Oh, Carol! ‘You hurt me and you make me cry’

Blewbury stalwart Carol Jamieson is still spitting feathers over the great Croquet England GC handicap U-turn.

The former club merchandising guru has been the victim of some astonishing CqE indecision.

Carol suffered after CqE manager James Death sent out an edict that “if a player’s dynamic grade is more than one lower than their card shows, their handicap should be reduced accordingly.”

But just a week later CqE chief executive Andy Dalby-Walsh put out an ‘urgent’ message to club handicappers: “Please stop this process now.”

All of which left Carol properly stitched up!

She said: “I was told that I was in the C Level tournament at Budleigh in April but then an hour later I was told that my handicap was reduced by this new rule from seven to five.

“Therefore I was no longer eligible to play in C Levels and had to withdraw from all C levels I had entered for the season. Blewbury handicapper Steve Fisher was informed and had to change my card.

“The next day James Death phoned to say he was not refunding my entry fees as the new rule was being reconsidered.

“With my new handicap of five I entered the B level at Budleigh but at the allocation I did not get a place as my D grade was not good enough!

“Having thought that this was all sorted and that I knew what I was doing for the season, the chief exec of CqE emailed me to say that this new rule was to be stopped and that my handicap would not be changed.

“Back to square one, except that I have missed out on the Budleigh C Level. I have received my fees back for the C Levels I had entered but then had to start again and enter afresh.”

Factor in the aggravation of the concomitant uncertainty over accommodation reservations near the venue in Devon and Carol’s grief ramped up even more.

She said: “It was quite a saga and meant a number of sleepless nights trying to work out each scenario. All told I was not a happy bunny.”

Fortunately Carol was the only Blewbury member involved in the about-face. She thinks she knows who was at fault and said: “I’ll have a word with him when I see him.”

Anyone still confused should read the latest CqE “urgent guidance”

The day we cleaned up our act

Massive kudos to the members who took part in the big pre-season spring cleaning bonanza!

Here’s what the clubhouse floor looks like when it has been scrubbed and polished. Sadly, it doesn’t stay like that for very long when the courts are damp but Jackie Bryant’s army of volunteers put in a great shift.

The chairs and windows got the same treatment and we even had the CqE coaching supremo cleaning the loo. Top job, Ruth!

Our workers also left the club sign gleaming (above) to impress passing motorists on the A417.

Don’t forget that you can sign up to help out around the club.

At last, Spring is sprung

Praise the Lord! The weather’s improving and the start of the competitive croquet season at Blewbury is barely a fortnight away.

We’ve a busy first week planned with tournaments and matches in three codes, kicking off on Saturday, April 4th, with the AC Hi-Lo Doubles.

Next up, on Easter Monday, is the Roger Cambray Charity One-Ball, with Deirdre Cochrane defending her title at the annual barbecue.

At the last look both these competitions had room for about four more players; check them out and sign up.

The Advantage League season opens on Wednesday, April 8th, with Blewbury D taking on Caversham. Club GC champ Simon Bryant leads a side of three 7-handicappers… Carol Jamieson, Jackie Bryant and Bruce Gibson.

The action switches to the AC code on Saturday, April 11th, when last season’s Prebendal Manor Cup is finally wrapped up. Two of Blewbury’s best AC players, Joe King and Peter Allan, will battle to earn the right to face Andy Evason in the afternoon final.

Andy will be clutching a fistful of bisques… seven if he plays Peter and 8.5 if it’s Joe.

On the following day it is the turn of the GC players to contest the Hi-Lo Doubles. Again, there are a few places left.

Don’t forget…if you’re not playing then a bit of support is always appreciated. Also, any photos taken at these events would be a welcome contribution to the April newsletter.

An old friend remembered

Tributes have been paid to former Blewbury member Rodney Calver, who passed away in January aged 85.

Rodney (left) was an Oxfordshire boy who move to the United States 40 years ago but kept a cottage in Uffington and came over to the UK every year and played at our club.

Our member Sandy Millikin said: “When Carol Wadsworth, Minty Clinch and I became members we told Rodney about it and he became a member, but he only played when he was here in the summer. I guess that was from 2019.

“For a while he was quite keen but then his health deteriorated and he did not play for the past couple of years. I am sure some members will remember him. He was mainly an AC player.”

Rodney had been honoured as club president of the year by the USA croquet association for his work at his local club in Maryland.

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.