Bowdon c c the President’s Remarks to the agm 2010

Bowdon C C - The President’s Remarks to the AGM 2010

You who are here today owe a great debt to ‘Clang’. You will appreciate that my scriptwriter goes to work long before Clang appears on your doorsteps in the run up to the AGM. In consequence, when I saw that most of what had been prepared for me had already been published, I ordered copious supplies of midnight oil for the lackeys to rewrite the script! The result was a welcome, shorter version of the customary infliction; for which we must all be grateful. Thank you Mike for the years of fun with the news, which you have shared with us. May we hope you continue long enough to publish your 50^th edition before the inevitable coup, which your back page foreshadows in the small ads?
I suppose I must start with a review of the ambitions expressed a year ago. Some progress has been made in the search for opportunities to expand our lawn space, but there is much more to be done before anything can be reported. Plans to improve the Club House are progressing steadily as we approach our Centenary year in these premises. The President’s Mug which exists for those Members seeking to increase their skills, found too few ambitious improvers to award the trophy in 2010.
The highlight of this year’s catalogue of excellence was the Test series played here in August. We were hosts once again to The Mac. Shield for one of the most successful series ever, and the first as part of the World Team Championships. Three Club members featured in the GB team and Ian Lines, on his debut, had the most successful record of all the home players. We enjoyed at Bowdon an unexpectedly close encounter with the USA, with Ian Lines in a race to win the deciding match on the final afternoon. We celebrated with one of Colin Irwin’s famous BBQs, his gift with Christine to the visitors and to members who had helped in so many ways. It also brought back two former members, Jenny (Williams) Clarke (now of NZ), and her husband Chris, the world No.1, whose injury made Ian’s GB selection possible. In the World second tier David Walters played for Wales who won, and Richard Griffiths for Jersey, who denied South Africa their expected trophy. But the Club’s contribution to the World Series went much further. Colin Irwin was the CA chairman of the Organising Committee. Christine had the honour to be appointed Manager of the whole Mac series, and was assisted in this as manager at Heaton Park by Barry Keen and at Bowdon, as a referee, by Brian Storey. She also took on the task of programme production and initiated a real-time internet commentary on the matches. Although her ambition to transmit live pictures was narrowly thwarted by local technology, the future is clear. So Bowdon has been a host to all of the last three UK Mac Series, a truly impressive record and amply justified by the many compliments to the Club received on your behalf. Which leads naturally to the theme for 2010. It is to record our thanks to the Members who have contributed in so many ways.
I start at the top of the list with our thanks to Alan Mayne, who with our excellent professional groundsman, John Greatbanks, provided the essential playing surfaces under impossibly wet conditions in the run up to the Test match. They were aided in this by many Club members, Barry Keen and his team of lawn setters, the rollers and switchers, flag collectors and boundary board movers, all of whom played a part in the huge task of match preparation of our lawns; thank you all. Essential service to the welfare of players and spectators alike was provided by the many volunteer cooks and catering assistants, assembled and organised by John Saxby and Lorna Frost, who provided delicious meals for everyone, and made a financial success of catering even after providing free meals for all players and officials. It would take too long to name everyone, but we who know them should make our gratitude known individually to all these unsung benefactors whom we recognise today. Members with business interests generously advertised in the Match programme and Mike Sandler (Keoghs Solicitors) sponsored the costs of the event at Bowdon. They all deserve our thanks and support. Hospitality and entertainment for our visitors were generously provided by several members, notably Frank and Janice Moir, who exemplify the service given by others to players and visitors alike, and who deserve our heartfelt thanks for the high reputation of our Club, Nationally and Internationally, thank you all. So many of our members in various ways made our guests welcome with kind word or gesture as required, and to these I say on behalf of the Club. “YOU are the heartbeat of our Club, and upon you depends our International reputation. This unsung service, given freely by so many, is an example to us all, and makes the history of the Club such a compelling story. Thank you all on behalf of the Club and on behalf of the CA.”
This year our long run in the inter-club championship ended in a close-run semi-final. The team, lacking Ian Lines, lost 3-4 to Surbiton. The Mary Rose team won their final 4-3 against Parkstone. It is no coincidence that the CA saw fit to award its Diploma to our Secretary John Saxby this year. His service to us all is a mainstay of our success, thank you John! An imaginatively advertised Recruitment Course earned our thanks when Ken Cooper, coupled with all of you who turned out weekly to coach and to explain our game to beginners, once more filled the Club membership list. The Northern Championships excelled, providing the ultimate finishing match for 2010 when both GB Test captain Keith Aiton and David Maugham showed the form which had eluded them in the Internationals. Keith had made no hoops in the final game of five, and was already changing for the drive home when David narrowly failed to complete his winning triple. Keith set up for a breathtaking sextuple, completed in the late evening sunshine. Has a major championship ever before been won by 2 points on a last chance sextuple? Surely not, those who were here that day saw history made!
On his election to the CA Council, Ian Lines maintains our long history at the governing level of the sport, initiated by Lord Tollemache. Barry Keen was elected Chairman of the CA Council at its AGM, following a path already trodden by Colin Irwin, who is honoured as a vice-president of the CA. Colin approaches the pinnacle of a career at the top, rooted in his membership of four winning ‘Mac’ Teams from 1986 to 2000. Your club’s success has surely followed his lead. Your Committee’s plans for the development of the Club promise a bright future which your support has done so much to form. Because Croquet is the most important “Trivial Pursuit” in my life, I commend it to you as a foundation for your own future pleasure in the game and in life. Always remember you were members in 2010, at the close of the first centenary of our independent existence. I recommend everyone to buy the Club history from the Secretary to learn even more! And while I think about it, have a Happy Christmas!

Bowdon C C - The President’s Remarks to the AGM 2010

You who are here today owe a great debt to ‘Clang’. You will appreciate that my scriptwriter goes to work long before Clang appears on your doorsteps in the run up to the AGM. In consequence, when I saw that most of what had been prepared for me had already been published, I ordered copious supplies of midnight oil for the lackeys to rewrite the script! The result was a welcome, shorter version of the customary infliction; for which we must all be grateful. Thank you Mike for the years of fun with the news, which you have shared with us. May we hope you continue long enough to publish your 50^th edition before the inevitable coup, which your back page foreshadows in the small ads?
I suppose I must start with a review of the ambitions expressed a year ago. Some progress has been made in the search for opportunities to expand our lawn space, but there is much more to be done before anything can be reported. Plans to improve the Club House are progressing steadily as we approach our Centenary year in these premises. The President’s Mug which exists for those Members seeking to increase their skills, found too few ambitious improvers to award the trophy in 2010.
The highlight of this year’s catalogue of excellence was the Test series played here in August. We were hosts once again to The Mac. Shield for one of the most successful series ever, and the first as part of the World Team Championships. Three Club members featured in the GB team and Ian Lines, on his debut, had the most successful record of all the home players. We enjoyed at Bowdon an unexpectedly close encounter with the USA, with Ian Lines in a race to win the deciding match on the final afternoon. We celebrated with one of Colin Irwin’s famous BBQs, his gift with Christine to the visitors and to members who had helped in so many ways. It also brought back two former members, Jenny (Williams) Clarke (now of NZ), and her husband Chris, the world No.1, whose injury made Ian’s GB selection possible. In the World second tier David Walters played for Wales who won, and Richard Griffiths for Jersey, who denied South Africa their expected trophy. But the Club’s contribution to the World Series went much further. Colin Irwin was the CA chairman of the Organising Committee. Christine had the honour to be appointed Manager of the whole Mac series, and was assisted in this as manager at Heaton Park by Barry Keen and at Bowdon, as a referee, by Brian Storey. She also took on the task of programme production and initiated a real-time internet commentary on the matches. Although her ambition to transmit live pictures was narrowly thwarted by local technology, the future is clear. So Bowdon has been a host to all of the last three UK Mac Series, a truly impressive record and amply justified by the many compliments to the Club received on your behalf. Which leads naturally to the theme for 2010. It is to record our thanks to the Members who have contributed in so many ways.
I start at the top of the list with our thanks to Alan Mayne, who with our excellent professional groundsman, John Greatbanks, provided the essential playing surfaces under impossibly wet conditions in the run up to the Test match. They were aided in this by many Club members, Barry Keen and his team of lawn setters, the rollers and switchers, flag collectors and boundary board movers, all of whom played a part in the huge task of match preparation of our lawns; thank you all. Essential service to the welfare of players and spectators alike was provided by the many volunteer cooks and catering assistants, assembled and organised by John Saxby and Lorna Frost, who provided delicious meals for everyone, and made a financial success of catering even after providing free meals for all players and officials. It would take too long to name everyone, but we who know them should make our gratitude known individually to all these unsung benefactors whom we recognise today. Members with business interests generously advertised in the Match programme and Mike Sandler (Keoghs Solicitors) sponsored the costs of the event at Bowdon. They all deserve our thanks and support. Hospitality and entertainment for our visitors were generously provided by several members, notably Frank and Janice Moir, who exemplify the service given by others to players and visitors alike, and who deserve our heartfelt thanks for the high reputation of our Club, Nationally and Internationally, thank you all. So many of our members in various ways made our guests welcome with kind word or gesture as required, and to these I say on behalf of the Club. “YOU are the heartbeat of our Club, and upon you depends our International reputation. This unsung service, given freely by so many, is an example to us all, and makes the history of the Club such a compelling story. Thank you all on behalf of the Club and on behalf of the CA.”
This year our long run in the inter-club championship ended in a close-run semi-final. The team, lacking Ian Lines, lost 3-4 to Surbiton. The Mary Rose team won their final 4-3 against Parkstone. It is no coincidence that the CA saw fit to award its Diploma to our Secretary John Saxby this year. His service to us all is a mainstay of our success, thank you John! An imaginatively advertised Recruitment Course earned our thanks when Ken Cooper, coupled with all of you who turned out weekly to coach and to explain our game to beginners, once more filled the Club membership list. The Northern Championships excelled, providing the ultimate finishing match for 2010 when both GB Test captain Keith Aiton and David Maugham showed the form which had eluded them in the Internationals. Keith had made no hoops in the final game of five, and was already changing for the drive home when David narrowly failed to complete his winning triple. Keith set up for a breathtaking sextuple, completed in the late evening sunshine. Has a major championship ever before been won by 2 points on a last chance sextuple? Surely not, those who were here that day saw history made!
On his election to the CA Council, Ian Lines maintains our long history at the governing level of the sport, initiated by Lord Tollemache. Barry Keen was elected Chairman of the CA Council at its AGM, following a path already trodden by Colin Irwin, who is honoured as a vice-president of the CA. Colin approaches the pinnacle of a career at the top, rooted in his membership of four winning ‘Mac’ Teams from 1986 to 2000. Your club’s success has surely followed his lead. Your Committee’s plans for the development of the Club promise a bright future which your support has done so much to form. Because Croquet is the most important “Trivial Pursuit” in my life, I commend it to you as a foundation for your own future pleasure in the game and in life. Always remember you were members in 2010, at the close of the first centenary of our independent existence. I recommend everyone to buy the Club history from the Secretary to learn even more! And while I think about it, have a Happy Christmas!