2018

Ten Pin Bowling, The Rock, Bury 8^th January.

First social gathering of 2018 was tenpin bowling at the Rock in Bury. It was nice to see everybody after the Christmas break and to wish each other Happy New Year.
22 people enjoyed the fun evening well organised by Barbara Young (yet again). Some people chose to play 2 games whilst the more stoic amongst the group played 3 games.
The overall winner was Ken Anderton finishing with a total of 446 over his three games.
Individual high game winners were:
Ken Anderton 191
Paul Rigge 183
Lynne Driver 181
Rookie Lynne's score was especially amazing as she has never played before (other than one game 12 years ago).

The event made £39.75 for the club.
Higher Resolution Photos

Indoor activities at Whitehead Park 16^th Jan.

WAITING FOR THE WEATHER TO IMPROVE!!!

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Indoor match v Culcheth at Whitehead Park 6^th Feb

Bury welcomed Culcheth to an inaurgural match on Whitehead's indoor lawn. As the snow flurried outside the players were snug and warm inside able to enjoy the amenities.
The match involved 10 players each side resulting in an overall draw after 5 doubles matches.
Players waiting for their match enjoyed the other social amenities plus coffee and biscuits.
A great time was had by all and we would like to thank Derek Deadman for organising the day.
Culcheth sent a very nice email thanking us for the day.

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Annual Quiz Whitehead Park 17^th Feb

Annual Bury Dinner 9^th March

We had a change of venue this year, the dinner was held at Breightmet Golf Club. Everything went well and everyone commented on: a lovely night, a nice venue, good food and excellent singer (John Ritchie).
A new event was the auction where some lovely electrical items were on offer starting at rock bottom prices but due to the generosity of our members we were able to make a nice profit for the club's coffers.

Trophies from 2017 year were presented to our triumphant winners.

Bury Open Day in support of Bury Hospice 21^st April

The weather was on our side as we had a good turnout for the Open Day in support of Bury Hospice.
Lady Mayor Dorothy Gunther and her consort joined us to support this great cause. Bury Hospice representative May Shipperbottom also attended.

Fylde CC V Bury at Fylde 22^nd April

Result: Fylde 4 - Bury 12
The team :-- David Barrett - Margaret Anderton - Bob Whittle - Maureen Whittle

A clash of League Fixtures had resulted in some late team changes by Bury, who on arrival at Fylde were told that Fylde's Captain Alan Morton had fallen ill whilst travelling to the game. His place was therefore to be filled by League debutant Ted Walker.

The strength of the Bury Squad soon showed as they won their Round One , Games 0 - 4
Maureen and Bob being the stars conceding just 2 and 3 hoops whilst they each Pegged out with 14 points.

This was quickly followed by the team winning the Round Two, Games 1 - 3

After break for lunch seemed to effect some player and resulted in Round Three , Games being drawn 2 - 2

In the last games of the day, Bury strengthened their hold on the match by winning Round Four 1 - 3

Summary :-- David won all 4 of his games.
Margaret won 3 out of 4 games
Bob won 3 out of 4 games
Maureen won 2 out of 2

A wonderful TEAM Result for BURY CC
Report by David Barrett

ONE BALL is Launched Tuesday 24^th April

Tuesday morning 24th April proved to be a very successful launch day for the Club's "One Ball Coaching and Play".
A TOTAL OF 20 MEMBERS turned out on an overcast morning which later turned to rain.

Organised and Introduced by David Barrett who gave a brief explanation of the game before demonstrating some of the shots and tactics involved. David pointed out that 'One Ball', which is a game in itself, could be of great benefit to all players, even if they had previously only ever played Golf Croquet or Association Croquet.
The players were divided into five groups of Four Players, each group being offered personal coaching from Roger Schofield/ Barbara Young/ Margaret & Ken Anderton and David Barrett.

NB: DUE TO THE NEED TO PLAY THE ‘GOLF DOUBLES’ AT CORONATION PARK NEXT TUESDAY 1st MAY – NEXT OFFICIAL OPPORTUNITY RE ONE BALL WILL BE THURSDAY 3rd MAY @ CP LED BY DAVID – AT THE SAME TIME CHRIS ALVEY IS DOING ASSOCIATION COACHING FOR BEGINNERS AND THE LESSER EXPERIENCED PEOPLE. PLEASE MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO SUPPORT CHRIS AS IT WILL ASSIST HIM (AND YOU ) IN ACHIEVING CA RECOGNITION.
We are told he is bringing many lovely new toys with him that will help everyone learn more easily and quicker!

Report by David Barrett

B Level Bury v Chester 29^th April

Bury win 3 - 2

On a cloudy but sometimes sunny day Bury played Chester in Association Advanced. The lawns were a little slow but generally played well.
In the morning Ken Anderton and David Barrett lost to Jerry Guest and Paul Watson in the doubles. Paul Kenworthy won his singles in the time turn despite being 8 behind.
Despite his opponent Elmyr Hughes having put his balls in corner 2 and corner 4 Paul ran hoop 6 with his own balls and then ran 1 back with the corner 2 ball and then ran the remaining hoops including a peel at penult to win 24 - 22.
In the afternoon Elmyr defeated David 26 - 0 whilst Ken had a good win against Paul Watson 26-16 and Paul Kenworthy beat Jerry 26-2.

Report by Paul Kenworthy

Bury CC Golf Progressive Doubles 1^st May

20 members came on a mainly sunny day to join in with the club Golf Progressive Doubles.

David Barrett had had to withdraw because of a back injury but Margaret Leach arrived to play so numbers were back to 20. Low handicap/more experienced players were partnered with the higher handicap/ less experienced players for the event. Play was in 2 blocks after a bit of a shuffle to cover David dropping out.

Some excellent play by all was seen throughout the enjoyable day. WELL DONE EVERYONE! - Report by Jean Hargreaves

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Mid-Week Hcp. Southport Vs Bury 9^th May

Southport 7 - 0

Ouch! nuff said.

Bury Croquet Club present cheque to Bury Hospice 10^th May

David Barrett and Phil Nuttall present cheque for £510 to Paul Fennelly of Bury Hospice.
The money was raised for the Hospice at the Coronation Park open day in April

National Croquet Day 13^th May

National Croquet Day was Celebrated by a large number of members at our Coronation Park venue.
It was a beautifully sunny day and the peaceful location within the park was constantly interrupted with cries of laughter and joy as visitors ran a hoop or knocked an opponent ‘miles’ away.

In the morning a family from Germany who had been staying with their friend and Club member Joan Hancock got so engrossed in playing croquet that Joan became quite concerned that they might miss their flight home later that day ! It was difficult to decide who was quickest in the family to pick up the tactics and score most points as mum, dad and daughter Hannah all proved to be ‘rapid learners’.

The afternoon sun brought several other new players to the game and we are delighted to welcome at least two of them into membership of the Club. Pat and Bernard both were very enthusiastic about the game and look as if they will be interested in playing both Golf and AC Croquet.

Barbara Young made a lovely and meaningful comment "It was a wonderful day, so warm and relaxing, being able to play and chat happily with other members and visitors, it brought us all together".

Update from David Barrett

Midweek home match against Pendle and Craven on Wed 16^th May

Bury's team had a more successful outing this week winning 4-3. In the morning both Tony and Roger had one of their balls pegged out by their opponents but while Tony lost by 3 Roger did a final spectacular shot from the boundary to hit the peg and win +7. Meanwhile in the doubles Barbara did an excellent all round break early on then the game became more scrappy and the Pendle pair just caught up to win +1 on time. In the afternoon Roger, Tony and Barbara all won by significant margins whereas Margaret was unlucky to lose by 1 in a very low-scoring game.

Report Barbara Young

Trip to COBER HILL Fri 18^th May - Mon 21^st May

Bury Croquet Club once again visited Cober Hill for a long weekend. 26 people attended including our friends from Morpeth.
Unfortunately former members Pam and Fred Hunter were unable to join us as Pam had recently been hospitalised and advised not to travel. We wish her a speedy and full recovery.
We had Bernard and Pat join us who have only just started playing. Welcome to you both.
21 of us played croquet, 14 playing Association and 18 playing Golf. During the days over the weekend 47 games took place. Well done everyone.
In the evenings we had a quiz and croquet beetle drive, carpet bowls and of course Cober Olympics. Some went to the pub on Saturday evening to celebrate Alan's birthday.
Of course Saturday also saw the Royal Wedding and the Cup Final so inevitably there were some spectators for these events.

The winners of the Association Croquet were David and Derek and those of the Golf Croquet were Derek and Barbara E. Congratulations.
Special thanks to Sue who ensured we were fed and watered mid mornings and mid afternoons. Once again a very enjoyable weekend.
Thank you everyone for joining in - Report by Jean Hargreaves

Everyone who went would also like to thank Jean Hargreaves for her organisation. Like David and Sue, she gives of her time selflessly.

Level Play Golf Bury v Pendle at Coronation Park Wed 23^rd May

Bury welcomed Pendle to Coronation Park for our level play golf match.
It was very warm and sunny and at lunch the scores were level at 5 games each and, despite the added obstacles of ducks strolling the lawns, at the close of play we were still level at 9-9.
Bury team - Ken Eccles, Margaret Eccles, David Barrett.
Pendle team - Paul Rigge, Will Drake, Keith Terry.
Report Ken Eccles

BURY SOUTH GOLF HANDICAP TEAM V FYLDE 26^th May

The match on Saturday at Fylde resulted in a Draw (9-9).
It was very friendly, as always, and the weather was perfect. David was the star of the show again winning all his singles games - his handicap has now come down to 8! Roy won two of his singles and Derek and myself won one each. The other point was from one of the doubles matches. We had 62 bisques against us to our 6!!
Report Judith Gaskell

BURY NORTH GOLF HANDICAP V WESTMORELAND @ LEVENS HALL 27^th May

After a trouble free drive to Levens hall the team was in good spirits and ready for the match. The team included Sue Hardman, Helena Nuttall and Roger Harper, all who where playing for the first time this season. Roger was playing his first competitive match. All thought the team played to their best on the day the result did not go Bury's way, but congratuations to them on their effort.
David Leach 2 wins 2 losses, Sue Hardman 1 win 3 losses, Helena Nuttall 0 wins 3 losses and 1 draw, Roger Harper 0 wins 3 losses and 1 draw. With both doubles going to Westmoreland.
Better Luck on the next outing at Chester on 9th June 2018 at Chester.
Report David Leach Captain

'Catchers of the Rye' WP Mon 28^th May

Club members turned out on bank holiday Monday to help remove rye grass from the lawns at WP.
This was to help make the drainage process easier for contractors.
Many thanks to all who participated.

LONGMAN CUP KNOCKOUT MATCH AWAY AT CHESTER 30^th May

Team: Ken and Margaret Anderton, Margaret Eccles and Phil Nuttall.
Mornings play was disastrous for Bury, Ken & Phil were heavily defeated in the doubles and the two Margarets also suffered singles losses.
So we were 3-0 down at lunch. After lunch the play got better despite the heavy rain.
4 singles results: Ken & Margaret Anderton lost but Margaret Eccles and Phil won theirs.
Overall result of the day was Chester 5 Bury 2.
Highlight of the day was Margaret E successfully manoeuvring a corner ball cannon which resulted in running a hoop (all that practice paid off).
Report by Phil Nuttall

Peelers' match against Crake 2^nd June

Bury Peelers travelled to Crake Valley on 2 June through thick fog. The day remained dull but at least it stayed dry. In the morning Barbara made a good start and reached a peg-out but missed with the back ball thus enabling her opponent to catch up a bit but she still won +14 with 3 minutes left. Margaret Eccles also had a good game winning +5 on time. In the doubles Ken and Margaret Anderton struggled, making only 3 hoops when time ran out.
In the afternoon Barbara was on even better form making a perfect all-round break with one ball and a similar break with only one gap with the other to achieve a 26-0 win in under an hour. Margaret E had a fairly close game losing by only 3 on time while Margaret A had a tougher time. Ken had a nail-biting finish - from being 14 ahead he had to watch his opponent steadily catching up until he was saved by the bell and won +1 on time thus clinching the match as a 4 -3 win to Peelers.

Report by Barbara Young

Association Funday 9^th June

12 players, including a potential member, arrived to play Fun Association Croquet games of Flamingoes and Ten Minute. We also tried Getting in the Washing but this beat us this year! A very enjoyable day was had by all with reasonable weather. David Barrett and Roy Spencer were the run-away winners of the Flamingos each taking a Flamingo home until the next time. David was also the overall winner of the Ten Minute format after all had played several rounds.
Perhaps we will look at moving the date next year in the hope more people can join in.
Report by Jean Hargreaves

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Golf Hcp. Chester Vs Bury Norths, 9^th June

Chester 15 - 3

BCC; David L, Sue Hardman, Gill Freely, Carolyn Hampson.
CCC; Roger Haigh, Liz Subramanian, Trevor Farrell, Janet Jackson.

AC Hcp, Bury Caesars Vs Southport, 10^th June

Bury 2 - Southport 5 (ish)

S&BCC; Both Haslams with Pauline Rooney and Anne Mitchell.

(and Peg-Outs can happen when?...)

Hunstanton Over 50's 8^th, 9^th and 10^th June

Ken and Margaret Anderton played in this tournament as they have done for many years. For the first two days there was a biting East wind sending players scurrying back to their cars for extra coats, sweaters and long trousers.

We kept telling them how warm it was in Lancashire!

The third day was more typical "Sunny Hunny" weather. It was an Egyptian format tournament and Ken came second by a good win over one of the players who was in contention for the trophy. Ken gained a lot of points for this game. Over the three days Margaret broke even winning three games and losing three. The Trophy went to James Allcock from Crake Valley who was playing there for the first time.
Report by Margaret Anderton

Lancs South East Trefoil County Croquet Tournament 12^th June

19 members of Trefoil played golf croquet, with several spectators also enjoying the evening. One club member joined in to make an equal number of pairs. The players were divided into pairs, where possible from different Guilds. Then they were split into groups playing all play all. After a fixed number of games the winners were decided by the pair who had scored most hoops. Our winning pair were from Rochdale and Heywood Guilds.
Congratulations to them and everyone who joined in.

Report by Jean Hargreaves

Plant Returns to Whitehead Park

Work is progressing well at Whitehead. The main drainage channel and pipe were completed on Friday and today some of the transverse drainage channels and pipes have been installed. All pipes are laser levelled on insertion. The spoil is being used to improve the rough area at the football field end.
Report by Derek Deadman (11/6/18)

Drainage pipes are 600mm deep he went below electric cable with the main run now he is running them crossways, he hit some concrete near the bins end but everything is going alright.
Report by John Gilmartin (11/6/18)

I spoke at length this afternoon with Duncan (Contractor) and he is pleased with the progress they are making.
He will probably already have mentioned to you that in two or three places they have had to deviate the straight lines as a result of the trencher hitting a large rock or in one case a section of cast iron girder or similar.
By about 3pm they had completed 14 drains Across the lawns and he explained that these were set at 6 mtr widths rather than the quoted 5 mtr. The reason for this being that he felt it best to also have an additional full lengthways running drain at the far side of the lawns.( On the Cottage side )
I agreed fully with this action and they will do it shortly.
As I was leaving they switched from trenching to back filling.
Due to the extremely dry land soil conditions Duncan has indicated that he may prefer to leave the Sand Banding be until a later date. The reason for this being that the banding has to run in the opposite direction to the trenches --- He is worried that the edges of the trench turf on either side of the 'hole' will get badly damaged. He thinks he might do the top dressing and re-seeding - allow that time to grow and then do the sand banding. I have indicated we will take his advice on this matter, hope you agree - Its all weather dependant.
Report by David Barrett (12/6/18)

*Update* by Derek Deadman 17/6/18
Work has progressed well at Whitehead. All 14 transverse pipes are laid and backfilled. A decision was taken to add a second longitudinal pipe on the Lonsdale Road side of the lawn and this has been completed and backfilled. All trenches have been levelled with root zone sand.
Two pictures of the lawn as it looked on Saturday evening have been added to the pictures. The top dressing, levelling and seeding of the whole lawn will be done this week. We will then allow the lawn seed to grow and the disturbed areas to consolidate before sand banding in a few weeks' time. This involves digging multiple slits, less than an inch wide and about 6 inches deep perpendicular to and joining the lateral drainage channels and filling them with top dressing sand. These will then be seeded and the lawn prepared for use next season.

Slight change of plan for Whitehead: - The lawn will be left to settle for a couple of weeks or so and then all the outstanding jobs will be done together. The jobs include sand banding, levelling with top dressing and seeding the whole lawn in 3 directions.
Report by Derek Deadman 19/6/18

Sand banding involves digging many, much smaller trenches at 260mm spacings, 20mm wide and 150mm deep filled with fine sand to intensify the drainage. The rain, which held us up so long initially, now refused to come and so we relied on the unstinting efforts of our volunteers to water, twice a day, to get the newly sown seed to germinate and grow. This has been so successful that we are hoping for sand banding to be done as soon as there is enough rain in the forecast. Rain is essential because once the sand banding is done the lawn will be finally levelled and the whole area seeded. Thereafter the whole lawn will need to be kept moist so that the new seed will germinate and grow - not possible in a heat wave where water restrictions are being encouraged. Once this is done the lawn will settle and need re-levelling with top dressing in low areas, a little at a time, and John and his team will need to work on the lawn to get it in good shape for the season ahead. Let's hope for a superb lawn that will attract visitors and new members alike.
There are so many people to thank for all that has been done at Whitehead to bring the vision to reality.
Report Derek Deadman (7/7/18)

Photos

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Bowdon Griffins v Bury Friday 15^th June

Bury's Midweek team visited Bowdon on Friday 15 June.
In the morning Roger Schofield was confronted by an opponent with a forest of 16 bisques. She used half of them to go to peg then Roger proceeded to go round and peg her ball out. By careful play she got to rover before her remaining bisques ran out, then Roger made a few more hoops before his opponent hit in and finished, beating Roger by 10.
Richard Harvey won his game +8 while in the doubles Margaret Eccles and Barbara Young also won +7 on time.
In the afternoon Barbara made an excellent start with an all round break but had more of a struggle with her second ball. However her opponent did not manage to catch up so Barbara won +4 on time.
Richard played Roger's opponent from the morning but with a more equal number of bisques Richard just managed to win +1 on time.
Roger and Margaret were both comprehensively beaten by 18 and 19 respectively.
However the overall result was a win for Bury 4 - 3.
Report Barbara Young

Llanfairfechan v Bury South 16^th June

Llanfairfechan 5 - Souths 13

A blustery and damp day on the North Wales Coast but some good Bury South performances on very uneven and rough lawns. Our hosts were charming as ever and put up a spirited fight, but Bury South were resolute. Roy won all his singles games!
A very good result which puts Bury South 4th in the league, having played one less game than those above us.

Report Derek Deadman

North West Federation of Croquet Clubs
Annual Feastival
Southport & Birkdale CC 23/24^th June

We enjoyed wall to wall sunshine for this great event.
Bury won the Handicap Association Shield which was fantastic and also came third in Short Lawn.

Many thanks to Margaret and Ken Eccles for organising a difficult schedule and two brilliant evening meals.
Also thanks to Riggey, Liz and Peter Wilson (North West Organisers) and Abdul Ahmed Tournament Manager.

Of course it goes without saying thank you to Southport CC for their hospitality.

'First Timers At Southport'

New to the Southport experience were David, Margaret and Richard Leach who all enjoyed themselves and played well.

Ruth also made her debut both at the event and playing competitive short lawn.
She may be petite and gentile but look at what she did with this black ball when she got annoyed!

DON'T MESS WITH HER JUST LET HER WIN!!

Festival Photos

Nuttall Friends 2nd Annual Bash 29^th June

What a glorious Friday afternoon was spent by Phil and Helena's friends on the lawns at Coronation park. Perfect weather conditions both in the afternoon and into the evening. Plenty of croquet was played and plenty of food and alcohol was consumed. Everybody had a fantastic time and all gave great feedback both praising the venue and especially the hospitality shown by our volunteers: Margaret & Ken Eccles, Barbara Young, Roy Spencer, Lynne & Alan Driver and our esteemed chairman Richard Harvey (who stepped up and gave out the prizes). Helena and Phil are indebted to our croquet colleagues without whom the event would not have been possible.
The event raised £120 towards club funds.

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Association Club Doubles Saturday 30^th June

Fifteen club members (16 in the afternoon) gathered at Coronation Park on a scorching hot day for this annual event which takes the form of alternate shot doubles with high and low handicap players paired together with different pairings each round. As a result of the recent prolonged spell of dry weather the lawns were extremely fast and everyone had trouble controlling the play and some low scores were reported.
Five rounds were completed but as some players had only played four the final results were based on the best four for everybody. After some careful arithmetic by the manager, Barbara Young, to resolve a tie in the low handicap group, the following results were announced:-

High Handicap Winner - Roger Harper with 4 wins
2nd - Richard Leach with 3 wins and 27 hoops
3rd - Peter Richards with 3 wins and 20 hoops

Low Handicap Winner - David Barrett with 4 wins and 26 hoops
2nd - Margaret Anderton with 4 wins and 25 hoops
3rd - Barbara Young with 3 wins
Trophies were presented to the winners by our chairman Richard Harvey.
Congratulations to Roger and David.

Report by Barbara Young

AC Hcp, Bowdon St Marys Vs Bury Caesars, 1^st July

St Marys 5 - Caesars 0
Caesars have been unable to get a team and so conceded a walk-over.

AC 'B', Bury Vs Bowdon, 1^st July

Bury 1 - Bowdon 4
Bury; David Barrett(3), Ken Jones(4.5) & Malcolm Daines(5).
Bowdon; Charles Harding(3), Francois Garcia(2.5) & Barry Keen(6).

Great fast courts mean summer continues but it was the home team that struggled;
Ken Jones & Malcolm lost to Charles & Barry -6t
David lost to Francois -1t

David lost to Charles -9
Ken lost to Francois -11
Malcolm won only point of the day Vs Barry +1!!

AC 'B', Pendle Vs Bury, 7^th July

Pendle 1 - Bury 4

Bury; Roger Schofield(2), Ken Jones(4.5) & Malcolm Daines(5).
Pendle; Robert Essler, David Roe & Paul Dowdall.

Bury GC 'B' Level Tournament, Saturday 7^th July

A tournament in a single day for players with a GC handicap of 3 or above. Glourious Sunshine and fast brown courts - challenging....to say the least.
Ten entries were split into two 'all-play-all' blocks with the top two from each then contesting a K/O semi-final.
Final; John Crossland and Michael Bilton was very intense and tactical, John's patient approach play winning out in the end 7-4.

Winner - John Crossland
Tournament Manager - David Barrett

Croquetscores - full results

Golf Hcp, Bury South Vs Southport, 8^th July

Bury 9 - Southport 9

It was very hot with very little breeze and the lawns were like lightning. Our opponents arrived just after 9am!!
It was a very friendly match with good banter on both sides and the final result was a fair one.

Phil was our man of the match winning all 4 of his games, Judith won 2 and Sheila and David each won one. The doubles games were one each.

The gazebo which had been left up for us provided some very needed respite from the sun. At the end of the afternoon our visitors helped us to dismantle it.

Report by Judith Gaskell

Mid-Week AC, Bury Vs Bowdon Earls, 11^th July

Bury 2 - Bowdon 5.

Bury; Roger Schofield(2.5), Tony Phillips(3), Margaret Eccles(12) & Barbara Young(7).
Bowdon; Alan Mayne(0), Kay Martin(9), Andrew Kenyon(14) & Keith Brewster(22).

Morning.
Barbara & Margaret Beat Alan M & Kay +2t.
Roger lost to Andrew K -8.
Tony lost to Keith -17.

Afternoon.
Roger lost to Alan M -8.
Tony lost to Kay -3.
Barbara beat Andrew K +18.
Margaret lost to Keith -4.

W/E AC Hcp, Bury Peelers Vs Bowdon St.Marys, 14^th July

Bury 3 - Bowdon 4.

Bury; Paul Kenworthy(1.5), Barbara Young(7), Malcolm Daines(5) & Margaret Anderton(11).
Bowdon; Alan Mayne(0), Kay Martin(9), Graham Abraham(5) & Leo Fletcher(14).

Morning.
Barbara & Margaret lost to Alan & Kay +4t.
Paul beat Graham A +17.
Malcolm D lost to Leo -11.

Afternoon.
Paul beat Alan +2.
Barbara lost to Kay -8.
Malcolm lost to Graham A -8.
Margaret beat Leo +18.

W/E AC Hcp, Bury Peelers Vs Bowdon St.Marys, 14^th July

Bury 3 - Bowdon 4.

Bury; Paul Kenworthy(1.5), Barbara Young(7), Malcolm Daines(5) & Margaret Anderton(11).
Bowdon; Alan Mayne(0), Kay Martin(9), Graham Abraham(5) & Leo Fletcher(14).

Morning.
Barbara & Margaret lost to Alan & Kay +4t.
Paul beat Graham A +17.
Malcolm D lost to Leo -11.

Afternoon.
Paul beat Alan +2.
Barbara lost to Kay -8.
Malcolm lost to Graham A -8.
Margaret beat Leo +18.

Fridays rain made the lawns a little slower and hence more playable. Very hot weather enjoyed all day with some fatigue setting in during the afternoon!

In the morning doubles Barbara and Margaret came close to beating Alan and Kay, Unfortunately Alan being a scratch player managed to assist his partner round to a +4 win. Paul beat Graham convincingly +17. Malcolm struggled to get his second ball round and lost to Leo - 11.

In the afternoon session Paul played Alan and managed a 2 ball break from 4 back to peg out to clinch victory +2. Malcolm played Graham and again, struggled to get his second ball round and lost -6. Barbara fought hard against Kay but lost -8. Margaret had a very good win against Leo +18 (maybe playing Golf croquet helped her A/C game?)

Report by Paul Kenworthy

W/E AC Hcp Bury Caesars away to Chester, 14^th July

Chester 5 - Bury 2.

Secretary Shield - Bury (Peelers) away to Sheffield at York, 15^th July

Sheffield 4 - Bury 3.
Bury; Paul Kenworthy(1.5), David Barrett(3), Ken Anderton(6) & Phil Nuttall(11).

Bury Peelers won the NW league in 2017 and hence qualified to play in the CA's national "Secretary Shield" competition.

The team travelled to York Croquet Club to contest the match in glorious weather. York's lawns were nice and flat but had some very fast patches of grass due to the recent hot weather.

In the morning Paul Kenworthy and David Barrett lost in the doubles -13 to Trevor Billard and Mark Simerson who used their 2 bisques well. Ken Anderton beat Margaret Crossland +10 despite giving her 10 bisques. Phil Nuttall lost a tight match to John Crossland -5. In the afternoon Paul beat Trevor +20. David lost to Mark -10. Mark is also a personal friend of David's from Cober Hill. Mark said it was only the second time he had ever beaten David at croquet. Fortunes changed throughout the match between Ken and John but ultimately Ken lost -9. Phil managed to stave off a late break by Margaret to win +4.

Report by Paul Kenworthy

W/E AC, Bury Peelers Vs Pendle & Craven, 16^th July

Bury 5 - Pendle 2.

Bury; Ken Anderton(6), Barbara Young(7), Margaret Anderton(11) & Phil Nuttall(11).
Pendle; Paul Rigge(-1), Andrew Webb(3.5), Garry Wilson(9) & Paul Dowdall(7).

This was a Weekend Handicap League match which had to be rearranged and played on a Monday.

In the morning Ken and Margaret had a very tight doubles match against Garry Wilson and Paul Rigge eventually losing 24 - 25 on a golden hoop.
Barbara had a very quick win against Paul Dowdall winning +24.
Phil Nuttall beat Andrew Webb in a low scoring game 16 - 10.

After lunch. Barbara continued her recent excellent form beating Andrew +24 and Ken beat Paul Rigge +1.
Phil played Garry and won +7 on time.
Margaret lost to Paul Dowdall -17.

The lawns were still very dry making hoop approaches quite tricky.

Report by Ken Anderton

Morning.
Ken & Margaret lost to Paul R & Garry -1t
Barbara beat Paul D +24
Phill beat Andrew +4t

Afternoon.
Ken beat Paul R +1
Barbara beat Andrew +24
Margaret lost to Paul D -17
Phil beat Garry +7t

Level Play GC - Bury v Southport at Coronation Park Wed 18^th July

Bury 8 - Southport 10.

Bury team - Ken Eccles, Margaret Eccles, David Barrett.

Bury North V Fylde Golf Handicap @ CP. 21^st July

Bury 10 - Fylde 8.

Congratulations to Bury North Handicap Golf team in winning their first match this season.
The match was very close and the team played well after losing the opening doubles.
The pick of the our team was Gill Freely winning all her single matches.
The scores were: Gill Freely 4-0, David Leach 3-1, Richard Leach 2-2, Carolyn Hampson 1-3

Thanks go to Fylde for a very pleasurable day of golf croquet.

Report by David Leach

Federation Millennium AC Hcp 21^st/22^nd July

Member Chris Alvery stepped up to the Federation Chairman's appeal to manage this event up at the Pendle club.
So not only did he enter as a player but managed the whole event - his first official event, and just to complete his baptism of fire, by Sunday afternoon he had to resolve a three-way tie for the title - which of course he did with his usual calm manner. All this seeems to have affected his own game however, since he only finished mid-table.
Our other entry, Paul Kenworthy, finished third.

More Photos
Chris's Report

Edgbaston Handicap Tournament 21^st/22^nd July

Barbara Young returned to Edgbaston last weekend to defend the trophy she won last year. The lawns were fast but controllable thanks to regular watering by diligent local members and even Mother Nature on the Friday evening. On Saturday Barbara despatched three opponents in short order, one in just over 1 hour, the opponents scoring a total of only 10 hoops between the 3 of them. On Sunday the games were more demanding but Barbara won the first one +2 on time making her the only player with 4 wins out of 4 and therefore the likely winner. The last game was against a player of handicap 2.5 which proved more taxing but Barbara gradually caught up and the scores were level when time was called. However she could not secure the 'golden hoop' and lost -1.

On the final results there were 2 players on 4 wins out of 5 but on the tie-break of 'who beat who' Barbara was declared the winner and was presented with the Symons Cup for the second year running and also achieved a handicap reduction to 6.

Report by Barbara Young

Extra Photos

Bury South V Westmorland @ CP Sunday 22^nd July

Bury 7 - Westmorland 11

The morning weather produced some fine drizzly rain which lasted till lunchtime but it was still warm. There was a great improvement in the afternoon with good spells of sunshine.

Being top of the league table, Westmorland had sent their 'big guns' which obviously paid off. David, John and Roy coped with the challenge remarkably well but Judith was totally outplayed all day.
We lost both the doubles games. David won 3 of his singles games, John and Roy each won 2 and Judith didn't win any.

The visitors were very friendly and complimented us on our hospitality!!

Report by Judith Gaskell

New Coach on the Block!

Congratulations to Chris Alvey for passing his coaching exams and what a great job he is doing.
Here is the proof:

Bury Croquet Club National C Level Golf Tournament 25^th July

Scorching HOT sunshine and a very fast playing surface welcomed players to Bury Croquet Club for this inaugural 'C' Level Golf Croquet Tournament.
The majority of the players present were playing in their first ever CA scheduled Tournament and it soon became evident that each one of them had arrived with every intention of winning and attaining automatic entry into the National final which is to be held in Nottingham during September.

David Cornes from Crake Valley, celebrated his recent appointment as a qualified Tournament Referee by overseeing play throughout the day. His presence proved invaluable to the players and Tournament Managers alike with his helpful and constant attention whenever required.

The fast lawns enabled long clearances and hoop shots. It soon became apparent that Izzy Poyntz from Bishop Monkton was using her prowess and strong hitting to successfully remove her opponents balls to the side lines whilst she herself scored a succession of good hoops.

Meanwhile steady, but slower, progress was being made by Richard Leach, Gill Freely and Roger Harper from Bury, as they each tried to challenge the high number of wins being achieved by Izzy.

When all the rounds had finished, however it became abundantly clear that Izzy had won all her games, including beating her nearest challengers and she therefore stormed into the Semi-Finals.

At this point, the extreme heat of the day must have had a different effect on the four semi-finalists because two players improved their concentration immensely and also improved their play, whilst the other two wilted in the sun. The number of wins had brought Izzy against Gill with Richard against Roger for the semi's. From these games , it was Gill and Richard who then progressed into the Final.

The final itself proved to be an extremely hard fought match with lots of excitement for the spectators with several wonderful shots that brought cheers from the crowd. In the end it was won by Richard Leach 7-4. Richard is now looking forward to going to Nottingham.

Report by David Barrett.

More Photos

Grass Roots Tournament @ CP Thursday 26^th July

Worthy winner Roger Harper
Trophy presented by Tournament Manager Margaret Eccles

Runner up Richard Leach

Report with full results to follow

More Photos

Whitehead Park UPDATE 5^th August

The Whitehead saga continues..
Duncan Ross has been at Whitehead today to prepare for the banding. However, he took a number of test bores to check on the soil condition and declared that it is much too dry and that to proceed now would do serious damage to the drains already installed as well as the surface. We have no choice but to delay the work until we have had a significant amount of rain.

I will keep you posted!!
Derek Deadman

Bury Hcp Tournament @ CP
4/5^th August

The tournament was attended by 4 players from Huddersfield and 4 from Bury.
The two days were extremely hot, Sunday being the worst - it was baking!
Food was provided by Jane Phillips and Jean Hargreaves on Saturday and Jane and David Barret on Sunday

Worthy winner was Denise Hoyle from Huddersfield seen here receiving the trophy.

Report with full results to follow

Croquet Fun Day Golf Doubles Tuesday 7^th August

It was a most enjoyable day with a terrific turnout of 22 Players from various Clubs including Chester/Bowdon/Flixton/Fylde as well as Bury. 12 year old Jack Good from Bowdon was the star of the Day getting through to the Final of JOKER and then just failing to win on the Golden Hoop against Carol. He did however Triumph with his partner John from Fylde in the main event the 10 minute knockout -- which again went right to the last hoop and was only just won in the very last second of time !!

A great end to a very happy day.
WINNERS --Roger (Bury) / Carol (Bury) / Edward (Bowdon)/ Roger (Bury) / Jack (Bowdon) & John (Fylde)

Photos

Bury South V Bowdon 9^th August

Despite a couple of hold-ups on the journey to Bowdon we arrived in good time. Everywhere was still locked and we waited in the car park for their team to arrive. Once in the clubhouse there was some confusion about who was playing on their team!! Although it was dry and sunny it was on the chilly side to start but as the day wore on it turned out quite warm. The lawns were very dry and running very fast so it was difficult to position the balls with much accuracy - even for the home side. The flying insects were having a field day and Roy actually got stung by a bee during one of his games - although his arm started to swell, after holding a cold compress to it he carried on stoically with the rest of the match.

We knew we would have to fight hard to win this match as Bowdon had a total of 95 bisques against us! Both teams each won a doubles game so we were all square to start the singles. John and Phil each won 3 of their singles, Roy and Judith each won 1 and Drew 1. The final singles game - Phil v Margaret - was a nailbiter, was it going to be a win for Bury or a Drawn match. Fortunately, Phil pulled it out of the bag and won. The final score being Bury South 9 - Bowdon 7, with 2 draws recorded.

The ultimate star of the whole match was Jack Good, an 11 year old playing for Bowdon, who won all his games!

Report by Judith Gaskell

Bury Short Lawn Away at Bowdon 11^th August

Bowdon 7 - Bury 9

Team: Vi Richards(7), Richard Harvey(5), Tony Phillips(0.5) and Helena Nuttall(10)
Bowdon: John Haworth(4), Bryan Goude(10), John Lambie(9) & Jacky Davies(9)
Individual results: Tony won all 4 of his matches, Vi won 2 lost 2, Richard won 2 lost 2, Helena won 1 lost 3

Bury Peelers Away to Bowdon Firs 12^th August

Bowdon Firs 3 - Bury Peelers 4

Team: Malcolm Daines(5), Ken Anderton(6), Phil Nuttall(11) and Margaret Eccles(14)
Bowdon: Will Mellor(4), John Lucas(3), Steve Reynolds(11) & Cas Sinclair(18)

We too arrived in good time (with gates locked) to compare notes with the Chester Short Lawn Team.
With more rain recently the surface had slowed but still admirable.
Yes it was close as it looks - four games were + or - 2 hoops / on time.

With team leader Paul Kenworthy taking a break after bisque fatigue / battering the previous weekend, the team of Ken Anderton, Phillip Nuttall, Margaret Eccles volunteered Malcolm Daines as the one to fill in the paper work. The choice of morning pairings of Ken and Malcolm was a change from "normal" practice by pairing the 2 lowest handicaps - it nearly paid off as we lost by 2 on time against the 2 bisques of Will (still improving) Mellor and Steve. Margaret lost to their top player by 1 on time but Phil won against their highest handicap by 1.. also on time.

So at lunch 1-2.

Firs fancied themselves to win the match - but took Ken lightly as he led the fight back with a quick time win against Will but Malcolm's morning good form went the other way. So with more than half an hour remaining and the match score 2-3 so the spectators migrated to the top lawn and with the sounds of the Tango blaring out.
For Margaret her 2 games could not have been more different, morning having 11 bisques and losing -1 on time then in the afternoon 4 bisques less than opponent but won comfortably +10.
Star of the Day - Phil timed it to perfection to win +2 on time with same number of bisques (3) as his opponent.
In all the excitement I cannot remember who won the final game to make it 4-3 to Peelers.
Versatility and agility of mind are very useful attributes for croquet players.
Malcolm lost 1 single & lost the doubles, Ken won 1 single & lost the doubles, Phil won 2 singles & Margaret won 1 single lost 1 single.

Moral of the story - peg outs who / when / what / how / why.
P.S. The Spring in the Step can be maintained until a match score is otherwise.
Report by Malcolm Daines.

JUST WANTED TO SAY LIKE!

Bury won 3 matches against Bowdon at Bowdon in the 3 disciplines (golf/short/full) all in the same week.
A pat on the back to all participants!!

Caesers V Fylde @ Fylde Saturday 18^th August

Caesar's match was kindly hosted by Fylde due to a clash at CP.
The morning's games saw a win from Roger Schofield against a player with 21 bisques in the ground at the start of the game. Chris was defeated in his singles game and the doubles pairing of Tony and Anne saw a narrow loss when the time ran out. We didn'nt fare much better in the afternoon with all 3 of the lower bisque players being defeated by Fylde's 12, 18 and 9 handicap players but Anne took a convincing win against another 24 handicap player with 45 minutes still on the clock.
Overall a defeat for the Caesar's winning only 2 of the 7.
Report by Chris Alvey

Bury South Vs Crake Valley Golf @ CP Sunday 19^th August

David inspected the lawns at 7.30am and declared them playable.

Crake Valley arrived at 9.10am and it had already started raining. However it was agreed that the match would go ahead and we would review the situation at lunchtime. It continued with drizzly rain for most of the morning but did clear a little at lunchtime. It was therefore agreed that we would carry on and complete the match only for it to start raining again!!

Such is the joy of playing croquet!

Considering that Crake Valley are a new golf team they played very well and were extremely friendly. The result was a disappointing one for Bury South being beaten 5 1/2 to 12 1/2 (we did have 96 bisques against us in total). After the doubles we were all square having won one each. The singles was a different kettle of fish. John managed to win 2 of his, Judith and Derek each won one (Derek drew one as well) and David lost all his. Hopefully things can only get better!

Report by Judith Gaskell

Whitehead Park UPDATE 21^st August

Sand Banding at Whitehead started yesterday (Monday) and should be finished today with the whole lawn over seeded. Watering may become a problem as the seed germinates but if it does we will ask for volunteers.

Reporter onsite - Derek Deadman

Midweek Team Away to Chester 22^nd August

Our Midweek team travelled to Chester and found the lawns looking very thin and patchy. We quickly found that they were as difficult to play as they looked and with the notorious slope as well, it proved almost impossible to approach some hoops. However, in the morning Tony Phillips managed to peg out in a close game while in the doubles Vi Richards and Barbara Young were ahead for much of the time but were eventually overtaken and lost by 4 on time. Margaret Eccles and her opponent had a torrid time, each making only single figures of hoops and Margaret lost by 1.

In the afternoon Tony was on the receiving end of a peg-out.
Barbara managed a reasonable break and won by +3 on time.

Vi also won by +5t.
Margaret lost -7t.
The overall result was 4-3 to Chester who are now top of the league.
Report by Barbara Young

Whitehead Park Beach Club 24^th August

These photos show WP lawns day after Contractors finished their work and before the rains came.

David

W/E AC Hcp Peelers Away To Southport, Sunday 26^th August

Southport 3 - Peelers 4

On arrival the Peelers discovered they were against a high handicap bisque laden Southport team. Despite the odds and the atrocious weather in the morning, the Peelers emerged victorious with a 4 - 3 win. Barbara and Margaret Eccles played the doubles. Margaret did everything Barbara told her to do and they had a good win. Paul Kenworthy lost to a 16 handicap who used her bisques well. Ken Anderton won against a 18 handicap player who did not use her bisques so well. In the afternoon Paul peeled and pegged out one of his opponents balls giving him an easy opportunity to peg out for a win. Ken was defeated by the same player who beat Paul in the morning. Barbara was also narrowly beaten.

Margaret had a good win to seal the Southport defeat.
Report by Paul Kenworthy

Caesers v Bowdon Firs @ CP 1^st September

Caesars had a strong team for this match but, unfortunately, that meant giving quite a few bisques to the opposition and this made it a bit of an uphill battle. The highlight of the day was a first win in the doubles for David Leach, playing with Tony Phillips. This pairing had a comprehensive win over the Bowdon pair. Several of the singles matches ended very close but Bowdon were the victors in all of them.

The final score of 1-6 does not really represent the match but the Bowdon team played well and deserved the win.

Report by Tony Phillips

All England Handicap AC Regional Final at Fylde 1/2^nd Sept

The format of the tournament was a 5 round Swiss, full bisque base 10 time limit 3 hours.
Day One; Helen Brophy took the overnight lead.
Day Two; The competition intensified on another beautiful warm, still and dry day..

Phil was last to finish as his opponent made a spirited effort to level the points with a time turn break in front of the pavilion with everyone spectating. A backward take off fell short of 2 back and hands were shaken during applause.

Phil triumphed to go through to the final at Wrest Park 8/9th September.

Grass Roots Final at Bath 9^th September

After a long and slow journey down to Bath (5 hours) Richard settled into his hotel. Following a hearty breakfast and feeling fresh although a little nervous Richard was ready for the day ahead.

He was was drawn in the A group for the round robin morning section where he faced three equal handicapped players. He soon got into his rhythm and won all three matches 7-5, 7-5, and 7-6 on the last match after trailing 3 hoops to nil, and moved into the quarter finals.

After lunch, in his quarter final, he was up against a lower handicapped player who won two of his three round robin matches. This quarter final was a very cagey game with both players taking the lead and went to the golden hoop. Unfortunately Richard could not convert it into a win. He decided that with along journey home he would concede the 5-8 play offs so finished 8th overall.

Report by David Leach

All England Hcp National Final 8/9^th September

After qualifying in the regional final at Fylde on 1st and 2nd September, Phil travelled down to Wrest Park for the National Final the following week.

The weather was surprisingly good even though rain had been forecast. The 8 players battled against each other on the patchy but very quick lawns and Phil finished 3rd in equal place with other northerner Bowdon's Adrian Apps. Both of them winning 3 out of their 5 games.

During one of Phil's games his opponent, John Smallbone from Watford, managed to break the head off his mallet and had to borrow the tournament referee's mallet until he was able to get one from his own club for the second days play.

Helena, Lynne and Alan Driver were there for the weekend to support Phil and get some extra curricular play on the practice lawn.

The overall winner was the young and energetic Thomas Halliday from Enfield who won all his five games sporting a handicap of 18 which was a struggle for all the others in the competition to fight. Thomas' handicap has now dropped to 16 but well done him for a good two days play.

Unbelievably the CA sent the wrong trophy down to the tournament!!

Peelers v Chester @ CP Saturday 15^th September

An initial shower as play commenced at 10 a.m. gave way to what became a pleasant sunny day.
Ken & Margaret Anderton reprised their doubles partnership and despite being behind for much of the match a good break by Margaret gave them a 21 - 18 win.
Paul Kenworthy took on Brian Walton, a relatively new 14 handicap Chester player, and had a good win 26-12 pegging out in under 2 hours.
Barbara Young continued her recent good form also pegging out for a 26-8 win.

Bury lead 3 - 0 going into lunch.

Chester's team were quite well matched to Bury and in the afternoon few bisques were given in any of the matches. Ken lost to David Boyd 2-26. Barbara lost to Paul Watson 9 - 26. With Margaret behind in her match against Brian it was looking like a Chester comeback. With Paul on peg and rover David Guyton hit in and began a comeback. However David managed to jump over a ball he was trying to rush to let Paul back in for a 26-10 win. Margaret eventually lost a tense match against Brian 15-19.

Bury win 4 - 3

Bury Peelers are now level with Chester at the top of the NW Handicap league both teams having one more match to play.. Oh the excitement!!!

Report by Paul Kenworthy

Short Lawn Chester v Bury on Sunday 16^th September

The Bury team consisted of Phil and Helena Nuttall, Chris Alvey and Vi Richards, each team player won two of their four games giving Bury a Draw with Chester a good result of eight games each.

It was an enjoyable day with some rain but mostly sunshine. Chester were a very friendly team and a good day was enjoyed by all.

Report by Vi Richards - Team Captain

Fylde v Bury Peelers Saturday 22^nd September

Peelers travelled to Fylde to contest a potential A/C full lawn NW league winning match. As usual the challenge was met with the desire to win but with good sport being uppermost. All team members had a win and a loss but unfortunately it was a 4-3 win for Fylde.

It did not rain but a bitter breeze blew in the morning with the afternoon being considerably warmer. Margaret Eccles once again obeyed the commands of Barbara Young to secure a doubles win against Betty Bates and Ian Theakstone. In the singles Paul Kenworthy lost 1 -26 to Alan Morton who had 10 bisques which he used wisely. Malcolm Daines only had 2 bisques to use against Nathan Baker but played a very canny game to win 26-12.

In the afternoon Paul played Nathan and won 26-13. Malcolm took on Ian Theakstone and was defeated. Margaret took on Alan Morton but with Ian having pegged one of his balls off could not make up the deficit and Alan finally pegged his second ball off with a hit virtually from corner one. Barbara played her nemesis Betty who she has never defeated in a singles match. Betty also took an early lead which Barbara could not make up with Betty finally pegging out just before time.

Well done to all who have played for the Peelers in 2018!!

We await the result of Crake Valley v Chester for the final league positions.

Report by Paul Kenworthy

Richard Leach @ 'C' Level Golf Tournament Nottingham - 22/23^rd September

The tournament final was held over two days, with eight matches on the Saturday and seven matches on the Sunday, with all matches being no time limit. Richard started well by winning his first match on the golden hoop. During the day he held his own against players with lower handicaps than his. He finished the first day with five wins and three losses.

On the Sunday he started poorly but soon got into his stride and again held his own against the lower handicap players and finished the day with four wins and three losses. His matches against the lower handicap players finished with won four, lost four.

So overall he won 9 matches and lost six. This placed him equal fourth in the tournament.

So well done Richard.

Report by David Leach

Golf Handicap Bury North V Bowdon 23^rd September

The score was a victory for Bury 10-8.

A match report will follow.

FINALS DAY 30^th September

Following a fabulous day's croquet, these are the results:

GOLF OPEN PLAY - Gill Freely v Jean Oldfield winner GILL
GOLF LEVEL PLAY - John Gilmartin v Vi Richards match still to be played
GOLF 8+ - Alan Driver v Gill Freely winner GILL
SHORT LAWN FULL BISQUE - Barbara Young v Tony Phillips winner BARBARA
AC HANDICAP BASE 8 - Tony Phillips v Chris Alvey winner TONY
AC ADVANCED - Malcolm Daines v Roger Schofield winner MALCOLM

Well done all the FINALISTS!
Congratulations to the WINNERS.
Thanks to Sue & Mac for the wonderful Potato Pie and Cheese & Onion Pie.
Thanks also to Margaret Eccles for the sweets.
Everything yummy!!

Coronation Park Clean Up 28^th October

A thank you to all who turned up to clean the gullies and rake up leaves. Thankfully it was a lovely but cold day.

Photos

Christmas Party @ WP 12th Dec

Over 30 members attended on the night.
Fabulous party and wonderful company.
Mulled wine flowed (hic!).
Games abounded.
Decorations looked great.
Many thanks to all the organisers (prior, during and after).

PLEASE SIR CAN I HAVE SOME MORE?

VERY SAD NEWS

It is with great sadness that we have to inform our members that
MARGARET YATES

died suddenly today.
Margaret was a long standing member and has over the years served our Club in many capacities, including as Treasurer.
She loved the Club and always enjoyed playing Croquet and always enjoyed visiting Cober Hill etc

Margaret at Cober Hill this May