A rapidly approaching train!
Six weeks to go!
This weekend saw the second phase of reroofing the clubhouse completed with the Home changing room roof removed and replaced with a long lasting fibreglass one. With that, and the removal of the guttering running through the middle of the room, it should now be watertight, so no more dampness!
The next phase of maintenance will be to replace the ceilings in both changing rooms and the toilets, and give them a new lick of paint. All of this should be complete by the end of the month if all goes according to plan. There's also some work to be done to the scoreboard, and we may take the opportunity to try to make the scores visible from the patio - I know some of you will think this takes the fun out of guessing what's going on, but if it's any consolation you may lose visibility of how many wickets are down instead...
Steve Bailey has begun preparing the pitch, but obviously with the wet weather we've had of late there's only so much can be done yet. The square is looking nice and green though, and it's barely been submerged this winter! Over the next month we'll be hoping for drier, warmer weather which will allow work to progress. Plenty to do off-field too if we're to avoid last year's jungles - I for one would appreciate fewer eight foot tall nettles to wade through searching for lost balls.
The club are looking for sponsors! If anyone knows of a business that would be interested in having a banner on display at the ground, let us know. Cost will depend on the size of the banner, but a sample price would be about £50 for the full season.
Now, a quick charity appeal. There's a local 4 year old lad who lives just up the road from the club who suffers from Cerebral Palsy. His family are fund raising for him to have an operation that will greatly help his standard of life. The cause has had some media attention in the local press so you may have heard of It - Ryan's Wish To Walk. One of our supporters, Melanie Marples, is running the Liverpool Half Marathon on April 2nd - I'll be linking her sponsorship page to our facebook group if you're interested in helping. There's also going to be a Soul & Motown Bigband night in June at Victoria Hall - look out for details in the club shortly.
And finally, as the evenings are getting lighter, and the weather's feeling a little warmer, and the daffodils are beginning to bloom, does anyone else feel spring arriving - and with it, the tingle of excitement at the thought of the new cricket season? Yes, I thought so...