Setting up the Green
Hi All,
Difficult to tell I know - but Spring is on the way!! We will be setting the Green up for 2019 on Saturday 6th April at 10.00am.
As many of you will know, this entails:-
- Putting the benches and chairs out after wiping these down and cleaning the chairs were necessary
- Brushing out the ditches and removing all the winter debris.
- Brushing clean the ditch liners and then replacing these in the ditches.
- Trimming the edges of the grass back to the flagstones around the green.
- General tidy up of the area around the green and removal of weeds and grass from the paths.(to make light work of these two tasks, it would be good if were possible, people bring their own edging knives/cutters and likely hand tools for patio weeding and scraping - this will supplement the club's meagre stock)
- Dusting, cleaning and vacuuming the changing rooms after we remove all the kit that has been stored over Winter.
If we have plenty of volunteers, (and of course this is a mixed event) this can all be done in very little time at all, so we need as many members to turn out to help please and make light work of the tasks at hand.
I will make sure we have refreshments, together with cake and biscuits to keep everyone well-nourished on the morning.
Chris Shannon
Greenkeeper & Hon. Secretary
Thame Bowls Club.
Pre Season Forum 13th March
The Pre-Season Forum was held at the clubhouse on 14th March starting at 7pm and was very well attended by so many.
The following people gave brief presentations on the following subjects:
Bill Giles -Welcome and introductions
Graham Watson - Overview of the evening and sponsorship
Chris Shannon - The Green, Membership List, League Applications
Mike Ralls - New member recruitment and development and Tuesday roll-ups
Ian Rutherford and Phil Reed - Website
Ian Rutherford - Re-build update
Graham Watson - Fixture booklet
Graham Watson - Competitions
John Walker - Weekend games
Jill Brooks - Ladies fixtures
Terry Emberson - Midweek fixtures
Ron Duncan - League games
Maire Duncan - Gloucester Trip 10th June
John Walker - Bar and staffing
Bill Giles - Friday League
Graham Watson - Pre-season event
Bill Giles - Volunteering and close
During the evening our Treasurer Ian Rutherford collected around 60 Membership Renewal Forms and money. This clearly reflects how full the clubhouse was for the event, especially when taking into account some people attending had already renewed their membership in advance.
New Bowler Recruitment
Please see the flyer below which is part of the 2019 recruitment drive. If you need any copies please contact a member of the development group.
Bar Rota March 2019
| Fri 1st | Russell Canfield | Wed 20th | Dave Holland | |
| Wed 6th | Ian Rutherford | Fri 22nd | Russell Canfield | |
| Fri 8th | Dave Holland | Sat 23rd | Terry Emberson & John Walker | |
| Tues 12th |
John Walker |
Wed 27th | Janet Shannon | |
| Wed 13th | Alfred Jochum & Russell Canfield | Fri 29th | Bill Giles | |
| Fri 15th | John Walker |
Green Update - Tuesday 19th February
A message here from Chris Shannon, our Greenkeeper & Hon. Secretary.
Avonmore visited this morning and carried out a full programme of treatment. They cut and slit the green to aerate the roots and sprayed with tonics and herbicides then added lawn sand to kill off the moss that was starting to infiltrate the bare patches. There is some scarring from the fusarium problems we had before the cold spell hit us, but there is already some good new growth coming through on these bare patches.
We need to keep off the green entirely until after the weekend, then re-commence brushing from Monday onwards. It will be extremely beneficial to keep as much dew off the grass as the weather warms up again. The more we do that the better chance we have of keeping any further disease at bay. We will start cutting to 7mm from now on and we should see some increased growth if or as the weather warms up.
It is great to think this club has such a fantastic 'green team' whose work largely goes unseen when nobody else is about and who oversee the condition of our playing surface all year round. All club members appreciate their hard work.
Pre Season Dinner 23rd March
This year's Pre Season Dinner will be held in the Clubhouse on 23rd March at 6:30pm for 7:00pm.
Hopefully you will have had an email with menu and booking information from Ian Rutherford, but if not details of the menu choices and how to book are on Forms in the Clubhouse. If you are unable to get into the Clubhouse then please contact Ian by email or on 07860 318827.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to come.
Pre Season Forum 13th March
This year's Pre Season Forum will be held on 13th March at the Clubhouse at 7:00pm.
As usual on this evening you will hear from various Committee Members what is planned for 2019.
Please come along, have a drink and learn what is on the agenda for the season to come.
Quiz Night 2nd Feb 2019
Our very first Quiz Night held on 2nd February was a highly successful event with 74 quizzers taking part.
Our thanks to everyone who came and made it such a great night out, but especially to Graham Watson for putting the questions together and for conducting the evening so well, to John Walker for providing snacks for the tables, Jane for the hot pizzas and Alfred for making sure the bar ticked over all evening.
Some photos from the evening are now in the Gallery.
Christmas Bingo 22nd December
John and Ruth Timms' Bingo Night just before Christmas was a spectactular success with around 60 people coming along to enjoy themselves.
One or two players seemed to have unbelieveable luck (or was it skill) to have multiple wins and many of us walked away with prizes as the evening went on.
We also had the Sports Club 200 Club Christmas draw with the year's major cash prizes to be won and Messrs Canfield and Reed took away the cheques - congratulations to them.
Special thanks go to John and Ruth for running the event.
Lightfoots Sleep Out Event 30th November
Table Tennis
Hi Everybody,
Just a note to say that we have resumed the Friday Table Tennis sessions from 2pm to 4pm. It's an opportunity to have a natter with your fellow Club members, have a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit - oh and we play some Table Tennis of a mixed and dubious standard - everyone is welcome! Not only do we provide the Table, but plenty of bats and balls as well - so come along and get some closed season exercise with a bit of fun included.
Chris Shannon
Secretary
Thame Bowls Club.
A Year in the Life of Thame Bowls Club
Check this out in the Members Only Area. It is a fascinating insight behind the scenes.
Photo Gallery latest and 2018 AGM Agenda & Propositions for Consideration and Vote
Dear Bowls Club Members, to see all the photos uploaded over the last couple of months, please log in with your User Name and Password and click on the Gallery link in the Club Member Menu that will then appear on the left. There are photos of the recent Sponsors Evening, Finals Weekend, Blind Bowlers Competition Day, Town Council match and our Club's Presentation Evening.
Please also note that the AGM Agenda and detail of the Propositions for Consideration and Vote at the AGM have now been transferred to the Members Only area.
Club Finals Weekend 8th & 9th Sept - schedule of play and winners
This weekend is Club Finals Weekend - the schedule of play (and winners) was as follows:
The Paul Heafey Memorial Cup Final
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| C | 7 | 6 | 2 | 15 |
| D | 1 | 7 | 6 | 14 |
| B | 4 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| A | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
Summary of our performance in the Oxfordshire Men's Bowls League 2018
Our Oxfordshire Men's Bowls League performance resulted in a satisfying 3rd place in what turned out to be a tight finale, because right up to the last game we could have ended up 2nd from bottom and potentially relegated if we hadn't have got the 2 points we needed for safety. As it was we won 4-2 against Blackbird Leys to cement that 3rd place.
Captain Les Canfield passes on his thanks to everyone who played for us during the season and to those who supported the team, especially Jane and her team for excellent catering, those who worked the bar and of course Chris, Jesse and the greenkeepers for providing a super surface for us to play on.
Our results this season were:
| Team Played | Win/Lost | Home/Away | Score (Thame score first) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford City & County B | win | away | 4 - 2 |
| Adderbury | lost | home | 2 - 4 |
| Headington B | win | away | 4 - 2 |
| Banbury Central B | lost | home | 2 - 4 |
| Blackbird Leys | lost | away | 2 - 4 |
| Oxford City & County B | win | home | 6 - 0 |
| Adderbury | lost | away | 0 - 6 |
| Headington B | win | home | 4 - 2 |
| Banbury Central B | lost | away | 2 - 4 |
| Blackbird Leys | win | home | 4 - 2 |
Final League position:
| Team | Played | Points | For / Against Shots Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adderbury | 10 | 52 | 362 |
| Headington B | 10 | 34 | 118 |
| Thame | 10 | 30 | 9.5 |
| Banbury Central B | 10 | 27.5 | -101 |
| Blackbird Leys | 10 | 23.5 | -154.75 |
| Oxford City & County B | 10 | 13 | -219.75 |