Our first match of the season takes place at Hampton on Sunday 7th. After the cancellation of a friendly last weekend and with limited green time we open our campaign in the South Middlesex League (SML) on Coronation weekend, so all round not an ideal start. It’ll be a hard ask to replicate last season’s opening victory against a team that finished 3rd in the league but you never know .. we are a few players short so please contact our captain Di if you can play.

April may have passed us by but we can finally look forward to playing bowls in May .. the green is officially open!

Some matting still needs attaching to the edge backs and some edges need straightening but the green itself received another cut today and sign-off by the greenkeeping team. We are hopeful that patience has paid off and the green plays well.

Just a reminder that Tuesday’s Club Night on the 2nd May is the first organised event on the green and the online booking system may be used to reserve rinks throughout the season. For the time being we will be playing in the direction from the car park.

We hope everyone enjoys a great season of bowls!

After best endeavours by all parties, this weekend’s opening team match with Ember is cancelled. Neither club could safely commit to playing on their greens.

We still intend to reopen our green at the earliest opportunity and certainly for Club Night on Tuesday 2nd May.

It’s a disappointing start to the season but hopefully it’s all for the better .. as some of you may know it’s been decided to close the green for the time being! The green is too heavy and needs time to dry out. As a precaution the first team match on Sunday 30th (a friendly vs Ember) has been switched to an away match.

It’s been decided to commence Club Night on Tues 2nd May at 6pm. A wet March and much of April thus far has done the green no favours! The green will officially be opened later today but it’s still damp in parts. The grass has been cut down to 8mm and if the weather plays ball it’ll be down to 6mm soon.

On Tuesdays please sign in at 5:45pm and be ready to bowl at 6. If you’re running late and know you’ll be there you can let me know and I’ll advise the co-ordinator.

Unfortunately the green opening and first Club Night are postponed for a week. Just one step onto the green this morning confirmed its closure until next week due to it being so soft and wet.

The green opening is therefore rescheduled for Sat 22nd and the first Club Night for Tues 25th.

After two days cleanup the green and grounds are almost ready for opening on Saturday. Unfortunately the weather looks a bit wet over the coming week so we’ll defer to head green keeper Dennis as to whether it’s okay and safe to open and then play the first Club Night on the following Tuesday.
Dennis and the green keepers team have quite rightly been concentrating on the green itself and despite the wettest March in decades have got the green looking pretty good.

The rooms have been tidied and cleaned over the last couple of days with the team sheets posted on the boards. Remember to sign up or contact club captain Di via txt/WhatsApp/telephone. There’s also an online sign-up sheet on the website. Sign-up

The flower bed has been attended to and some of the hedges have been trimmed and weeds cleared but there’s still more to be done so if you have a spare a hour or two please head on down anytime.
The ditches have been cleaned out, edges cut and matting put in place. One of the biggest remaining jobs is to attach the matting to the back wall of the edges. David and Brian have tested a method and plan to see how it goes.

The aim is to get the green and grounds all sorted in readiness for our first home match on 30th April. The Fixtures Booklets details all the matches/events but please refer to the online calendar for updates. Calendar

The season is nearly here so please come and sign-up on Tuesday 4th April from 7:30pm. Entries for the club competitions will open then too.

Activities to support the start of the season are gathering pace and there’s a request for members to help prepare the grounds over the weekend of 8-9th April. Any spare time you may have is appreciated. The actual opening day is planned for Saturday 15th April and the first Club Night on Tuesday 18th. Both are subject to change according to the weather etc.. so watch this space. All the dates are available in the Calendar and printed in the Fixtures cards, which will be distributed on Tuesday evening.

Looking further ahead, the Open days for prospective new members are planned for Saturday  20th May and Bank Holiday Monday 29th May.

The last of the winter socials went well with most folk getting to grips with Slippery Ann.

The next big event is Joining Night on Tues 4th April 7:30pm. Full details and all the forms including competition entries will be available and posted here soon. Work on the green has been put on hold during the wet and cold spell but will ramp up again soon. Also please look out for a request for help to get the grounds looking good for the season ahead.

Just a final reminder that the car park resurfacing will proceed on Monday 13th from 7:30am. Also here’s what happening at the main club over the next week and beyond.

Sat 11 Mar: Bournemouth v Liverpool PL 12:30pm BT
Italy v Wales 2:15pm ITV
England v France 4:45pm ITV
Crystal Palace v Man City PL 5:30pm Sky

Sun 12 Mar: Fulham v Arsenal PL 2pm Sky
Scotland v Ireland 3pm BBC
Newcastle v Wolves PL 4:30pm Sky

Mon 13 Mar: CLOSED

Tue 14 Mar: CLOSED

Wed 15 Mar: Real Madrid v Liverpool CL 8pm BT

Thu 16 Mar: Arsenal v Sporting CP EL 8pm BT
West Ham v AEK Larnaca EL 8pm BT

Fri 17 Mar: Nottm Forest v Newcastle PL 8pm Sky
Surplus Café open from 6:15pm

Sat 18 Mar: Scotland v Italy 12:30pm BBC
France v Wales 2:45pm ITV
Ireland v England 5pm ITV
Chelsea v Everton PL 5:30pm Sky (if demand)

Sun 19 Mar: Sheff Utd v Blackburn FAC 12pm ITV
London Irish v Exeter 2pm BT
Man Utd v Fulham FAC 4:30pm ITV

Sat 15 April LIVE MUSIC in the Bar with ARCTIC ROLL 7:30pm
(featuring our very own David Price!) Donations on the night

Sat 29 April: LIVE MUSIC with THE NAKED PENGUINS 8:30pm
Members can now purchase tickets for £6 each using this link:

https://www.sunburycricket.co.uk/payments/club-live-music-night-29-april-88119.html.