Coronavirus Latest

Latest Advice and information on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic can be found here ( last update September 2022 ) :

There are no longer any formal Covid precautions to follow, however it is advised that everyone continues to exercise caution and to stay away from the club if they are in contact with the virus.

Earlier updates :

19/ 07 /2021:

COVID Precautions From Monday 19th July 2021

We ask you to continue to exercise caution. Please try to remember to sign in to indicate your presence. This is helpful to monitor numbers attending sessions as well as tracking and tracing, if we are unfortunate enough to have someone contract COVID.

You may use the clubhouse for making refreshments but please do not congregate in large numbers, and maintain a degree of distancing.

For the time being no social function, which requires a large number to gather in the club house, will be held.

It will no longer be necessary to clean all the equipment, but do be sure to wash your hands thoroughly once you have finished handling any ‘foreign body’. Pegs may be used to indicate the winning of hoops.

Essentially, COMMON SENSE is the name of the game.


17/5/2021 :

From Monday 17 May, the following changes apply :

- Club croquet sessions resume and club bowls sessions can now be attended by all the bowls communitt.

- Bookable lawn slots revert to the timings 10-1, 2-5 and 5-8

- Social events are now possible, commencing with the club picnic on 25 May

Social distancing is still advised and common sense suggests we should continue with all the current precautions re sanitising equipment.

As far as the clubhouse is concerned, there will be no change. No more than six people should be inside at any one time, this being to collect /return equipment, make use of the locked cupboard etc, not for shelter or socialising. As all club sessions are likely to have more than six people in attendance, it will still not be safe or practical to make use of refreshment facilities, so "bring your own" still prevails, including your own hand towels.

For the time being, please continue to record your attendance at all times.

03/03/21:

In accordance with the Prime Minister's announcement on 22nd February and guidance from the Croquet Association, the Club will re-open for play on Monday, 29th March.

A maximum of 6 people will be allowed to play at a time so for croquet one game of doubles and 1 game of singles can double bank. All the existing restrictions on use of the clubhouse, no catering, washing equipment etc remain in place and a reminder will be issued nearer the time.

The booking system will be open from 15th March when the whole of the week beginning 29th March will be available for booking. You may only play twice a week for the first few weeks while we assess the demand.

The sessions will be 10 - 12, 12 - 2, 2 - 4 and 4 - 6 except for Monday and Wednesday afternoons when the normal bowls sessions will take place following guidance from Bowls England.

When making a booking please ensure that the first name and surname of each player are specified. If this information is not available when the initial booking is made it should be added before you play. Reminders about how to book are included at the end of this message.

The Committee will continue to monitor advice from the Government and the Croquet Association and we will reinstate croquet Club sessions as soon as we are allowed to do so, hopefully in the second half of May.

It should also be possible to start having social events from the second half of May and Tuesday, 23rd May has been pencilled in for a bring-your-own picnic. Further details of this and other social events will be circulated nearer the time.

This may be my last general notice as Chairman so I am glad that it is a positive one.

Ian

20/12/20:

Following yesterday's announcement from the Prime Minister, the Committee has decided to close the club from today, Sunday, 20th December.

We were going to close at the end of the month anyway to give the lawn its winter rest so only a few days will be lost. We will hope to re-open at the beginning of March if the coronavirus restrictions permit us to

27/11:

The Committee met this morning and has decided that we should reopen the lawn for the period Wednesday, 2nd December to Friday, 1st January inclusive.

We need to balance members' desire to play with the wear and tear to the lawn at this time of year so the committee has decided that members should be limited to one game a week. The week will run Monday - Sunday so we will be starting with a part week. We will keep it under review and if there is little demand to play those who want to will be able to play more often, on the other hand if the lawn is suffering we will have to stop.

As before the current lockdown 6 people can play at a time but not gather in the clubhouse. The sessions will be 10 - 12, 12 - 2 and 2 - 4. No early bookings allowed because of the likelihood of frost etc at this time of year.

One or two people had made bookings before I asked you not to. These have been deleted so it is a clean sheet except for Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

Same restrictions as before - no use of the catering facilities, bring your own towel, wash the balls etc. Some other reminders will come in a separate email.

I will be moving the hoops to new positions before we resume in order to spread the wear. They will be in line but not within the normally permitted limits e.g. they may be 6 or 8 yards from the boundary rather than 7.

03 December ( Safe Play Guidelines ):

Although a vaccine is on the horizon, we still need to observe the covid prevention guidelines, so please make sure that everyone who visits the club grounds enters their full name and the date on one of the cards provided in the club house.

Ian sent an email (27 November) about the use of the lawn, especially in wet or frosty weather. The guidelines for cleaning the balls and equipment were sent earlier in the year but are still in force and should be followed. As a reminder, I have listed below some of the main guidelines.

  • A group at the club should not exceed 6 including players and spectators.

  • Do not use the club’s cups, kettles etc.

  • Use your feet rather than hands to position balls if you can. As far as possible only handle your own ball and not those of others playing with you or in a double banked game.

  • Wash your hands before and after you play. Soap, hand sanitiser and latex gloves are available. You may also want to clean the equipment you are going to use. Please bring your own hand towel

  • Clean hoops, balls and mallets after your game and the tables, chairs and door handles etc you have touched. Cleaning materials are available in the clubhouse. The best way to clean the balls is to put them in a bucket of water with a squirt of washing up liquid. Please can the first game of the day prepare the bucket and the last game empty it.

  • Do not use pegs, halfway markers and other peripheral items of equipment. Agree the score after each hoop has been run.

  • Avoid using the toilets if possible and clean after use. Note the water is turned off. The stopcock is in the Gent toilets. Please remember to turn off water after use.

  • Wait on the grass by the rose bed until the previous game has left. Do not arrive too early

  • There will be no Club sessions and social events for the time being.

Scroll down also to download a"Useful Contacts" note with advice on how to help cope with Lockdown.

04 November:

I am very sorry to say that the club will be closed from 00.01 tomorrow, 5th November, until 2nd December. This is disappointing, but we have to abide by the Government's requirements. Weather and Government permitting we will keep the lawn open in December.

02 July

The CA has issued revised guidance to take effect from Saturday, 4th July.

    • We can have 6 on the lawn at a time so this will allow for a game of doubles at the same time as a game of singles, or as before 2 games of singles or one of doubles. Double banking doubles is not permitted.

    • The limit on the overall number in a group including spectators remains at 6. No visitors.

    • We can use the clubhouse again provided social distancing is observed. With a limit of 6 people there will be plenty of room. Please clean the chairs and tables you use. It is suggested you open both doors and the door in the kitchen area to increase ventilation.

    • To assist tracking and tracing we are asked to keep a record of who is at the club and to retain the information for 21 days. You will find a supply of paper for this purpose in the clubhouse. Please record the date and your name and put the completed note in the box used for handicap cards etc.

    • Doubles can now be played at bowls as well as singles.

    • Otherwise, the same advice continues to apply including bringing your own food and drink and cleaning everything you touch.

02 June - with slots update 08 June :

As a result of the latest easing of restrictions, up to 4 players will now be able to play at the same time from 15 June onwards.

Lawn bookings will be for a mix of 2 and 3 hour slots as follows 10-12, 12-2, 2-5 and 5-8 from that date.

The latest guidelines to be followed can be downloaded by clicking here or from the files list at the bottom of this screen

Tue 13 May :

The lawn will reopen on Sunday (17/05 ). The following restrictions will apply –

· Do not come to the Club if you are experiencing any symptoms of a cold or flu, in particular a cough or high temperature.

· All games must be booked on the on-line booking system. Do not turn up on spec. (Contact Ian or Brian if you have problems booking.)

· The sessions will be 10am – 12, 12 – 2pm, 2 – 4pm, 4 – 6pm and 6 – 8pm, except on Mondays and Wednesdays when the lawn will be available for bowls from 2 – 5pm and the evening session will be 5 – 8pm.

· You can play with a member of your household, or one person from another household if you stay 2 metres apart. Do not shake hands at the end of a game.

· Each member may only play twice a week while we guage demand.

· All games should be played as singles, or you can practice on your own. No double banking.

· Each session will be for 2 hours.

· Clean hoops, balls and mallets after your game and door handles etc you have touched, within the 2 hours. (Wipes are available in the clubhouse.) Do not keep the next game waiting. If the next game has not arrived put everything away. They may not come.

· Do not use pegs, halfway markers and other peripheral items of equipment.

· Wait on the grass by the rose bed until the previous game has left. Do not wait in the clubhouse.

· No guests, visitors or spectators.

· Bring your own hand towel and refreshments. Do not use the club’s kettles, cups etc.

· There will be no Club sessions and social events for the time being.

Advice

  • Follow the Government guidance, particularly those in vulnerable groups.

  • Wash your hands before and after you play. Soap and/or hand sanitiser will be available. You may also want to clean the equipment you are going to use.

  • Avoid using the toilets if possible and clean after use.

  • Avoid using chairs and tables and clean them if you do.

  • Use your feet rather than hands to position balls if you can.

  • Keep safe, take care, look after yourself and if possible enjoy your croquet or bowls.

Tue 24 March :

In the new circumstances the Committee has concluded that we have to close the lawn until the restrictions are lifted.

We can only hope that that is for a short period and we can soon get back to playing

Best wishes and keep well

Sat 21 March :

The Committee has decided that all sessions (apart from the 2 bowls sessions) should now be bookable sessions starting on Monday, 23rd March. Thus, there will be no club sessions until further notice. This is to avoid the possibility of a number of members arriving for the same session and the lawn becoming overcrowded.

We will maintain the restriction of one session per member per week for the time being to ensure that as far as possible any member who wants to play can do so. If we find that the lawn is underutilised we will review this restriction.

Please remember to follow the Government's guidance on social distancing etc

17 March :

Following the latest guidance from the Government on coronavirus we will keep the lawn open. Exercise outdoors is allowed and a game of croquet or bowls (when it re-starts in April) is not dissimilar to a walk provided that players keep their distance from each other as far as possible, for example, withdrawing to the boundary between shots. However it is up to members to follow the Government’s advice and apply it to their own circumstances. If you come to the club you may want to bring your own cup and towel.

All our social events, competitions and matches and coaching are suspended until further notice.

Maintenance of the lawn will continue as normal as far as possible.

We hope you all keep well and that we are back to normal as soon as possible.

Other notes for members on sanitising equipment also sent out on 15 and 20 March but not repeated in full here.