Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you

There was a sense of ending when the Avonmore contractors finally completed their work on the club’s new irrigation scheme.

Avonmore supremo Phil Butler and site foreman Jon — who has spent more time at the club recently than most of our members — are pictured with one of their sprinklers after they performed a “handover” ceremony to chairman Joe King.

Joe — who like Andy Evason has spent a lot of time and effort on the project — professed himself well pleased with the job.

Now it only remains for the borehole to be connected to the ‘tank farm’. Then he can operate the system through an app from the comfort of his favourite armchair.

Through another app Joe and his fellow committee members can monitor a huge array of weather data, including temperature, wind speed, wind chill factor, UV index, light intensity, daily rainfall, air temperature and much more.

However, the world moves on and our pictures show the weather station console in the clubhouse and the sensor which feeds it all the data.

Future projects include the planting of hedging to screen the tanks and the instalment of a heavy-duty ‘awning’ to protect the clubhouse from spray from the sprinklers.

Further down the line will come levelling work on the clubhouse boundary, when funds permit.

Before that there will be a work party to get the grounds shipshape for the new season. Please watch your emails for appeals for volunteers.

Charity begins at home

It may still feel like midwinter but it’s time to start planning your start to the new season.

The first date on our TeamUp calendar is April 4th, when the AC Hi-Lo Doubles will be staged and on Sunday, April 12th, it’s the turn of the GC Hi-Lo Doubles.

In between those two events is our big ‘social’, the Roger Cambray Charity One-ball on Easter Monday, April 6th.

As usual club chairman Joe King will be serving a lunchtime roast and after that feast there will be all sorts of fun and games for those not involved in the final rounds of the Cambray.

Entries are now open to all three of those events at https://blewburycroquetclub.org.uk/competitions/

In the following week the league season gets underway, so it’s time to let the team captains know if you want to get involved in the competitive stuff.

For AC players the men to contact are Peter Allan (A level), David Long (Handicap), Andy Evason (B level), Andrew Petit (Short) and Steve Fisher (C level teams), while for GC Peter Allan (Open League), Brian Jamieson (3+), Andy Evason and David Dibben (Advantage) plus Carol Jamieson (Doubles League) are doing the admin.

Don’t forget that those who sign up as premium members will get the first shout at the team places.

Of course, you will have to renew your club membership first. Look out for the imminent heads-up.

Your chance to join the croquet greats

With courts closed for one reason or another, this is the time to plan your competitive programme for the year.

The Croquet England calendar for 2026 went live on Sunday, with the usual long list of tournaments in all codes and at all ability levels.

Blewbury are staging no fewer than 11 of these events this summer and places are quickly being snapped up.. The One-Day Short Croquet tournament already looks popular, as does the Smokey’s Cup in July.

Neighbouring clubs such as Phyllis Court and High Wycombe also have plenty of tournaments on and another popular AC event is the Wessex Shield, played at Littleton and Winchester on May 8th and 9th (details from ian.b.harrison@btinternet.com). If you’re new to the sport then travelling to different courts and taking on unfamiliar players is always an invaluable way of improving your game.

And if you enter any of the level-play competitions for the first time you will get a world ranking. You will be a bit further down the rankings than the likes of Reg Bamford and Matthew Essick, but your name will be on the same list.

Just what we wanted… a lawn wizard!

Blewbury swooped in the January transfer window to make another good signing from Caversham.

So it’s a very warm welcome to Tim Leverton, a 10-handicap GC player who will prove popular for more than one reason.

Tim, who lives in Tilehurst, makes a living from his lawn maintenance business, so the club will no doubt find him plenty to do on, er…..lawn maintenance!

He said: “I played a couple of Advantage League matches at Blewbury last year and I was very impressed with the lawns. I’m willing to help with anything that I’m capable of doing.

“I’ve joined as a premium member to play matches and tournaments to reduce my handicap. I might consider AC later. In the meantime, thank you to the Blewbury people I have met who have made me so welcome.”

Keep off the grass… well, some of it!

Members are asked to prioritise Court 1 over Court 2 for the next few weeks. Court 2 is starting to show the effects of a heavy footfall so players should use Court 1 whenever they have the choice.

Please help us to clean up our act

Now the main works outside are just about completed it is time to get the clubhouse ready for the new season. A spring clean of the clubhouse is planned for Wednesday, March 4th. Please contact Jackie Bryant on croquetj6@gmail.com to let her know  if you are available to help with this.

It’s party time!

Tickets are now on sale for the big Blewbury Croquet Club event of the year… the Winter Social.

Book your tickets now for the party at the Red Lion on Wednesday, February 25th with an email to club secretary David Long (david.long@btinternet.com).

And reserve your place with a bank transfer to the club’s account, using the reference ‘2026 Social’. The account number is 04040874 and the sort code is 30-91-31.

Tickets cost £20 per person and that gets you a tasty supper of rolled shoulder of pork, coleslaw, salad, chips and a bap. Please advise on booking if you want a vegetarian option or other dietary requirement. The pub will be operating a pay bar — card payments only.

Official arrival time is from 7pm, but the pub will be open earlier. Food will be served between 7.15 & 7:30pm. A Pub Quiz will follow at around 8pm, with prizes awarded.

It’s possible to reserve a table (of up to six) for a group of friends but there should be plenty of scope to ‘match-make’ tables on the night.

David will as ever be setting the Quiz. He said: “It will be shorter this year, with more time for socialising.”

Blewbury’s hi-tech leap forward

The best croquet courts in the south will get a huge boost this week with the installation of our own remotely-controlled irrigation system.

Our ‘groundsmen’ will in future be able to use an app to start, stop and modify the Blewbury lawns from the comfort of their own homes.

And club members will be able to enjoy free access to the club’s own Wi-Fi.

Blewbury chairman Joe King has acquired the equipment needed for the Wi-Fi server and to connect the new irrigation system and digital weather station.

Joe said: “I’m expecting that when there has been no rain we can activate the irrigation to maintain good turf health and that when the lawns are at an optimum moisture level we can pause the irrigation accordingly.

“I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to advance things. Members will be able to use the club Wi-Fi, although we may encourage folks not to do so unless they really need to or we’ll burn through the 120GB on our SIM card!”

• Our pictures show where the new irrigation pipework has been laid near Court 2 and the three big tanks which will be storing our water from the borehole.

King becoming croquet royalty

Congratulations to our chairman Joe King on his being asked to step up to sit on Croquet England’s Tournament Committee.

The appointment is seen as something of an honour for Blewbury to be represented on a body which oversees the main CqE events every year.

And it will give him the opportunity to put his own influence on the sport, particularly the promotion of the Short Croquet code.

Joe said: “I believe I can take this on without compromising other commitments. I’m pleased to be able to put something back into the game on a broad scale.”

Always look on the bright side…

Members who have been kept off the lawns by the recent sub-zero temperatures need not despair… there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.

Both captain of croquet Andrew Petit and myself have started to load up fixtures on to the TeamUp calendar to ensure that there will be plenty to keep you occupied from the spring onwards.

You’re guaranteed a packed programme of competitive action in all the codes. Those who prefer friendlier games will get a shout-out from Philippa Turner or Rosemary Balsdon.

And for those who stick to social croquet… well, I hope the weather improves for you soon!

Meet the new girl

Please give a warm welcome to new Blewbury member Lainey Summers.

Lainey, a GC player who signed up just before Christmas, is also a member at Phyllis Court.

She joins us as a standard member but expects to switch to becoming a premium member next year.

Word is that she’s a far better player than her double-figure handicap would have you believe.

A retired business owner, Lainey lives in Beedon, near Newbury. Welcome aboard the happy ship, Lainey!