Well, the leek pickers have moved on and all profits from the crop spent! Seriously, the rape-seed crop has now been cut, baled and is sitting on the field. The problem is that we now have bales of useless silage that need moving to various corners of the field. Nobody wants to buy them, in fact we don’t even seem to be able to give them away! In the short term, they will have to stay where they are as, due to the weather conditions, trying to move them at the moment would be as clever as driving lorries over a cricket pitch! However, we do need to start cutting the grass regularly, which will also stop the rape coming back. As soon as the rain stops and the ground firms up we can start on this programme and move the bales off the middle of the field.
Visitors to our Carnival Stall last Saturday will have seen the information boards with the artist’s impressions of what the new pavilion will look like. I am sure that you will all agree that it looks very impressive. The next step in the project is to meet with Sport England again to update them with the plans. To this end, I hope to arrange a meeting with Yvonne Craven, our new contact in Reading, Graham Bannell, our architect, and the W.O.D.C planners can then try to work out any compromises that need to made regarding the plans. We will keep you informed of the outcome of these meetings.
On the fund-raising front, the Kids Corner Carnival Stall and the Pancake Stall raised a fantastic £550, thanks to the efforts of cricketers and parents alike. Many visitors were interested in our new venture and I am hoping we may have gained a new member of the club as well!
The next event is the popular Cake, Bric-a-Brac and Book Stall at St. Leonard’s Church Hall on the 20th July, 10-12. All donations of goods and offers of help will be gratefully received – please contact one of the fundraising committee.
August will see the President’s Game and Beer Festival taking place on Bank Holiday Sunday 25th. The fundraising committee will be organising stalls and entertainment to ensure a fun family day out, (and hopefully raise a few quid at the same time!).
There will be a sponsored bike-ride around some local cricket clubs on the afternoon of Saturday 14th September. This is being organised by Deborah Lake and John Wilson. There will be more details publicised in the near future, but in the meantime you can speak to them for more details.
Finally, the date for the annual Dinner and Dance is Saturday September 28th and will be held at Eynsham Village Hall. More details to follow next month.
Pete Jones 10.7.02