Happy Easter to everyone. I hope your day is filled with daffodils, eggs and a good family catch up outdoors or zoomed!
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Author: Dawn Slaughter
Late Again!
Actually slept for 8 hours last night, so everything started late today!
That wind is jolly cold so if you haven’t ventured out yet, make sure you wrap up warm. I hope the forecast doesn’t mean we’ll be making snowmen next week.
The 2021-2022 Membership Application Form can be accessed via the link below. There will be hard copies at the Club from 14th April if you don’t have access to a printer.
210402 – CP Membership Application 2021-2022 – Rev.1
14th April. That’s just 10.5 days away. We just have to stay safe and obey the current rules then we can get out and get on with the work around the club with you! Hooray. Face-to-face meet ups working in groups of six.
We’ve had one volunteer for 14th along with Ange and Terry so far. We’d like to see more of you and we don’t care what your hair looks like! If you have a yard broom or a paintbrush or the like, please bring them. Bring gardening gloves, if you’d like to help tackle the weed in the flowerbed between our club and Richmond Bridge Club. We also need to count the coins in the whisky bottle, so if physical work isn’t your thing, maybe one or two of you might like to tackle that. I can’t remember who emptied it last. Was it Margaret B and Beryl or Ann B and Val? It was certainly a while ago.
Talking of Margaret B, keep bringing your 1lb/450g empty jam jars to the club. Margaret loves jamming and she’s planning a great Centenary session!
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Post Board Meeting Info and Apologies to Gordon!
At the Board Meeting today, Gordon says he likes to read the website post each morning with his cup of tea. Oops. Failed miserably today as it’s now 4.27 pm!
Anyway, with Trevor’s approval and providing we don’t get deluged with rain in the next 3 weeks, the outdoor green will open on Saturday 24th April*. Triples can be played on every other rink but singles and pairs can be on adjacent rinks. After 17th May, we can play all formats on adjacent rinks but we have to remember to keep the social distancing/hand sanitisation etc up of course! It’s become a way of life now, hasn’t it?
*Please don’t try and book a rink yet. David H will need to do a bit of liaising with our website host to reinstate the green booking system for both outdoors and, in due course, indoors alongside.
In order to get the rest of the outside area up and running before 24th April, there will be working parties on Wednesday 14th and Friday 16th April from 10.00-12.00 and the bar will be open for drinks which Jane will serve outside. Aha, that’s got some more of you up and reading!
Please let me know if you will be joining the working party(ies)
Updated Membership Forms will be available on the website when I find some spare time over the weekend.
For info Subs which will be due 1st May :
Combined Membership – £200;
Outdoor only – £140;
Indoor only – £90**;
Juniors (Under 18) – £25;
Social Membership including lockers for bowls and bowling outdoor or indoors for 5 sessions (indoor green fees in addition) – £25. (If you subsequently join to either or both sections, this will be deducted from the sub)
Social membership for those who do not have bowls but like to come along, watch and support will be £10. A car park badge will be issued for social members but they may only park in the car park if they are attending an event at the club.
**For those who played their full indoor subs when we started in October 2020, we will be arranging a partial discount against the 2021-2022 subs, as we appreciate the time we had indoors was somewhat limited.
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Aitchoo, Aitchoo, Aitchoo!
I hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s lovely weather. What a treat!
On the downside, if you have been sneezing more than you thought you ought to, you could be suffering from pollen from the birch trees.
Think it’s getting chiller over the weekend, so get out today if you can. Richmond Terrace was pretty busy yesterday, so keep your distance as far as possible when you’re near other people if that makes sense!
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Spare a Thought for Your Postman (who Might even be Wearing Shorts Today)!
This article was in the St Margaret’s e-Newsletter . I don’t know if any of you receive the newsletter into your inbox. It has some good articles and is always kept up-to-date with local news, events etc.
If any of you are willing to post flyers for our Open Day on Monday 31st May after reading below, please let me know!
Letterboxes
25 March 2021 • Martyn Day
I’ve been sticking things through letterboxes for nearly 70 years now – newspapers mainly but almost anything that could be stuck through that hole in the door – political pamphlets, fliers for residents’ associations and youth organisations, bills from local grocers and adverts for dances in church halls and children’s parties. I can remember newspapers with headlines announcing the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the death of Buddy Holly and the first appearance of Beatlemania. I’ve walked up paths to farm worker’s cottages, traveller caravans and the homes of famous people like Barbara Cartland, the romantic novelist and Viscount Trenchard. I’ve even delivered newspapers to the country estate of a relative of the old Queen Mother. They didn’t have a letterbox. I simply gave the newspapers to the butler who carefully ironed them before passing them on to the lord and ladyship. This was to remove any excess ink from the paper, ensuring clean hands for the nobility.
How to Iron a Newspaper
- Cover a wooden table with baize or felt.
- Lay a sheet of brown paper on the table and place the first sheet of the newspaper on top of it.
- Lay another sheet of brown paper on top of the newspaper and carefully press the assembly with a warm iron.
- Repeat the process until all sheets of the journal have been pressed – then reassemble the newspaper.
- (Ed’s note: Thank goodness we don’t have to do this. Ironing duvet covers is hard enough!)
My latest update on local letterboxes came last week delivering pamphlets on the forthcoming London Mayoral Elections. Some of the older terraced houses in our neighbourhood still have their Victorian letterboxes, both vertical and horizontal. Although they are attractive, they are only big enough to receive a short note from the Crimea. Anything larger like a newspaper or lengthy directive from HMRC gets dumped on the doorstep which is probably the best place for a lengthy directive from the HMRC. My own personal favourite letterbox is what you might describe as a ‘12 x 3-inch Horizontal Inset’. This simple flap set into the door opens by pushing the newspaper against it, although some households make the task less easy by placing another metal flap inside the door and a spring to keep the outer flap closed. In another version, the exterior flap is hinged outside of the door requiring the postie or newspaper boy or girl to raise the flap with one hand while trying to stuff the delivery through the door with the other. A trained octopus would be useful in these circumstances.
The entire process of delivery moves on from ‘difficult’, through ‘awkward’ to ‘murderous’ with the introduction over the last few decades of the ‘letterbox brush’ – that evil bank of bristles that some misguided people like to screw at the back of their letterboxes to allegedly prevent cold air entering the house. Manufacturers of this ghastly piece of medieval torture equipment claim that it is still possible for letters to be delivered through the door easily, but without a nasty draft. This is not true. Apart from the difficulty of shoving a letter or flyer through this domestic version of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, there is also the real risk of catching your hand in it, particularly if you’re wearing a ring. At this juncture two points come to mind:
- The designer of the letterbox brush did not consider that newspapers and the like might have to be pushed through it.
- The homeowner doesn’t actually want to receive letters or newspapers.
If you have this abomination inside your own front door you will make many friends amongst the young people and OAPs who deliver your newspapers, the posties who bring your mail and the local socially-minded volunteers who keep your up to date with fliers promoting community affairs by removing the brushes immediately and delivering them to their true destination – the dustbin. Even the junk mailers will thank you.
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Monday 29th March – Step 1, Part 2
Well, we’re another step closer to meeting friends with groups up to 6 people or 2 households (if that makes more than 6) being able to meet outside. Only another 14 days until we can sit outside for a meal which someone else has cooked and someone else will wash up. Can’t wait!
I am sure we have some happy golfers as the courses open today as do outdoor swimming pools. If the temperature is soaring to 24C tomorrow, I’m sure it will be tempting. For those clubs with artificial grass or outdoor carpet, they can return to bowling. I played on outdoor carpet down near Southampton a few years ago. You have to play with much more green than normally outdoors but less than of indoors. It took a few ends to get my head around it!
Work continues on the green. Trevor scarified last week and took 4 cwt of thatch away. He has been treating the moss which has been in abundance this year due to the wet weather. While his colleague deeply spiked the green on the machine, Trevor was taking on the back breaking work of removing the moss on the tops of the back. You can see the difference from the photo. Gym has been down several times over the last couple of weeks and has completely cleaned out the ditches, which you can also see. Big thanks to all of them.
Has anyone got a jet washer? We need to tackle the paving outside the club house and around the green. The moss needs removing from between the slabs – we have one tool but bringing your own would help – then cleaning the slabs would be great. For those handy with a brush, the benches need varnishing and smartening up.
Contact Terry M for assorted green associated tasks – do the numbers need painting? Please let me know if feel brave enough to tackle the ivy that is taking over the flower beds.
Sunday 28th March 2021
Heavy spking under way
Daffodils planted by Linda M
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Outdoor Season Fixtures – Big Thanks to Ray Verralls
The updated Fixture List is now available on the Calendar page, with a big thanks to Ray V for all the hard work he has put in so that we have a pretty full summer of fixtures. Great job!
We will get sign up sheets in the lobby for the first few matches after 12th April.
Good to catch up with Gerry and Rita W’s daughter on zoom yesterday afternoon. Like most of us, Gerry is hoping this week shows warmer temperatures so it will be comfortable sitting out with a mug of tea and not being frozen by the wind! He’s not the only one. It’s looks a bit grey out there today but yesterday it was blue skies all morning, which really lifts the spirits.
Right I’m off out to get blown about with my selfie haircut. Another month looking like a scarecrow to wait for the hair appointment is just too far away!
Have a good Sunday
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Bowls England Update for Clubs – Good and Bad News for Outdoor Bowls at Cambridge Park
Good that bowling is allowed from Monday but not so good for those of us whose greens aren’t opening until the end of April but we only have another 4 weeks to wait! In the meantime, if you would like to order a Club Centenary Polo Shirt or Fleece, please contact Norman.
GET YOURSELVES READY – BOWLS IS BACK! 
Lawn bowls as an outdoor sport may resume from Monday 29th March (Step 1), as part of the government’s roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions in England.
The return of sport and physical activity is vital to the physical and mental health of the nation, and we know our sport has a big role to play in providing an opportunity for outdoor activity as the lockdown restrictions ease.
The guidance we have developed below for our affiliated clubs supplements the Government guidance by covering situations specific to the sport of lawn bowls:
Step 1: Monday 29 March – Key points
From Monday 29 March until Step 2, the following applies to outdoor lawn bowls:
• Lawn bowls may resume (although the Cambridge Park green won’t be open until the end of April)
• Play is permitted in accordance with the guidelines in the Table below – this is for Step 1
only and will be reviewed as the restrictions are eased by government
• Clubs are advised to implement a pre-booking system in order to manage attendance at the
club, and to ensure adequate time between booked sessions
• Travel to participate in bowls is permitted but you are advised to ‘stay local’ wherever
possible
• Spectators are not permitted at Step 1 – only those who are participating or required to be
on site to manage a session should be in attendance (exceptions apply for people with
disabilities, or adults needed to supervise under-18s in a safeguarding role)
• Bowls coaching and other curriculum-based activity is permitted
• Greens maintenance is permitted
The future
Step 2 (Monday 12 April at the earliest)
• Outdoor catering/hospitality will be permitted
• Changing rooms can open
• Travel restrictions eased
Step 3 (Monday 17 May at the earliest)
• Larger groups able to gather at clubs
• Inside catering permitted with restrictions
• Overnight stays allowed (but you can’t sleep in the CP clubhouse! )
Step 4 (Monday 21 June at the earliest)
• All restrictions are expected to be lifted
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS OUR CURRENT EXPECTIATION BASED UPON THE GOVERNMENT ROADMAP BUT
NOT OFFICIAL GUIDANCE.
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Bowls England Update on National Competitions 2021
Bowls England published this on Thursday afternoon. I know not all our bowlers are involved in National Competitions but Bowls England have stated they will update their guidance for “bowls at grassroots level” very soon. It will be published on here as soon as we have it.
COMPETITIVE EVENTS – UPDATE
25th March, 2021 by Matt Wordingham
Whilst 2021 will look a little different, the feedback we have received since we shared our outline plans with counties, clubs and players has been understanding and positive. There is a recognition that we have to adapt and our conversations have confirmed that we share a common goal – getting the maximum number of people participating and competing in a Covid-friendly manner. We will review the experience of competitive bowlers over the summer in any future planning.
Our work in developing the revised domestic competitions programme for 2021 took into account the following key factors:
• Covid guidelines
• Government roadmap
• Player and official safety
We also wished to ensure the greatest possible flexibility for counties and Bowls England to:
• Respond to changes (or delays) to the roadmap
• Enable additional rounds to be played in a single day if necessary
The national finals will run from Thursday 19th August to Sunday 5th September inclusive. The change for 2021 will provide additional time for the county/area qualification rounds to be completed and provide flexibility should there be any delay in the relaxation of restrictions.
The Commonwealth Games format will be utilised in all rounds of all events excluding inter-county fixtures. This will provide greater flexibility for match arrangements in the qualifying stages and enable the national finals to take place over a shorter period.
We thank all counties who provided feedback regarding the inter-county events, which whilst varied proved that there was appetite to host the events in 2021. We have developed a programme that includes provision for all inter-county competitions to be held later in the season on a knockout basis, with all rounds over the traditional 21-end format.
We are now pleased to share with you in full our plans for the 2021 domestic competitions programme:
• Summary of Events
• National Finals – Daily Schedule
• National Championship Qualifiers by County
• National Competitions – Play-by dates
• Inter-County Events – Planned Programme
We have prepared a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document to help answer some of the questions that you may have.
National Competitions
When will the draws be published?
The draws for all National Competitions will ‘go live’ by Friday 9th April in order to give participants time to organise their fixtures. Click here to view play-by dates.
Inter-County Events
What is the plan for the Middleton Cup & Johns Trophy?
We thank all counties who responded to the request for feedback, which whilst varied proved that
there was appetite to host the events in 2021 if possible. The majority of responses favoured a
knockout event utilising the traditional six rinks, and we have allocated dates for each round
accordingly. Matches will be played at a neutral venue, however to assist with match arrangements
rounds can be played on a three home/three away basis should the two participating counties
mutually agree. The semi-finals and final of the Middleton Cup and Johns Trophy will be held on
Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September respectively – venue TBC. All inter-county events will be
held over 21 ends in recognition of the increased travel time likely to be involved. We shall contact
counties w/c 29th March with further information.
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Canadian Bowler Interviews
This interview with Katherine Rednall came up on one of the Facebook groups and it’s worth a listen. They have interviewed other bowlers around the world, so if you’re looking for something different to occupy the odd half hour, look up The Canadian Bowler Interview on YouTube and select a couple to listen to.