OPENING AND TASTER DAYS

On Saturday, 16th April at 2:15pm the Green will be opened for this season’s lawn bowling by Pat Rigby and Mollie Mallett, two former members of the club.  I’m sure that Pat and Mollie would be delighted to catch up with other former members who would like to join us for a chat and cup of tea.  Existing members will be able to pay their annual subs and sign up for the pre-league practice matches if they have not already done so.  Dress code for opening day will be club colours please.  We will finish with a faith tea and it would be helpful if you could let me know if you will be bringing a sweet or savoury dish – thank you.

In addition, on Saturday 23rd April from 10.00am until 2.00pm and on Sunday 24th April from 2.00pm until 4.00pm we will be holding our Taster Days for any aspiring player who would like the opportunity to give it a try.  All they require is flat shoes; bowls and guidance will be provided.  A reduced membership fee is available for new members.

Notice Boards

Please check the notice boards in the ladies and men’s changing rooms where all team selections will be posted on the respective boards.  The board in the clubhouse will only be used for mixed teams ie friendlies. 

Subscriptions

John will shortly be sending a reminder that subscriptions are now due and giving details for bacs payments.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the green,

Penny

Club secretary 

As we approach our Opening Day of Saturday 16th April 2022 many members of your committee and other volunteers have been and are busy in all areas to ensure that the season can start successfully on time. Your committee will no doubt be meeting in February to finalise many last minutes details.

Your secretariat has been working all winter to ensure that we are answering all enquiries from Bowls Cornwall and that our fixture list is compiled and printed with not only league matches but friendlies and other county/national fixtures.
Your volunteer gardeners are busy as normal removing weeds from the flower beds, pruning where necessary and applying top dressing as well as keeping the grass surrounding the green cut and moss free. If you have any shrubs which you no longer require at home then give Badger a call or leave them down the club as they will all be given a good home and add some more interest to the new beds.
You will all notice changes inside and outside the club house as a team of volunteers have been decorating and making the building  more inviting. We have moved both lockers and some notice boards into the changing rooms and plans to create a bar area are well underway.
Finally a thank you to all the volunteers who continue to help on the green either brushing in the mornings, servicing and repairing the machines, cutting, aerating and spraying and many of the activities which go unnoticed. The concept that some have of “putting the green to bed during the winter months” is not realistic especially in areas such as Cornwall where grass and moss continue to grow and disease spread for most of the winter.
Volunteers in all areas would be welcomed-just contact any member of the committee.

Congratulations to Renee and Carol who received a trophy and certificates at the Group 3 lunch in Newquay. They were winners in the Over 55 pairs.

 

 

Congratulations to Penny, Mary and Annie who received their trophy and certificates at the Group Three lunch in Newquay. They were runners up in the Benevolent Triples.

 

On the afternoon of 25th September we organised not only presentation of our
own club awards but the presentation of the cheque to Cornwall Hospice Care
after our very successful triples event on August 22nd
The photograph shows the cheque to the value of £1,294.63 being presented
by Jim and Georgina Rule and club Chairman Richard Read to Jane Appleton
representing Cornwall Hospice Care. Jim was invited to the ceremony as he
was the instigator of the event and we were following in his footsteps and
taking up the baton for this very worthwhile local charity.
In between the ceremonies we had a very good game of bowls and followed it
with an enjoyable and welcome faith tea. In view of the success of the event
we shall plan to do the same in 2022. A big thank you to all who took part in
both events.

At the recent ECBL (East Cornwall Bowling League) Finals Day held at
Looe Bowling Club on Sunday 12th September two of our bowlers
tasted success.
In the morning session the Pairs and Triples were held. Dave
Burrough and Badger started slowly in their pairs match to find
themselves 10-0 down but came back well, against the experienced
pairing of John Kelly and Lostwithiel former player and friend of the
club Glyn Coggon now representing Callington B.C., to win.
In the triples David Rowe and his team from Bodmin won after an
extra end against Roger Ellard’s team from Callington in a very tight
game with the lead swinging from one to another.
In the afternoon session we saw the rinks competition with two
teams from Looe battling it out with the eventual winners being Bob
Pacey’s experienced team but not without a fright and possible upset
on the last end. The singles competition featured two players from
Lostwithiel and after some excellent and consistent bowling from
Badger, a former champion and winner of Cornish Times trophy, he
beat Tim Carr. I am sure we will see much more of Tim in finals in
future years.
It was a very good day well hosted by Looe and its members and in
2022 will be played at Lostwithiel with hopefully many Lostwithiel
entrants and finalists.

On Sunday 22nd August the club held its annual mixed triples
bowling competition with all proceeds going towards
Cornwall Hospice Care. Some 60 bowlers from East Cornwall
and some from over the Tamar took part and raised the
fantastic sum of £1,294.63. The event was formally opened
by the Mayor of Lostwithiel Councillor Karen Ross and play
began at 10.00am. Food, provided by club members and
friends, was served throughout the day. At the end of the
competition the final was battled out between two triples
from Lostwithiel Bowling Club with the team of Karen
Worthington, Tim Carr and Chris Soper winning. The cup and
individual trophies were presented by Club Chairman Richard
Read to the winning team. Many thanks to all who took part
and made the day so successful.

As we near the end of a very different season with little evidence of significant
wear on the green it is now time to close the green and consider the Autumn
Programme of work that needs to be carried out.
The challenge set out at the start of the season, when the future of any bowls
being played was questionable, was to maintain a surface that could easily and
quickly be made playable whilst keeping social distancing between green
workers and reducing expenditure in line with expected revenues. As time
went by and restrictions were lifted it was evident that a small proportion of
the membership wanted to play and therefore the green had to be made
suitable although not up to normal match quality. My decision at the time, to
reduce expenditure was to cut to 7.00mm and, if feasible, to only cut once a
week and reduce nitrogen feeds by at least 70%. As the summer progressed if
was evident that we needed to cut twice a week as growth was strong, cover
for holiday and an unfortunate quarantine and for that I thank Adrian and Roy
who took on the task. Thanks also to Dave and Brian who kept an eye on the
machines when necessary. My daily brushers should be remembered as the
job they do is important in minimising disease.
It is sometimes forgotten that our grass surrounds also need looking after as
weeds/disease can easily be transferred onto the green-thanks to Badger with
Adrian’s help and also for developing a new garden at the far side known
affectionally as “Badger’s End”.

To All Members

An update as to our financial position:

As of today 41 members have paid the asked for subscription to help us through to April 21.
I have agreed a monthly reduction of £ 41 with edf from our direct debit.
Water is paid by meter reading so will be low to non existent
I asked, when paying our rent, to bear in mind we will not be earning any income before the
next rent is due ( watch this space )
Chris is making savings to the green costs both for this summer and into the autumn.
Following an email from Cornwall Bowls I have applied to Sport England for a grant to help
cover our expenses through this summer, mainly green costs, will wait to see if we are
successful.
So in summary I am convinced we will be in a position to carry on as a club following the
enforced lockdown but at the beginning the position was very doubtful, the members by
paying their subs. have guaranteed the future.

 

John

Our big challenge is to start with a damaged and worn green at the end of
September and to produce a green suitable for bowling for league and county
play by the beginning of May despite what the autumn and winter weather
and any turf disease has thrown at you. After this year’s rain and winds and
previous years “beast from the east” it is always something different.
This year brings a virus that has brought the whole world to a standstill with
nobody quite sure what the future brings but a future will come and we need
to be ready for it. I fully realise that there are much more important things that
preparing turf for sporting activities but in the context of the future enjoyment
and fitness of thousands of people it has a place in the life of many.
The challenge now then is to produce a surface for some unknown date in the
future whilst being aware of the financial constraints of many clubs and also
being aware of the governments social distancing rules. Much
advice/recommendations have been issued by golfing associations and I have
spoken to a groundsman at a cricket venue and of course I have been scouring
the UK for any information specific to bowling greens including Bowls England,
Bowls Scotland, Bowls Wales, Bowls Central, our fertiliser supplier, Alan Pearce
and others in the county. As with most expert opinion everyone is not in total
agreement for example for height of cut varies from 5.00mm to 12.00mm and
most figures in between.
Based on a full assessment of the advice, the budget available and the
personnel able to work either individually or in very small groups every
greenkeeper will have to make the best decisions for the health of the
members and the club.