Author: David Guyton

In the first of two matches in national Croquet England competitions during the week, Chester played away against Bowdon on Monday, 19 May, in the Mary Rose association croquet advanced level play competition.

The Chester team of Robin Tasker (captain), David Boyd, Elmyr Hughes and Mark Lloyd were narrowly defeated in a difficult tie against Bowdon who fielded a very strong team. Because of the recent dry and sunny weather, the match was played on difficult lawns but at lunchtime after the doubles and two singles games in the morning Chester held a 2-1 advantage. However in the afternoon the quality of the Bowdon players made the difference and the match slipped away from Chester resulting in a 4 – 3 win for Bowdon.

A couple of days later a Chester team of Robin Tasker (captain), David Boyd, Helen Brophy and Sally Slater travelled up to Penrith, to play the first round of the national association croquet handicap competition, the Longman Cup, on Thursday, 22 May.

It was a closely fought match, played in a beautiful setting next to the River Eden with the Pennines in the background. However, the lawns were incredibly difficult for both sides being extremely dry, fast, and deviously undulating!

By way of a golden hoop – a tie breaker if the score is even when time is called – in one of the morning games, Chester was 2-1 up at lunch, but Penrith pulled back to all square in the afternoon, and the outcome was resting on the final game. This went to the second golden hoop of the match, unfortunately lost after an excellent hit in by Penrith giving them a 4 – 3 win by the narowest of margins to proceed to the next round.

 

 

 

 

 

Next Social Funday on Sunday, 15 June

The next Social Funday will be on Sunday, 15 June, as usual instead of Saturday as advertised, as the match has been moved. Bring family, friends and something to share. Scones and Prosecco will be provided. Fun starts at 2.00. See you there!

Next Social Funday on Sunday, 25 May

Hello everyone, particularly our new members. It is our regular social funday this coming Sunday, 25 May. Prosecco and scones will be provided, so please bring along family and friends and something to share. Croquet will be played. The fun starts at 2.00 pm onwards.

Social Funday on Easter Sunday, 20 April

The good news is that there will be a social funday tomorrow afternoon, Easter Sunday. Prosecco and scones will be provided. Please bring any relatives along and have a scone and a game of croquet. 2.00 pm onwards, bring something to share. Have fun!

Mini golf meet-up, Friday, 7 March

Well that was a lovely gathering today at the Green Day Cafe to chat, relax over a coffee , play some mini golf and get a bite to eat for lunch.. …. doing some or all of those things ! Thanks to all who came along. We must do it more often ! Congrats to Mary Mc who got the hole in one !

Jayne Taylor

Anyone for mini golf and a meet-up
before the new croquet season?

The weather is showing signs of Spring ! Anybody fancy meeting up for a game of mini golf and a coffee/lunch/chat at the GreenDay Cafe. Probably a Friday or a Monday outside the half term holiday, or maybe a Wednesday.

Email me direct on jaytay20ch@aol.com and let me know if you are interested and which day you would prefer.

Jayne Taylor

Update on film night at Chez Jules

Hello members

Twelve members have signed up for the film night at Chez Jules but we need a minimum of 20, and a maximum of 25 for the event to proceed. So it is now open for family and friends but please reply by Wednesday, 15 January.

Please note that if you sign up you are committing to pay the £27.50 meal cost.

Please reply to sandygrievson@btinternet.com

Many thanks
Sandy Grievson

Film night at Chez Jules on Monday, 10 February

Hello members

We are holding a film night at Chez Jules on Monday, 10 February 2025, starting at 6 pm.

The film is the romantic comedy “Midnight in Paris”, which is a delight even if you have seen it before.

The two course meal costs £27.50 and a maximum of 25 people can be accommodated so at this stage is open to members only.

If you would like to come please e-mail sandygrievson@btinternet.com .

This will be first come first served basis so please respond promptly.

Many thanks
Sandy Grievson

On Saturday, 17 May, Chester hosted a National C-Level Golf Croquet tournament at its Westminster Park Croquet Club. Early sunshine was promising but that chilly NE wind kept jumpers and gloves as necessary accessories. Twelve players came from Crake Valley in the Lakes, Bury, Llanfairfechan in North Wales, Budleigh Salterton in Devon and Chester, to compete to win the tankard and a place in the National All-England final at Eastbourne in September.

From the start the two strongest players showed their form and quickly established a commanding lead. Both Sandy Grievson from Chester and John Bowes from Crake Valley won all their games in the initial Block competition. The chasers were Brenda Duplock from Budleigh Salterton and Simon Attwell from Bury. Brenda Knight and Karen Bowes, both from Crake Valley were also in contention.

But the leaders were not to be thwarted and Sandy Grievson and John Bowes played out their destinies in a thrilling final with Sandy racing to a 7 to 3 victory and the winner’s tankard. Bury’s Simon Attwell overcame Devonian Brenda Duplock to take third place.

On the following day, Sunday, 18 May, eight players assembled to compete in the new National D-Level Golf Croquet tournament. The sun shone again but the chilly wind blew.

After Saturday’s tournament it was expected that the better players would again make an early showing and this was the case in the first games with Christine Fryer and Gail Thomas, both from Chester, leading the field. But after lunch the knock-out phase changed the outlook with David Mann of Chester and Ursula Walker from Fylde near Blackpool (both on the lowest 12 handicap rung) beating the favourites in the semi-finals. David and Ursula’s final match was played as a a first-to-ten, longer game and proved to be a high tension battle with David just beating Ursula by one hoop to win the tankard. Ursula took the engraved runner-up plate back to Fylde and everyone took a bottle of wine home to toast their success or drown their sorrows.

 

 

Thursday, 15 May, was the occasion for a local Derby match between Chester Chariots and Chester Centurions in the NW Federation level play golf croquet league.

An early start was requested by captains Edward Baskerville of Chester Chariots and Rick Davies of Chester Centurions  which was fortunate as the last game did not finish until 4.30 pm: a hard fought match.

Under blue skies, hot sun and on exceptionally fast lawns Rick’s Centurions with Martyn Seal and Jude Wise ran 100 hoops against Edward’s Charioteers with Sally Slater (winning 5 games) and Chris Thomas 92 hoops. However, that was not quite enough for the Centurions and the match ended with a score of 10-8 to the Charioteers. Indeed, at the lunch break Centurions led 5-4. So well done Charioteers winning 6 games in the afternoon session.
Centurions could perhaps feel robbed when hoop 10 was run in a game, only for the ball to roll back through the hoop within the 5 seconds permitted! That could have cost the match! Nevertheless, six team players departed, glowing after more than six hours of very competitive croquet.

 

On Sunday, 11 May, Chester played in two NW Federations league matches,  at home against Llanfairfechan in the GC handicap league and away against Bowdon Griffins in the 26 point AC handicap league. The day started as it meant to go on; hot and sunny with virtually no wind.

In the GC handicap league match against Llanfairfechan, the Chester team of Sandy Grievson, Lesley Newman, Rhia Taylor and Arnie Banford with handicaps of three 12’s and a 10 faced Llanfairfechan’s Liz Griffith, Sue Kendall, Trish Jones and Rod Bowdon with handicaps ranging from 6-12.

The match started with two sets of doubles which finished honours even with one game to each side. This seemed to set the pattern for the early singles games and by noon the score was three apiece. After lunch Chester found new form and pulled away strongly with Lesley and Arnie both winning their games convincingly.

In mid afternoon when the temperature had risen well into the twenties the last round of four games got under way with Chester leading the match by 9-5 and so a draw was still possible. In the event, each of the Chester players won their final games which took the match score to Chester 13 and Llanfairfechan 5.

Arnie Banford finished the day with a clean sheet of singles games whilst Lesley Newman swept the board by winning all of her singles and doubles game.

Thanks to our visitors for their usual sportsmanship and good humour which together with the glorious sunshine made for a thoroughly good day of croquet.

In the 26 point AC handicap league played away against Bowdon Griffins, the Chester team were David Boyd, Elmyr Hughes, Robin Tasker and Brian Walton. As expected, the lawns at Bowdon were dry and fast and Chester lost the doubles and both singles games in the morning. Fortunes improved in the afternoon when Chester won two of the four singles games but the overall result was a 5 – 2 win for Bowdon.

 

 

It good to see that the Thursday morning GC roll-up is becoming very popular but this sometimes makes it difficult to stick to the singles-only objective. So I would like to try a modified approach.

The session starts at 10.00am. If there are more than 16 players then triples (not doubles) will be formed for the first game. This accommodates up to 24 players. Latecomers will have to wait until the first games finish. As games are completed players must vacate the lawns and form new singles sets, with those who have not yet played having priority.

From the second game onwards only singles will be played. Those waiting out have priority as games end. The session ends at 1.00 pm.

If the lawns are crowded all players should play with reasonable despatch and avoid long brooding and debates about tactics.

Please remember that in double banked games , the game that first plays into the vicinity of a hoop has priority at that hoop. The other game has to wait or, because these Thursday games are ‘friendlies’, take a different route.

Also please note that double banking is the norm for all games and matches whenever played, but only when all other lawns are occupied. Lawn preference is not a valid reason to double bank rather than use an unoccupied lawn.

If the crowding continues I will investigate other possibilities such as extending the session or allocating an additional session on another day.

Best wishes

Tom Grievson

Following a successful Taster Day for newcomers to croquet on Saturday, 19 April, the Club is delighted to welcome twelve new members.

In a busy opening month of the new season, Chester Croquet Club has played in four North West Federation league matches.

The first on Friday, 11 April, was a short lawn match away against Bowdon Weekdayers. Bowdon fielded a strong team and achieved a well-deserved 12 – 4 win against Chester.

On the following Saturday, 19 April, the Fylde team playing at home in the first golf croquet handicap match of the season was much more welcoming than the weather . When you see your mallet swaying as you line up a shot you know it may be windy ……. Fortunately the rain held off for the most part but, boy, was it cold. Everyone was layered up, some wore gloves and some had the benefit of thermals.

Anyway, back to the match. The contest was actually a lot closer than the overall 11 – 7 win for Fylde would indicate, with many games being real nip and tuck contests. Lots of “oohs” and “aahs” with even some laughter thrown in for good measure. No bragging winners and no sore losers – perfect.

The Chester team for the match were Arnie Banford (captain), Christine Fryer, Mel Hagan and David Johnson. Christine Fryer was the stand-out performer, winning every one of her games. In three of them, she held her nerve perfectly to win the golden hoop, so congratulations to her.

Fylde were excellent hosts, offering copious quantities of tea, coffee, biscuits and boiled sweets to keep us all going. The big bonus was that the traffic was very much quieter than we had expected and had no delays in either direction.

After two initial losses, fortune turned in favour of Chester in the two following matches.

On Wednesday, 23 April, Chester played another away match, this time against Bury Sovereigns in the golf croquet level play league. For this match the Chester team were David Boyd (captain), Edward Baskerville and Sarah Clements.

The sun shone brightly in the morning. In the initial round, Bury took the lead but by lunch time Chester were ahead 6 – 3.  By the final round at the end of the afternoon, Bury needed to win all three to draw the match. David Boyd sealed his match with a jump shot hoop to secure the 10th win and Edward Baskerville also won his last game to give the final result of an 11-7 win for Chester. Sarah Clements won 5 out of 6 games but was beaten in the last game by Bury captain David Barratt on the golden hoop.

The final league match of the month was an association croquet 26 point handicap match at home against Crake Valley. It turned out to be a warm and pleasant April day and the lawns were in good condition apart from the ever present slope which always proves a challenge to home and visiting teams alike. The Chester team were David Guyton (captain), Elmyr Hughes, Richard Smith and Paul Watson.  Crake fielded a very competent team bolstered by plenty of bisques – free shots – 43 for the day against 1 for Chester.

In the morning round, Richard Smith and Elmyr Hughes won their two singles matches by 10 hoops each despite facing a combined total of 16½ bisques, but David Guyton and Paul Watson lost their doubles match by 2 hoops after facing 3 bisques.   Four singles games were then played in the afternoon.  After time was called on the first three, the overall score was 3 – 3 leaving the match to be determined by the result of the last game to finish. At that point Richard Smith was 2 hoops behind in his final innings. As a well experienced competitive player he held his nerve and gave careful attention to the positioning of the balls and lining up for hoops and managed to score 3 more hoops to win the game. The overall result was a breath takingly narrow 4 – 3 win for Chester by a single critical golden hoop.

 

 

The Southport Festival this year takes place on the weekend 28 and 29 June and is the opportunity for all clubs in the North West Federation to come together to play all variations of croquet at the same time.

And so there are separate competitions for Handicap and Level Play GC; and Advanced, Handicapped and Short-Lawn AC. Each club is allowed to enter one team in each event but the personnel of each team can vary across the weekend. This means that you can choose to play on one of the days, or on both days; and you don’t have to play all the games on a particular day as team members can be rotated.

This is a great opportunity to catch up with croquet players from across the North West, and the social side of the weekend is as every bit as good as the playing  …   And this year the event organiser has ordered warm sunshine across the weekend!

I do hope that you want to be involved, and if so please contact either Tom Grievson for the GC events or Robin Tasker for the AC events. The club entry has to be submitted by the end of May but please do get this date in your diary.

Robin Tasker

First Chester Croquet Lawns WhatsApp message

I have just put out a first message earlier today, Wednesday, 23 April, on the new Chester Croquet Lawns WhatsApp group. If you have signed up for this but have NOT received the WhatsApp message, or wish to join the group, please e-mail on grievsontom@gmail.com or sms on 07801665993

Tom Grievson
Mobile: 07801 665993

WhatsApp Group for lawn conditions

I am starting a new WhatsApp Group for broadcasting lawn information during periods of poor weather conditions. Last year we had frequent periods of heavy rain and it became very difficult for some members to decide whether to risk travelling. In such conditions I visited the lawns at about 07.00 hrs but had very limited means of passing bad news to all intending lawn users.

The new WhatsApp Group will be a ‘send only’ system – you will not be able to reply to it. If you feel an overwhelming urge to reply you will have to send me an email, text or by ‘phone. Please, never message just to say thank you. I will always assume your thankfulness!

I will make the new system as reliable as possible but it will not be infallible. Messages will be sent by 07.30 am. No message means that there is nothing adverse to say so, as Leibniz or Pangloss might say, in the best of all possible worlds you will never get a message because the lawns will always be playable.

In order join the WhatsApp Group you must sign up by sending me an email (grievsontom@gmail.com) or text message (07801 665993) with your name and mobile ‘phone number.

Best wishes

Tom Grievson
Mobile: 07801 665993