The Green Room (2009) – Have a Chat
This page is for anyone and everyone to talk about anything (but keep it clean!). Click on “comments” and enter your name and email address (however your email address will not be published). Leave the “website” box blank.
Enjoy!
August 7th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
This website is getting better by the day. I have often wanted to leave a message or two for you. Now I can. Thank you.
We like your picture gallery and you seem to have a good rapport. You must work very hard keeping your greens looking so good. Do you pay for this or do it yourselves? What do you use to keep the weeds at bay?
I am going to subscribe to this feed so I can keep up to date with your excellent site. Well done all of you.
August 7th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Limerick from the heart
It’s alright for you lot retired
or even sacked or fired
but I’ve got to work
so unless i shirk
I’m always terribly tired!!
August 7th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Re the “Best photograph of the year” on the Photo Gallery page:
Even the EX school master could not understand the instructions!
Well worth studying this picture. Nice one Brian.
August 8th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Help required…………. quite urgently as far as Ian is concerened. Has anyone got a recipe for Flapjack? Buttery and treackly – and not brittle.
I have tried to make this “horrible concoction” over the years only to find I have to throw it out, along with the baking tray. (even the birds turn their beaks up at it)!
Thanks (:
August 8th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I thought that I would have nothing to contribute to our Beverley Bowling Club site as I am just a member. It was pointed out to me that every one of us could contribute on the ‘Green Room’ page. What could I say that may be of some interest to others? After some deliberation I thought that as a bowler who joined the Club just over a year ago I could point out some differences between South and North.
I will start by commenting on the fact that I find that people who play Bowls are generally the most sporting and friendly. The motto of the Club where I first joined was ‘Friends are people we have not yet met’. I found that in my case this was repeated at Beverley. I believe that Bowls is possibly not only the friendliest but also the most sporting of competitive sports. Long may it continue to be so!
Firstly, I would say the biggest difference is the method of indicating the shots scored at each end and I cannot get used to the method used in this area. The method I was first shown, which seems to be easier and clearer to me. Indicate that the number of shots are shown by a slapping action of 1 slap for each shot scored, on the shoulder if it is for you and on the thigh if against. Can anyone tell me the advantage of the method used in this area?
I like the difference the very relaxed attitude to dress for casual bowling. Where ever bowls are played and Grey is specified I wonder what colour is Grey? The colour seems to range from not only from light grey but through various shades and ones that look to have not only almost black but also blues and browns. I therefore like to see players in whites, as used in most matches in the Watford and District, but even then this ranges from creamy to very stark whites.
The fact that there are no changing facilities is a big difference to the southern area to here. In fact I believe that was a reason that one Club closed down was they did not attract many opposing clubs which possibly lead to a lack of members, mind you there could have been other reasons.
Well that is a start there will be more to follow.
August 8th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
ODE TO IAN
I used to work and have free time
I then retired its not a crime
Time on my hands and time for pleasure
Do what I want and at my leisure
When retired I got a shock
With time to kill I then took stock
A bit of bowling and help to others
For older folk and pregnant mothers
Washing,ironing,gardening too
The list is long with things to do
Remembering to clean the Mazda
I’ll do it later we’re off to Asda
Think long and hard before retiring
Its just the grass that your admiring
so whilst at work enjoy the fun
A harder day’s work is still to come.
August 8th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I watched a match taking place in Scarborough whilst on holiday with my late wife just a few years ago. We had been keen bowlers for many years and I still play. We were facinated by the way shots were displayed. We thought the players must have excellent “balancing” skills because my wife and myself could not stand on one leg and wave the other in the air.
We found Yorkshire people to be very friendly and I agree with Gordon’s views about Bowlers in particular being friendly. We were even offered a cup of tea by one of the lady members at no cost. I am sure our club would have charged! I am so pleased to have found your club on the internet. I did leave a comment for Mr Johnson about how well he presents his team and their results each week. I hope I did not cause any offence by my comments but if this is a result of them I am thrilled to see you have given the likes of me the chance to talk to you. Good luck to you all. As Gordon said – more to follow. Ted
August 8th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Re the ‘Best photograph of the year’ – Neville did say he had bought the chinese model gazebo ….. the puzzled look on our faces was probably due to the instructions being written in mandarin.
August 8th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Well done Maggie.
Whilst the “best photo” was been taken of six men looking and thinking maybe, the lady captain was erecting her gazebo and setting up the tombola with the help of Dennis and Mary Peckett and in spite of laughing at these poor souls we had it up and done in no time. Lessons given (small charge) all proceeds to club funds.
August 8th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
My receipt for Flapjacks is as follows:-
4 oz Butter
l oz caster sugar
2 tabs golden syrup
8 oz rolled oats
pinch of salt
I find the cookery books tell you to leave this mixture in the oven for far too long so I take the flapjack out when it has just changed colour, this way the texture is more chewy and not so brittle. It may feel soft on the top when you take it out of the oven but when cool it is fine. If this fails I should ask Neville I didn’t realise he did washing and ironing as well as his other secretarial skills
August 8th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Thanks Hilary for your recipe. It must go on the Recipes/Cookery page.
If I manage to turn it out properly formed, you know what I will be supplying for the next Whistle Stop. If Couplands go bankrupt it will be your fault.
August 8th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Cork Rocket
I suppose this tale is about money attracting money. These days I specialise in personal injury work. However 25 years ago I covered all types of civil litigation and dispute work including debt, boundary disputes, building disputes, consumer law, neighbour disputes and pretty well anything that walked through the door involving dispute. One of our clients in those days was AC. He was an entreprenneur although he primarily made his fortune in the Nursing Home business. He would purchase a nursing home, improve and develop it, run it successfully before selling and buying elsewhere. It was his ambition to become a millionnaire and he did following one acquisition become a paper millionaire. He was a charismatic character and could be a charmer when he chose to turn it on. He also had a darker side and it was usually best not to get on his bad side. He rather fancied himself I think as being the local squire and indeed he purchased a Lord of the Manor title for himself and when it suited him he would introduce himself as Lord C. Litigation somehow followed him around like bees around a honeypot. In the years that I acted for him I always had a drawful of files where he had somehow got into dispute. He was of course always in the right and the other party’s account was always a gross distortion of the truth. I think that he almost certainly believed his own account most of the time. However at heart he was honourable and it would be unfair to characterise him as a likeable rogue. He just had great drive to further his ambitions.
Anyway so much for the preamble. One day he telephoned me to say that he had agreed to loan £30,000 to a small stable owner near Scarborough. The loan was to be repaid 3 months later when he would receive £3000 interest. He wanted security for the loan. The borrower owned a stud horse called (let us say) Cork Rocket worth £70,000. If the borrower defaulted AC was to get the horse. I drew up a promissory note which provided for this. Neither of us truly expected the borrower to default but default he did. AC arranged for local stables to keep the horse for him and one sunny summers day I attended at the borrowers stables together with AC to to take possession of Cork Rocket. The police were also on standby in case of any trouble. In the event there was no trouble and the borrower watched as £70,000 of horseflesh walked out of his stables.
You might think that the story ends there with AC walking away with a nice £40,000 profit. However as I said litigation was never far away. In this case not from our borrower but from the stable owner where Cork Rocket was now liveried. AC not content with his £40,000 profit persuaded the stable owner who herself owned racehorses to give him the first foal resulting from Cork Rocket’s stud duties in return for a free service of one of her horses. In fact I remember sitting down at the stable owner’s dining table and drawing up the agreement when we arrived with Cork Rocket following his relocation. So AC now has a stud horse worth £70,000, quite lucrative stud fees to come and the promise of a free foal. Subsequently there was a dispute over how much livery AC should be paying and the stable owner disputed the validity of the free foal agreement. She threatened to remove Cork Rocket out of the jurisdiction – over to France I think – and we had to issue injunction proceedings to prevent this. To cut the rest of the story short, AC got Cork Rocket back which he later sold for £90,000 and cut a deal with the stable owner receiving compensation in return for releasing his claim to the foal. All in all not a bad little flutter.
August 8th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
A lovely story Ian …. I am going to attend Ladies Day at Beverley Races on Wednesday and if there is a horse running called ‘Cork Rocket’ I will certainly put 50 pence each way on it.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Sorry Maggie – 2 1 C is an army phrase and means second in command
(see Wednesday Vets page comments to understand this!!)
August 9th, 2009 at 9:09 am
How hot should the oven be to cook Flapjack and how long do you leave it in the oven? Just going to try Hilary’s recipe
August 9th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Great Sunday morning reading. Love the story about Cork Rocket.
I will send some good children’s recipes for difficult eaters! Sneaky ways to get all the veg in them without them knowing!
August 9th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I am not going to be much help – I turn the oven to 180c and then I just keep a close eye on them and when they turn slightly brown I take them out. I wish I could be as accurate with my bowling…. I drive Bernard up the wall when I leave him to put something in the oven because he needs to know the timing to the exact minute and will not accept my answer when I say ‘take it out when it is ready.’
August 10th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
We hope to come to Beverley early September for a nostalgic 5 days. We were on the inbeverley site looking for accommodation and found ourselves redirected here because we are keen bowlers. Your club is very 21st century. You are so fortunate. We are envious. Our club is of the 19th century and fast asleep era. Anyway we are looking for a clean, not expensive B&B in Beverley. Can any of your members help with this request please? I will check back here for a reply in a day or so or our email address is colinjo99@hotmail.co.uk I hope you do not mind us leaving this message here.
August 11th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Re: Bed & Breakfast accommodation
Dog & Duck Inn (D.E. McMullen)
33 Ladygate
Beverley
8BH
Tel: 01482 862419
Our friends from Jersey who ran their own Guest House until retirement stayed there on two occasions and gave us a very good report. It has several small cottages at the back of the Inn and they serve the breakfast in the main part of the Inn. It is situated close to the Beverley Market Place – opposite the Corn Exchange.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Re B&B request:
Hello Colin & Jo. I would like to re-direct you to another local site. Before you say “oh no” I promise it will not be like holding on the telephone for an hour waiting to speak to a Utility company or even Sky tv then find you are speaking to some one in India who then transfers you to Glasgow!! Have a look at http://www.hu17.net It is a good site for visitors coming to the area.
If you are in Beverley on the 5/6 September it is our Finals weekend and we would welcome you to join us for a nail biting experience between our best players. Refreshments are free that weekend but I am not sure that our Treasurer has been told so don’t let her know I have told you! If you fancy a rollup we have woods that we loan out to visitors and there will always be people around keen to join you. Hope you enjoy your stay in Beverley. Kind Regards.
August 11th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Hilary’s Mackerel Pate (see the recipe page)
I have made this up several times from Hilary’s recipe. In fact, I have a portion in the freezer at the moment so I know it is not only delicious but it certainly does freeze well too as Hilary says.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Just watched this video of some members of BTBC on youtube. Well worth watching. Click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKT1CjLsR6g
August 14th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
To Avid follower. Thank you for your kind words regarding the way our Club and Greens look. I can tell you that it is down to hard work done by a small band of volunteers. Im not sure that they are willing but they do turn up most weeks. Our Club is not alone in that very few members actually do any work to keep a club ticking over.
Throughout the year on Tuesday and Thursday mornings the group meet and tackle the various job that they identify as needing to be done. We have built a fence, put in conifers, and over the Winter of 2005/06 refurbished our clubroom. On the greens we regularly scarify and weed and feed the greens. Sometimes we have to cut them but most of the time we have a man who does it for us 3 times a week. We have a very good rapport with him so he helps us in other ways. Our big problem is that we are all amateurs and are only use to looking after our own lawns so 2 greens totaling 2600 square metres is quite different. We can ask advice from the companies that sell the feeds, which we do quite often but an in house expert would be ideal. The other problem is lack of willing workers. Of the jobs we do there are very few that are heavy labour. We have a liquid sprayer and a scarifier which are as difficult to use as pushing a pram but we don’t have any Ladies in the work party. Don’t get me wrong as the Ladies Social Committee do a great job with organising events to help raise funds.
To give you some idea of costs involved last year we replaced the boards at the 2 playing ends of the small green £400+, top dressing for our smaller green £450. Moss killer for the greens £120, Weed and feed for a seasons supply £250. We will need 3 bags of grass seed this year at £120+ per bag. On the last Sunday in June we hold our main Fund Raiser, the Whistle Stop, where teams from around the area compete all day to win a cash prize. We are fortunate to have 2 Sponsors who provide the Prize money. Next year will be the 25th and we are hoping that our Sponsors will continue to support us.
Should you wish any other information please ask. Must go as the watering system needs to be turned on.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Entrapment
The Receptionist is a very important member of a solicitor’s office. He /she needs to be friendly, informative, welcoming, tactful and not easily flustered. He/she is often a pseudo office manager. It also helps if he/she knows how to use a telephone system. In short the receptionist is a paragon of virtue. Not many years after I became a partner we needed a new receptionist and I and my partners Mike and Jenny began interviewing. There were several applicants and a late applicant was a certain Maggie. Maggie clearly fitted all the above requirements (I dare say nothing other). My only concern was that she might be too quiet (yes, really) However I was outvoted by Mike and Jenny (I joke, it was unanimous) and Maggie became our receptionist.
An advantage was that in her previous post as receptionist, Maggie had occasionally been sent out with counsel to attend trials where she would keep a note of the evidence, look after the client and witnesses and liase between client and counsel. I made use of this experience on one trial involving child abuse allegations. This was a rather sad case involving my client Claire who was a somewhat inadequate and immature girl who was firmly under the control of her partner and father of her child Adam who was an unpleasant and violent young man. He was separately represented.
The trial lasted three days and Maggie attended each day. Claire found the cross examination an ordeal and following an earlier suggestion by Maggie, when she came to a difficult point she asked for a comfort break. Maggie accompanied her to the ladies toilet. It is of course strictly forbidden to talk to a witness who has not yet completed her evidence and of course Maggie followed this to the letter. However our counsel, Bernard Gateshill, was somewhat surprised to hear Claire suggesting in reply to a question put to her by prosecuting counsel on her return to the witness box that perhaps the explanation for her behaviour was that she had been suffering from post natal depression !
On the third afternoon Maggie telephoned me at the office. She told me that the Jury had just gone out to consider their verdict. They were expected to be some time. If the verdict was not guilty did that merit me taking Maggie out for a meal? I thought it was a pretty safe bet that the verdict would be guilty and without a moment’s hesitation I said ‘Yes, of course’. Actually says Maggie, the jury came back ten minutes ago and the verdict was not guilty! Six months later we married.
I would be very interested to know how your partner snared you!
August 15th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Had the grandchildren staying last week, boys age 5 & 7 and Emma age 3. Went to York Maze which was one of the best days out we had. So much to do we just sat and watched them play. No arguing, no tears, great. Cornride was lots of fun, prepare to get wet. Took our own pack up which kept the cost down. Stayed for about 7 hours. Highly recommend it.
August 17th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Re: Neville
You are clearly a leader and a man of vision. I take my hat off to you. Let me tell you my experience of being a member of a bowling club.
I joined our local club when I retired and paid my subs (£70) which I thought at the time was a bit steep. There were 85 members and 5 of these would work on the green religiously twice a week. My thoughts were silly beggars, bet they want a place in the “A” team or lead very boring lives. Two years passed. I found myself, like the other 80 members complaining about certain aspects of the club that I felt could be improved. I felt quite annoyed that I was paying by then £75 subs and nobody listened to my suggestions. Still the same 5 men, plus another newcomer, worked on the green. These 6 men appeared to me as the best of buddies in their own little “club”. My son came to visit and I proudly took him to my bowling club one morning to show him where I disappeared to every afternoon. Sod it I thought. Those goody goodies are there again! Two of these men walked over to us and my son asked what they were doing. They explained, due to vandalism they were looking into putting security lighting outside the clubhouse but had just had an electrician quote a quite outrages price to do the work. My son who had followed his old man into the Sparky trade asked to see what they wanted. Although he was on holiday he offered to come the next day (using my tools!) to do the job for free. The next day I went with him and these 6 men turned up to help. None were electricians but they were more than happy to labour and make endless cups of tea. During one of many tea breaks my son asked why they did all the donkey work. They said it was to improve the facilities for all members and that they really enjoyed the relaxed company of each other and also learnt new skills from each other. On leaving they thanked my son and me. My son turned round and said thank you for allowing me to have a very enjoyable day with you. My son returned to Jersey. My wife was going to have her hair done and left me to my own devices so I strolled up to our club house in the hope these 6 men would be there. There are now 7 very happy donkeys on the green. I have learnt a very valuable lesson belonging to a bowling club. The average age of a bowler is higher than that of any other sport and although our paid working life is over it does not mean our life is over. If you are a member of a bowling club (or any other club) and feel bored with life except when you are bowling just remember you are needed by people like our 7 donkeys. We are nothing special and none of us were brain surgeons (although one was a doctor) but we have a laugh each day we meet and none of the work is that heavy. My wife is delighted I now have friends to spend time with and have a chat with. I have found my wife is more interested in knowing Bob and his wife are going to Scotland next week and Joe and his wife have just had a new grand-child than she ever was in my bowling achievements/failures!
I feel saddened for you Neville. You clearly put many hours in to your club. You need members who want to belong to a club, not just bowl. There is a huge difference when you “belong”. With your unselfish input, Beverley Town must know without men like you at the helm there would not be a club or it would be a non descript club with a lot of non descript members.
I can not emphasise how much more pleasure I get in being one of the donkeys than being (as I am now) a member of our “B” team.
It is great to be in a position to offer help. Go on all of you reading this. Offer help today. It is far more rewarding than winning any match or complaining about something YOU can change. God Bless
August 18th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Having looked at the 20 entrants for the Baby Competition I have come to the conclusion that 19 of them are Gordon but damned if I know who the other one could be.
August 18th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Thank you Tom for your comments and you have hit the nail on the head, nobody sees the jobs done only the ones that are needed to be done. We intend to close our No2 Green at the end of August so that this time we ( the magnificent 6) can try and get it right for next season. I will let you know if the number of willing workers increases but I am not holding my breath.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I am not very good at guessing ‘Who is Who’ but I agree with Bernard – most of them do look like Gordon!! Wasn’t he a bonny baby.
August 19th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Message to Bernard and Maureen.
Specsavers have a special offer running. Two pairs of specs for the price of one!
Also, a new class will be running at the club house this Thursday morning called “The Birds and the Bees”. A workout will follow on the greens. Starts @ 9.30. All welcome.
I think you two are trying to cheat here by making the rest of us doubt who is who. I think that posh car baby 7 is sitting in is a dead give away Bernard and those legs on baby 20 belong to Maureen because they look like “dancing”legs to me!
Speaking of Gordon, I wonder why no-one has commented on our “New member” Melonie (in the main gallery) looking for a place in the Ladies Pairs?
August 20th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
We used to be the “3 Musketeers” until our mate Joe passed away last autumn.
Out of a membership of 58 it was quite easy to categorise the remaining 55. There was Fred who owned a trailer. When asked if he could help us move some rubbish and take it to our local tip he very apologetically said it was broken but he would have happily helped out. Later that same day Joyce came for a rollup and said how kind Fred had been. She had paid him £15 to take an old chair and other bits to the tip for her earlier that same day! Then we have good old Barry, the proud owner of a petrol hedge cutter. We all know how difficult, not to mention dangerous, it is to use an extension cable across a green. Yes you have guessed, we asked Barry if he would help us using his petrol cutter to tidy the hedges. Sorry mate, my son-in-law is using it at his house was his quick reply. His son-in-law works with Mel’s lad and has said he is desperate to get out of his high rise flat before the new baby arrives. Suppose he could have a hedge on a balcony.
Our ladies have a greater number of helpers but face the same when they ask for extra help. Being ladies they can just speak their minds and get it off their chests when faced with a flimsy excuse not to help. (Obviously behind their backs).
Our Joe left a remarkable impact on our club. At his funeral which was very well attended his son read a letter from his dad. Addressed to everyone attending he wanted to say thank you. Special thanks were paid to various people he had known and loved over many years. The final paragraph was to his bowling companions:
“You are still in god’s waiting room. The most enjoyable part of my life was sharing this room with you. I enjoyed my time working and playing on the greens but felt sad that so many of you were missing out on the pleasure and privilege of the upkeep of the green. The respect we all would like to have only comes from giving not receiving.
A sad tale with a happy ending. We are now a party of 17 who meet every Monday and Friday. Fred now takes the rubbish in his trailer to the tip as and when he sees it has accumulated. Barry brings his petrol hedge cutter and 5 of us tidy the hedge in a couple of hours instead of a couple of weeks. We have just had our best gala day ever. More home-made cakes and pastries and help all round. Even at the end of the day we had almost all our members helping to tidy up and wash up. Cheers Joe. You will be remembered for all the right reasons mate.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
As I play bowls in the Vets league on a Tuesday and Wednesday, I notice that the majority of players on both sides are retired people. They are usually very friendly and are often talking about their families and I have found that a lot of grandads play bowls. They often talk about their talented grandchildren and I wondered exactly how you would recognise a grandad. A book I was recently given defined a new grandad as:-
* You buy a round of drinks for everyone at the pub for the first time in
living memory.
* You have hickory dickory dock on permanent repeat in your head when
you are trying to get to sleep.
* You spend more time in the local toy shop than the garden centre.
* At breakfast, you absent mindedly cut the crusts off your toast – and
then save the remnants for the ducks.
* The seat of your trousers gets dirty from the ride on the see-saw rather
than sitting on the park bench.
There are 4 ages to a Grandad:
* You believe in Santa Clause
* You don’t believe in Santa Clause
* You are Santa Clause
* You look like Santa Clause
Grandad’s Words of Wisdom:
At age 4, success is ….. not piddling in your pants.
At age 12, success is … having friends.
At age 17, success is … having a driver’s licence.
At age 35, success is … having money.
At age 70, success is … having a driver’s licence.
At age 75, success is … having friends.
At age 80, success is … not piddling in your pants.
What Grandad has learned about growing old:
* Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
* Forget the health food. As you get older you need all the
preservatives you can get.
* When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while
you’re down there.
* It’s frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody
bothers to ask you the questions.
The benefits of ageing:
* Things you buy now won’t wear out.
* You can hold a party and the neighbours won’t even realise it.
* There is nothing left for you to learn the hard way.
* No one expects you to run into a burning building.
* Your eyes won’t get much worse.
* Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can’t
remember them either.
Grandad’s advice to children:
* No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptise cats.
* When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
* If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the
second person.
* You can’t trust dogs to watch your food.
* Try as you might, you won’t be able to hide a piece of broccoli in
a glass of milk.
* The best place to be when you are sad is Grandad’s lap.
Any more tips on being a Grandad!!!
August 21st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Jim has great tips for being a grandad cut the bowling greens and play golf.
Surely someone did not think I was Gordon?
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:49 am
Re Bonny Baby Competition:
Poor Gordon has taken some stick throughout this competition. Good job he has broad shoulders and is a real sport.
Private message for Gordon……. I am still waiting for a good ‘photo. Closing date is 12 September 2009
August 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
TOP MARKS TO SWANLAND BOWLING CLUB FOR HOSPITALITY
Josie and I went along to support the Humberside Sports Pairs game on Friday evening where we were both made extremely welcome and treated like royalty. We did lose the game but the highlight of the evening was a beautiful rainbow over the green….where was our official photographer ?
August 24th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Re: Bonny Baby Competition:
I can assure everyone that I am certainly not any of those Bonny Babies shown wearing a dress! In fact I made the mistake of supplying Maggie with photo’s of me at a stage far beyond the baby stage (Photo Gallery).
Mind you, I do not think that I can identify any of YOU who have supplied a photo except Maggie of course with her mouth wired!!!!
I wonder if the others still to supply their own photo’s will look like me. Poor Things!
August 24th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Re Gordon and the bonny baby competition:
Have you heard about the Ugly Duckling?
August 25th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I noticed another rainbow tonight for the Humberside Sports team – do you order them in advance Carl.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Last nights game against Little Weighton was the last game this season for Humberside sport and it was nice to finish on a win, winning two rinks and drawing one against the team second in the league.The rain did not spoil a good evenings bowling,(Hilary we got a double rainbow) it is always nice to bowl against little Weighton as they are a such friendly group of bowlers,and to my team well done boys & girls hope to see you all next year playing for Humberside sports.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Re: Ladies Tuesday Triples League
The last game of the season against East Park was a win for Beverley, 12 – 0.
The overall points for the season were:
87 points for Beverley
129 against.
We were down 42 points over 18 games.
Thanks to all the ladies who supported me throughout the season, especially at the beginning when we had a few personal problems.
I hope everybody enjoyed it, even when we lost, and hope you will all play again next season.
Well done everybody.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Well done Wednesday Vets after another win on Thursday – we are really going out on a high…..Congratulations to our three Hot Shot Winners – Harry Hunt, Eric Pearson and Peter Jackson.
August 31st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Just a reminder that the nomination sheet is up in the Club and before you all go off on various holidays don’t forget that we need you for next year.
August 31st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Re the above:
And we need you Neville!!
September 6th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Food for Thought:
The end of the outdoor season is nearly upon us and as we look forward to 2010, with the forecasts of what is in store for us. It reminded me of a cutting from the “Daily Express” newspaper published on Monday, August 26 1991. It was compiled from government figures and Cambridge University forecasts. The final part of the article said that the Government would not be pleased that we will still be hooked on credit,
(it did not mention that the Country will be deep in debt)!
The following are some of the forecasts and actual statistics in 1971, 1991 and 2010..
…………………………….. 1971 1991 2010
Average Wage £33.40 £243 £575
Working hours per week 42 38 20
Annual Holidays per week 2 4 10-15
% Home ownership 28 66 85
% Single Parent Households 9 18 25
Life expectancy Men 70.2 71.9 77
Life expectancy Woman 74.5 77.6 82
Food Spending per week £2.51 £30.30 £58.50
How can we ever believe the experts.
September 7th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Thought the finals weekend was great. Ladies did a superb job of providing cakes and tea. Can we have Margaret’s recipe for muffins?
Yummy.
September 10th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Never mind the recipe I didn’t get a muffin. Joking apart as always the Ladies did a great job. ‘Thank you’ to all of you involved, you know who you are.
September 16th, 2009 at 6:17 am
At the end of this season I look back with some personal disappointment but also some pleasure.The elbow injury meant that I missed a very large part of the season, but just as disappointing was that it stopped me being able to do a little bit with the workers who achieved so much during the year. What a pity it is that there are so few of those members who cannot or do not want to put a little work to make the work lighter for the few! Let us hope there will be more will offer to help this year.
My pleasurable times were spent marking in the competitions. Thank you for those who took up my offer. The culmination was the Final between Trevor West and Garry Allen, with Garry playing in such obvious pain especially in the last few end when he was plagued by pins and needles in both hands. He made it plain that he was determined to complete the match fortunately he was able to do so.
What a great effort by both players which was a credit to both the Club and to Bowls.
Roll on next years outdoor Bowls.
September 27th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
For those of you who are interested, today is the closing date for booking in for the Presentation Night at the Westwood Golf Club on the 9 October. So far there are 47 attending with a further 5 that I am waiting answers from. Slightly down on last year, but times are hard.
Work will continue on the greens this week, sorry that they were closed in all this good weather but if you want a green for next year we have to start when the new grass seed will have a chance of growing. More helpers cuts down the time needed but its still the magnificent 6.
October 10th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Thank you to everyone who attended the Presentation Night on the 9th October (48),I believe that everyone enjoyed the evening. Thanks also to Maggie for the Babies Competition, having reviewed my results I had better go to Specsavers.
A date for your 2010 diary ,Presentation Night will be Friday 8 October at the Golf Club.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
To all our friends, I feel it must be said what a wonderful evening we all had at the Golf Club last night for our Presentation Evening. Everything went so well and the meal was superb. Thanks were given to everyone concerned save for one person for which I must apologise. I must thank Maggie for putting so much effort into the Bonny Baby Competition, and also for the lovely prize given by her. Also as usual her expertise with the photo’s which I’m sure we’ll all enjoy on the website. Congratulations to all the winners and runners up. All in all a truly successful evening thoroughly enjoyed, and we look forward to next year’s dinner.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:12 pm
We had a lovely stay in Beverley but unfortunately our stay did not coincide with your Finals weekend. We did walk to your club house and peek through the window and it looks so welcoming compared to ours but to be fair our members are much older than yours (average age about 70) so they are dead against change of any sort.
With our retired captain of 12 years ago still being a member he makes it extremely difficult for all the new captains we have had (and lost thanks to him being so irrational when change is mentioned) that we have not moved on like your club obviously has. It would seem it is common in bowling clubs to have an element of disgruntled members as it appears to be an age related problem and these poor souls have had a disappointing life as far as they are concerned and seem hell bent on making fellow mankind miserable! I am not sure why I have drifted of what I intended to say, must be age related, but we would like to thank Hilary for the detailed information she so kindly gave on a wonderful place to stay. Thank you my dear.
Cheerio for now.
We will be back to your site on another wet and windy day in Durham.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Hi there friends.
What a heart warming site. Your style of writing is very warm and uplifting. I have spent rather too long browsing this blog but it has given me food for thought for my Sunday sermon! Your ‘photo gallery is both informative and hugely entertaining. Hopefully any one else looking at this site will realize the game of Bowls is not “an old mans game” but an invitation to broaden your experience of life with kind, thoughtful people who work hard for one and other and who care about others before themselves as your site undoubtedly transmits. Congratulations and my best wishes to you all. As other contributors have stated, I will return here again. God Bless. Chris
November 15th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Fire Prevention.
I wonder how many people know that the Fire Service, as well as providing the emergency services, also carry out preventative work.
I had the good fortune to be informed of this service and contacted the Beverley Fire and asked them to visit my property. After a few days and by appointment I had a visit by 2 members of the service. They carried out a survey of the property and not only fitted replacement alarms and but also an extra one. These were the new type with a 10 year battery fitted. They also requested me to answer a survey to which I agreed, whilst I was doing so he noticed I had hearing aids fitted and suggested that it would be a good idea to fit a strobe light and an under the pillow vibrator alarm fitted. I agreed. This was subject to Social Services department and within a few days this was approved and shortly after the same fireman returned and fitted the another type of fire alarm and the two devices.
The whole visit was conducted in an informal but professional way.
This service was free as it is to all aged 60 or over. Telehone 01482 398539
November 17th, 2009 at 9:46 am
While looking for ladies golf bags I came across your blog. I could not believe the amount of quality material that exists on this site. The site is extremely eye catching and pulls the reader straight to it. The articles are very professionally written. I have seen too many of these sites where it looks like they have paid an eight year old to do the writing – not this one. Your site is easily the best that I have seen in a long while.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Regarding the Fire Prevention information passed on by Gordon, I would like to thank him for thinking of passing on this most useful info. I telephoned our local fire service (Bristol) and they were most helpful. They will inspect our property on Thursday (this week) and will discuss options with us.
My thanks to Neville for an interesting reply. I have looked at your ‘photo gallery this morning and it looks like the same handful of members doing the winter maintenance. If it is any consolation to these few men they look mighty healthier and happier than the rest of your members who just turn up to bowl or dine. We have just held our AGM. The quietest on record. After the previous years grumbles about all the things that were wrong in our club and the subsequent memo displayed on the notice board which reads ‘If YOU feel there is room for improvement within YOUR club please write below what it is you would like to see changed and how YOU would implement it – remember to include your name’. The committee will (if your suggestion is viable) happily work with YOU every Monday / Thursday morning. We still have a blank A4 sheet of paper below this message and the ‘bunch’ of known moaners have dispersed. We continue to work for our club because bowling is our hobby and we have become good friends with more people than we ever did throughout our paid working life. Could I ask your members what they do when their pc goes wrong? I had trouble a few months ago and ended up taking it to a high street store. Had no idea what they were telling me but had no choice but to leave it with them. It was ready for collection the next day and cost over a hundred pounds plus the vat. It now takes ages for me to get from a to b but well worth it to visit your site. Long may it last. Must say we enjoy your recipes. My wife loves baking and I love eating.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Simples, take it to maggie web site co-ordinator.
November 18th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Re question on the gallery page:
Hello Secretary –
The names of the men on the website are :- Trevor Clark, John Hardman, Neville Sansome Carl Johnson and Bernard Smith. I think they were looking for Eric but they could be sharing out Mary’s biscuits.
Hilary Smith
November 18th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Reply to our Avid Follower:
I would recommend taking a stroppy pc to a local lad on the High Street who deals with repairs and upgrades. Ask for a written explanation of what he thinks is wrong with your pc. Research on the internet what you have been told either using a friend’s pc or go to your local library where you can usually access the internet for free. The advantage of using your library facillities is you will often find quite a few very knowledgeable people working online beside you who will willingly help you find what you are looking for.
Note for Carl: Any pc problem would need to be simple if I could sort it!!!
November 19th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
To modest by half maggie.
November 21st, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Re: Question on the gallery page:
No Hilary,
These men are discussing the calendar they are going to publish to raise funds for the club. They are in the shed looking for old bowls to hold in strategic areas but I am sure I could find them a few golf balls which should be more than adequate!
November 21st, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Re: Question on the gallery page:
Yes Maggie, you could be right about the calendar……imagine the comments – “I don’t know what they are wearing but it obviously needs pressing.”
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I feel the the Workers in the photo were in fact Checking the Equipment to see if it is still in a workable condition. If so if any of those present could suggest ways to improve the performance!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am
In April next year I retire
Leisure and bowls my desire
No way says my wife
You’ve jobs here for life
Out of the frying pan into the fire?
November 29th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Happy 32nd Birthday Maggie….have a lovely day with your family.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Happy birthday Maggie,32 who would believe you are that old.Have a good one.
November 29th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Sorry that I have not added a word for a while but I was busy getting things ready for our AGM and then my computer blew up, didn’t it Maggie?Unlike Avid Reader’s, ours was the best attended for some time and as the revised constitution was accepted we do not have to worry about the Town Council wanting their money back. Thanks to the trusty 6 plus a couple of extras the greens have been put to bed for the winter. We are not painting the club house this year so we need only meet on a Tuesday. The photo which raised so many comments, and all my bits are still working, was of the great minds getting together to try to solve the problem of ‘what do you put on a hoop pusher that will not scratch the bowls’ and we arrived at a conclusion. As you should know Hillary we have our own SPECIAL BISCUITS. Thank you to all members who rattled the buckets for ‘the Lion’s’ on the Westwood at the bonfire.
Its a lovely looking cake Hilary, how much for the correct answer?
Happy Birthday Maggie now I know why it was raining so hard this morning.
November 29th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Happy Birthday Maggie from Peter and I. Didn’t realise it was your 32nd. Thought it was your 21st! Nice photograph.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Re: the weight of the cake
Sorry Neville the correct answer isn’t for sale, but I am sure the ‘great minds’ could try and work it out on Tuesday morning during their tea break – it’s no good asking Bernard he hasn’t a clue, he compares everything to how much a bag of cement weighs – you would think after being married for 51 years and the amount of cooking he has seen me do he would have a bit of an idea.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
You will have to send us a small piece (not too small after all there are 6 of us) to appraise it.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:04 am
2 December 2009
It’s our Captain Bernard’s Birthday
He’s sixty-two today (again)
But he’s feeling bad
And rather sad
Cos his cakes being given away!
Happy Birthday Bernard
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:09 am
2 December 2009
It is our Captain Bernard’s Birthday
Hip Hip Hip Hooray
But can you keep a secret?
He’s sixty-two today!
Happy Birthday Bernard
PS. Not being certain of his age I have had to guess and I think he looks about sixty-two.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Lovely poetry – re the age all I can say is “I wish”
December 4th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
How much is it worth not to disclose your real age?
December 6th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Having just purchased a new laptop we contacted our ”resident expert” from the Bowls Club, namely Maggie Hankinson who not only helped us to choose the laptop but spent a lot of time setting it up for us, including setting up a wireless network and wiping our old computer clean. Maggie will not accept anything in payment for herself but always appreciates any donation to the Bowling Club Funds. We certainly feel indebted to Maggie for freely giving up her time to help us. I’m sure she would help any other member of the Bowling Club, who in turn would be helping to boost Club Funds.
December 12th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
What a wonderful ending to this years Quiz evenings! A great turnout to try and win the Money kindly donated by 3 of our members, (what a great idea) thank you Maggie. The quiz which followed was most enjoyable as always. This year there was a bit of a change when one set of questions were set by the Question Masters Grandson. Yes he did catch us out especially the with the question about Santa Claus garden! Well done to both for the Quiz.
Finally the Christmas cake made and decorated by Hilary, if it tastes as good as it looked the person who was within a quarter of an ounce of the correct weight will have a feast.
The pies and mushy peas were as usual most welcome. Let us be thankful we have within the membership, Ladies, with good ideas and work so hard to make these events so successful and enjoyable whilst at the sametime boosting the club funds.
Congratulations and thanks to all of You.
Have a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy Happy and Prosreous New Year!