Now if that isn’t the epitome of victory, I don’t know what is.
The club’s VE Day roll-up celebrations were enjoyed in sumptuous sunshine on Friday.
Thirty-four members celebrated the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a joyful afternoon of croquet, music, wine and cake.
The club entrance looked inviting with the flags out in the gentle warm breeze.
Billy and Gwen Cooke provided a backing soundtrack of music from the 30’s and 40’s as players enjoyed the warm sunshine before enjoying the traditional Friday 3.00pm ‘tea break’ by also imbibing a teensy bit of wine and other beverages as well as enjoying a range of cakes baked by members.
John Guy and Howard Freeman erected the flagpoles and flags to welcome visitors to the roll-up. (Pic: Gwen Cooke)
Club captain John Guy proposed a toast during the celebrations. He said ‘We all enjoy playing croquet and we’ve got the freedom to do it. And that freedom is down to a generation who sacrificed so much. Be upstanding and toast the wartime generation.’
Cake, wine, soft drinks and tea were plentiful at 3.00pm
Club Chair Fran Wall then led some community singing and the members present…gave a stab at The White Cliffs of Dover!
Club President John Steel thanked the organisers and volunteers who put on the impromptu afternoon.
And of course, there was some impressive croquet played. Perhaps the most impressive was Alison Disley’s first shot at hoop 1 on lawn 3, which went straight in the jaws. David Harington and Peter Dobson could only look on in awe.
Jim Norris quipped ‘Whenever I’m playing on the beautiful flat, greens at Ealing Croquet Club, I shall be thinking of you all.’ Jim refused to answer when John Guy asked if Jim will be leaving his joke book at Broadwas. Our thoughts are with Ealing Croquet Club at this difficult time.
There WAS a lot of cake. It soon went!It suddenly dawns on David that a member of Ealing Croquet Club has infiltrated…At this moment, Billy Cooke really does look like a resistance fighter.Pauline takes her shot during one of the many games during the afternoon. John Steel and Howard Freeman pictured during a break in play. I thought the main club rule during doubles games was that you mustn’t fraternise with the enemy?Well, it WAS fraught, playing in the heat of the afternoon, so members grasped the opportunity to take the weight off.
Gerry and Fran pictured during preparations for the afternoon. (Pic: Gwen Cooke)
Gerry and Gwen really looked the part. The bunting really gave the clubhouse and pavilion a festive air. There was no delay in enticing players into the clubhouse when the teatime bell rang. The clubhouse was packed at teatime.The lawns were perfect.Look out Ealing. Norris is coming!
Yet MORE fraternisation.
Thanks again to everyone who organised a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Jon Carrington, Billy Nicholson, Ian Dampney and Stuart Smith were pictured in Telč during last year’s European campaign.
With preparations for the Broadwas Golf Croquet squad’s second excursion into Europe in full swing, the team is learning more about the opposition they face in Germany at the end of May.
Led by captain Stuart Smith, team members Billy Nicholson, Ian Dampney and Jon Carrington will play in Kohlhof, 110km south of Frankfurt, on 31st May and the 1st June.
The squad discovered earlier this week that one of the members of the host club’s team – 1st Croquet Club Südwest – is ranked as 13th best in the world.
Greg Fletcher, an Australian, is one of a trio of brothers who have excelled in the international game. His younger brother Malcolm is ranked 17th in the world, whilst Robert, the youngest of the brothers, is currently ranked 1st in the world.
Stuart said that the top four members of the German team all rank higher than the Broadwas squad but added ‘It’s going to be fun.’
Stuart went on ‘Better news is that we generally rank higher than the Madrid team and Billy can be expected to play at least 300 points higher than his D grade of 1715. Also, Ian (with a D grade of 1809) plays a couple of hundred better.’ Stuart added ‘I’m 2002 and will try and play better this year and support Jon (D grade 2019).
The D Grade Golf Croquet Ranking System is part of the World Croquet Federation’s (WCF) Golf Croquet Grading System (GCGS), which assigns numeric rankings to players based on their performance in officially sanctioned matches.
Broadwas will also face the Czech Country Croquet Club which is based in Horice in the Czech Republic, and the Spanish side from Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
The mood in the Broadwas team is buoyant.
I spoke to Ian Dampney during a practice session at the club, earlier in the week.
Ian told me he was very much looking forward to the tournament. ‘The highlight of the year,’ he said.
Ian said that last year he found the tournament ‘Daunting to start with but settled into it pretty well. I didn’t actually feel nerves and managed to keep things going.’
‘The Germans will be a challenge,’ he said. ‘We’re all playing against team members of higher rankings, but last year we found that to some extent, the rankings were misleading, bearing in mind they played a slightly different (more flamboyant) game. That’s fine if you’re accurate and go through, whereas our more cautious approach often left us in a good position.’
Ian will be travelling early to Germany, to tour with his wife Jan before the tournament. They will be taking a Rhine cruise for ten days, spending some time in Nuremberg before going to Heidelberg and then on to the tournament.
David Kaner is pictured at work during his coaching course at York over the weekend. (Picture courtesy of John Harris)
Congratulations go out to David Kaner, who over the weekend successfully completed Northern Croquet Academy’s Club-Level coaching course.
Once he has given five more coaching sessions at Broadwas, David will be a full Croquet England Club-Level Coach, creating an enviable trio of Broadwas club coaches together with Jeff Faulkner and Club Captain John Guy.
The coaching course, held at York, was run by James Hawkins, author of Complete Croquet and covered coaching in both Golf and Association Croquet.
David is pictured with some of the members of the Broadwas GC High Handicap squad, during his coaching sessions with the team, last week
Many will know that although relatively new to the club, David has been an active and versatile player for Broadwas, participating in multiple teams and competitions across both AC and GC.
David has been a key member of Broadwas’s AC team in the West Midlands Association Croquet League, securing wins over Mervyn Harvey and Nigel Pigdon against Kenilworth early in the 2023 season, when Broadwas won 5-2 and won both of his games in the club’s “whitewash” victory in the last match of the season against Swindon in August 2024.
Also in August last year, David achieved a significant milestone by completing a 12-hoop break during a match at Church Stretton – a notable accomplishment for any AC player.
David also played for the Broadwas GC High Handicap team. In an away match against Moreton-in-Marsh ‘B’, David was paired with Jean Faulkner to win their doubles match 7–3 and he also secured a singles victory over Wendy Coleman 6–4.
Partnering with Pauline Watson, David also reached the final of the John Barber Trophy (GC doubles) in 2024, finishing as runners-up after a competitive match against Gerry Stevens and John Guy.
David was ably assisted by John Guy, who gave demonstrations of faults to avoid during GC matches, to the club’s High Handicap squad
Beyond his on-court activities, David serves as the Secretary of Broadwas Croquet Club, responsible for preparing agendas and minutes for committee and AGM meetings.
David has recently delivered highly enjoyable and informative coaching sessions to members of the Broadwas GC High Handicap squad, captained by Malcolm Armstrong, and will complete the team’s pre-season preparation with a coaching session after roll-up this coming Friday afternoon.
Billy Nicholson, Stuart Smith, Ian Dampney and Jon Carrington pictured during their preparations for last season’s European campaign.
Members of the Broadwas Golf Croquet team who won the runners-up spot in the Telč heat of the European GC Club League competition in 2024 will this year be competing in Germany in the heat hosted by 1st Croquet Club Südwest.
The German club is located in Kohlhof in the southwest of the country, in the Rhine Valley, recognised as being the warmest region in Germany and home to the wine-growing region of Palatia. It is about 110km south of Frankfurt.
Captained by Stuart Smith, the Broadwas team of Ian Dampney, Billy Nicholson and Jon Carrington will also face the Czech Country Croquet Club which is based in Horice in the Czech Republic, and the Spanish side from Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. The Spanish club hosted the competition final in 2024.
Having experienced the competition’s format last year, Stuart feels that his team will know what to expect. ‘I think the lawns will be in good condition, but I suspect all games will be double banked, though it shouldn’t be a problem,’ said Stuart.
He added ‘We do know that the German team have got better players – who were not in the team last year. I think they have their “big guns” out. The German team may well therefore be our biggest opposition.’
Stuart said ‘I’ve read about the Horice team. The seem to be from a fairly small place and the club has only begun relatively recently.’
Stuart is optimistic for the Broadwas team’s prospects.
‘Clearly, Jon Carrington has moved forward with his game and he will be our top ranked player,’ Stuart said. Stuart himself, will be the team’s number two ranked player.
Of Billy Nicholson, Stuart said ‘Billy had an absolute stormer in last year’s tournament. He pretty well won every game. Ian (Dampney) also played solidly in the competition.’
‘We’ve got a strong all-round team,’ said Stuart. ‘I’ve got confidence that we’ll be able to hold our end up well. We just hope it will be as fun and sociable as last year.’
The team were pictured before their excursion to the Czech Republic in 2024.
In preparation for the tournament, however, Stuart has been carrying out quite a bit of research on the opposition by looking at official Golf Croquet rankings of the European players involved in the competition.
Stuart told me that Ian has managed, through a friend, to source some 3D plaques of the Broadwas Croquet Club logo, which the team will gift to other competitors in the heat, during the competition.
The team hope to have doubles practice sessions together, before the competition. Stuart will be teamed with Jon in the doubles in the tournament, while Billy will be paired with Ian.
We hope to have more news on the European team’s preparations in the next few weeks.
Mary jumps with her yellow ball during her first game against Jon.
We’re not even halfway through April, yet the first trophy of the season has been won in a hard-fought battle at Stoney Ley.
The long-awaited final of the Broadwas 2024 Open GC Handicap Competition was played out in glorious sunshine on Wednesday morning, between Mary Dryden and Jon Carrington on Lawn 2.
The final was held over from last season due to illness and early closure of the lawns.
With Jon handicapped at zero and Mary carrying a ten handicap, the scores started under advantage rules, with Jon on minus four and Mary at plus two.
After a gruelling 1.5 hour-long first game, Jon emerged with a 7-3 win. Jon took the second game 7-4, with both players appearing to be pretty exhausted at the end of it.
On the way to the final, Mary beat Hazel Felton 5-7, 7-4, 7-2 and even knocked out husband Jim Dryden, 7-5, 7-5. In the semi-finals, Mary beat Jackie Guy, 4-7, 7-6, 7-3.
Jon reached the final by beating Peter Hill 7-6, 7-3 and Roger Wood 7-4, 2-7 and 7-6. In his semi-final, Jon beat Eileen Holt, 6-5, 7-6.
Open GC Handicap winner Jon Carrington seen with runner-up Mary Dryden after the delayed 2024 final held at Stoney Ley on Wednesday.
The popular competition, introduced by Club Captain John Guy in 2023 has helped competitive Broadwas players acclimatise to the new advantage handicap system which has been introduced in all South West Federation GC handicap competitions being played this season. Advantage rules replace the old system, which utilised extra strokes which were represented by marbles.
Congratulations to Jon for his win and Mary for being a worthy runner-up.
It really felt like the Broadwas croquet season was in full swing on Monday, when Dave and Eileen Holt’s mowing team took to the lawns to carry out the first “official” scheduled cut of the season.
Aided by Howard Freeman, Barry Kirby, Jim Dryden and David Harington, the lawns looked magnificent in the late March afternoon sunshine after the volunteers had completed their work.
It was a hive of activity on the lawns on Monday afternoon.
Huge thanks go out to all the volunteers who have turned out over the past few weeks to get the lawns to the gorgeous state they are now.
Eileen Holt and Jim Dryden hard at work on the lawns on Monday afternoon.
Whilst the mowing volunteers were beavering away on the lawns and Mary Dryden was busy spring cleaning, the clubhouse was packed by members of the club’s South West Federation GC High Handicap squad, attending a briefing session hosted by newly-appointed team captain, Malcolm Armstrong, aided by the club’s new croquet coach David Kaner.
Coach David Kaner addresses members of the club’s SWF High Handicap squad.
It looks like it will be an enjoyably competitive season ahead for club members, with various club teams due to engage in on-court coaching sessions over the next few weeks.
Not only does the club have another GC team competing in Europe again – this time in Germany (in late May, early June), the club is also hosting heats of Croquet England’s GC C-Level and B-Levels again.
But this year, the club is also hosting a heat of the newly created D-Levels competition, which is open to anyone with a handicap of ten and above. So far, two Broadwas members have entered the competition and there are places available for anyone who wishes to join in the fun of competing against players from other clubs. The heats really are very enjoyable and it’s a great opportunity to meet players from other clubs. If you are interested in entering the D-Level competition – being held at Stoney Ley on Saturday August 2nd, you can enter by registering your interest on the Croquet England website, by clicking here. More information can be obtained from John Guy or Jeff Faulkner.
Paul Felton
It was a lovely afternoon, so why not grab the opportunity for a bit of competitive practice?
Veteran Broadwas Croquet Club member Will Drake’s memory was honoured in the latest (February) edition of Croquet England’s Croquet Gazette. Written by club treasurer Stuart Smith, Will’s obituary is reproduced below. Thanks to Stuart for his permission to reproduce his article.
Stuart’s article was published in the February edition of the Croquet Gazette. (Full text below)
WILL DRAKE 1923‐2024
by Stuart Smith
Many croquet players play into old age. However, not too many take up the sport when they have already reached the age of 90.
Will Drake was introduced to the sport when visiting his son‐in‐law Stuart Smith at Broadwas Croquet Club. He immediately liked it and, on returning home to Yorkshire he went to Ben Rhydding CC and picked up the rudiments of golf croquet. After visiting Pendle & Craven CC to watch the Home Internationals, a small group including Libby Dixon and Keith Terry joined the club as they played a more competitive game and had better lawns.
Soon they were playing league matches and making lots of new friends. Winning ten of his first eleven matches on his green card he reduced his handicap to 6 and in 2014 was playing B level tournaments.
Unable to find a mallet that suited him, he collaborated with a friend who had access to a lathe and produced mallets made of solid aerospace aluminium! On a visit to Cheltenham he had it admired by Reg Bamford and Ian Burridge who described it as “Not half bad”.
Will loved his time at Pendle playing around the NW Federation and made a formidable doubles pairing with his partner Keith Terry (right) who also passed away earlier this year. In 2017 and 2018 he played in the Cheltenham Open, setting aggregate age records when he played local Russell Barter as both were approaching their middle 90s.
Will (left), pictured during his playing days
Will completed 300 ranking games, retiring from tournaments when aged 96 and still sporting a 6 handicap. With the arrival of Covid he relocated from Yorkshire to Herefordshire, living independently and being a playing member of Broadwas.
When he could no longer play outdoors he had an indoor croquet trainer made that kept him active beyond his 101st birthday.[Pictured below] Indoor croquet trainer – golf ball is the target, hinged wooden planks protect the skirting boards
Our hosts for the winter breakfasts are Lyndsey and Ian, pictured in the lounge of The Bell Inn, Lower Broadheath.
Early risers enjoyed another close season breakfast at The Bell Inn, Lower Broadheath on Tuesday, organised by club president John Steel.
The breakfasts have been enjoyed by many over the years, who have embraced the opportunity to meet up with other club members whilst eagerly waiting for the new croquet season to commence.
On Tuesday, nineteen members and guests enjoyed another splendid full English at the extremely popular village venue, hosted by owners of the bar and restaurant, Lyndsey Allen and husband Ian. Lyndsey and Ian have hosted many events for the club over the years and have been extremely generous in sponsoring the club. Last year, The Bell Inn sponsored our European team for their tournament in Telč. Many thanks to Ian and Lyndsey, not only for their generosity, but for hosting the winter breakfasts and their sumptuous food!
This week, regular attendees were joined by four prospective club members who are keen to try out croquet in the new season. John Steel welcomed Lynne, Steve, Val and Bob. Let’s hope they don’t have to wait too long to experience the thrills of croquet on the most picturesque lawns in the land.
Club secretary David Kaner also welcomed our newcomers. David said “It’s a great little club. It’s a great social club, but it’s also a competitive sporting club. The location at Stoney Ley must be one of the finest spots in Worcestershire. On a Friday afternoon in the summer, with the sun shining, there is nowhere in the world you would want to be, other than there.”
Don’t miss out! The next (and final) breakfast of this close season is on Tuesday March 11th. Please contact John Steel directly if you would like to attend. Highly recommended.
Incidentally, just a reminder that club coach Jeff Faulkner is presenting a coaching seminar at Broadwas Village Hall on Friday 28th February. If you would like to attend the seminar, please contact Jeff directly. Numbers are limited, so do it with some haste!
Nineteen members attended another highly enjoyable Breakfast at the Bell event, organised by club president John Steel.
Tuesday’s early morning at The Bell, Lower Broadheath, was particularly special since it coincided with the 90th birthday of Catherine Lane, who attended with husband John.
John Guy and attendees warmly congratulated Catherine on her special birthday. It was nice to see Catherine back on her feet after her recent home confinement.
Catherine received birthday applause from attendeesJohn Guy presented Catherine with a birthday card signed by all attendees
Meanwhile, the Other Bloke was presented with a rare book by Chris Croft. A copy of ‘The Theory and Practice Of Gamesmanship’ by humourist Stephen Potter was kindly presented to the Other Bloke for… ‘services to cheating at Golf Croquet, I suppose,’ said the Other Bloke.
‘I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this, but I need every bit of help I can get’ said the Other Bloke after the breakfast, squirrelling the book in his jacket pocket quickly so nobody else could see it. ‘That GC Open Title is mine!’ he was heard muttering to himself as he giggled maniacally back to his car. (You can read the Other Bloke’s Golf Croquet For Dummies here.)
If you would like to join the next Breakfast Club meeting on Tuesday 11th February, contact John Steel directly.
The ‘Volunteer of the Year’ nomination certificate (beautifully framed, by the way, thank you) presented to the Other Bloke, by club captain John Guy
Nineteen club members enjoyed another splendid mid-winter breakfast at The Bell Lower Broadheath, on Tuesday, organised by club president John Steel.
John, unfortunately, wasn’t able to attend the breakfast due to feeling a little under-the-weather. Get well soon John. You missed a treat.
Before the splendid breakfast was served, John Guy addressed a hungry audience. His words – reproduced from his submission – are below. John had nominated a club member for a new annual award which the South West Croquet Federation has introduced – ‘Volunteer of the Year.’
Writing this nomination I looked up the application form (The Other Bloke) completed when he joined Broadwas Croquet Club and was astonished to find he had only been a member for 2 years. During that time (The Other Bloke) has done so much work for the club that he seems to have been a fixture forever. The ink was hardly dry on his application when (The Other Bloke) first asked ‘what can I do to help?’.
(The Other Bloke) has volunteered for many jobs which he does on a ‘permanent’ basis. He captains one of our league teams, often driving to away fixtures just to act as non-playing captain supporting his team members. He regularly does our ‘white lining’ so well that we never have any issues with finding the edges of our lawns and he probably helps with mowing our lawns much more than any of our other members. He is also a member of the Croquet Club Committee.
However, (The Other Bloke)’s real ‘piece de resistance’ is his skills at both photography and reporting. Whenever anything is going on, be it league matches, tournaments or any other events at the club (The Other Bloke) can be seen there snapping away and taking notes. He must go home and work like a beaver as, invariably, (The Other Bloke) has published a report, with many pictures, on our website by the evening of the event. Often he gets items into local newspapers and parish magazines helping to get the club noticed and leading to new membership enquiries.
Even in the depths of winter (The Other Bloke) organises to visit some of our longer standing members and interviews them to produce many interesting articles which he puts on the website. All our members really appreciate this – we get comments such as ‘I really appreciate all the work (The Other Bloke) does to keep me abreast of what is happening’: ‘(The Other Bloke)’s articles are a joy and his interviews keep me going in the depths of winter’.
Now this is what a REAL Ugly Stepsister should look like. The Other Bloke is pictured during 1987’s Welsh National School of Medicine Dental School’s production of Cinderella. Eat your hearts out, Christina Croft, Nichola Reed, Davina Harington and Jimona Norris! (The Other Bloke made the teeth, by the way)
But really the main point about (The Other Bloke) is that, if anyone needs help with anything at the club (The Other Bloke) is the first one to put his name forward. If the lawn maintenance team need help with weedkilling, scarifying or any other jobs (The Other Bloke) is always there. If maintenance work is needed, (The Other Bloke) is there to help. It is difficult to go to the club and not find (The Other Bloke) there doing work in some capacity. You have a cup of tea and go to wash up and (The Other Bloke) is already doing it! Whatever is required, (The Other Bloke) will volunteer. What more can you ask for in a ‘Volunteer of the Year’? I worry that if we ask for kamikaze pilots (The Other Bloke) will volunteer.
When the SWF sent the request to nominate a volunteer of the year I put (The Other Bloke)’s name forward to our committee and every single member gave a 100% endorsement. Phrases such as ‘(The Other Bloke)’s monumental effort should be recognised’; ‘(The Other Bloke) is definitely the man’; ‘Without doubt should be our nominee’ were used.
We, at Broadwas Croquet Club, strongly nominate (The Other Bloke) (The Other Bloke) as our ‘Volunteer of the Year’.
John Guy – Club Captain
The Other Bloke was touched by John’s words. Many thanks to the club committee for the nomination. You’re very kind. The Other Bloke lost though. It deservedly went to Christine McCormick, club secretary at Moreton-in-Marsh Croquet Club.
Meanwhile…
The next planned Breakfast at the Bell is on Tuesday 14th January. If you would like to attend, please contact John Steel. Officiating at Tuesday’s breakfast, Fran Wall said that if any member know of someone who is interested in joining the club, they would be most welcome to join the breakfast.
