Albert Road Recreation Ground, Caversham, Reading. RG4 7PL.
General news
The weather was kind to us for our Open Day on Sunday 19th July. Not only did we welcome several potential new members but existing members also played a few sociable games. A special thank you to Judy and all those who turned out to support the Club.
Judy and Some of the CCC Team.
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Today our contractor Hortec arrived on site with their trench digger and started digging immediately. The trench will run round the perimeter of the lawn to take pipes that will feed the four automated sprinklers. A reservoir tank and powerful pump will be installed next to the equipment hut to ensure sufficient water volume and pressure for regular overnight irrigation.
With the irrigation system and planned remedial work members can look forward to a much improved lawn although this will take time to achieve!
Several Club members took part in the One Ball Armada competition on Sunday 28th June. Charles and Alistair did very well coming 2nd and 3rd to the eventual winner.
Thanks to Heather for organising the AC Doubles Competition (see photo from the first round).
Well done to Neil, representing the Club elsewhere on Sunday.
Big congratulations to Gareth who, along with Heather, represented the Club at the One Ball regional finals and won! Our Club featured in the final write-up attached.
Many thanks to everyone who responded. The Committee will reflect on your responses when planning for the future.
Work is progressing to prepare for the irrigation system. The necessary electrics are in place and the team here are preparing a base for the water storage tank – Great job guys!
Firstly, a big thank you to all who took part and supported what was a very successful day. Particular thanks to Jill who organised the day and ran several coaching sessions for those new to the format.
It was a four seasons in one day kind of day! The 20+ participants had wind, hail, rain and bright sunshine to contend with. The mixed weather didn’t stop the action. There were lots of closely fought games due to the handicap system with Marjorie, Charles, Gareth and Mike making the semi-finals. Put under pressure by Charles in the final, Gareth was the eventual and worthy winner.
Another winner was the Save the Children Fund, which was the national charity supported by this local heat and the regional final to follow. Even before Gift Aid the Club raised a creditable £240 for a very worthy cause. Well done everyone involved!
I arrived at Hamptworth at 8am to take part in this Competition, which for me was quite a challenge as I knew there would be some very experienced Low Handicapped players. After meeting the other eleven players I relaxed and got stuck into my first match which I won 11-7 in good time against a 9 Handicapper.
My next match was Level Play, which was interesting for me as I was playing on my new Handicap of 16 – however after a well fought match I came through 4-2.
After lunch I played a 3 Handicapper. I managed to get round using a few bisques and perhaps a bit defensive but it seemed to do the trick as my opponent was having trouble hitting in. Anyhow when he had warmed up and got his rhythm going there was no stop in him and finally got the better of me 7-10 final score.
My last match was against a young 27 year old playing off a 1 Handicap!! He started and placed his first ball near the peg. I then hit my first ball into the far baulk line corner. He came down and hit in and continued to advance to the peg using three balls!!
I then came in with my second ball and thought to myself I’ve just got to get round to the peg too, using as many bisques as needed, which I did using 5. The BIGGEST mistake of the day was that I didn’t peg his ball out, because when he came back in that’s exactly what he did to me!! So I was left with one ball, him two. Well, I managed to get three hoops ahead of him on one ball, but he ended up doing an amazing hit in which clinched the match for him. A final result of 7-11 and a huge learning curve for me!!
A great sociable day, the downside the British weather, at one stage we were all playing in a squall but came away at the end of the day exhausted but with a grin on my face!
Heather Hanshaw
Congratulations to Dave Murray who was elected as our new Chair at the AGM on March 18th 2026.
See full details of the rest of your Committee.
Some Members continue play!
Others prefer just to drink coffee together.
And some just keep working.
Thanks to Alistair for the first top rotary cut last week after hollow-tining and reseeding closed our lawn on Wednesday Oct 8th. We hope to be able to re-open in November, at least with a half lawn.
In the meantime other Members have been playing away – notably on Sunday October 26th when 6 Caversham Players entered the Winchester Croquet Club Winter Open One Ball friendly level competition – won by Carol Jamieson and with a prize to Jill Murray too for being the best loser in a shoot for the peg.
Also Congratulations to Neil George on completing the first stage of his Club-Level Coach accreditation. He will now be listed as a Provisional Club-Level Coach on the CqE website for 18 months from the date of his course. There is a final stage to complete the accreditation – leading five coaching sessions and writing them up. To quote from the course booklet, “Club-Level Coaches hold a key position at the very heart of the game.”