For those of you unacquainted with Steve our Head Groundsmen, affectionately known as Scooby, here he is on his tractor.
President's Blog - July 24
President Debbie Mason-Smith reflects on a wet start to the summer and a busy Marquee Week!
President’s Blog. July 2024
Happy Summer… or should I say, Happy Monsoon Season. I am sure none of us expected such a wash out and yet we still hold out hope for some sunshine in August and September. The rain has created a real problem for our Groundsmen – Steve and Tom. Despite this and as a result of their hard work for which we are very grateful (assisted by volunteers Jim Marshall and Mark Strong), Neston were able to hold the first games of the cricket season whilst many other clubs had to postpone games as their grounds weren’t fit for play. Thank you guys.
The beginning of July saw the end to the All Sports Stars cricket and tennis coaching. This restarts with hockey coaching in September. Parents and children have enjoyed a wonderful Friday evening for 8 weeks, playing sport, learning skills then meeting and making friends. It is a delight to watch, and we are so very grateful for the help from all the volunteers, without whom this initiative would not be possible.
I’m sure many of you have been glued to the TV watching Wimbledon and the Euros. The Cranston has been full of England supporters for the crucial games. Both the hockey and cricket sections ran competitions based on the Euros, raising funds for their sections and a fine monetary prize to the winners. The organisers were Craig Trenholm (H) and Russ Thompson (C) and winners were Kerry Cowley (H) and Byron Cooper (C).
Back to Wimbledon. Our Head Tennis Coach, Chris White, was one of only two UK coaches and 16 people in total, to be invited to the Babolat exclusive Wimbledon launch. He spent the day meeting the World Babolat team and other celebrity guests. At the event the Professional players chatted as they came to collect their sponsored racquets. Chris was kitted out in the full Wimbledon gear and the day included a full tour of the courts, locker rooms and a fine lunch. In the afternoon the real surprise came when he was invited onto the courts for a knock with the Babolat professionals. These included stars such as Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norris, Holger Rune, Henry Searle and Arthur Fills.
Carlos had met Chris the year before, recognised him and asked specifically if he could knock with him. What an honour that was and probably the highlight of Chris’ career. Maybe Carlos now thinks of Chris as his lucky mascot.
You will have noticed the considerable improvements around the Club. It has taken much time in meetings, fund raising and grant searching to achieve this. Thanks to all who have been involved – many of whom are volunteers.
The path outside the little Pavilion has been resurfaced and this will make it safer for pedestrians. The lower tennis courts and lights are completed with a new pathway and so too are the new cricket nets – said to be the finest in Cheshire. We endeavour to offer the best sport and sporting facilities to our members.
On the subject of improvements, the fitness classes are proving very popular and on Wednesday evenings and Friday lunchtimes Yoga with Ellie has been held on the Bowling Green, which is not just holistically better but also more people can attend. You might have seen the photo on the weekly comms. Our next venture for September is to introduce parent and baby yoga and pregnancy yoga. The date will be announced on the comms.
Finally, and very importantly, we visit the Marquee Week. It creates a lot of hard work and staff put in so many extra hours to ensure it is a success.
Steve Cram, CBE, was well received as our Guest Speaker at the Sporting Lunch. His stories of Olympic and World Championship success verified why he was known as one of the worlds dominant middle-distance runners in the 1980s. You will be able to hear him commentating for the BBC at the Paris Olympics. The marquee was sold out for another year, accommodating well over 600 sponsors and their guests. The success of this event has made it one of the most prestigious corporate events in the North West.
The second year of Sunset Sounds attracted a wide range of ages once the event commenced at 5pm until late into the night. We were entertained by live music from local performers from Wirral, North Wales and Merseyside, with the addition of Art Club DJs. Local outlets provided great food stalls, catering for around 600 attendees. It was such a happy, successful evening for families, young and old and a ‘warm up’ for The Ball.
On Saturday the Marquee looked resplendent, decorated in the theme of Marquee Rouge. Our guests enjoyed a most beautiful looking and tasting meal by Horseradish and danced the night away to ‘The Northern Lights’ – up there with one of the top bands we have ever had. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves and also to see many new faces. Staff worked their socks off until the early hours of Sunday – what stamina!
The Annual Parkgate Proms with an Olympic theme, hosted by Tony Bush, filled the marquee for a quite different event. Guests brought picnics, some dressed up, food was on theme and the music of the orchestra Dell Arte renditioned music from films and sporting programmes. There was much flag waving and the afternoon continued into early evening whilst we all spilled out onto the grass to enjoy the sunshine and end the long weekend on a high note.
The weather on the whole was relatively dry, which was a blessing, and I must thank Craig, Kat, Nick, Amber and Paddy and all the office and bar staff for everything they do by going above and beyond at this annual event. This makes it such a memorable and successful time for many members, their family and guests and maintains this prestigious set of events.
A massive thank you to all our many sponsors too. Our main sponsor, Nigel at Quilter Cheviot, has stepped into position this year as main sponsor at the lunch and associate sponsor at all events. Local firm, AP Mitchell was also an associate sponsor at the Ball, Gordale sponsored the Proms and Heswall Autos & Dough Bros sponsored Sunset Sounds. Many thanks to Annette at Balducci Jewellers in Neston and Helen at Chows Eating House for their generosity of raffle prizes. The weekend has left lovely memories for many.
To all our members, I hope you have a wonderful remainder of summer and thank you for being part of The Neston Club.
Best Wishes
Debbie X
