Sports & Clubs

Bowls Arthur Andrews 261990

Bridge Club Howard Waller 261693

1st Melbourn Rainbows Abigail Roberts 261505 Brownies – 1st Melbourn Stephanie Cliff ord 220272 Brownies – 2nd Melbourn Samantha Pascoe 261400

Croquet Janet Pope 248342 Football Club Andrew Edwards 223109

Dynamos Football Club Les Morley 07739 593771 Gardening Club Helen Powell 245887

Guides – Ist Melbourn Hilary Marsh 261443 Melbourn Judo Club Iain Reid 241830

Melbourn Karate Club Peter Khera 07866 374674

Melbourn Sports Centre Graham Johnson-Mack 263313 Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group Pat Smith 262575 Sue Toule 260955 Anne Harrison 261775

Photographic Club Bruce Huett 232855

Ramblers Dave Allard 242677 Royston and District Round Table Michael Seymour 221398 Swimming Club Jenny Brackley 244593 Tennis (Melbourn) Dave Liddiard 07508 995 781

Tennis (Meldreth) Tracy Aggett 243376

1st Melbourn Guides

The Girlguiding programme may be changing, but the ethos remains the same: fun, friendship, and adventure. Our summer camp at Eaton Vale, near Norwich provided all this, and some welcome?! rain after the driest summer on record. A wet morning couldn’t spoil some fiercely competitive grass sledging, nor spoil a noisy crate stacking session. Our theme this year was jungle challenges; this included fishing for Lego in increasingly revolting substances such as baked beans, oily pasta, and dried mealworms. The girls

also made sago grubs from fondant icing and chocolate dog poo. Our camp programme also featured favourites such as firelighting and cooking, singing and marshmallows round the campfire, team building challenges and kayaking on the river.

We started the autumn term with a look at the new programme resources, then enjoyed a penny hike/scavenger hunt around the village. Prior to the seven new girls making their Guide promise we have had fun exploring the Promise and Law with games and activities such as drama, Twister, and planting daffodil bulbs in decorated pots.

If you would like to know more about joining our waiting list or becoming a leader, or if you have any skills, charities or interests which you would like to share with us, please contact me on: 01763 261443 or email: melbournguides@gmail.com Hilary Marsh

Scout group

1st Orwell Scout Group continues to meet on Friday evenings in Melbourn: Beavers (5.30pm) and Cubs (6.45pm) at the Primary School; Scouts (7pm) at the Baptist Church. Our annual Group camp brought us all together and was held shortly before the summer holiday at Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. The young people were able to undertake a broad mix of adventurous (climbing, abseiling) and traditional (hiking, campfire) activities in glorious weather.

The Autumn term began with a survival-themed camp for the older Scouts & Cubs in much less glorious weather. We learnt how to prepare and cook all our meals on open fires, and how to erect simple shelters.

For the remainder of term the members have been engaged in fund raising activities aimed at disaster relief and the disadvantaged at Christmas. We will parade on Remembrance Sunday, this year the centenary of the First World War armistice. The Group will also hold autumn campfires and hopes to repeat last year’s success of bringing a pantomime production to Melbourn for members’ families and friends at Christmas. and friends at Christmas.

The Group continues to run at full capacity. Please contact admissions@1storwellscouts.org.uk to go onto our waiting admissions@1storwellscouts.org.uk to go onto our waiting list. Please contact GSL@1storwellscouts.org.uk for enquiries list. Please contact GSL@1storwellscouts.org.uk for enquiries about leadership, opportunities to volunteer, or roles on our about leadership, opportunities to volunteer, or roles on our committee. committee.

Melbourn Bridge Club

Melbourn Bridge Club was formed 9 years ago, and although optimistic we did not anticipate the numbers of players that optimistic we did not anticipate the numbers of players that

we now have. Monday nights are for experienced players and there are now a good number of players that have come through the Tuesday afternoon Beginners and Improvers. The number of players on both Monday and Tuesday are generally between 40 & 48. The latter figure is the maximum number that we can cope with, both with the duplicate system that we play, and with the excellent and luxurious United Reformed Church Hall where we play.

This success is in many ways possible due to the help that we get from our members. Jane Tulloch, Malcolm Dean and Chris Norris are three major helpers, but it is very rewarding that all our players will help with preparing tables, chairs etc. along with clearing, washing up and wiping up the essential cups for tea and coffee.

A further sign of the friendship that the club has helped, is that Chris Norris is taking names for a Bridge Holiday in May 2019, so far twenty-seven have signed up and the numbers are still rising. This is mainly for beginners and improvers.

The founder members of this club are Howard Waller and Tony Allan and any information can be had by telephoning Howard Waller on 01763 261693.

Royston & District Local History Society

www.roystonlocalhistory.org.uk Our website shows all the books we have for sale. Many of these result from the considerable work undertaken by our Publications sub-committee. The books may be ordered by post from David Allard 01763 242677. They may also be purchased at the Royston Museum & Arts Gallery in Kneesworth Street (open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4.45 p.m.) and some are available at the Cave Bookshop in Melbourn Street or at Royston Library.

Our evening meetings are held in the Heritage Hall (the main hall downstairs) Royston Town Hall on the first Thursday of the month starting at 8pm. » December 6th The Battle for Female Suffrage: Mary

Augusta Ward and Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-

Lytton Elizabeth Eastwood Illustrated » January 3rd The Causes of World War One Don Chiswell

Illustrated » February 7th Samuel Ryder The Man behind the Ryder

Cup John Hines Illustrated Annual membership £5 (Sept-Aug) (Under 18s half price) Visitors £2 Email: david.allard@ntlworld.com

Cambridgeshire Family History Society

Our monthly meetings are held in the Central Library, Lion Yard, Cambridge, between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Everyone is welcome and entry is free. The meetings follow a pattern of research being available all day plus talks at 12.30 and 2pm. » 8 Dec Writers’ Workshop – Mary Naylor » 12 Jan – 12.30pm with Caroline Norton – 2.00pm The Lopsided Barge with Rob Parker Discover the story behind Rob’s only Cambridgeshire ancestor, Edward Parker, and his connection to the Lopsided Barge. » 9 Feb – 12.30pm with Caroline Norton – 2.00pm Family History Scrapbooking with Audrie Reed Audrie will bring along some of her scrapbooks and give suggestions on how to create our own scrapbooks to creatively document the history of your ancestors. The information above is correct at time of publication but should there be any change it will be advised on our website www.cfhs.org.uk either on the Home page or in the monthly Newsletter.

Melbourn Bowls Club

A very successful outdoor season has now finished during which our C & D Division 2 team won the league and as a result we will be playing in Division 1 next year. In addition, we became Champions of the Meldreth League. Congratulations are due to Rod Sell and Martin Leggett who captained the respective teams.

Other teams in the club, while not as successful in terms of winning trophies, enabled members who seldom play in those two teams to participate in competitive matches and to enjoy the warm summer weather on the green. Those walking past the green will have witnessed on many summer evenings members enjoying games on the green and seen non-playing members sitting in front of the clubhouse supporting the teams.

The internal Club Competitions were again keenly fought and congratulations go to the winners who are listed below.

Men’s Singles Dylon Morton

Ladies Singles Yvonne Blows

Handicap Singles Dylon Morton

Mixed Pairs Yvonne Blows/ Peter Blayney

Drawn Pairs Yvonne Blows/ Neil Butler

Kernaghan Cup Gordon Andrews

Novices Cup Gordon Andrews

In addition to matches and internal competitions we undertook social meetings, a prime example of which was the weekly Coffee Morning organised by Muriel Cooper and held on Thursday mornings throughout the outdoor season. These were always well attended and often internal competition matches were played at the same time providing additional interest.

As you read this work will be going on, and will continue during the winter, to prepare the green for the next summer season. The greenkeeper has done a good job this year in keeping the green in excellent condition despite the long hot dry spell. The contrast with some of the other greens we play on was marked. This is a reflection on the work done during the previous winter as well as the care taken during this summer.

During the winter members will be engaged on ensuring the facilities are maintained in good order and planning for the next summer season. We will be trying to improve still further on last season’s successes and also looking for ideas to improve on those areas where we have been less successful.

Also, during the winter we will continue with our social activities, principally, with our fortnightly Whist Drives. These take place on Friday evenings where we would also welcome non-members, particularly if you might be interested in joining the club for the next summer season. This would give you the opportunity to get to know some of the members before deciding whether to join the club. If you are considering this, please contact Arthur Andrews (01763 261990) or arthur.andrews123@btinternet.com who can provide you with further information. Please be aware that these are mainly social occasions and while players will be attempting to win the primary purpose is to provide a good night out.

Ramblers’ Association

Royston and District Group

Our walks programme continues right through the year. For details visit our website: www.ramblers.org.uk or contact David Allard (01763 242677). Email: david.allard@ntlworld.com or Lesley Abbiss (01763 273463).

There is also a poster displaying walks for the current month in Royston library, Royston Museum & Art Gallery and Melbourn Hub.

We have walks on Sundays, which are normally 5–7 miles in the morning and a similar or shorter walk in the afternoon. Occasionally Sunday walks are Figures of Eight making it possible to do only the morning or only the afternoon. Half-day walks (5–7 miles) are held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Our evening walks (3–5 miles) will resume on 29th April 2019. Prospective new members may come on three walks before deciding whether to join. Visit www.ramblers.org.uk to join.

Meldreth Croquet Club 2018

Meldreth Croquet Club has for the second year running entered the East Anglian Croquet Federation (EACF) Golf Croquet Handicap League. We play in the Central division which consists of 6 other teams. We have had a great deal of success, winning 4 games, drawing one and losing one. When we finished all our games we were leading the league, but there were still a few matches for other teams to play, so it was fingers crossed that we would still be on top at the end of the season. We did win the league which was a great result for a small club, we have about 20 members some of the larger clubs have 70-80 members. As area winners we took part in the EACF league semi-finals on September 15th at Wrest Park against Northampton, it was a close fought match but we lost 10-8 in. The Meldreth team consists of 4 when we play away as the other clubs have more than one lawn but only 3 players are needed for our home games as we have only the one lawn.

Meldreth has a small number of members who play Association Croquet, this is a more complex and very tactical form of the game. We play in the East Anglian Croquet Federation Beds and Herts league. This year we did not do as well as in previous years winning one match and drawing 2 leaving us 5th out of 7 in the league.

We have two internal club competitions; the golf croquet competition was won by Lin Wallbridge. The association croquet competition for the Nickisson Cup was won by Keith Harker.

As most know, the lawn is situated behind the British Queen so players and visiting teams can enjoy playing croquet in a scenic location and also enjoy a drink and/ or a meal in the excellent village pub.

Golf croquet is an easy game to understand, is very sociable and fun to play, albeit a little frustrating at times! Novices can learn as they play, requiring only a little tuition covering the basics beforehand. A full game lasts about 45 minutes, and can be played as a singles (one against one) or doubles (two against two). Each player

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is fully active throughout the game so there is no time to be bored.

If you are interested in playing croquet, the U3A (Melbourn, Royston & Cambridge) run both beginners and improvers courses with mallets provided; regular Club sessions are held every Sunday morning and alternate Tuesday and Thursday afternoons throughout the year, weather and lawn condition permitting,

The Club contact for Golf croquet is Roger Wallbridge on 01763 261405 or by email rl38@myphone.coop

The club plays Association croquet on a friendly basis on Thursday mornings. If you are interested in this game, please contact Robert Skeen on 01763 262269 or by email robertskeen@email.com.

All welcome!

http://melbourndynamos.co.uk Founded in 2003, Melbourn Dynamos FC is a thriving and friendly community youth football club that gives boys and girls the opportunity to play regular football regardless of their experience or ability at all ages from 3 through to 18.

We are a successful club defined by the strength of support from members and families, the praise and recognition of fellow clubs and FA Leagues, the work with our Community partners including Melbourn Village College and Melbourn Parish Council, and of course our players’ achievements on the pitch and their support for the community. With the support of our fundraising and community partners, we are making the club more inclusive by assisting players whose families are unable to afford the necessary fees

We regularly host tournaments on behalf of the Royston Crow Youth Football League and these raise funds for our Club and our nominated charity, Tom’s Trust www.tomstrust. org.uk. MDFC was awarded Charter Standard status in 2009 and all of our coaches are DBS checked and qualified to a minimum Level 1. The Club is proud to be a Partnership Club of Cambridge United.

This season we currently have more than 200 players in 16 teams at the Club and this includes our youngest players – the Dynamites. There are both mixed and girls only sessions for players between 3–6 years each Saturday morning.

MDFC is committed in supporting the health and wellbeing of the whole community and we are very pleased to announce that, in partnership with MVC and working closely alongside Cambridgeshire FA and the Football Foundation

we are at the forefront of striving to achieve the installation of a full size astro turf facility at MVC. Initial discussions have been very positive and the next step is to evidence the use of the facility by 42 teams.

If your Club, team or business would be interested in using this quality facility then please contact Blake Carrington NOW on chairman.mdfc@gmail.com or find us on our new facebook page ‘Melbourn Dynamos Community’. If we can’t evidence the projected use then we won’t secure the funding to build it so please get in touch!

District Councillor Jose Hales supports the concept of this vision, ‘Melbourn Dynamos offers a great platform for young people in Melbourn and the surrounding areas and I know that the members really do enjoy being part of the Club which promotes a healthy lifestyle and well-being in a great supportive environment that allows them to excel, whatever their level of ability. I am keen to support the Club with some very ambitious plans for the future geared at greatly enhancing the football facilities for the local and wider community, including local companies and organisations’.

Our youngest players – the Dynamites, increasingly provide the core of our league teams from under 7 upwards. The Dynamites’ coaching team is led by Dipak Patel. Dee was Cambridge FA’s Community Coach of the year for 2013, gained his Level 2 coaching qualification in June 2015 and is our Football Development Officer. These players, aged 3–6, have fun and develop their skills before deciding whether to play league football as the club’s under 7s team (see picture of this season’s U7s Team). This fun, preparation and skill development through the Dynamites has undoubtedly brought more success to our current League Teams. These girls and boys train with level 2 and level 1 FA qualified coaches in a Saturday morning of fun between 09.15–10.15 am at Melbourn Sports Centre. Sessions feature lots of short activities aimed at improving individual skills, concentration and the ability to be part of a team. The first one hour session is free thereafter we charge £2. All are welcome to the Melbourn Dynamites so why not bring your kids along so they can check it out. This season we are pleased to announce that we have a separate session for Dynamites Girls to help them enjoy football and form the basis of our future girls’ league teams. Dynamites Girls runs from 10.15–11.30am on Saturday mornings for ages from 4–7.

Many of our members and friends in the village are dog owners and understand the importance of clearing up their dog’s mess on walkies. Dogs can carry a parasite in their digestive systems that can infect children and cause blindness. This is why it is very important to bag it and bin it when walking dogs on and around football pitches and training areas.

The club’s success depends entirely on enthusiastic members and volunteers. Our continuing success and growth means that we need even more volunteers. If you feel that you would like to contribute to the club as an administrator, communications leader, fund-raiser, fixtures secretary, coach, match day official or in some other volunteer capacity then we would be pleased to hear from you through secretary. mdfc@gmail.com or chairman.mdfc@gmail.com. More information about the club and individual teams is available from the club’s Website: http://melbourndynamos.co.uk.

The Club is always keen to hear from new players, and new volunteers so please contact us via our Secretary, David Atkins on 01763 263462 or secretary.mdfc@gmail.com, http:// melbourndynamos.co.uk or find us on facebook, ‘Melbourn Dynamos Community’.

Melbourn Sports Centre

There’s been a lot going on this term at the sports centre, to keep the community fit and ready during the Autumn weather. Aside from our normal classes, courses, swimming and fitness suite activities, we also had: a bumper bag of Half Term activities running this year, including our OFSTED registered PlayScheme, with a Halloween theme, where children were treated to trampolining, swimming and creative crafts. Other holiday activities included Swimming Crash Course, Personal Survival/Lifesaving Course and Trampolining Taster sessions.

Customers young and old were put through their paces at Melbourn Sports Centre on Saturday 22nd September, by taking part in a selection of free activities including Go Karting, Boogie Bounce and Archery, as well as a Free Family Swim and promotional displays from Melbourn and District Photography Society and Slimming World.

The main event of the afternoon was our mini duathlon and triathlon races organised

in conjunction with Meridian Triathlon Club, where over sixty children aged between 4 to 13 years braved the wet conditions to compete against each other in scooting or cycling, running and swimming.

This year’s event saw the return of our Scootathlon & Bikeathlon races, which proved very popular once again and it was great to see so many children – and parents! – being so enthusiastic about trying new activities, so we look forward to running this event next year. Activities for children! With Christmas fast approaching it is an ideal time to book your young ones onto one of our great activity courses. These include our Christmas Pool Party and our Ofsted Christmas PlayScheme. We will also being taking bookings from January for our February half term activities which will include our swimming crash course, trampoline & snorkelling tasters and our popular Ofsted PlayScheme.

The perfect present! With Christmas just round the corner, keep your eye out for our gift promotion – a fun and fit idea if you’re looking for something different to buy a loved one or friend (or treat yourself!). Or why not take advantage of one of our great membership schemes to our fitness suite, which houses the latest in gymnasium equipment, including CV machines fitted with audio visual technology, an ideal present for a loved one!

For further details on parties, gift memberships or any of our activities, please drop in, call 01763 263313 or go online at www.mc-sport.co.uk. We look forward to seeing you this season!

A Winter Wonderland at MSC!

We have loads on offer this month, with something for the whole community to get involved with…. So why not come along and find out more about your local sports centre! Come in out of the cold! We’re not going to let those long winter nights stop us from enjoying our exercise! As well as our indoor facilities like the swimming pool, squash courts and sports hall, we have loads of classes to keep you fit and healthy, including Boxercise, Swim Clinic, Boot Camp, AquaFit, Pilates and Body Workout. We also offer table tennis alongside our normal indoor racket sports. And they’re all reasonably priced, so the one thing that will stay plump is your purse! Party time! Looking to book a birthday or Christmas party? How about bouncing those cares away with our new trampolining party or what about a Football party instead? All session run by a fully qualified coach. We also offer our traditional pool party, which are always a great hit! To help save the mess at home we also have the adjacent Community Centre available for bookings, which is an ideal room for you to have tea and cake after the party. Activities for young children (from 6 months – Full-time school ages) Waterplay These pre-school swimming lessons are an ideal first step for your child learning to swim, with the aims to build confidence in water, learning basic skills like floatation and movement using buoyancy aids. » Tuesdays: 13.30 – 15.00 (30 min lessons) » Thursdays: 13.30 – 15.00 (30 min lessons) » Fridays: 10.30 – 12.00 (30 min lessons)

Prices: £3.85 per lesson (paid termly) Ages: from 3years –full-time school

Parent and child These fun and enjoyable sessions help to promote water confidence and water awareness, with the aim to prepare your child for a smooth transition into waterplay or full-time school swimming lessons. (Parent/carer must go into water with child.) » Fridays: 14.05 – 14.35

Prices: £3.85 per lesson (paid termly) From 6 months –

Full-time school ages. Melbourn Sports Centre, The Village College, The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF 01763 263313 / www.mc-sport.co.uk / info@mc-sport.co.uk

On the weekend of the August Bank Holiday the club held its second annual Jam. Following a concerted effort in the week leading up to the event by the locals who ride and hangout there all season, the site had never looked better, with grass cut, strimmed, and all lines open and running perfectly.

Promoted on social media, approximately 150+ BMXers from far and wide around the country travelled to enjoy the site in all its glory, with the typical Bank Holiday weather holding just long enough on the Saturday before rain stopped play Sunday morning!

It’s safe to say everyone had an absolute blast! The sun was shining, the turnout was huge, there was beer and a BBQ going too. What more could you ask for? Even the local Co-op reported beer and BBQ food sales had gone through the roof after seeing a steady stream of BMXers vacating there over the course of the weekend!

The club is open annually April to September. Strictly for BMX use only, for ages 12 and older, members have the option of either becoming a seasonal member for £50 (April to September), or a day member (per session) for £10. Our aim for the club is to promote an activity for the young community of Melbourn and surrounding areas to participate, with the guidance of our committee and experts, in a safe and friendly environment. Members will have access to BMX coaching and expertise on site during club open days.

For more details and to download your membership form today please visit; www.grinnelhillbmx.co.uk

Acknowledgements: Norburys for their kind support with traffic management during the weekend of our Jam; with traffic management during the weekend of our Jam; Melbourn Parish Council for their ongoing support at all levels Melbourn Parish Council for their ongoing support at all levels to keep the club sustainable and open; Frog End Pet Supplies to keep the club sustainable and open; Frog End Pet Supplies Melbourn for their supply and delivery of wooden pallets to Melbourn for their supply and delivery of wooden pallets to help keep our tarpaulins in place to protect the site over the help keep our tarpaulins in place to protect the site over the winter months; Wrights Mower Centre Melbourn for their winter months; Wrights Mower Centre Melbourn for their help and generosity in supporting us to keep the site to a well help and generosity in supporting us to keep the site to a well maintained and safe standard for the foreseeable future. maintained and safe standard for the foreseeable future.