It is with great sadness we report the tragic death of David Lloyd on Sunday 14^th February 2021, whilst undergoing surgery for a ruptured aneurysm.

Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and those close to him at this very sad time. David was passionate about playing croquet with a great determination to succeed. He was a valued team member in all forms of the game, representing the Crake Valley Club (and also previously Westmorland) at both local and national events.

David was also instrumental in pushing forward several projects to improve facilities at the Crake Valley Club. He will be sadly missed.

Simon Robins (Chairman Crake Valley CC)

Lockdown Success on Crake Valley Lawns

Although the lawns at Crake are closed, some members have been working in shifts, within social bubbles and Covid rules, to improve drainage at the club.

Thirty years worth of debris and spoil has been cleared ensuring the embankment outlet flap from our ditches to the River Crake is now working properly.

Using a diagram from 2012 when some work was undertaken the members set about identifying, rodding and hosing each outlet. There were 20 outlets pipes (some buried) and all bar 4 of them had some level of blockage.

The attached photos show the effect of Storm Christoph on Thursday (21st January) lunchtime and just 24 hours later. Whilst we will always suffer from a high water table, being next to the River Crake, the work shows that standing water now drains much faster than before.

National Golf Croquet C Level Finals – 19/20 Sep 2020
David Cornes reports from Colchester

The North West Federation had 2 finalists at Colchester to compete for the National GC C level trophy over the weekend of 19th & 20th September. Frank Sharps and daughter Sandra Cornes finished 2nd and 1st at the Crake Valley qualifier in July and joined 8 other players for the national final.

The initial round was a block of “all play all” and both players scored a credible 49 hoops (maximum 63). Frank won 5 out of 9 matches and qualified for the semi finals whilst Sandra fell short with 3 wins (losing 2 matches 6/7).

In hot weather for the time of year Frank showed great stamina and skill pushing the undefeatable winner, Duncan Catterall (High Wycombe) to 6-10 in the semi final. He then played Rick Lilley (Phyllis Court) in the 3rd & 4th place play off. Frank took the first game 7-4 and then lost 5-7. Due to the fact the final had concluded both players felt it fair and proper to share 3rd place rather than play a decider.

To complete the family involvement David Cornes stood in at short notice to manage the tournament whilst already being requested to be referee for the event.