Month: March 2024

LV LEAGUE – HANDICAP SINGLES

Entries are now being taken for the LV League Handicap Singles competition, which is open to our members who play in the Southport LV League.

The qualifying rounds will take place on Tuesday 16^th April, at various venues, with a 6.30 pm start. The final rounds will be held at Crossens Bowling Club on Sunday 21^st April, starting at 1.00 pm.

As the Hesketh Arms Bowling Club holds the Presidency of the LV League for 2024, it would be fitting to have good representation in the League’s competitions this season. Last year, this competition was won by Darren Edgerley.

To enter, please notify Mike Milne or Chris Harding. There is an entry fee of £3.00 and the deadline for entries is Monday 1^st April.

LANCASHIRE MERIT QUALIFIER

The Club is pleased to have been asked to host a qualifying round for the Lancashire County Merit. This will take place on Saturday 4^th May and we will be asking for volunteer helpers a little nearer the time. Although our members cannot enter on their own green, there are plenty of venues staging qualifying sessions. Please see below for full details :-

Qualifying rounds will be held at the following clubs. Practice will be held at 10am and matches start at 10.30am. Entry Fee is £10. Entries to be sent to Graham Royles by 2nd April 2024. Entry fees to be paid 7 days before the date. 1 in 4 to qualify.

13 April – Golborne Parkside BC – WA3 3HG

14 April – Monk Sports – WA1 4NF

20 April – Rivington BC – BL6 7SE

21 April – Padgate BC – WA1 4HU

27 April – Atherton Botanic Gardens – M46 9AE

28 April – Platts Lane BC – WN2 3RA

4 May – Hesketh Arms BC – PR9 7NA

11 May – Leigh BC – WN7 2HA

12 May – Edgeworth BC – BL7 0AP

19 May – FINAL – Grappenhall Ex-Servicemen’s Club, WA4 2QG

To enter contact Graham Royles (07488 266 477) or by email grahamroyles195@btinternet.com. payment can be made by bank transfer to A/C Name: L.C.C.G.B.A., Sort Code: 30-19-56, A/C Number: 00809434 (Quote name in reference field) or by cheque payable to L.C.C.G.B.A. and posted to Mr J.K. Andrews, 64 Shrewsbury Road, Bolton, BL1 4NN.

COMMUNICATION – NEW WHATSAPP GROUP

As a committee, we try to keep our members informed on club matters as much as we possibly can. The website is regularly updated and emails are sent out frequently. If you do not receive our emails but would like to, please contact George Hitchmough at :-

secretary@hesketharmsbowlingclub.co.uk

Over the last couple of years, we have been using our league teams’ Whatsapp groups as an occasional means of sending out information. It has been suggested that we try setting up a group for any of our members who do not play for one of our teams. The group would be used to send out reminders about club events or to assist in arranging working parties. It would be used sparingly and anyone who joined would, of course, be free to leave the group at any time. If you wish to be added to the group, please send a message to Mike Milne on 07752352065.

AWARDS NIGHT RAFFLE

Thanks again to all those who contributed to the success of the Awards Night and to the raffle in particular, which raised £168 towards club funds. In addition, we must also  thank Jon Roberts for his generous donations towards the buffet – apologies for this not being included in the initial report.

ROUND ROBINS

The Round Robins will commence on Tuesday 26^th of March and every Friday and Tuesday thereafter.

Good Friday will be included.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sunday 7th April – Spring Pairs – a random doubles, with pairings drawn on the day. There will be a plate competition for pairs losing their first game.

Sunday 12th May – Rose Bowl – a singles handicap, with a plate event for players losing their first game.

Saturday 18th May – Vice-Presidents Pairs Trophy – this will be a non-random doubles, with no plate.

All the above the competitions will start at 12 noon. To enter, please register at the green on the day by 11.45 am.

Green Update – March 2024

To The Hesketh Arms Bowling Club Members,

Happy new bowling season! With the green now open, I thought now would be a good time to give an update on the green and where I think it is at.

As you will all be aware we have not had the best of winters weather wise, in fact it will go down as one as the wettest ever recorded, so where does this put the green and how does it affect preparation?

End of season renovations went well, and everything seemed to go to plan. The green was heavily scarified, aerated, overseeded and top dressed.  The strike rate on the seed has been fantastic and we just have a couple of weak/bare areas that are the result of the soil becoming hydrophobic during the hot spells we had, more on this later.

With the amount of rain we have had, getting a mower onto the green has been difficult but not impossible, we are very lucky that the green drains well.   The height of cut is gradually coming down, but I have been in no rush to get it to ‘match’ height. The health of the grass has been my priority since the start of the year and I will now start to reduce the height, thin out the sward and increase the speed of the green over the coming weeks.  There could be a few more frosts to come so I don’t want to rush these processes.  You will notice that the run-offs into the gutter aren’t as short as many would like them, this is deliberate and I will rectify this once the green is dry enough to grip the mower properly and not slide off into the gutters causing damage and ripping the turf.

As mentioned earlier, we do have a couple of weak areas that need some TLC.  My plan with these is to seed and dress them in the coming days and cover with a germination sheet, not ideal but it will be just 2 small areas that I am hoping you are happy to bowl around.  The reason these areas are slow to come good is due to the soil becoming hydrophobic during last Summer’s hot spells. When a soil is hydrophobic it repels water and doesn’t attract it.  Throwing seed into these areas will be like throwing it into hot lava.  To combat this happening again I will apply a granular wetting agent on Monday and this will last 4/5 months which will help to keep the green hydrated, whilst not need to water very much at all.

I could talk about grass for hours so if you see me around the green and want to know a bit more about the processes then just ask!

Andy Bate

AWARDS EVENING

Many thanks to all those who supported the Club’s Awards & Social Evening on Saturday, which took place at the Churchtown Conservative Club. The evening was held to celebrate members’ achievements from the 2023 season. 

As usual the evening was compered by our Chairman, Chris Harding, who announced the winners and runners-up in our internal competitions and the team merit awards. The prizes were presented by our 2023 President, Peter Smith. These were reported through the website and regular newsletters throughout the year and congratulations go to all the successful players. 

The final presentations are made to the Team of the Year and the Club Member of the Year. The Team of the Year award went to the Vultures, who had another excellent season in the Burscough & Lathom League. Having won the 1^st Division Championship in 2022, they put up a strong defence of their title but in the end had to settle for the runners-up spot, finishing just four points behind champions Banks St. Stephen’s. They did, however, win the League’s Knockout Trophy, defeating Burscough RBL ‘A’ in the final, played at Holmeswood Bowling Club. 

The Club Member of the Year for 2023 deservedly went to Jeff Brown. Jeff has been captain of the Falcons in the Southport LV League for several years and last year took over running the Hobbies in the Southport Veterans’ League at very short notice. Out league teams would be unable to function without people willing to organise them and we thank Jeff for all that he has done over the years.

The awards were followed by a buffet, prepared by Gill from the Conservative Club and a quiz arranged by Chris Harding, with our Vice-Chairman Jason Chapman taking on the role of Quiz Master. 

The Committee would also like to thank the following : –

Simon Abram, the Chairman of the Conservative Club and his committee, for allowing us to use their excellent facilities.

Gill, the Club Steward, for preparing the buffet. Also, to Lilly, for her hard week behind the bar throughout the evening.

Debbie Barnes, for kindly donating desserts.

Kez Adams and Darren Edgerley for their help selling raffle tickets.

Finally, thank you to all those who supported the evening by attending, bringing raffle prizes or contributing donations. We look forward to seeing everyone at the green and wish all our members a successful and enjoyable bowling season in 2024. 

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NEWSLETTER – MARCH 2024

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Many thanks to all those who have paid their subscriptions promptly. Members are reminded that early payment would be appreciated so that the majority of the work involved in the collecting, recording and banking of payments can be completed prior to the start of the season.

The Annual General Meeting set the following subscription rates for the 2024 season :-   

Standard membership subscription – £30.00

Team players’ subscription – £50.00

Payment can be made online directly to the Club’s bank account :

Sort Code : 30 97 88    Account number : 01007849

If paying by bank transfer, please notify Mike Milne by text (07752352065) or email (michaelmilne66@outlook.com)

Alternatively, subscriptions can be sent to Mike Milne (Treasurer) at the following address :-

Mike Milne, 20 Coudray Road, Southport PR9 9NL

AWARDS & SOCIAL EVENING

Names are still being taken for our Awards & Social Evening, which will take place on Saturday 9th March, at the Churchtown Conservative Club, starting at 7.30 pm.

Your support for this event would be appreciated as it is a great opportunity to meet up with your bowling colleagues before the green opens in a couple of weeks’ time.

The evening will include : –

THE PRESENTATION OF AWARDS TO THE CLUB COMPETITION AND MERIT WINNERS FROM THE 2023 SEASON

BUFFET SUPPER ; RAFFLE ; QUIZ

Admission will be priced at just £5.00. To book your place, please contact Chris Harding (07761733024) or Mike Milne (07752352065 / michaelmilne66@outlook.com).

Payment can me directly to the Club’s bank account (please see above for details), by cheque or cash to Mike Milne, or cash payments will be taken on the night.

URGENT APPEAL FOR TEAM PLAYERS

Last week we sent out an email to our members to say that we are urgently looking for additional players for two of our league teams which will have to fold unless we can add some new recruits. Since then, we have had a few expressions of interest, but we could still do with a couple more volunteers to help out the following teams.

FALCONS

The Falcons play in the Southport LV League. This season, the team is due to play in the 1st Division, having been relegated from the Premier Division. This is a more suitable division for players with limited experience. Matches in this league take place mainly on Tuesday evenings, with the possibility of an occasional Wednesday evening game. The LV League is a mixed league open to any bowler.

HOBBIES

The Hobbies are due to play in the 2nd Division of the Southport Veterans’ League and matches take place on Monday afternoons. The league is open to ANY bowler aged 55 or over.

If  any member fancies trying league bowling for the first time, this is an ideal opportunity and you will be given plenty of support by your team mates.

If anyone already playing for any of our teams fancies an extra game, please let us know and we can try and keep these teams going.

In addition to regular players, we would also welcome members willing to sign up for one of these teams, to help out on an occasional basis.

IF INTERESTED IN PLAYING FOR EITHER OF THE ABOVE TEAMS, PLEASE LET AN OFFICER OF THE CLUB KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SATURDAY 16^th MARCH – OPENING OF THE GREEN – the green will be open for use by members.

TUESDAY 26^th MARCH – FIRST ROUND ROBIN – the popular Round Robins will again be hosted by Peter and Lynne Smith in 2024. Each session will begin at 10.00 am every Tuesday and Friday. Please arrive to register in time for a prompt start.

SUNDAY 7^th APRIL – FIRST CLUB COMPETITION OF THE SEASON – SPRING PAIRS – a random doubles, with pairings drawn on the day. There will be a plate competition for pairs losing their first game.

Please register at the green by 11.45 am in time for a prompt 12 noon start.