Lindley Bowling Club Newsletter No.7 April 2019
Club Strategy Update – Tony Taylor
Lindley Bowling Club’s strategic plan was approved at the AGM. But what happens next? Two actions have already been completed. Those of you who have already bowled at Lindley and other greens will have noticed how much better ours looks, and plays. And if you’ve been in the clubhouse you will have noticed how roomier it looks without the pillar; better for social events, which is why it was removed. Both have cost money, and a lot of time from volunteers, but I hope you agree they are both worth it. Maintaining the quality of the green is an ongoing project, of course. People have been asking what “upgrading the clubhouse” might mean. The initial thought was to extend the clubhouse, possibly to relocate the snooker table. We soon realised the cost of doing that was prohibitive without being able to raise money from elsewhere. Raising such from members seemed an unlikely option! Just upgrading is still an important and expensive objective for the club. When the Committee discussed it last Autumn we had in mind the following; modernising the toilets including extending the ladies’; checking all the clubhouse electrics and modernising these where appropriate; replacing the old, faded curtains with, probably, more practical blinds; and replacing the furniture and other furnishings. We are mindful of the need to preserve the heritage of the club, even more so in this anniversary year. The most expensive project would be the toilets. The Treasurer has outlined to the Committee what cash is available for all strategic plan options and we have been waiting for selected builders to give us an idea of the likely cost for the plans we had drawn up. There’s no point in planning the other upgrades until the larger likely cost is available. The priorities for all options can then be considered. Cash is also needed for ongoing repairs where volunteers aren’t available.
125th ANNIVERSARY YEAR
So that’s really where we are now. We’ll get an idea of these estimated costs over the next few weeks and begin to make decisions. If changing the toilets is an affordable option we’ll inform you the membership and get your opinion. We’ll have a plan and costs to support it. If it’s just too expensive we’ll pull together all the other options within the clubhouse, as mentioned above, and set some priorities. Some work may be done during the bowling season but we would leave any significant work until the close season. And more improvement work will continue in the years to come. One thing that is already “booked” is the long–awaited roof repair above the conservatory to stop the rain coming in on those wet and windy days.
125th Anniversary Celebrations
To celebrate this significant milestone in the club’s history, a Celebration Dinner has been organised for Friday 11th October at YMCA, Laund Hill. We hope that you can join us for what is sure to be a most memorable evening. Tickets, include a three course meal (choice), priced at £25 can be ordered from Lorna Briggs at lornajbriggs@btinternet.com or Velma Henderson at velmahenderson@gmail.com
Bowling Update
The Village Cup The winner, for the third year running, was the Liberal Club with Alan Forrest beating LBC’s George Turton 21-8 in the final on our green. In the semi-final A Forrest beat LBC’s Lewis Turton 21-7 whilst G Turton accounted for LBC’s Nathan Hartley 21-6. In the Subsidiary Competition LBC’s Carl Allen beat LC’s Pete Thornton 15-14 In the Ladies Competition LBC’s Janet Hayden beat LC’s Kath Mc Kenzie 1513.
Janet & Alan receive their prizes from John Allen, competition organiser.
External Competitions Held at LBC.
The £2000 Competition, sponsored by Gardinia Windows, commences Fri 28 June. There follows knock-out rounds every Friday evening with the final taking place on Fri 26 July. The Schools Cup is planned for Thursday 11 July. The £500 Ladies Competition, sponsored by Travel Counsellors, will be held on Sunday 22 September.
These, together with a number of neutral competition matches held on our green do not simply run themselves so please consider volunteering for at least one of these (e.g. making tea, selling raffle tickets or measuring) by getting in touch with the Secretary at lbc1894@outlook.com See Appendix 2 for further details.
Captain’s Report – Glynis Philbin
Back Row: June Taylor, Jane Blackmore, Morag Myers, Margaret Coulson, Judith Hall Front Row: Janet Hayden, Glynis Philbin (Capt.), Lorna Briggs, Diane Dutton
With the green free on a Tuesday evening and more bowlers wishing a game, a team has entered the Huddersfield Ladies Bowling League. We are a mixed team of experienced bowlers and new bowlers, with everybody getting a chance to bowl. At present we have played three matches – comfortably winning the two home games, but losing the away game. Our home games are on a Tuesday evening but any away games can be Monday- Thursday. If your female and are free on these nights and would like to bowl please let me know. See App.4 for Glynis’s experience of variable green conditions this week.
Works League Team
Martin Thornton Estate Agents is the new sponsor for our Works League team this year. The next newsletter will contain a captain’s report whilst Appendix 1 reports on one of our team member’s early season success.
Friday Afternoon Bowling
During May we plan to arrange Friday afternoon bowling sessions, primarily for those members who do not always get selected for league teams due to large squad numbers. These will be “competitive” singles games and it is hoped this will become a regular event in our green calendar. The first session will be on Friday 10th May at 1.30pm. A league system will be in place – with possible handicaps as the season progresses. If you are interested or wish to find out more then please contact Glynis Philbin on 07939043986 / at glynisphilbin1@gmail.com or put your name down on the notice board sheet.
Club Kit
Julie Wootton has volunteered to be the contact point for ordering club kit items. Embroidered polo shirts (breast pocket logo & name on opposite side) cost £16.20, baseball caps (printed logo) cost £6.00 and fleeces (breast pocket logo) are £21.00. All of these are in the club’s blue colour. Please contact Julie for further information and to order on 07989 395066 or at julie@juliewootton.co.uk.
Snooker
Bill Ruddock has volunteered to be the club liaison between members and the Committee for all things snooker. Bill can be contacted on bill.ruddock2@talktalk.net or 01484 426953.
Social Events Calendar
The club held its second musical evening recently with over 60 members enjoying entertainment from folk group “2 in the Bar”. September will see Rob Mason entertaining us again and next March The Landlubbers, who sing sea shanties, are booked.
The next social event is the Derek Gee Mixed Pairs Trophy on Sunday 5th May. It is still not too late to enter, simply place your name on the sheet in the clubhouse or email Velma Henderson at velmahenderson@gmail.com Also see Appendix 3, written by Bill Blackburn, encouraging you to enter.
The full 2019 social calendar can be found on the notice board and on our website: http://www.lindleybowlingclub.co.uk
Membership Numbers
With subs recently due, so far 16 members have decided not to renew their membership for a variety of reasons. It is important that we continue to attract new members so please be on the look-out for those interested in starting the game or existing bowlers wishing to switch clubs. Membership currently stands at c 170, of which c 60% are registered bowlers.
100 CLUB
The inaugural draw was made by our President, Lorna Briggs, on 17 April. The winning number was 49, held by Alan Dutton. All winner’s names are posted on the club notice board. Thanks to members who have bought numbers in support of our club and good luck for the rest of the year.
Club History
A copy of our club history, up to 2011, can be found on the club notice board. An electronic copy covering the period 2011 – 2018 has now been produced and will be emailed to members in May. Can members who were around over that period please fill in any gaps with facts and stories, by contacting the Secretary.
Happy Birthday Ken
Congratulations to Ken Moorhouse on reaching his 90th birthday in April.
Ken was our esteemed President from 2005 – 2007 and here he is with friends who have stopped their game of dominoes for a slice of Ken’s birthday cake.
Owt for Nowt
There is a large pile of stone-effect bricks in the alcove by the cellar door. These will shortly be disposed of as the club has no further use for them. If any member wishes to take them, please form an orderly queue and get in contact with the Secretary in the first instance.
We hope that you have found this newsletter interesting and informative. If you would like to contribute to future publications, please forward your suggestions to lbc1894@outlook.com
Appendix 1 HUDDERSFIELD EXAMINER ARTICLE – APRIL 18, 2019.
Graham Sigsworth, who recently joined the club has won the Works League Singles Handicap Final. Graham will be playing for our Works and Elland league teams this year. Well done Graham.
Appendix 2 – Competitions requiring Volunteer Assistance
Appendix 3 – The Derek Gee (Mixed Pairs) Trophy.
I am writing this as an ordinary member of Lindley Bowling Club. Recently our committee, in their wisdom, decided to have the pillar in the centre of the club removed at some substantial expense. The reason given was to allow more space in the club for social events, which had been more or less limited to 60 members. For those of you who attended our very successful ‘Almost Yorkshire Day’ last year, will remember we had to have two sittings. Also, on the Horse Racing Night several members had to sit down the side of the club with the pillar obstructing the view of the race. Velma and our social committee work very hard trying to bring new attractions to the club, like recent folk evenings. The proposed Easter event had to be cancelled due to lack of interest, very upsetting for those who had bought tickets, and the organisers. The club has about 100 bowling members yet the proposed mixed pairs event for the Derek Gee Trophy is attracting very little interest. A list has been displayed in the club for a week or two, but it lacks names. This is a competition to suit all bowlers whatever their ability. No two ‘top’ bowlers will be paired together. A relative novice, whatever sex, will be paired with a more competent player. Food is available all day at very competitive prices and the bar is open to quench the thirst of all, remember we do serve non-alcoholic drinks for those who don’t like beer. Please try to support Velma and her hard-working band for trying to bring some life into this sleeping 125-year-old giant.
William Blackburn
Appendix 4
A week in Greens We start with Saturday – strange day to start but hey no rules here…. Saturday the green, part of a sports centre, looked just like those we played on last summer. Apparently the greenkeeper likes to keep it short, in this case very short and the gutters had plenty of use and “send that jack back…..the one in the gutter” was heard many times. On to Monday and our home green which had just been cut with nice diagonal stripes and looked lovely….however mother nature felt that spattering of cherry blossom would add to its desirability. This addition was only a minor irritant. Monday night and an away green, (ha ha) the word green was perhaps and bit of a misnomer. More like a dusty, pebbly, sandy beach with bits of green. No one could predict where the bowls would go but in this case the shouts were “get your arm back” and were no exaggeration. We were also told that the club wouldn’t spend any money on it. Tuesday back to the home green which had more blossom on which led to one of the away team asking if “we had had a wedding….”but the bowls ran and the scene was very pretty. Wednesday and we went to a green which in this case was looking rather white…. We were told that one of the fellows had put green feed on expecting the rain to water it in. Well no rain meant that you and your bowls were covered in the stuff, and when I mean covered it was more like caked in it. Disgusting was a word heard frequently. Friday brought a visit to one of the previously top greens in Huddersfield which was lumpy and patchy – sadly due to a lack of greenkeeper. Not a pretty sight. This brings me to the point here – I really want to thank the people who have spent time on our green both in the winter and in spring. It may just be grass to many but this week has shown that the grass needs nurturing and though the green is not perfect YET it is certainly getting there…
Glynis Philbin