January update

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