Apologies this is a little bit late, as you can imagine it’s been a buy (and tiring) weekend with the ‘marquee’ events taking place so I’m playing a bit of catch up at the moment.

Starting with the weekend, from both myself and on behalf of the club, thank you to all those who helped out whether that be in the lead up the events of during the events. Once again, a great team effort which truly brings the club together. Secondly, a huge thank you to those that attended and supported the events. As always, these are really important fundraising events which enable us to continue developing the club in so many different areas. Only a few weeks ago we were faced with a very difficult decision as to whether to cancel both events, and I’m pleased to say we saw a bit of an upturn in ticket sales which meant the events could go ahead. Whilst things improved, I do have to say that the turnout for the Summer Ball was a lot lower than previous years, and in particular from our senior playing membership with only about a third of players across all of our senior sides coming to the Ball. What I’m really keen to understand is why the attendance was so low, please come and speak to me or drop me a message so we can look at ways to make it more appealing. Hopefully you know by now that I’m somebody who listens and takes feedback on board, after all, it’s our playing membership that benefits the most from the funds we raised so if we can improve that position then it’s even better for everybody.

So, on to other matters and what a weird month June has been weather wise! I think we maybe got a little bit carried away with the Summer we enjoyed last year but if I’m honest I’m glad to see the back of last month! Obviously it has a massive impact on the amount of cricket being played and I think the teams are suffering from the stop/start nature and it can feel that the season hasn’t really got started, but the other aspect is the impact it has on bar take. Rest assured, we try and do everything we can to get cricket on whether it be junior training or junior/senior matches. It’s ironic that during probably one of the best days we had weather wise, the 1st team had probably their shortest game for a long time when they rattled through Brooklands. This did however lead to a very lengthy farewell party for Ross Dixon who has now emigrated to Australia. Whilst Ross has only been back a the club for 18 months he’s made a huge impact (not just with his yard of ale throwing talents) on his return and I wish him, Elle and Margot all the best in their new life.

The more astute of you may have notice that the surrounds of the club have been trimmed back. We’ve once again been very fortunate to have the Community Payback team spend a few days at the club strimming it all back. This kind of manpower really does make a difference and really helps our Grounds team out. Whilst on the subject of our own volunteers, we posted an article on the website a week or so back highlighting the tremendous work our group of willing helpers do. Whether that be down at the club on a Tuesday or Friday or behind the scenes helping out in other aspects, it’s worth remembering that we are all members of the club like you are and we all pay our subs just like every other member. On a lighter note, the role of being Chairman isn’t all glamorous as I recently found myself washing the T20 kit thanks to Tom very conveniently leaving it at the club!!!

Looking ahead, I was delighted when a few of the Ladies volunteered to take on organising the “Ladies Day”. Plans are still at the embryonic stage but more will be announced in the coming days. I’m also delighted to announce that the Mayor of Wirral; Councillor Tony Smith will be visiting the Club on Friday 26th July to witness the tremendous work that goes on around Junior Cricket. It’d be great to see as many people down as possible to represent that true “One Club” philosophy.

And finally, whilst for some of the teams the first half of the season has been more challenging that they would have liked, I was drawn to a quote by Lyndon B.Johnson who said “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”.

Have a great second half the season, and I look forward to seeing as many of you around the club as possible.

Cheers
Jez