The bowls  have been re-polished after last week’s draw v Bishop Duppas and we’re raring to go again!

The bar will be open and Jane will take your orders and serve you, so there is no need for you to go indoors.

It will be great to see visitors and spectators again as the weather looks a somewhat better than it has done for the last couple of weekends!  It’s also a chance to catch up with friends and find how they’ve survived the lockdown and what it’s like now that many restrictions have been eased.

 

Interesting news article about wearing face masks indoors today.  It’ll be interesting for bowls considering a lot of us wear glasses, as we’ll all be steaming up and unable to see!  Hey ho.  We will work our way around it.  Graham D is eager to get indoors again as I’m sure a few more of you are.  The EIBA said they hope to have more details to announce on Wednesday 15th, so they’ll be posted up on here as soon as we know.

 

For those who heard/read about the jigsaw saga and dpd’s first delivery date being 1st January 2021(!), I’m pleased to say they sent it back to the supplier who re-sent it and it arrived last weekend.  Finished it last night!  If anyone would like to borrow it, please ask – it’s on its first loan out today.  If you do, don’t zoom in on this photo to find which piece goes where!!

We need to do a Risk Assessment and obtain Board approval first but this has just arrived from the EIBA:

Further to the Government announcement at 5pm yesterday (Thursday 9^th July) we have started the review of the relevant guidance and are pleased to advise that Indoor bowls clubs will be able to open, if appropriate on Saturday 25^th July 2020.

However, there are specific conditions in this guidance which we need to review for indoor bowling before we can issue our final guidance. It is our intention to have this published by Wednesday 15^th July 2020.

Our final guidance will need to be seen by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and as such this could affect our above plan, but we will update you accordingly.

In the meantime, please continue to plan based on our current guidance which will help you in readiness for when you decide to open.

 

Peter Thompson

Chief Executive

English Indoor Bowling Association Ltd

Web www.eiba.co.uk

With more sports facilities to be opened from this weekend and the next fortnight, we hope some way will be found to open indoor bowls clubs as well as clubhouses, but it’s not happening yet.  The latest bulletin from the EIBA re National Competitions arrived yesterday for those of you who have entered.

Antonia, Eric Payne’s wife, sadly passed away at the end of June. She had been unwell for quite a while and in and out of hospital but, of course, Eric was unable to visit her due to the virus restrictions until her last 48 hours when he was by her side throughout.  Eric said “the doctors and nurses were so generous and full of compassion.”

I only met her a couple of times, but she was a lovely lady with a lively spirit and shared many interests with Eric including travelling.  In fact Sheila Stocker emailed to pass on her condolences and said they had met Eric and Antonia on a cruise last year and had a great time catching up.  Apparently Eric used to play outdoors at Hampton BC.

We send our deepest sympathies to Eric and family.

Thanks to Ann D for keeping in touch with Eric through the lockdown and updating us with the sad news.

Happy Birthday, Gym!  With all the rain, one of your daily chores at least has been reduced!  I’m referring to all the gardening and watering that Gym has being doing on the flower beds alongside the green.  Thank you.

Hope you have a super day!

—

Other news:  West Ealing sign up sheet for FOUR triples on Saturday 18th at 2.00 pm is up in the lobby and Ashford is now FOUR Triples at 2.00 pm on 1st August.    The captain for each match will be put on the sheet so any queries can be addressed to them.    The Outdoor Committee is in charge.

Due to a miscommunication between Laurence and myself, the team for Bishop Duppas had been selected on Friday but as I didn’t have the list to hand, I put the sheet up ready for the names to go on but they weren’t added before some people signed up hoping to play.  My fault.

We now have West Ealing on Saturday 18th at 2.00 pm.  This will be FOUR triples, so play will be on the outside rinks and the two middle ones (in old rink set up, rinks 1, 3, 4 & 6)  This still allows plenty of room for those playing on 3 & 4 to change ends on the spare rink i.e. 2 & 5 safely.  Well done to Ange, Jacquie and Ashford who worked this out between them.

I hope to get the sign up sheet up at the club later today.  My printer wasn’t playing ball last night (Grrrr)

So, my apologies again for those disappointed about this Saturday.  Please come down and watch.  The bar will be open and Jane will be happy to serve you.  The Met Office says it will be sunny and warm – 21C!  3.30 pm start.

If anyone can spare half an hour to an hour to put “Cathy’s Cottage” up, please contact Jane.  She will be at the club from 11.30 am today although with rain forecast all day, it wouldn’t be a good time to get the tent up.

Ange has offered to run a Club Pairs Competition on Saturday 15th August, comprising 12 ends per round with a BBQ at lunchtime and semi-finals and finals the following weekend.  More details to follow but mark the date in your diary.

Don’t forget your hand sanitiser.  It’s really important you disinfect your hands before and after playing.  It’s easy to become more complacent as restrictions are relaxed but that is one feature to remain as a top priority

Thanks

Dawn

Morning!

Hope you all had a good weekend.  It was a bit breezy but not cold, which was good.

Bar prices for cans:  Fosters/Heineken (440ml) £2.00; Guinness (520ml)  £3.00

Pride will be £2.00 per pint from the existing stock then back to £3.00 when the next barrel arrives, Cider £3.00 per pint and soft drinks as usual.

For the first couple of weeks, we are issuing recyclable plastic glasses.  The reason being to reduce the risk of transmission of germs between Jane and customer and vice-versa.  We will go back to glass glasses once we are happy it is safe to do so. As with all the processes, we need to try and test first.  Your safety is our priority.

 

In the lobby, there are sign up sheets for the August matches.  If you would like to play, please sign the sheets as you would usually do.  I am hoping to get a West Ealing/Hounslow Cons game on Saturday 18th and will add that sheet when I know.

I believe Gordon is match captain for August.

Dave H is hoping to get the Monday afternoon (NPL) league up and running in some form, so things are moving forward.

Just remember to keep up the hand washing, disinfecting and to stay alert.  As my Mum would say when I was heading for a drive down to Cornwall on my own, “It’s not you I’m worried about, it’s the other silly fools on the road!”. I wonder if she’d be allow to say that these days?  Times are a-changing.

Dawn

A few more steps forward to a new normal.

Welcome back Jane!

The Club Bar will be open from 12.00 to 1.30 pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Drinks will be served in plastic ‘glasses’ and service will be from a table outside the dining room door.  Members will not be allowed to go inside to the bar.

We are looking at purchasing an EPOS system but for the moment, it’s cash as usual.  Please try and bring enough coins in order to pay the correct money so there is less handling of money.

There will be draft Cider and London Pride but Guinness and Lager will be in cans.  (Sorry I forgot to check prices of the cans –  I’ll update the post tonight).  Soft drinks also available.  Please take any rubbish home with you as the weekly bin collections won’t be re-starting just yet.

It is still early days, so please remember to sanitise your hands and keep the social distancing.  For best safety, keep as near to 2m distance as possible although new government regulations say it can be reduced to 1m+ outside.

The bar will be open when we have the mixed fixtures, mainly on Saturday afternoons – check out the Calendar page as all games arranged so far are listed on there.

Are the weeks rushing by or dragging?  They say time flies as you get older.  Have the last 15 weeks flown by for you?

Tomorrow (Saturday) a CP IX will be venturing down the A316 and onwards to play the Bishop Duppas Committee IX away at 1.30 pm.  Next Saturday different teams from both clubs play at Cambridge Park at 3.30 pm.  We’re looking forward to the challenges.

A list of ad hoc fixtures is on the calendar page and we hope some of you will be along to watch at least the home games.  The bar should be open for those.  I’m awaiting confirmation of other times/days it will be open.

On one of our work zoom meetings, the question was thrown into the ‘room’ re going to a pub tomorrow when they open.  The majority said “no” which sort of surprised me.  Sitting in a pub garden in the evening sunshine with friends and chatting sounds appealing to me but I wouldn’t want to sit indoors.  Do any of you have views either way?  There is no right or wrong answer.

The only things we all have to do is keep hand washing regularly, keep using anti-bac gel, keep sensible social distancing and stay alert.  It would be awful to go back into lockdown having worked our way through the easing of restrictions in the last few weeks.  It makes you feel very sorry for the people of Leicester.

Phone a friend and keep smiling!   Hope to see you at the Club soon.

Dawn