Archive for 18 December 2020

You Have to be IN it to WIN it

Five hardy soles turned up (plus 2 more who just turned up to see which idiots had actually turned up!) at the Club this morning for the final Friday Roll up  before the Club closes again due to the Coronavirus restrictions. The weather was fine but the flooded pistes were going to be a bit of a problem.

By 10 o’clock the skies had gone grey again and it was obvious that rain was not far away. Any thoughts of play were abandoned and so with nothing better to do the December 100 Club Draw was made – it had been intended to do it on Sunday at the Xmas Melee.

You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife – this was it, the Big One, El Gordo, the one we had waited for all year – not only was there the normal draw but also the Xmas Bonus Draw. After the usual discussion about the order in which the prizes should allocated as the balls were drawn it was decided (as it always is!) that the first ball would be the the Bonus. The draw was made and the results were as follows:

Bonus £110.00 Pete Kensett
1st Prize £62.50 Mike Wigg
2nd Prize  £20.50 Peter David
3rd Prize £10.25 John Edwards

The 100 Club is proving to to be the major fundraiser for the Club which has allowed us to carry out a number of projects to improve your Club even when income from other sources has been much reduced in this very strange year. The level of prizes increases with the number of members who enrol in the 100 Club. It is interesting to note that based on this year’s club membership 32% of 100 Club members are from outside the Club whilst only 47% of the Club members are signed up to the 100 Club. If you not in the 100 Club, please think seriously about joining so that we can further improve the facilities at the Club. One project we have in mind, which would have been of great benefit this year when congregating indoors has not been possible, is an open sided covered extension to the front of the log cabin. It can only happen though when we have sufficient funds. So please consider joining* and remember:

YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT 

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and a Merry Christmas and a better 2021 to all our Members

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*  if you would like to enrol please contact the Treasurer at treasurer [at] monkstonepetanque [dot] org [dot] uk

 

Coronavirus Update

The Welsh Government has today announced that Wales will move into Level 4 restrictions on 28 December 2020 which means, as announced earlier by the WPA, that outdoor sports will NOT be permitted. The Monkstone Executive has discussed the wider issues of the increasing level of infections in Wales. Our discussions were informed by the WG advice that we ought to consider what we “SHOULD” do rather than what we “CAN” do and the view that if it was not for the political decision to allow the Christmas break then the science would have said that we move to Level 4 this weekend.

In the light of these discussions, and in my capacity as the MPC Coronavirus Officer, I have taken the following decisions:

  1. The 2020 Xmas Melee scheduled for this Sunday 20 December  2020 is POSTPONED. A revised date will be scheduled when the restrictions permit.
  2. Monkstone PC will CLOSE TO ALL ACTIVITIES from Monday 21 December 2020 until such times as the restrictions permit us to reopen.
  3. It follows that the 2020 Club Doubles, which had already been rearranged once and is currently scheduled for 3 January 2021, is also POSTPONED again until a revised date can be scheduled when the restrictions permit.

These decisions have not been taken lightly but in the best interests of the health and safety of all our members and acknowledging the duty of care we have to our members.

Further updates will be issued as soon as we have any news regarding lifting of Corona virus restrictions.

Finally may I take this opportunity to wish all our members a Happy Christmas and a better 2021.

Bernard Adshead – MPC Coronavirus Officer

# KEEP SAFE

2020 Club Triples

A bright winter’s day on Sunday greeted the 24 players entered for the 2020 Club Triples competition. The draw had been made the day before, with first division players being seeded to make it a more inclusive event. The teams were:

1 Sean Smith Gill Clark  Linda Halloran
2 Roger Griffin  Mike Wigg Sue Williams
3 Vickie Adshead Phil Roberts  Lynda Hodges
4 Tony Smith  Amanda Jenkins Barbara Kensett
5 Peter Kensett Gill Greenwell Denise Jones
6 Roger Green Judith Smith  Tony Newton
7 Mike Jones Paul Denham Betty Hoyle
8 Bernard Adshead Roger Bennett Melys Phinnemore

Play got under way and after the first round the four teams on one win were Vickie Adshead, Peter Kensett, Roger Green and Bernard Adshead with Peter Kensett leading the way on +6 points. So onto the second round and who could maintain the their winning ways? Peter and Vickie fell by the wayside leaving only Roger (+5) slightly ahead of Bernard (+4) on 2 wins each.

So the nail biting final round. Would one or both of the leaders fall at the last hurdle and perhaps leave the way open to another contender? Could Bernard better Roger’s score and pip him at the post? Would Vickie do Bernard a favour by beating Roger? All these questions and a myriad more in which nobody was really interested would soon be answered.  

The competition was over and El Pres Mike Jones revealed that both teams on 2 wins had won their final games but the team out of the competition and not dancing again next week was (drum role) ………… Bernard, Ben and Melys (+9) meaning that Roger, Judith and Tony (+12) were declared the 2020 Club Triples Champions.

Well done to the Champions, thanks to all who took part and well done to Melys on second place in her first competition.

The Winning Team with their Trophies

Full results of the competition:

So, on to next Sunday’s 2020 Club Doubles …………………..