The John Beech Tournament (formerly the Easter Tournament) held over the four days of Easter concluded on the cold afternoon of Monday after a hard fought contest. This is an Association handicap croquet tournament where all players begin with a base index of 100, the higher the final index the better.

The weather was good at the start of the Easter tournament, so was Kathryn Schofield and daughter Charlotte, who were managing the tournament for the afternoon, preparing afternoon tea, providing tea and coffee, keeping score and entertaining their delightful two year old grandson, sporting a new haircut. The day started with a short speech from Kathleen Beech at a short ceremony to unveil a plaque in memory of John. She said John would be pleased with casino aussie the lawns today and hoped they would stay this way to perpetuate his memory. (no problem, with their son and lady friend, assisted by Abdul, cutting the grass each day).

David Maugham from Bowdon club won two trophies, the overall winner with a finishing index of 134, and also the trophy for the most games played – 15 games completed over the 4 days. David Turner from Tynesside won the Short Bisques trophy with an index of 122. Robin Delves from Pendle & Craven won the High Bisques trophy. Abdul Ahmad from Pendle & Craven won the fastest game trophy with a time of 48 minutes.

All games were un-timed, so Wharred Turns were introduced if games seemed prolonged – a wonderful way of speeding up the end of a game.