July 2020 Newsletter
Wednesday 1st July. Another good session to start the new month. All the players at this session, when asked said that they felt safe. Tomorrow is "Booking Thursday", This week, due to high demand, we are adding an extra session which is Tuesday evening 5.15 till 6.15.
SESSIONS FOR WEEK TWO Starting Monday 6th July
Monday afternoon 2.00 till 3.00 pm
Tuesday Morning 11.30 till 12.30
Tuesday evening 5.15 till 6.15 pm
Wednesday evening 5.00 till 6.00 pm
Thursday No sessions. "Booking day", Tel. between 10.00 and 12.00 am, and 5.00 and 6.00 pm to book second session
Friday morning 11.30 till 12.30
Saturday morning 11.30 till 12.30
Thank you to all the players for following the guidelines set by the Welsh Government.
Friday 3rd July. Another full session of six players today, unfortunately shortened because of the weather.
Saturday 4th July. Regrettably, our session today had to be called off due to bad weather.
All slots have been taken up for next week.
Monday 6th July. Lovely session, nice and sunny. All our members are settling in to the new way of bowling.
Tuesday 7th July. Good session today, great quality bowling, a treat to see. Due to the lockdown, we were unable to present David Morgan with the cup for winning the winter season short mat tournament, we presented him with the cup today. Well done David.
Regrettably, due to the weather, there was no evening session. It was nice to see Lynne Fursland walking in the park and later Margaret Green both taking their daily exercise and we hope to see them back at the green when the Covid-19 situation improves.
SESSIONS FOR WEEK 3. Starting Monday 13th July
Monday Afternoon 2.00 till 3 pm
Tuesday Morning 11.30 till 12.30
Tuesday Evening 5.15 till 6.15 pm
Wednesday Evening 5.00 till 6.00 pm
Friday Morning 11.30 till 12.30
*Friday Evening 5.00 till 6.00 pm *
Saturday 11.30 till 12.30
Thursday Booking day
10.00 till 12.00 am and 5.00 till 6.00 pm
Extra session *
Friday 10th July. Improvement with the weather today, thank goodness. Everyone is getting used to these unusual sessions during such unusual times. Due to the limited numbers, we are playing singles so there is a lot of ends played at each session which is contributing to the high standard of bowling and our green is in good condition this year.
The First Minister announced his latest Covid-19 update today where he mentioned the following;
Larger gatherings of up to 30 people will now be permitted provided they are outdoors “where these are organised and supervised by a responsible person for sports and other leisure activities and classes,” a Welsh Government spokesman said.
I phoned the parks department to ask about this announcement and Chris Mitchinson said that she would enquire how this will effect bowling clubs.
In the meantime, our present arrangements will continue.
There are 6 slots available for next Friday evenings session. Anyone can book a slot when booking next Thursday on a first come first serve basis.
Sam phoned today to say he is in isolation because Jodie's father has symptoms of Coronavirus. It was not long ago, you will remember Josh had Coronavirus but has now recovered well. All our thoughts are with the family.
Saturday 11th July. Back to the good weather. Great bowling session, disappointing that Sam couldn't be there today so I had a game with Len Pearce. Jodie's father is waiting to have a test which could happen tomorrow.
Monday 13th July. Disappointing to have to cancel todays session due to the weather, hope the rest of the week will be better.
Tuesday 14th July. This is the reply I had from Chris Michinson this evening regarding the Welsh Government latest update.
Dear bowls club
Following the First Minsters announcement on Friday 10th July that organised gatherings of up to 30 people can now take place we have sought guidance from the governing body of sport. The update for Bowls Wales is:
“Bowls Wales awaits the revised Welsh Government’s Coronavirus Regulations together with the Welsh Government’s updated guidance and will be working through the changes and updating our guidelines documents.
We ask if clubs can wait until we have updated our guidelines before acting upon the above”.
Two great sessions today, everyone appears to be enjoying their bowling, we are looking forward to hearing what the next update will bring and we will act on that information as soon as is practicable.
Wednesday 15th July. Good news, Jodie's father has improved a lot, he's had a test for Covid-19 and the result is expected in the next couple of days. Really good bowling in this evening session, our players are enjoying the singles format and their form is reflecting that.
Thursday 16th July. Sam informed us that Jodie's fathers test came back negative. Good news.
I have not received any new guidelines yet regarding possibility of more flexibility with our sessions. All the slots for next week have been booked, lets hope the weather doesn't let us down.
Friday 17th July. Two sessions today. nice to see Lynne back.
Saturday 18th July. Weather damp but we managed to play the session.
Monday 20th July. We welcomed Chris Hembro to the club for the first time today and welcomed back Diane Thomas.
Tuesday 21st July. Lovely day, we welcomed back Pat and David Havard.
Wednesday 22nd July. Lovely evening. Chris Hembro played her first singles game tonight and played very well.
I announced some changes in the WG guidelines, we are now allowed to play up to 30 on the green. I have sent an updated risk assessment form to the council. However, we are not going to rush too far too soon. Next week, we will increase the number of players from 6 to 8 per session, this will increase the number of slots per week by 14. The booking system will be the same as before on Thursday. There will be a further booking session on the following Sunday between 10.00 and 12.00 am to book the remaining slot available on a first come first serve basis. The toilets will be now reopened fully. The kitchen and the changing rooms remain closed except for access to the toilets. There will be sanitizing facilities in the toilet areas.
Saturday 25th July. We were lucky to have a break in the weather which allowed us to play the last session of Phase 1 in the Covid-19 season (6 players). On Monday we begin Phase 2 (8 players)
Review of Phase 1. We were able to start our summer season on Monday 29th June, - 4 weeks ago, since then on each day we have used 3 rinks. This enabled us to maintain social distancing. From the start, only two players, playing singles played on each rink. Maintaining social distancing. On arrival, players were provided with chairs 2 metres apart and a set of sanitised bowls for their use. In accordance with the guidelines, one player was allocated handling the Jack and the other handling the mat. After play, they sanitised all the equipment they used. The equipment was then put back in the storeroom by the officials.
The club has provided RCT with a Risk Assessment regarding the above, which has has been approved.
From Monday 27th July all the above procedures will be followed with an increased number of players, instead of 6 there will initially be up to 8 at each session.
The booking arrangements are working well.
Everyone who has participated during the last 4 weeks has fully complied with social distancing and behaved as they should and my thanks goes to you all.
I'm sure, all players would join me in expressing thanks to Chris for what she does behind the scenes.
Because of the above, we have enjoyed ourselves and kept safe and we shall continue to do the same in Phase 2.
THANK YOU.
Tuesday 28th July. First session of the new set-up went well. We can look forward with confidence that we can continue "Safe Bowling". Good news, Margaret Green has a date for her operation.
Wednesday 29th July We welcomed Martin Ducket and Gwen White today. They both played very well in their first session. Well done. Our membership has grown steadily through the month, and I believe, it's testimony to the way we are following the guidelines and playing safe.
SESSIONS FOR WEEK TWO Starting Monday 6th July
Monday afternoon 2.00 till 3.00 pm
Tuesday Morning 11.30 till 12.30
Tuesday evening 5.15 till 6.15 pm
Wednesday evening 5.00 till 6.00 pm
Thursday No sessions. "Booking day", Tel. between 10.00 and 12.00 am, and 5.00 and 6.00 pm to book second session
Friday morning 11.30 till 12.30
Saturday morning 11.30 till 12.30
Thank you to all the players for following the guidelines set by the Welsh Government.
Friday 3rd July. Another full session of six players today, unfortunately shortened because of the weather.
Saturday 4th July. Regrettably, our session today had to be called off due to bad weather.
All slots have been taken up for next week.
Monday 6th July. Lovely session, nice and sunny. All our members are settling in to the new way of bowling.
Tuesday 7th July. Good session today, great quality bowling, a treat to see. Due to the lockdown, we were unable to present David Morgan with the cup for winning the winter season short mat tournament, we presented him with the cup today. Well done David.
Regrettably, due to the weather, there was no evening session. It was nice to see Lynne Fursland walking in the park and later Margaret Green both taking their daily exercise and we hope to see them back at the green when the Covid-19 situation improves.
SESSIONS FOR WEEK 3. Starting Monday 13th July
Monday Afternoon 2.00 till 3 pm
Tuesday Morning 11.30 till 12.30
Tuesday Evening 5.15 till 6.15 pm
Wednesday Evening 5.00 till 6.00 pm
Friday Morning 11.30 till 12.30
*Friday Evening 5.00 till 6.00 pm *
Saturday 11.30 till 12.30
Thursday Booking day
10.00 till 12.00 am and 5.00 till 6.00 pm
Extra session *
Friday 10th July. Improvement with the weather today, thank goodness. Everyone is getting used to these unusual sessions during such unusual times. Due to the limited numbers, we are playing singles so there is a lot of ends played at each session which is contributing to the high standard of bowling and our green is in good condition this year.
The First Minister announced his latest Covid-19 update today where he mentioned the following;
Larger gatherings of up to 30 people will now be permitted provided they are outdoors “where these are organised and supervised by a responsible person for sports and other leisure activities and classes,” a Welsh Government spokesman said.
I phoned the parks department to ask about this announcement and Chris Mitchinson said that she would enquire how this will effect bowling clubs.
In the meantime, our present arrangements will continue.
There are 6 slots available for next Friday evenings session. Anyone can book a slot when booking next Thursday on a first come first serve basis.
Sam phoned today to say he is in isolation because Jodie's father has symptoms of Coronavirus. It was not long ago, you will remember Josh had Coronavirus but has now recovered well. All our thoughts are with the family.
Saturday 11th July. Back to the good weather. Great bowling session, disappointing that Sam couldn't be there today so I had a game with Len Pearce. Jodie's father is waiting to have a test which could happen tomorrow.
Monday 13th July. Disappointing to have to cancel todays session due to the weather, hope the rest of the week will be better.
Tuesday 14th July. This is the reply I had from Chris Michinson this evening regarding the Welsh Government latest update.
Dear bowls club
Following the First Minsters announcement on Friday 10th July that organised gatherings of up to 30 people can now take place we have sought guidance from the governing body of sport. The update for Bowls Wales is:
“Bowls Wales awaits the revised Welsh Government’s Coronavirus Regulations together with the Welsh Government’s updated guidance and will be working through the changes and updating our guidelines documents.
We ask if clubs can wait until we have updated our guidelines before acting upon the above”.
Two great sessions today, everyone appears to be enjoying their bowling, we are looking forward to hearing what the next update will bring and we will act on that information as soon as is practicable.
Wednesday 15th July. Good news, Jodie's father has improved a lot, he's had a test for Covid-19 and the result is expected in the next couple of days. Really good bowling in this evening session, our players are enjoying the singles format and their form is reflecting that.
Thursday 16th July. Sam informed us that Jodie's fathers test came back negative. Good news.
I have not received any new guidelines yet regarding possibility of more flexibility with our sessions. All the slots for next week have been booked, lets hope the weather doesn't let us down.
Friday 17th July. Two sessions today. nice to see Lynne back.
Saturday 18th July. Weather damp but we managed to play the session.
Monday 20th July. We welcomed Chris Hembro to the club for the first time today and welcomed back Diane Thomas.
Tuesday 21st July. Lovely day, we welcomed back Pat and David Havard.
Wednesday 22nd July. Lovely evening. Chris Hembro played her first singles game tonight and played very well.
I announced some changes in the WG guidelines, we are now allowed to play up to 30 on the green. I have sent an updated risk assessment form to the council. However, we are not going to rush too far too soon. Next week, we will increase the number of players from 6 to 8 per session, this will increase the number of slots per week by 14. The booking system will be the same as before on Thursday. There will be a further booking session on the following Sunday between 10.00 and 12.00 am to book the remaining slot available on a first come first serve basis. The toilets will be now reopened fully. The kitchen and the changing rooms remain closed except for access to the toilets. There will be sanitizing facilities in the toilet areas.
Saturday 25th July. We were lucky to have a break in the weather which allowed us to play the last session of Phase 1 in the Covid-19 season (6 players). On Monday we begin Phase 2 (8 players)
Review of Phase 1. We were able to start our summer season on Monday 29th June, - 4 weeks ago, since then on each day we have used 3 rinks. This enabled us to maintain social distancing. From the start, only two players, playing singles played on each rink. Maintaining social distancing. On arrival, players were provided with chairs 2 metres apart and a set of sanitised bowls for their use. In accordance with the guidelines, one player was allocated handling the Jack and the other handling the mat. After play, they sanitised all the equipment they used. The equipment was then put back in the storeroom by the officials.
The club has provided RCT with a Risk Assessment regarding the above, which has has been approved.
From Monday 27th July all the above procedures will be followed with an increased number of players, instead of 6 there will initially be up to 8 at each session.
The booking arrangements are working well.
Everyone who has participated during the last 4 weeks has fully complied with social distancing and behaved as they should and my thanks goes to you all.
I'm sure, all players would join me in expressing thanks to Chris for what she does behind the scenes.
Because of the above, we have enjoyed ourselves and kept safe and we shall continue to do the same in Phase 2.
THANK YOU.
Tuesday 28th July. First session of the new set-up went well. We can look forward with confidence that we can continue "Safe Bowling". Good news, Margaret Green has a date for her operation.
Wednesday 29th July We welcomed Martin Ducket and Gwen White today. They both played very well in their first session. Well done. Our membership has grown steadily through the month, and I believe, it's testimony to the way we are following the guidelines and playing safe.