The club officially opened for the season today, however for the next few weeks it will be just for social bowling, to get practice in.
The Gazette and Herald was in attendance today and as soon as a photograph is received it will be posted on this page.
In the meantime here are some photos from todays event, many thanks for the members who came up (socially distancing) to watch the event.
Work continues to get the club ready for opening on the 30th May, it would appear that it is becoming the fashion for the men in the club to start sporting very fetching beards, will they survive the eventual return to normality – we shall see?
These 2 photographs shows the work yesterday, Bryan appears to have dropped his spare paint brush from his left hand, while Martin G is marking out the first side of a rink. Not sure what Barry was doing, hehe.
Your secretary spent his time putting notices up, let’s hope we can take them down soon.
We have now been advised (by the CTC) that we can make places available to the public, therefore we are very happy to confirm that non-members are able to bowl under the same restrictions as members. We anticipate:
1) Experienced bowlers who just want a roll- up
2) Anyone who wishes to know more about the great game of bowls and would be interested in joining the club
In both instances, they will be required to be accompanied by a club member and will need to give 48 hours’ notice. This can be done by contacting the club secretary, Stuart Beard
Telephone number and Email link are on our ‘Contact’ page on this website
We have now been given permission by Bowls England to open the rinks for bowling. However this will not include competitive bowling and will be for members only, open to just 6 bowlers playing on only 3 rinks at one time – rinks 1, 3, 5 or 2, 4, 6, with a maximum of 2 bowlers per rink
Details will be sent out to members shortly and there will be a booking system to eliminate disappointment.
The main clubhouse and both changing rooms remain closed but essential maintenance will continue, adhering to the 2 metre social distancing, so please don’t shout at our maintenance manager (this happened recently whilst he was operating within Covid-safe guidelines, not a member I am glad to say)!
Plans are in hand in the hope that we can start a pairs competition if restrictions are further relaxed in July.
Work is continuing on the green as you can see below and advertising boards are now up. A big thank you to Martin G and his team,who are now going to work on the ditches, as well as Ley who looks after the green/various bits of equipment.
It would also be wrong not to mention our sponsors, who have stuck with us, even though they have had their own problems. The club secretary would like to personally thank Pete at 3D computers in Chippenham for getting his PC back up and running – a pleasure to support you, Pete.
Well we may not be bowling but work continues to smarten the club up ready for when we can.
Bryan H has stained the roadside fence (first time in many years) as it is now our responsibility and is now moving on to the Pavilion, he has already painted the inside and is now doing the raised decking and the pavilion, thanks Bryan
Les F (a friend from the Short Mat Club) has completed 4 wheels for the sprinkler and Ley H has worked on clearing the jets, so it is usable again. From Ley’s investigations it would appear that the sprinkler is many, many years old so any maintenance will need to be done by ourselves.Thanks go to Les and Ley.
It is with a great deal of sadness that we advise you that Margaret passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning in hospital after contracting the Covid-19 virus.
Margaret was the widow of Jim Wilkie (Calne Bowls Club President 2011-13) and had been a great supporter of the club, helping to start and support the Jim Wilkie Memorial Day Trophy, which is played for by teams from neighbouring clubs on an annual basis. Unfortunately, she was not well enough to present the trophy in 2019, so her daughter Fiona deputised in her absence.
Margaret was always willing to volunteer to help with anything, and was also an active member of the WI, organising whist and skittles events.
Margaret joined the Calne Short Mat Bowls Club last year and soon became a very popular member, as well as a good bowler.
She will be missed by many and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time, especially with the current restrictions.
We now have our own letterbox, thank you for yet another job done, it is appreciated Martin.
Whilst we haven’t moved we now have our own postal address.
Calne Bowls Club
off Hillcroft
Anchor Road
CALNE
SN11 8DX
Having now received all the documentation, we can now confirm that with effect 30th March 2020 Calne Bowls Club has become a Private Limited Company by guarantee, with Barry W as a Director and Stuart as Company Secretary, all members have been informed and also told the reasoning behind the change, namely that it was needed to allow the Calne Town Council to grant us the lease for the Bowls Club and enable it to grow.
With regard to the running of the club, nothing changes as the Articles of Association allow the Directors to delegate the responsibility of running the club to the current committee.
In these times of difficulty a good news story is always welcome and the Club is now on a firmer funding for an exciting future.
To all those who are reading this, we hope that you are keeping well and always remember we are just not a club but a family who will support each other when needed.
KEEP SAFE, see you on the green eventually.
Thanks to Ley for keeping eye on the green for the members, it’s a credit to all involved thanks for the hard work, we may get a game in before the end of the season, it would be a shame to waste the effort
It was very sad today putting up the signs saying that the Club was closed until further notice. Only greenkeeping and essential maintenance will be allowed, as this can be done by a single person.
There is spray and paper towels in the clubhouse for use to ensure areas are kept clean.
Bowls England have cancelled all National Competition and Bowls Wiltshire have cancelled all County Games until 1st July, this will be reviewed in June.
We as a club will be hoping to have Open Days later this year, whilst the Sponsors Day and Gala Day may also need to be moved to later this year
