition permitting. Please book on line and record attendance in the register as usual.  Also be aware that maintenance might occur before January 3rd, depending on the Council’s programme, which sadly we have not been informed of.  So please be prepared to give way to the grounds maintenance staff if they are operating on the lawns, and be circumspect about playing if treatment has been undertaken.  And of course do not play if the ground is too wet, or frosted.

Hopefully we will be able to hold our usual gathering at the club on New Year’s Day, weather permitting.  Further information to follow.  I look forward to seeing some of you then.

Merry Xmas !

Jayne Taylor
07810892311

It was with some trepidation that the club’s short lawn open tournament was planned so late in the season, but in the event the competition was played on Monday, 1 November.

It was a day of two parts weatherwise with constant rain in the morning, but clearing to dry and occasionally sunny weather in the afternoon. The lawns were fine despite heavy rain during Sunday and stayed fine to play on.

Ten members joined in the competition, with 3 having to pull out on the day, so 7 members each played four matches during the day. It was a really fun day, played in exceptional good humour. The eventual winner was Sally Slater who won all four of her games. Three others fought it out to be runner up by winning three of their four games and David Boyd managed to cross the line by a margin of just one hoop.

Thanks to a spell of reasonable autumn weather, croquet is still being played at the club until the lawns become too wet or frosty and therefore open to damage.

Chester Croquet Club held its annual full lawn association handicap competition over the weekend of 23 – 24 October. The Mason Cup competition, organised and managed by Robin Tasker, was decided on an all-play-all format. The players were so lucky with the weather at this time of year, as they were often bathed in warm sunshine.

The overall winner was David Boyd, who won all 5 of his games. In second place was Sally Slater. The other participants were Jerry Guest, Robin Tasker, Richard Smith, Brian Walton and David Guyton.

 

Chester Croquet Club held the last in the season of their regular social fundays on Sunday, 17 October. It was luckily a mild afternoon with some sunshine. A croquet gymkhana had been organised by Jayne Taylor with six challenges, and the winner was Liz Baskerville, with her husband Edward in second place. There was an afternoon tea, enjoyed by all, and a quiz. Over thirty members came including a baby and some dogs!

The North Wales and Cheshire Snowdonia golf croquet tournament encounter between Chester and Llanfairfechan was played on Thursday, 30 September – a breezy bracing autumn day by the seashore, at times played in driving drizzle, with a regular rumble of trains on the railway line above!

Edward Baskerville (captain), Liz Baskerville, Kerry Dadson and Ian Shaw – playing in his first match for Chester – spent a happy day in good company with Chester winning 9 games to 7. It was a well balanced performance, each winning two of their four games. Four games went to the golden hoop; all four being won by Llanfairfechan. So a tight match indeed!

On Saturday, 2 October, in another match against Llanfairfechan, this time on home lawns, the Chester short lawn team of Val Sanders, Helen Brophy and Paul Taylor did not fare as well. They were outplayed by a very strong side and despite some very close games they lost 9 – 0.

Then on Sunday, 3 October, the club held its annual Christine Long golf croquet tournament in very mixed weather of driving rain and bright sunshine. Ten competitors were split into two blocks and all played all, with the winners of each block meeting in the final. The final was between Ian Meadows and Kerry Dadson. It was a fascinating match with Ian leading 6-0, then Kerry pulling up to 6-5 when time was called giving Ian a close win. The match between the two runner ups, Jude Wise and Ian Graham, was won by Jude 7-5. The trophy and prizes were presented by Edward Baskerville, last year’s winner and this year’s organiser.