Capel St Mary Community Association

LATEST NEWS

March 2010

Once again the eagerly awaited new season is nearly upon us, and we are looking forward to building on last season’s solid foundations. The season sees a major change for us. At our AGM last year it was decided to dispense with having ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams and to name the squads instead. Various ideas were discussed by the Management Committee, and it was unanimously agreed to use the following for this season –

‘A’ Team now known as ‘Capel Kites’

‘B’ Team now known as ‘Capel Kestrels’

Let’s hope we ‘fly high’ this year! The Bowls Green appears in good shape thanks to Neville Rumsey and his team of helpers (including the ‘Dewdrop Crew’) who have worked hard throughout the winter to ensure that our green will be in tip top condition. It has been an especially challenging winter for Neville this year and the Committee expressed appreciation for all that he and his helpers have done.

Our social committee has already been busy and our social calendar got underway on 30 th January, holding ‘Smiffy’s Nosh Night’ at the Pavilion. Some 26 members and guests enjoyed food and good company, and a quiz added to the evening’s enjoyment. Thanks to Tony and Linda Smith and Graham Brewster for all their hard work. Also planned are our Quiz Night (27 th February) and our annual indoor friendly at Stowmarket (7 th March). Thanks to John Band and the social committee for all the hard work that goes on in the background to organise these events.

Our first league game is on Monday 3 rd May and fixtures for this season will be circulated soon. As always fixtures are also available on the Capel St. Mary web site (http://www.capelstmary.org.uk/clubs/capelbowls). Please ensure that you enter your availability in the books provided as soon as possible, especially for early games, and please do your best to support our club events.

Sunday 18 th April is Green clean-up day; please come along in the morning and give a hand (weather permitting). The Green is open for practice from after this date; Friday evenings will continue as Club evenings for informal practice, except where there are cup matches.

December 2009

Monday 26 th October, saw us hold our AGM, once again generously hosted by Tony & Liz Gulliver and well attended. Our President, Malcolm Blazey, had completed his three years in office and was now standing down. All present thanked him warmly for his contributions in that time. Elaine Wright was proposed as our President for the coming season and this was unanimously agreed. Chairman Graham Brewster then reported on a busy season and thanked many people for their hard work. Our Pavilion had been refurbished to a high standard and many other improvements made. Special mention was made of the ‘Dewdrop Crew’ who sweep the green of dew and moisture regularly throughout the year and two new members of this team – Gerald White and David Evans – were recruited. Also, Jim Ross had agreed to provide technical support to out green keeper Neville Rumsey. The meeting proposed a vote of thanks to Graham for his hard work and commitment, and also for his role in driving forward the hut refurbishment. Treasurer Lew Dyer highlighted key points in our annual statement of accounts. There had been some reduction in income from match fees and social events, and we had spent a considerable sum on the refurbishment project, but overall our finances remained sound. However it was agreed to increase our annual Subscriptions this year, the first such increase since 2003, but match fees would remain unaltered.

As Club Captain, George Wiseman then summarised the highs and lows of our season for both ‘A’ and ‘B’ team squads. The season’s highlight was our ‘B’ team performance in the Ipswich & District League captained by Malcolm Blazey, who narrowly missed finishing top in Division G, losing out by shot difference to Bourne Vale. Also Fran Wiseman’s ‘A’ team in the Ipswich & District Triples League, having gained promotion to Division A last year, had a very good season, finishing third just two points behind California at this high level. Sadly two of our ‘B’ Team squads were relegated this year and other teams consolidated their positions. We made some progress in Area Cup competitions without reaching the final stages. We also had excellent club competitions and social matches. Overall this was an encouraging season for us.

All existing club officers were reappointed except for George Wiseman who wanted to stand down as Club Competitions Secretary. Elaine Wright kindly agreed to take on this role once again. Committee members were re-elected and the following Team captains were appointed –

Samford League ‘A’ Team – Stan Banham

Samford League ‘B’ Team – Martin Woodwood

Ipswich & District ‘A’ Team – Mick Howe

Ipswich & District ‘B’ Team – Malcolm Blazey

Ipswich & District Triples ‘A’ Team – Fran Wiseman

Ipswich & District Triples ‘B’ Team – Gerald White

There was lively discussion on a number of issues and it was agreed that next year we would dispense with the ‘A’ and ‘B’ team culture and use names instead. So, that’s it until next season.

November 2009

Once again the season is now well behind us, and we take time to review what has been achieved this year, and to look forward to next year. Our Presentation Evening was held our on 10 th October at the Harvest Moon Café who provided yet another excellent meal before the formal presentation of trophies (see photos). Over forty members and guests attended this very successful event. Many thanks to John Band and his Social Committee, and the management and staff at the Café for all their hard work. Our President, Malcolm Blazey and Club Captain George Wiseman both gave short speeches (thankfully!) in which thanks were expressed to those members who had helped in various ways to make this yet another successful season. The following trophies were awarded –

Club Competitions

Ladies Two Woods Singles - Jean Hines; runner-up Elaine Wright

Men’s Two Wood Singles - Mick Howe; runner-up John Wright

Open 4 Wood Singles - Mick Howe; runner-up John Wright

Two Woods Drawn Pairs - John Lucas and Carole Howe; runners-up John Wright and George Wiseman

Bill Cook Trophy - John Lucas; runner-up David Kent

Social Matches

Marie Mainprice Trophy - Carole Howe

Bailey Trophy - George Mayhew

Burman Bowl - Jean Hines, Val Vertigans and John Wright.

MallWood Insurance Trophy - Carole Howe, Malcolm Blazey and David Evans

Ferrari Trophy - Elaine Wright, John Lucas and Gordon Lankester

Colin Grunbaum Cup - Frank Calvert and Elaine Wright (presented on the night by Beryl Grunbaum)

Club Captain George Wiseman made three personal presentations. The ‘A’ Team Captain of the Year was Fran Wiseman for the excellent performances of the Triples Squad. The ‘B’ Team Captain of the Year was Malcolm Blazey for finishing runners- up in the Ipswich & District League and gaining promotion. Jean Hines was named as most improved player of the year, and was forewarned to expect ‘A’ team call up next season! Finally Malcolm Blazey awarded the Presidents Cup to Mick Heather for the enormous amount of time and hard work that he had contributed to out Pavilion refurbishment.