CLUB NEWSLETTER #14

October 2020

in the time of COVID-19!

Dear Croquet Friends,

We welcome to the Club new members Eve Smith, Tracey Ward and Brendan Lloyd, and we welcome back Colin Eccleshall. We hope you will enjoy meeting us and playing with new friends. Welcome home Werner Kos, our Treasurer, who has returned from ten weeks in the far north of Australia.

The Skedda booking system is working well to keep us playing, but suitably apart! Here is an important Skedda message: Government COVID restrictions require us to use a booking system that includes the name of everybody playing on the lawns for every game, for contact tracing purposes. Please ensure that all players are listed for each booked time, not just the name of the person making the booking.

We have introduced three sessions of OPEN PLAY for all comers each week, BUT you are required to contact Sue Hamilton (or Val Lloyd from 17/10 to 1/11) to be registered to OPEN PLAY. It will be fun to connect with lots of players. More details on playing times are in this Newsletter. NB: Don’t forget to note your attendance on the sign-on sheet when you arrive. 

We have been advised by Croquet NSW (from NSW Government and Office of Sport) that we are allowed now to have 10 people on a lawn and 50 people at the venue, although only 18 are allowed in the Clubhouse. Further guidelines from Croquet NSW are included in this Newsletter. We are hoping to have a jolly good get together of all members in the near future, and if not beforehand, at our Annual Christmas Party on Friday 4 December, afternoon and evening with lots of games. Mark it in your diary. 

We remember our dear friend, Judy Watts who died on 18 September 2020. She was a great Club member. Rory and Madeleine Feeney summed up our feelings when they commented on her funeral, which many of you will have seen on YouTube. ‘It was a beautiful ceremony and very emotional. We will carry with us lovely memories of an exceptional person. We will miss her a lot in the Club.  May she rest in peace.’ Sympathy notes from our members were collected and sent to Judy’s family. They are copied in this Newsletter.

I wish you all a safe, healthy and enjoyable time at Coogee Croquet Club.

Robert 041941927

Memories of Judy Watts who died on 18 September 2020.

Sympathy notes sent Judy’s family.

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When Judy arrived, the Club would be a most lively place. She had that that wonderful lightness of spirit which made me happy. l will miss Judy VERY much. My sympathy to her family. Dorothy Marshall

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What a sad ending for such an active life. Judy was so well regarded by all her community and I had the chance to know her much better just recently when we joined forces for a croquet tournament. To the surprise of both of us, we did not make utter fools of ourselves and had quite a few laughs on the way. As a result, we were partnered to play in another tournament this week and we laughed that in the first tournament, we had nothing to lose. However, there would be expectations of us in this coming match. Sadly, Judy will not be my partner, but I will be playing for her. Farewell, blue eyed lovely lady. Lola Sharp

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It is with great sadness that we have learned of the tragic death of Judy Watts. While we have only known her personally since we joined the Croquet Club in 2019, we knew of her through our friends among the Coobra swimming group. She took special care of some of the older members of the Coobras and would regularly have dinner with them on Friday evening. For our part, it was a great pleasure to get to know her through Croquet. She was always friendly, cheerful and willing to help new players. A game with Judy was always fun. She shared our passion for swimming and was very fit. An inspiration to us all. She will be sorely missed. Joëlle and David Burden

Just opened my computer. Just being horrified and terribly upset to imagine not seeing Judith on the croquet court again. She was so kind, always caring for her friends and so alive and loving her life. It is really a very very sad day. Thank you for letting us know. We will write for her family. Joëlle

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Michael and I agree completely with Peter's words, but we'll really miss Judy. Such fun, so friendly, so fit, so kind to people and such good company. We were lucky to have her in the Club. She adored her family and spoke with much affection of them. She also enjoyed her job invigilating exams, and clearly knew how to project authority while being on good terms with young people. She had good stories about being mistaken for Dawn Fraser, and she held a Masters' time record in swimming for the over 80s. Penny Nelson & Michael Kesteven

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It was actually reported on ABC news early this morning, and even though no name was mentioned it had to be Judy. I was just getting to know her and found her extremely compatible. A sad day. Mary.

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Thanks for passing on the very sad news while being fully in agreement with Peter's comments. I will send something written soon. Cheers. Val

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Judy was not only part of our croquet family. She was also part of our extended family. Her daughter-in-law, Kaaren, our cousin, often told us how much Judy loved the Club, her friends there and the game. Her last words to us were "see you in the competition". Judy always showed a lot of concern for other people. We will miss her. Nettie, Helen, Robin

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It’s so sad news. ‘Judy, I have known you only for a very short period like 5 months but I am so lucky that I had the opportunity to play with you 4 times and we had so much talking together.’ What an amazing person and what a remarkable life.’ I feel so lucky that I got to know you. We will miss you.  Regards Chandra

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How very, very sad. Julie Gibson

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Madeleine and I were very saddened to hear of Judy’s tragic death. She was a truly beautiful person, full of life and love and a joy to be with in our Club. A game with Judy was always enjoyable either as her partner or an opponent. We loved her friendly manner and sense of humour, sometimes wicked but never mean. She was wonderfully fit for her age. She wouldn’t admit to being 80 a few years ago so I wished her a Happy Something with a Naught birthday. She loved her swimming and her games of croquet and she will be greatly missed by all of us who had the great pleasure of knowing her. Thank you, Judy and may you rest in peace. Love, Madeleine and Rory Feeney.

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I will always remember Judy as the tall elegant lady with the white hair, who always had a smile and a kind word for everyone. So friendly. Judy was a pleasure to play with albeit her pessimistic moments which lessened over time.  It was so good to see Judy enjoying the games. In the days when social Club meals were allowed Judy always had plenty to say and regaled us with many stories and happenings. Rest in peace Judy, you will be sadly missed. Val Lloyd

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Thank you so much. I swam with Judy thirty years ago at Souths and have very happy memories. Dawn Nankervis

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Judy was a treasure. Gregarious and kind, gentle and with firm opinions, which we loved. She shared lots of good tales of others she helped, of her loving family, her grandchildren and their study and casual jobs, her brother and his partner, her children and in-laws, her church activities, her HSC supervision and her pet dog. She was a very good croquet player and an amazing swimmer. We were in awe of her physicality and her evening competitive meets. We really enjoyed her company at our evening croquet gatherings (before COVID) for many years, sharing her blue cheese favourite and a white wine. She had a wonderful laugh. No lingering was the way to go. Goodbye Judy. With love and sympathy to all your family. Rosemary and Robert King

Playing Times
With Daylight Saving we now have longer playing times and your Executive Committee is keen to offer opportunities for you to play all games – golf croquet, ricochet and association croquet. For the foreseeable future we will operate on the following timetable. Times other than these below are generally available for Golf Croquet.

Refer to this information when booking on Skedda.

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Monday:
6.30 - 8.00 am   External Hiring

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Tuesday
8.30 - 10.30 am   Ricochet
On November 3, 10, 17 and 24, City East Community College Course

has a booking for one lawn for the mornings (8.30 - 11.30 am).
5.30 - 7.30 pm External Hiring

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Wednesday
8.30 - 10.30 am   Association Croquet
2.30 pm onwards   OPEN PLAY*

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Thursday
4.30 pm onwards   Ricochet

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Friday
6.30 - 8.00 am   External Hiring
8.30 - 10.30 am   Association Croquet
2.30 pm onwards   OPEN PLAY*

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Saturday
8.30 - 12.30   Ricochet
2.30 pm onwards   OPEN PLAY*

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Sunday
External Hiring from 7.30 am to either 9.00 am or 10.30 am
External Hiring from 10 am - 5.00 pm on some Sundays, as booked on Skedda.
Hiring has priority, so check on Skedda close to the proposed date if you wish to play.
Note that for December there will hirings booked every Sunday.

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*OPEN PLAY sessions are working well.
There is no need to find other players on these days. Keep letting Sue Hamilton know which session you wish to attend. As you can see (above) a timetable has been established for playing times, and while COVID makes everything subject to change, this is what we plan to follow for the next few months. Sue Hamilton is away from 17 October to 1 November; during that time please email Val Lloyd if you wish to play in an OPEN PLAY session.
 

Report from Games Captain, Val Lloyd
Once again what a delight to see so many members on the lawns during the past weeks.7

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Ricochet. Now that daylight saving has arrived please note the change of times and days.
Tuesday 8.30 - 10.30 am, Thursday 4.30 pm onwards and Saturday 8.30-12.30 pm. I would appreciate feedback on these changes and also from all those original starters as to whether or not you wish to pursue Ricochet.  It takes a little time to understand the concepts so don’t give up yet!! And if you wish to learn ricochet, ask me

Association Croquet. Werner Kos is back from his holiday and I hope that AC will rev up. If you are interested, please talk to me.  
 
Workshops. Kaye Martin will be running a couple of workshops specifically for understanding faults. Please book for these with Kaye by email  

For players with handicaps 9 and under - Friday 23 October 1.30 pm until approx 2.30 pm
For players with handicaps 10 plus - Wed 28 October 1.30 pm to until approx 2.30 pm

We would like to keep smallish groups so will need to know numbers in case an extra time is required. I highly recommend you attend; many faults were spotted in competition play.
 
Competition. We have one more competition to go this year.

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THE SINGLES HANDICAP GOLF CROQUET COMPETITION
Dates: Friday 13 November and Saturday 14 November.

Play will commence at 9.00 am until afternoon.

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There will be a limit of 12 players with reserves.

Should there be newer players who are interested in playing who do not have an established handicap, please arrange with Sue Hamilton, noting her absence from 17 October to 1 November. Val Lloyd will be able to deal with this during her absence.

Email (only) your Competition Entry to Val closing at 5.00pm, Friday 30 October.

Help (full or half days) would be much appreciated for timing etc.

Further information will be forthcoming 2 weeks prior to the event.

For this Tournament I will be the Manager, ably assisted by Gill Wilson.

Report from Lawns Manager, Mike Martin
Lawn 2 is still under repair, so we have reverted to the narrower format. Please ensure that you do not walk across the area under repair, where new grass has been sown. Due to the very dry weather it is most important that we are vigilant about the care of the lawns.
The lawns will not be closed over Summer.
Improving the shining hour whilst competing in the Competition, Mike Martin reassembled a shade shelter to position it in front of Lawn 1. Thanks Mike and your helpers. [President’s Note: I am pleased to say that we have a new arrangement with Mike who will continue to undertake mowing and general maintenance and, at least in part, stop us from exploiting his good nature.]

FOR SALE for $150:

Nola Holland 0408 444 340

has a redundant mallet for sale! Nola suggests, ‘Maybe a new member would like a starter mallet before leaping into one of the metal mallets for $500.’

Pure Hatha Yoga Class is one of the external hire sessions in our Clubhouse. Would you like to join?
Contact Catalina on 0413 778 086

Doubles Handicap Golf Croquet Competition
This competition was played on 25 and 26 September. Trevor Zabow reported by email. Winners were Julie Gibson and Mary Fletcher. Look at Mary’s delight!

Apologies for the scrambled score card, emailed to you recently. Here it is again.