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Club Newsletter

Newsletter 6

Happy New Year to all our readers, I trust that you all had a great Christmas, and are looking for ways to get rid of the pounds by gentle exercise. What better way than on the green, taking part in our friendlies and tournaments? The next Tournament is the Den & Jeff Collard Trophy on Sunday 17th Feb - please put your name on the poster in the lobby.

If you have been picked to play in a friendly, please let us know if you are unable to play by letting us know via Lynda. Failing that, please let me know via my mobile - 07810221403. Crossing your name off and writing sorry is not good enough. We don’t always pick it up until it is too late. The same applies to the leagues, please let your captain know A.S.A.P. - it is very difficult to find a replacement at 9 o’clock, an hour before the game starts.

The competitions are progressing well thanks to your efforts. Henry and myself have sorted out cups for the winners, which will be presented to you on the day of the final along with the vouchers. Please let us know when the final is taking place to enable us to have a committee member present.

On the social side we have Brian Poole with his ukulele band at the club on 15th Feb, 7.00pm for 7.30pm, at a cost of £4.00, which includes supper.

On Saturday 23rd Feb we have our charity day. In the morning, starting at 10.30am, there will be a bowling tournament involving 4 local outdoor clubs - Park, West End, Borough and Morchard Bishop. Our charity events will start at 1.15pm, with various stalls for your perusal – bric-a –brac, cake stall etc., something for everyone. This will be followed by Bingo.

All proceeds from all events will go to the charity, which this year is Pete’s Dragon. This is a wonderful charity that provides counselling and help to those who have experienced a suicide of a family member. PLEASE COME ALONG AND SUPPORT OUR CHARITY DAY. The 25thAnniversary of club is 23rd March. More details will be put on the board.

CEDRIC

 

The ladies have had a very busy season and every match seems to follow quickly on top of each other.  We play the Top Club on this coming Sunday Feb 3rd  at 1.30pm. Our opponents are Torbay but as we are not the challengers we only have two disciplines at home which will be the singles and the triples. The rinks, pairs and two wood singles will be played away. If anyone is free on Sunday afternoon please come and support us.

We have not held our position in the Foxlands league table and we have dropped down a couple of places.  We have been hit with illness and other problems but hopefully things may improve over the next three games. We would like to thank those members that have stood in at the last minute to play.

Beryl Willis, Pauline Black, Gill Callaghan and Maureen Robertson have reached the semi- finals in the County Fours, Beryl, Gill and Maureen have won through to the semi –finals in the triples and Gill and Maureen also in the semi-finals of the pairs. We will follow their progress with interest and wish them all the best in the following rounds.

Cedric has mentioned the Charity Day on Feb 23rd and if any of you could bake a cake for the Cake Stall or any gifts for the Bric-a-brac, Tombola or the Draw the Club will be open from 10am on the morning or gifts can be handed into the office during the week. There will be cream teas for sale and tickets can be obtained from the office for £2.50.

We have a Ladies meeting on Sat 9th Feb: at 10. 30am  to discuss County Propositions and also a general discussion on the season so far.

Best wishes for the rest of the season.

Mary

 

 

NEWSLETTER NUMBER 5

Our Ladies are in the middle of a very busy part of the season. They are trying to find dates in their diaries and free rink spaces to play the National and County Competitions. Many have played first rounds in pairs, triples and fours and will be waiting to play the next rounds. We wish them all the best.

I am pleased to say that we have done well in the Foxlands and we are sitting in the middle of the league table. There were no matches to be played in December but we have 3 matches in January. We have played 3 games in the Masons Trophy; The A team narrowly beat Bodmin, one rink at home and one rink at Bodmin. Thanks to Ian Kimber who drove the ladies about 75 miles to reach their destination. Masons A now play Isca on January 18th for the next round. We will miss Audrey Collard from these teams and wish her a speedy recovery from her fall.

The Club’s Annual dinner was a great success and we have booked Ashley from the Keepers Cottage for next year.

On Dec 14th in the evening the ‘Warblers’ will be entertaining Club members with songs and carols. Please put your names on the list if you would like to join us.

We now have two more members joining the Visually Impaired Bowls group once a month and though they are completely blind they have joined the rest of the group and all enjoy the bowling and the cup of tea and social time. We would welcome anyone who would like to help us in any way.

Please keep February 23rd 2019 free to support our Charity day. This year we are donating all proceeds to ‘Pete’s Dragons’. This Charity supports families who have been bereaved by a suicide. We hope to have a ladies Tournament in the morning and a Men’s Tournament in the afternoon. A letter will be in the club on Tuesday Morning for the ladies to think about teams. You can let me know or the office. Cedric will be organising the Tournament on the day and he already has one team for the men. Although it seems a little way off we would be grateful for any gifts for the bric-a-brac, tombola and cakes.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas a Happy and Healthy New Year

Mary Pike

This seasons friendlies are going well we are winning more than we are losing. Unfortunately we have had to cancel two’ both against Budleigh, one home and one away. Please put your names up because without the friendlies, both home and away, we would not have a club. The Bingo can only contribute so much, not all of the cost of running the club. I understand our fuel bill is £20 to £30 per day.

We have had a number of new members who I see rolling up, put your names down for the friendlies, you may well surprise yourselves how well your game will improve with a bit of competition.

The leagues are all up to date and are virtually running themselves, well done everybody.

Henry and I, assisted by Lynda have phoned around and should have succeeded in getting most of the first rounds played on time. If you are having a problem playing your round please speak to Henry or myself to see if we can help.

As a result of our success last season the men are now facing stiffer opposition, but we are still only being defeated by narrow margins in most cases. We are still doing well in the Parrot, and are top of the Somerset & Devon League after 4 games.

As Mary mentioned in her contribution we will be running a separate ladies and men’s tournament on charity day amongst teams from outside clubs, and ourselves, all rink fees will be contributed to the charity.

On the social side we have the West End Warblers this Friday, 14th Dec. Brian Poole’s banjo band in January and the three girl group In Harmony in February 2019 please support I am sure you will enjoy the evening.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who help with the tea & biscuits at the friendlies and provide the more substantial refreshments on other occasions.

A Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year to all our members.

 

Cedric Lewis

 

 

 

NEWSLETTER 4

From Jose Kimber

EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS!

Earlier this year the Club was awarded a package by the Bowls Development Alliance to help us to improve our marketing and to recruit new members. Our club is very fortunate in that it is financially secure at present; we own our premises and are able to govern ourselves.

However we have, like many other Bowls Clubs both indoor and outdoor, suffered from a gradual decline in membership, and an increasing age profile of our members, as new recruits barely keep up with those we lose each year. Sadly over the last few years a number of our members have passed away.

We have now set up a small committee comprising members from both Committees plus some other members, to work with the BDA to come up with some new ideas, publicity materials to help with recruitment. As a result of this we are planning a Play Bowls Event

on Saturday  6 October at 10am. This will be run prior to the formal Club Opening at 2.30pm.  The bar will be open and light refreshments will be provided.  On Friday 7 September from 3pm to 5.00pm we will be holding a club helpers session for the event and we would like to have a number of volunteers to attend on both days to help run the event.  We will be putting up a list on the notice board so if you are able to come along and help, please sign the list.

All members may be able to help with recruitment by spreading the word and encouraging friends, relatives and neighbours to come and try bowling. It is a friendly and sociable sport and well suited to those in their 50’s and 60’s who may be finding the more energetic sports they were doing a little too difficult now, or people approaching retirement may be thinking of new things to do.

We would also like to encourage more members to come forward to volunteer for roles on the committees. Many of our committee members have served for a number of years and we would like some of our younger, newer members to come forward as they may have new ideas, or old ideas we have not tried for a long time or forgotten about! In particular Ian has been treasurer for a long time and would happily relinquish the role. It is also very undesirable to have all the club’s financial knowledge with one person, as we found out a few years ago when our previous treasurer became ill. Initially we are looking for an Assistant Treasurer who could work with Ian for a period and could then be prepared to take over in a year or so. If you have any experience in a similar role or a financial background this would be helpful but not essential. Other help needed is support for events, help making teas and coffees etc. If you would like to volunteer, please speak to Lynda or to one of the committee members.

 

From Cedric Lewis

 We have altered one of the categories in this season’s competitions. The Husband & Wife competition will be changed to Partners; this will now include anyone who is in a permanent relationship. We are aware that it could be abused, but believe that common sense will prevail.

We also intend to make the winners presentation more formal. In future the finalists will inform Lynda of the date and time of the game, and we will endeavour to have a committee member in attendance to present the prizes and take a photo of the winners. It will also be advertised in the club. The photo will then be displayed in a picture frame along with a list of previous winners.

Please enter as many competitions as you can so we can make it a more competitive competition.

 

Once I can get all the photos together of club officials they will be displayed in a large picture frame, so everyone will know who does what in the club.

Our car park is not large, but parking between the marked lines will help us use the car park to its maximum. We have all seen parking over or on the lines, which means that others have to cruise around looking for a space. Please keep the area outside the club clear for disabled and the emergency services.

When the winter fixtures start, selection will be made for the friendlies every Friday by at least 2 of the captains/ vice captains one of each gender. We will be selecting teams for 7 days from the following Monday. For example on Friday 12th Oct we will select the teams for games from Monday 15th Oct to Sunday 22nd Oct. So please get your names down early.

Yearly Subscriptions are due 1st September and the paperwork for this will be available soon.  

A new entry system has been installed and will come into use over the next few months.

As you renew your membership you will be issued with a small blue fob that you can attach to your key ring. All you need to do to open the inner entrance door is to hold the fob up in front of the transponder, which is situated on the right hand side wall of the entrance lobby.

The two systems, card or fob, will work initially in tandem, with the card being phased out at a date to be notified.

The fob is individual to you, therefore should you lose it please inform Lynda a.s.a.p. so it can be cancelled. There will be a charge for any replacements.

 

PLEASE DO NOT WALK BEHIND THE HEAD WHEN OTHERS ARE BOWLING.

We have started a whist club every Monday, Bank Holidays excluded, starting at 2 p.m.      

Only £2 to include tea & biscuits, a draw and 9 prizes. 

 

NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY FRIDAY 14TH DECEMBER WEST END WARBLERS @MDIBC 7.30pm

 

From Mary Pike

There is very little to report during the summer season but we are pleased to announce that the Ladies External League will be going ahead during the winter season. We would like to enter a team from Mid Devon and there is a list for names on the board. Please put your name up as soon as possible if you are willing to play on a Tuesday morning. Details will be sent about the times and dates later on. The clubs that are entering so far are :- Culm Vale, Isca, Mid Devon, Morchard Bishop, South Molton and West End.

Thank you very much to the clubs that have entered.

We have arranged an Open day for the Club on Saturday October 6th at 2pm. The cost will be £3.00 including tea. If you would like to join us on that afternoon please put your name down.