Thankfully the winter from hell is over!!  1 September heralded the official arrival of spring but given the current temperatures we are experiencing, it is hard to believe that Opening Day - Saturday 26 September is only three weeks away.  Unfortunately we will be unable to have a roll up due to the weather conditions delaying the preparation of our green so I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible, in civvies, for a cup of tea and a chat at 3pm.  Please bring a small plate of afternoon tea food.  No doubt you will have heard about the club's misfortune which began with a burst connection above the Men's toilets after a very bad frost which resulted in flooding through the back part of the clubhouse.  On investigation it was discovered that there were further complications in the bar.  The chiller unit had been leaking water down into the floor for some time and this had almost rotted right through.  Unfortunately this was not covered by our insurance as was the flood damage, and so we are very thankful to Aidan Dixon who has undertaken to repair this for us.  We are now waiting on the insurance company to finish off their repairs which will then allow us to continue and finish the bar.  I must thank the Outram Hotel for hosting the regular Friday night supporters - it has been great to have somewhere to meet up.  We will, in return, try to support them.  We have had several members suffer ill health over the past few months but I understand they are all on a path to recovery and will be back on the green, or watching, soon.  Those of you who have been long time members will remember, with fondness, Stuart Angus.  Stuart had been resident at Taieri Court for the past couple of years and recently died.  Stuart served on the committee and was a member for several years. He was part of the team that arranged the club centenary in the year 2000.  Condolences have been passed on to his family.

The new roller has arrived and is sitting in the shed waiting for the green to be ready for its first trial run.  Thank you to the people who have indicated their willingness to be on a roster to roll the green if required.  I am thankful to Joanne O'Leary for agreeing to be in charge of the roster.

Our social programme for the winter was ruined by the flooding but that was beyond our control.  I understand that we are hoping to make a trip to Middlemarch depending on their ability to host us and it is our turn to host Andersons Bay, so we could be busy very soon.  You will be kept informed.  Marion has written a piece below and I must thank her and her team for the excellent job they did of running the weekly cards.  The two Flag Five Hundred afternoons as well as the weekly cards, have been a major part of our fundraising for the year.  Just as well we had money in the bank to cover the repairs to the water damage. Well done Neville on your prudent management of the club's finances.

If you know of anyone that might like to come and give bowls a try we will make then very welcome.  The best way to get new members is by word of mouth.  We will know more on opening day as to when the green will be available to be played on.  Cross your fingers and pray for fine, warm weather.  See you then.

Cindi Ewart (phone 489 0419)

CLUB CAPTAIN
Opening is just around the corner and we can kiss goodbye to the OFF season.  Hurrah!!  Time to check out our uniforms still fit around our waists and what needs replacing etc.  I found a Coaching Manual at the Club which has no doubt been there always, I just haven’t been aware of it.  On a quick perusal of its contents I am very sure it could be of benefit on Club Days which will again be on Monday afternoons at 1.30pm.  Come along and give more ideas of what you might find beneficial till we can set a program for Club Days.  (Ring me if you have any particular requests).  I would like to see a good discussion on a particular subject on bowling, then some time on the green practicing and a cuppa somewhere in between.  I also intend to get the Centre Coaches involved so come along and see what you can gain from this.  We also have 2 coaches within our Club, Brian and Roger, who I know will be only too happy to help us wherever they can.
We have had a pretty good winter with our Cards afternoons even although we were about 6 weeks with no games as the Club House was unusable due to the flooding.  We were very pleased that we had our two turns at Flag 500 before the disaster hit.  We still have 3 days of cards left to play and will be closing on the 23rd of September with a dinner and fun afternoon.  Thank you very much to all those Club members who have helped with doing the afternoon teas throughout the winter months.  It made life so much simpler for those of us that ran the day just to have this part of it taken off our hands.  Also, a big thank you to Robyn Smeaton, Alan Hurring and Betty Bisset for their efforts in keeping things running smoothly on a weekly basis.  Lots of fun had by all and I know a lot of folk will be sorry to see it closing again for the summer.  Really looking forward to seeing you all again on opening day.

Marion Hambleton (phone 486 2232)

EDITOR
For your information this is the new Executive

President                          C Ewart            489 0419
Vice President                  S Watkins      486 1198
Secretary                          M Stevenson  489 4353
Treasurer                          N Stevenson    489 4353
Bar Manager                  B Adam            489 6716
Club Captain Men            B Adam          489 6716
Club Captain Women      M Hambleton  486 2232
Tournament Secretary    M Hillis        484 7000
Full Female Member      M Cadogan  484 7599
Full Men Member            K Spittle      489 4653
Greens Convenor                        K Spittle
Social Convenor              M Annan
Catering Convenor                      B Milne
Uniforms                          E Miller