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Over 1500 people try Croquet

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BBC CountryfileLive at Castle Howard August 2019

Adam Henson enjoying Croquet at Castle Howard

A group of 50 enthusiastic croquet players drawn mostly from the Yorkshire Federation went to the new CountryfileLive at Castle Howard to give visitors to the 4 day event the opportunity to ” give croquet a go”. Two small courts were set up on the lawns with the magnificent house in the background and over 1500 tried their hand at running hoops with some expert guidance. All of the visitors seemed to enjoy it ; any serious interest was captured and links are being made to clubs for follow up.

John Dawson coaches Adam Henson through the hoop

The weather was variable and as the show lasted from 9-00 to 6 pm on each day. The CA volunteers worked hard with some time off to enjoy the rest of the show themselves.

Matt Baker and Anita Rani try Croquet with Derek Knight

It is always difficult to assess the long term impact of this sort of activity but 1500 is a “serious” number of players and there is no doubt that the team of volunteers raised the public profile of croquet amongst the tens of thousand visitors to the show. As a result of the relationships built up at Blenheim the BBC Countryfile Live stars turned up en masse for an early morning publicity shoot and Matt Baker , Ellie Harrison and Adam Henson came back to hone their croquet skills watched by many of their fans. Some activities were shot on camera but we shall have to wait to see if any of the footage makes it to the Sunday night show.

BBC Countryfile Presenters try Croquet at Castle Howard

A big “thank you” to all the volunteers, to Anna Giraud for managing the recruitment and deployment of the teams, to Derek Knight ( and Anna) for setting up and dismantling the site, to the York and Beverley clubs for the loan of equipment .

Yorkshire members hosting Croquet at Castle Howard

Keeping ‘Beyond the Pale’ at Chester

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Annual Anglo-Irish Tournament won by Chester – Chester CC 25-26 August 2018

Alan Looney, Carrickmines President, presents the 'Beyond the Pale' trophy to Chester Captain, John Dawson.
Alan Looney, Carrickmines President, presents the ‘Beyond the Pale’ trophy to Chester Captain, John Dawson.

Whilst Dublin hosted its own special papal visitor over the Bank Holiday weekend, its premier croquet club (Carrickmines) travelled across the Irish Sea to Chester in an attempt to wrest the “Beyond the Pale” Cup from Chester Croquet Club. This time they brought an experienced team of AC and GC players. Even getting to Chester was tough – the ferry company cancelled its high speed hovercraft and the team was shunted onto a good “old fashioned” but slow ship. Then the Carrickmines skipper strained his back (one of his team mates jokingly suggested that it happened whilst picking up his wallet!).  Friday evening was spent on a pre-match carbo-loading, hydration and bonding session in a thatched pub in Raby, on the Wirral. After fleeting rain Saturday was lovely; the Chester “sloping lawns” – somewhat sharpened by the summer drought  made playing conditions tricky. The three AC matches went Chester’s way but the GC “round robin” was more closely contested. It was clear that Roger Edwards of Chester had scooped the individual prize but the team event went to a recount.

Some Carrickmines players having misheard the location of the evening’s rehydration programme thought an “interesting night” lay ahead. Unfortunately the restaurant was merely “Moules a Go-Go”, disappointment was quickly put aside and kilos of seafood were consumed with the appropriate alcoholic beverage to wash them down.  Sunday was “good news- bad news”. Good news- the lawns were more benign, the bad news – it was chucking it down. “Never seen rain like it ” a seasoned Carrickmines player said. Two hasty rounds of GC and one soggy AC match were closely contested.

Yet another ferry cancellation brought proceedings to a premature end.  Alan Looney, the Carrickmines President and captain, presented the cup to the Chester captain and declared  “It’s been  a great weekend.  No matter how the Brexit discussions conclude the Chester team will be welcome at Carrickmines in 2019” and he presented the Chester Chair, Sarah Andrew, with a signed copy of the Carrickmines Club Centenary book. That done the Carrickmines convoy aquaplaned out of Westminster Park in hot pursuit of the Holyhead ferry.   

Alan Looney, Carrickmines President, presents a signed copy of the Carrickmines Centenary Book to Chester Chair, Sarah Andrew.
Alan Looney, Carrickmines President, presents a signed copy of the Carrickmines Centenary Book to Chester Chair, Sarah Andrew.

Photos courtesy of Pat Clare

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