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

Calling in the professionals

Please give a very warm welcome to Blewbury’s new captain of croquet, Andrew Petit.

Also stepping up to the committee this week was Jackie Bryant, who has taken over the clubhouse cleaning organisation as well as merchandising responsibilities. I can guarantee you’ll be hearing from her on both these matters!

Now, with a former general practitioner and a former vicar on the committee, you can be assured that the club has you covered on medical as well as pastoral issues.

The other major appointment at this week’s committee meeting was my taking over as newsletter and communications officer from the late Minty Clinch as notified in The footsteps of giants.

As mentioned in that piece, the committee are keen for all members to contribute by posting their own reports and pictures. That would save me some work, and I promise that this will be the last time I will write about Dave Dibben in the third person. 

And for those who haven’t read it yet, here’s a link to the excellent eulogy at Minty’s funeral service

Another important role was filled this week when Philippa Turner kindly offered to take the lead on catering duties at Blewbury events. She will be keen to recruit volunteers for her rota, so please give that some consideration.

2026 and all that

Members who have been kept off the courts recently by sub-zero temperatures and biblical deluges can take comfort from the fact that planning for 2026 is well underway. The playing season is scheduled to kick off some time in March with the Hi-Lo Doubles, which have been deferred from the autumn.

We intend to field a team in the SCF Doubles League next season — two doubles pairs in a side — so there’s your chance to hone your skills alongside a partner.

Next up will be the Roger Cambray Memorial Shield on Easter Monday, April 6th. That’s our heat of the national charity one-ball competition.

Following that — on April 18th — will be the first of the CqE-listed events, a GC Open one-day tournament.

Before all that there will be another winter social at the Red Lion, including our ever-popular quiz. Watch this space for confirmation of the date, almost certainly in January.

Did you find boring boring?

And if you do get on the lawn….NO JUMPING! As,ever, a heads-up will be issued in the spring as soon as it is considered that jump shots won’t harm our precious turf.