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Ember sports club newsletter
November 2020
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE SUE WELLS acting Chair
Not everything is cancelled… But a lot is for the next 4 weeks!
It’s hard to think that 2020 is coming to a close – this time last year we were advertising the Christmas Carols and planning Christmas Parties.
The clubhouse will remain closed during the lockdown and all section activity will be cancelled according to the government guidelines.
Please note that Sue will be having a rest from the Acting Chair position after the AGM, and that Ken Homewood will be taking over for the next couple of months. We welcome new volunteers and hope that someone may step up to the Chair position in the coming year.
The management committee hopes all members have a safe and healthy November, and will welcome everyone back at the earliest opportunity when we re-open.
EMBER SPORTS CLUB AGM
Since we could not meet in the clubhouse, Ember Sports Club held it’s AGM on Tuesday 3rd November, 2020 using the internet. The meeting was attended by nearly 30 members, making it quorate. The minutes of last year’s AGM, the accounts, the officer reports for 2019-2020 were approved. The committee was re-elected and Dave Evans was welcomed as assistant treasurer. The amended club rules had been circulated prior to the meeting and were approved. These have now been loaded to the web site, and will be connected to the membership software next year.
EMBER CLUB BAR
The bar must close for the next 4 weeks.
200 Club Draw Results MALCOLM BAIRD
The lucky winners in this month’s draw were as follows:
1st prize of £100 Val Chicken Well who is a (c)lucky girl then?
2nd prize of £50 Sue Knox
3rd prize of £20 Karen Miller
Congratulations to you all and thanks to everyone for your support which has proved to be extra welcome this difficult year.
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SOCIAL JANE MARTIN
We do hope that you’re all keeping well and staying safe.
| We will let you know, in due course, when we will be able to hold any events in the clubhouse. With best wishes from your Social Team |
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BOWLS KEN HOMEWOOD
Diary Dates:
AGM – TBA
INDOOR MATCH – Cambridge Park – Sunday March 14th, 2021 – TBC
2020 AGM
You will have received my “E” mail with the AGM reports on last season. I also suggested that if there are any questions or items that you would have raised at the AGM please “E” mail them to Ann Gregg, Secretary, (ann.gregg@ymail.com) and we will discuss them at committee and take any appropriate action.
Sadly, there is no sign of being able to set a firm date for the AGM which at best will be early next year, but we will keep you informed.
Ann has asked that I include the following comment she received from Wendy Beaney: –
I would like to thank the Committee for all their work during this difficult season.
I think special mention should be made of the splendid work Ken has done in enabling many of us to enjoy 4 or 5 days a week bowling with our fellow members & even organising 2 competitions. This was a lifeline to many of us & thoroughly enjoyable & also we were kept safe. Mike Cutts has also been fantastic keeping the Green in tip top shape, & thank you to him for all his hard work over the last years – we will all miss him, but he deserves his retirement.
On behalf of the committee and myself I would like to say that we are flattered by the comment and we in turn appreciate the support we received from everyone during the season.
SEASON 2021- EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS (SURREY & NWS)
The entry dates for both the county and area competitions have, not surprisingly, been delayed, but if you are interested in entering contact Linda Pillman (l.pillman2@hotmail.com or 01932 961293) who will be submitting our entries at the appropriate time.
INDOOR MATCHES
Ember’s game at Mole Valley on Saturday November 14th, 2020, has definitely been cancelled.
Our match at Cambridge Park is set for Sunday March 14th, 2021. Adam will be in touch with Cambridge Park nearer the time
Winter work on the green continues and our thanks go to all those who are involved. This work sets the foundation for the standard of next summer’s green
THE EMBER PLAYERS STEVE INFIELD
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TENNIS SUE WELLS
LOCKDOWN
Subject to the government and LTA guidelines, our tennis courts must close until December 2nd. The courts are now locked and the booking system has been closed. The clubhouse will also remain closed. Be assured that we will open the courts and booking system just as soon as we are allowed to play again. Please do not try and book any courts until you are notified you may do so.
NEW MEMBERS
We continue to welcome new members to the club. This is great news, and we hope you all enjoy your time at Ember. When we go back, please remember to book courts to play and keep a record of your opponents for track and trace purposes. In normal times, the mix-ins are a great way to meet other members and there is a free drills session on Thursday evenings for all members. Just remember to register for these sessions in the book on the verandah and to hand sanitise and keep socially distanced. We aim to re-start these after the current 4 week lockdown (subject to LTA guidelines).
DRILLS AND MIX-IN SESSIONS
The Drills sessions and ALL mix-in sessions, and Team practices are cancelled for the next 4 weeks. Subject to LTA guidelines, we will restart these as soon as possible
We are planning to set up a daytime drills session in January. Several members have indicated they are interested – this is most likely going to be between 1 and 2pm on a Tuesday. The session will consist of 1 hour of drills with Rob, and then the option to play on for an hour with other attendees (but not the coach). If you are interested in this session and have not been in touch please let Sue know (sue@suewellsassociates.com). There will be a cost for this session, but we hope to be able to keep it low, and allow attendance to be flexible. More news nearer the time.
FLOODLIGHTS
Please remember we must NOT use the floodlights on Sundays and bank holidays. Also we are supposed to only have lights on when people are playing, so please do not put in too many tokens for your booking.
MAINTENANCE
Sorry we had to close all the courts one day in October – we had to get the maintenance done on a dry day with no rain forecast for 24 hours. That proved difficult and resulted in the cancellation of one maintenance session and the combination of others, closing all courts for a morning. We do try and avoid this happening, but please bear with us if the weather disrupts our careful plans. However the courts have now been cleaned and new sand / clay put down – thanks to our volunteers too. They look fantastic!
CLUB TOURNAMENT
The annual club tournament is in mid flow. We will restart this once we get back to tennis and allow time for matches to catch up. We will arrange the finals when we have some certainty over when we can open. In the meantime please let us know any outstanding results. Thanks to Steve Baird for all his hard work in organising this tournament and keeping track of your results.
Stay safe, Keep Healthy and See you in December
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CROQUET SIMON CHARRINGTON
Diary dates
Ember Croquet AGM: NB Change of date, now Monday 16th November, 7.30pm via zoom or MSTeams. If you haven’t received David’s email with the formal notice and agenda attached, do, please, get in touch with him croquet@embersportsclub.org.uk .
It will be great if you are able to attend the meeting, not only to hear the business and to ensure a quorum but also it would be lovely to see you all. Video-conferencing details will be sent out next week, including the opportunity for a test run in advance of the meeting.
Report
A few games have been played in October and we have been pleased to welcome prospective new members as well as our opponents from the match v Surbiton earlier in the season.
The main lawn closed on 1 November and, owing to the latest Covid Lockdown, the small lawn is now also closed for play until, all being well, 2 December when it will re-open for winter play and practice.
There will be maintenance work done as necessary, and which is permissible, over the next two or three weeks to complete the autumn lawn work and close down the irrigation system.
Winter Play and Practice – as soon as easing of Lockdown permits
Small Lawn – members will have seen the information sent out by email about play and practice on the small lawn, including arrangements for keeping in touch at short notice to share weather prospects, playing conditions and individual availability. I’ll re-send this information when we are nearer to easing of Lockdown.
N.B. to existing ESC members of other ESC sections it may be of interest to see what the cost would be of adding Croquet to your existing ESC membership. Proportionate scales for new members joining part-way through the year, and for the winter season are published on the ESC website / Croquet section / Membership tab https://www.embersportsclub.org.uk/ember-croquet-club/ . If you’re curious about the sport, would like a reason to get outdoors this winter and fancy making a start in the quieter months ahead of the main summer season, do get in touch croquet@embersportsclub.org.uk . See, also, page 13 of the autumn edition of Thames Ditton Today https://residents-association.com/images/thamesdittontoday/autumn2020.pdf
Indoor Croquet – This is on hold for the time being while Covid restrictions apply. We shall be in touch about dates and arrangements as soon as the situation improves.
New Member – We’re very pleased to welcome Christine Evans. We’re looking forward to starting play again soon and to introducing Christine to more of the ESC and Croquet family here.
At this time of year we’d usually be gathering a rota for running the bar for the Ember Players’ winter production. Sadly, as we know, the performing arts have been particularly badly hit by the pandemic restrictions, so let us spare a thought for our drama section friends and wish them well for a creative return before too long.
Keep well, All, and Stay Safe
Simon
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Please note that all contributions must be submitted by the last Friday in the month. They should be emailed to :
caroline@caroline-anderson.co.uk
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