CLUB CORNER

Wendover Bowls Club

World War 3 was concluded without too much bloodshed with a win for the Wendover Widjets over the Wanderers and Warriors.The traditional final match of the season between teams for the Captain and in Chairman resulted in a narrow win for the Captain by just two out of one hundred and sixty six scoring shots. So that is it for the outdoor season. A gang turned out to put the green to bed and it is now over to the tender mercy of our greenkeepers. It still looks in wonderful condition, despite the ministrations of the rooks looking for lunch, but like all of us it needs a rest.

Well, where do we go from here with the indoor season? We will be able to play with severe restrictions on numbers and no interclub games. Also our social life, which is normally such an important part of club activity, will have to hang fire until this wretched virus is beaten. It is such a shame as we enter this festive season in this very strange year but we must all stay safe. We have been lucky and all of us have come through unscathed so far. Sadly some other clubs have not been so fortunate and bowlers whose company we have enjoyed in the past have gone to that great bowling green in the sky. We will miss them.

Next time we will have some idea how the indoor season is panning out, meanwhile keep warm and keep safe.

Don

Wendover Horticultural Society

We are intending to start meetings in the New Year. To this end we have booked St Anne’s Hall, as the Library Rooms, if open, would not accommodate us. The only available Thursday is the first in the month, not our usual third Thursday.

If the rules permit, our AGM will be held there on Thursday 7 January 2021 at 2.30pm. John Yabsley will also speak on “Early Egyptian Gardens”. Subsequent monthly meetings will be on the first Thursday.

This is written just after the three tiers of lockdown rules have been published, case numbers locally have been increasing, with positive tests at local schools. Times can change, and those who do not feel comfortable should not attend, but if the rules allow, we will go ahead as we have to restart sometime.

As last year, we are able to order seeds at a discount from Suttons. Those members who are interested, please contact Neville, 01296 622899.

BBOWT Talks Restart Tuesday 17 November, 7.45pm on Zoom!

As we are unable to hold our usual indoor evening talks we have arranged some ZOOM talks, which we hope you will enjoy.

Registration online will be available by the end of October. It’s a very easy process much like going onto the BBOWT site and booking a place on a walk.

Our first event is designed to take us out of the gloom of November and all the way to South Africa. It is 'Naturalist on the Loose…... in CapeTown' presented by Mick Jones MBE, Warden of Dancersend Nature Reserve and Chairman of BBOWT Chilterns Group.

You can register to be sent a link by going to www.bbowt/events ahead of Tuesday 17 November and signing up for a £4 donation.

Meanwhile out on the reserves, we expect to maintain our programme of work parties within some Covid restrictions. Details of contacts are on www.bbowt/volunteering. College Lake Reserve is open every day except Monday from 9.30am till 4pm with the café serving for sheltered outdoor consumption and the shop available for you to start your Christmas shopping.

Wendover Cricket Club

Wendover Cricket Club enjoyed a successful season despite not starting until July. We fielded 2 Saturday and 1 or 2 Sunday teams most weekends and such were the numbers wanting to play regularly, that we played 34 matches whereas in 2019’s full season we only managed 41. We won and lost 14, with 2 abandoned, but there were many close games. In a shortened Mid Bucks League programme, the 1st XI won 5 of their 7 games and finished top of Division 1. Notable performances in the 1st XI came from George Robinson (2 x 101 & 4-18), Tom McPartlan 61* & 81* in batting with the tail to set up victories, Jon Green 5-44 and Jonathan Seabrook 4-20; for the 2nd’s, Daisy Jackson had two 3-wicket hauls and took the most wickets, whilst Bob Glue, Harry Murray-Russell and Rahul Kedia each had a 3-for.

In the friendlies, 13 fifties were scored with Will Digby getting the best score of 92, others included Anshuman Pandit 91 (2x50’s), Kevin Jackson 84, Kalum Sapumannage 73*, Nick Morley 71, Kush Bhargava 70, Hector Charlesworth and James Harrington each hit 2 fifties, whilst Charlie Barrett 66*and Chris Hunt 52* both achieved their maiden fifties; 4 bowlers each took 4 wickets in a game – James Heafford, Will Cliffe, Kevin Jackson and Freddie Bateson.

The junior section began training in late June and held matches in 8 age groups from mid-July (when in a normal season they’d be finishing), and carried through to early September. So although there were no real leagues or competitions operating and we lost the first 12 weeks of the season, much cricket was still played. The Village Cup competition didn’t run, but there were plenty of games played between the teams.

Re HS2, they have confirmed the Ellesborough Road ground can be used for the whole of the 2021 season, although we hope there won't be any occasional access issues which they say can't definitely be ruled out. Our MP Rob Butler has helped us get to this stage and earlier than HS2 had probably intended. Our subsequent dealings with HS2 haven’t been as encouraging and we are still awaiting the time when we can effectively start the actual relocation.

Information on the club’s activities and match reports etc. can be found on the website www.pitchero.com/clubs/ wendovercricketclub.

Wendover Junior Football Club

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the new WJFC Girls Section! This is an exciting development for the club and will provide more football opportunities for girls in and around Wendover. This season, we’re starting with school years 5, 6 and 7; hopefully this will expand to other age groups in the future. The first session took place at the end of September and we are delighted to have over 30 girls attending!

No previous experience or level of ability is required and the focus of the early part of the season will be on providing a fun introduction to the sport – with no pressure to play in matches or competitive leagues. As the squad develops we will look to arrange some friendly fixtures.

The sessions are run by a qualified FA coach, supported by other experienced coaches from the Club and parent volunteers. To find out more, please email the club on wjfc-girls@outlook.com.

All our age groups across the club are now back in training and playing in matches, in line with all appropriate COVID-19 guidelines and regulations. It’s been fantastic to see our young players getting back to football, in the fresh air with their teammates!