What a difference a day makes
The Lawns – Before and After
Internal AC Alternate Stroke Final
The internal AC Alternate Stroke Doubles took place on a chilly and dull afternoon between the teams of Robert Essler(0.5)/Cathy O’Brien(24) and Paul Dowdall(7)/Mark Kerr(12) giving Robert/Cathy 6 bisques and Paul/Mark 3.5 bisques.
Paul and Mark got off to a good start getting their first ball to rover with only one bisque early on. The game then turned into a bit of a dogfight with neither side being able to a good break going with the game going to time.
Result
Paul/Mark beat Robert/Cathy 22:15 on time
Wellbeing Open Day
The last of our Wellbeing sessions saw a sunny atmosphere that was matched nicely by the weather as this pioneering pilot scheme finally came to a close. Deemed “a resounding success” the participants have thoroughly enjoyed their weekly visits to the lawns, as have the Social Prescribers who we were proud to partner with. ‘We’ve never seen results like it’, commented NHS project lead James Smith, ‘the clients are all saying how much they have enjoyed themselves. It’s like everyone has fallen in love with croquet!’
With many thanks to Ian Longstaff for making it a success
Croquet for Wellbeing.
Our 10 week pilot scheme in conjunction with the NHS Social Prescribing team is coming to an end with the Open Day for participants, their families and friends and stakeholders, on Saturday 21st September 2024.
The project has been extremely successful, reaching 23 participants, many more than the firstly intended 8-10. The feedback is very positive with social and phycological wellbeing having benefitted in all participants.
The Club’s project leader, and assisting club members have worked hard to make this project a success. 5 or 6 participants have signed up to the club’s ‘Introduction to Croquet’ course with a view to becoming full club members.
Official Report by Andrew Killick, many thanks Andrew.
The Spencer Ell
5th-9th September at Pendle & Craven Croquet Club
“Come down, O Muse, describe the Spencer Ell
And tell us who played badly, who played well.”
No, on second thoughts we won’t have any more poetry this year, after last year’s limericks describing the Treasurer’s Tankard. Talking of which, three of us were competing at Pendle in the 2023 TT, and the improvement in the lawns was remarkable. Last year there were problems with the mowing, but this year the lawns were superb – a great credit to the club, backed up by excellent catering facilities. Many thanks to all who worked so hard to make it such an enjoyable five days of competition.
And the competition was indeed fierce. Here are the players and their handicaps:
Neil Adams (-1.5) Sam Cuthbert (3.5)
Robert Essler (0.5) Rick Harding (-1)
Andrew Killick (-1.5) Paul Rigge (-1)
Mike Town (-1.5) Andrew Winn (-1)
Or, as all players seem to have very distinct styles, stances and mannerisms, shall I call them (in no particular order) Mr Thoughtful, Mr Flowing, Mr Unconventional, Mr Methodical, Mr Precise, Mr Determined, Mr Confident and Mr Accurate? (Sorry, guys, I am not revealing who’s who!) Anyway, play began on 5th September…
Thursday
The skies were grey, the winds were strong. Neil was the first to make his mark, winning his first two games, both with triple peels. I (Andrew K) was the unfortunate victim in that second game, playing just four shots after my marathon 4-hour first game against Robert. However, by the end of the day six players were tied for the lead with two wins each; and Paul had notched up a TP as he won his evening game against Robert.
Friday
A day of beautiful sunshine – but alas, I lost all three games, as did Paul and Robert. Top of the class were Mike and Rick, both with three wins, and Rick had two TPs to his credit. Sam, Neil and Andrew W were in the middle, having won two games each, and Andrew W had achieved a TP against Sam.
Saturday
Another cloudy day with some drizzle. Lunchtime brought the first half of the tournament to an end, and the standings were as follows: Rick (6 out of 7), Mike and Neil and Andrew W (5), Andrew K (3), Sam and Paul (2) and Robert (0). I had a good day for a change, with three wins. So did Rick, with yet another TP in his morning game against Mike. He was the clear leader with 8 wins out of 9, but Mike (7) and Andrew W (6) were breathing down his neck. In the evening Paul had arranged a Chinese meal which I gather was much enjoyed.
Sunday
The day dawned very gloomy and grey. There was heavy rain, and the water roller couldn’t entirely cope with it, so play was slow. Did I say slow? Though play had begun at 9.30am, most of the third games of the day could only get going at 5.59pm! Somehow almost everyone finished before darkness fell, and Sam, Neil, Mike, Paul and Rick won two out of their three games. Neil and Rick both notched up another TP. That meant that after twelve rounds it was very close at the top. Rick led the field with 10 wins, followed by Mike (9), Neil (7) and Andrew W (7), while the rest of us lagged behind.
Monday
It proved to be a worthy and nail-biting climax to the tournament. More rain, alas, but there were some amusing episodes. Andrew W did something I have never seen before – a deemed lift shot, where he took his ball to corner 3 but feared that he might miss his target and end up in corner 4 near Sam’s hoop, so he didn’t actually play a shot. And shortly after that Sam did a gentle hoop run: for those of you who don’t know, Sam’s usual style is to hit hoop runs or shots to the boundary so hard that they end up in the next county – well, the far side of the adjoining lawn anyway! There were great cheers when Robert got his first win – he had come in as a late substitute for a player who had to withdraw, and he might have preferred to play in a different Eight. There were gasps of surprise when Paul attempted to jump over hoop 1 to roquet a ball about twelve yards away: the jump was fine, and he very nearly got the roquet. But the three-ball finish in Mike’s game versus Paul was amazing, as well as being crucial for the outcome of the tournament. Paul, on peg and rover, got stuck on the wire; Mike made hoop 4 back and took position not all that close to penult; Paul didn’t want to tap his ball into a runnable position at rover, so he retreated to join his partner ball in corner 2; Mike could have shot at the two balls in corner 2, but instead he ran penult and ended up at an angle about eight yards from rover; after some thought he attempted the hoop run and went right through to the south boundary; he could just see the peg some 17 yards away, had a go…and hit it! What a finish, enabling him to get within one point of Rick, who had just done a TP against me (on the soggiest lawn I have ever experienced) and was due to meet Mike in the final round.
And then the sun came out. After lunch Neil did another TP to beat Sam; I got to peg and rover against Paul and won when he gave me another chance by hampering himself after running hoop 1; Andrew W beat Robert in the very last game to finish; and meanwhile, calmly getting on with things away on lawn 2, Mike played a well-controlled game against Rick to win 26-2. That meant he had drawn level with him on 11 wins out of 14, and they played a decider. This time it was Rick who kept control of the game, and he won 26-0 with a sometimes adventurous TP.
So the final scores were Rick and Mike on 11, Andrew W and Neil 8, Andrew K 7, Sam and Paul 5 and Robert 1. Sam had the honour (or punishment?) of having his handicap reduced to 1; and Rick Harding was the victor with his often faultless play and five TPs – a winner well worthy to follow in the steps of our illustrious predecessor Spencer Ell, who lost two arms in the First World War but still managed to become a fine player of this wonderful game.
Andrew Killick
Final Day of the Spencer El Cup
The final day of the 5 day tournament concluded in bright sunshine with a play off between the tournament manager Mike Town and Rick Harding with Rick being triumphant. A full official report will follow.
The club received nothing but compliments on the condition and speed of the lawns, the management and hospitality throughout the 5 days. Many thanks to all club members who spent many hours preparing for this event. Well Done to everyone.
Saturday 7th September
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Spencer Ell Cup – End of a Beautiful Second Day
The third-best eight available players playing in the Spencer Ell Cup
Excellent croquet, good clean fresh air and lots of sunshine for the second day of the Spencer Ell Cup. Pendle and Craven Croquet Club are hosting the 5 day tournament in the idyllic surrounds enjoyed by the club.
Short Lawn Match v Southport
On a cool start to the day we welcomed the Southport team of Gail Moors(3.5), Barbara Nodwell(9) and Mike Hill(10)
Pendle team: Paul Dowdall(1P), Catherine Parnell(2) and Robin Delves(9)
Pendle & Craven could not find four players, so Southport agreed to a three player team
Six games were played in the morning. Robin won one game and lost one with both going to a golden hoop. Catherine also lost one and won one with Paul winning both his games leaving us 4-2 up at lunch.
After lunch we each played one game but the heavens opened for about 30 minutes which brought up up a load of worms from the recent lawn applications leading some players to have to stop to clear a worm off the ball rather than the, more usual, clumps of mud.
Robin won his game but Catherine lost her game. Paul managed to win his game against Gail in a very close finish. Time had gone and Gail had levelled the hoop score on her final turn as time was called. With both players having a clip on peg a brief battle to gain the upper hand with the non-pegged balls. Finally, Paul managed to hit in and run hoop three to win the game.
Scores
Morning:
Robin beat Barbara 13:12, Catherine lost to Gail 6:14 and Paul beat Mike 8:5
Catherine beat Mike 11:8, Paul beat Barbara 14:6 and Robin lost to Gail 9:10
Afternoon
Paul beat Gail 9:8, Catherine lost to Barbara 1:14 and Robin beat Mike 10:8
Result Pendle & Craven 6 Southport 3
Annual Level GC Club Competition
Due to Covid, other illnesses and last minute unavailability only 7 players turned out in beautiful conditions for the annual Level GC club competition. It was an ‘all play all’ format, everyone playing six games, and knowing that hoop difference may decide the final result. In the end it was very close with Mike Bradbury, Cathy O’Brien and Paul Dowdall all winning five of their six games. Mike was the eventual winner with a hoop difference of +20, closely followed by Cathy, +18, and Paul, +17. Special mention to Ian who was playing his first competition (well done Ian) and special thanks to Cathy’s husband Neil who had to drive over from north Leeds with the order of play etc which Cathy had left on the kitchen table.
With many thanks to Cathy for running the tournament.
