Newsletter - August 2018
The playing season may be coming close to an end, but there is still plenty of activity round Lochside Park
End of Season Fun Day and Beach Party
Our first end of season event takes place on Saturday 1 September 2018.
There are three parts to the event:
- Fun Day – running from 10am-4pm – there will be games, stalls and refreshments for people of all ages
- Presentation of Awards – for the first time we are holding a small awards presentation for people who contribute to the club in ways other than representing us in competitive cricket. We will be looking to recognise participation, contribution and achievement. We are particularly keen to see as many people as possible come along to this short presentation – at 7pm – whether or not they are taking part in any other aspect of the day
- Beach Party and hog roast – food and music will be available from 8pm and there will be some beach games and competitions. The dress code is “beach”. We are really keen to see as many of our members and friends along as possible – so cricketers, band members and social members.
Tickets are priced £15 (£10 for children) and are available from the bar or online here.
And watch out for some exciting news from Cricket Scotland at the presentation!
Cricket
The 1st XI's season draws to a close tomorrow (Sat 25th) up at Stoneywood-Dyce. Over the last few weeks a couple of nerve-jangling wins have been secured (by 1 run & by 6 runs) but we still currently sit 2nd bottom - a win tomorrow, however, could potentially see us jump up a place or two...
The 2nd XI's final match, unfortunately, fell to the weather last weekend. As it stands the 2s are top of the league but, 2nd-placed Meigle still have matches to play and could yet pip us to the title.
A huge thank you to all our sponsors & all those that have supported our teams throughout 2018!
Thanks and Au revoir
Michael Shum – our overseas amateur for 2018 will be heading home on 26 August. We’d like to thank Michael for all of his efforts, in what has been a difficult season for the 1st XI. It’s been great to see him hit form in the last few weeks and we hope that continues at Stoneywood on Saturday 25 August.
We wish Michael a safe journey home and a successful cricket season when he gets there.
Winter Cricket
We have plans for some cricket over the winter, which you might want to know about:
- We will once again be participating in the Clubsport Indoor Sixes in Dundee, when they come around.
- We intend to run two indoor events for Girls and Women over the winter – to build on the sessions we have been running during the season (the final one of which is tomorrow - Sat 25th).
- Our All Stars (and maybe some Kwik cricketers) will be meeting on the first Friday of every month from November (even these energetic youngsters need a bit of a break).
- And we’re thinking about playing some indoor soft ball cricket for adults in Forfar. Would that interest you? We’re thinking about one session a month at the Campus – just playing some games and having fun. So this would be an opportunity for players of all ages and abilities to get involved. If this interests you – contact us in one of the usual ways – website, email, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram
- Finally – there will be net practice in the new year – but let’s get to the end of this season before we start preparing for 2019...
More cricket to watch
The home league season may be at an end for both of our teams, but there is still cricket to watch at Lochside over the next few weeks.
- Scottish Girls’ Kwik Cricket Tournament – taking place on Sunday 26 August, from 10am–12.30pm. Girls from other parts of the country are coming along to enjoy some cricketing fun at our ground.
- Scottish Ladies Regional Competition – the two Scottish Ladies regional teams are returning to Lochside, also on Sunday 26 August. The start time is 1pm and the best of Scottish ladies cricketers will be on show, including most of the players who recently came so close to qualifying for the upcoming World T20 competition.
- Strathmore Union – on Sunday 2 September we are hosting Kinloch Cricket Club and their final league game of the season. Kinloch are currently top of the SPCU Division One and pushing hard for promotion to the North-East Championship
- Last Man Standing – Saturday 8 September is the date for national play-offs in the Last Man Standing Scottish competitions. There will be three back-to-back Last Man Standing games from 10.30am. It would be good to see some people along support the participating teams. LMS is one of the newer cricket formats and one which is played all over the world. It’s also something we are considering for 2019.
Not a Lot of People Know This....
Every other Wednesday for most of the summer, the club has played host to a group of adults with learning disabilities. They have been coming along to keep fit and have fun by participating in some cricket games and activities.
We plan to continue this through the winter – and hope to add table cricket to the list of games on offer.
Jenny McGregor has been leading this activity for us, with help from a few other willing volunteers. If you can spare an hour every now and again, your help would be greatly appreciated. Just contact Jenny or email the club at Strathmorecc@hotmail.com if you would like to assist.
Walking Cricket?
You may have noticed that our neighbours at Inchmacoble have started to run some walking rugby sessions. So how does walking cricket sound to you?
There is a growing interest and participation in walking sports and walking cricket is developing fast in England and Wales.
So what about Strathmore? The game provides an opportunity for some exercise and a chance to reminisce about cricketing glories past. Let us know if you might be interested. Again, mention your interest to a committee member or drop us an email at Strathmorecc@hotmail.com.
Cricket Open Day and Exhibition
We are planning an open day at the club some time during the closed season and we thought that this would be a good time to have a wee display of cricket photographs and memorabilia.
We’re very fortunate to have extensive and detailed club statistics - thanks to the efforts of David Potter. We know who did what, when for a considerable part of the club’s history.
We also have an extensive collection of team photographs and press clippings from past days, thanks to Gavin McKiddie.
We think that an open day would be a good opportunity to display these, but we’re also interested in gathering more.
Do you have some photographs that could be part of an exhibition? Do you have some memorabilia – old strips, caps, bats, programmes and more? Do you have favourite stories and memories that you’d like to share?
We’re really keen to hear from people who have things that might contribute an an exhibition. It would also be great if some of our members were to help us put an exhibition and event together.
If this interests you in any way, let us know in whatever way works for you – email (strathmorecc@hotmail.com), Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You could even do the old fashioned thing and have a chat with a committee member or one of the volunteers on the bar.
Winter Bar Hours
With the season coming to an end, we’ll be reverting to winter bar hours from the beginning of October.
Almost all of our bar shifts are covered by volunteers – who do a fabulous job. We’d be lost without them. As ever, we could do with a few more volunteers to share the load. If you are interested in helping out, let us know. Speak to Sandy Macintosh, email the club (strathmorecc@hotmail.com) or leave a note with anyone at the bar. You don’t need to commit to a regular shift – although that would be great. Having people on the “reserve list” would be a great help.
Dates for Your Diary
The Return of Cricket Force
Our cricket season began with a successful Cricket Force weekend in April, when nearly 30 volunteers turned out to help us spruce up the ground and start work on our new deck – isn’t it fabulous!
We have another Cricket Force Day scheduled for Sunday 30 September. We will be looking to use this time for a final tidy up before the winter.
As with all of our Cricket Force days, many hands make light work. So it would be great if you can find some time to come along and lend a hand. Whatever your skills and talents – there will be something that you can do to help.
Annual Smoker
The 2018 Smoker is scheduled to take place on Friday 23 November. More details on tickets and entertainment will follow. Meantime, make sure that you keep this free and are able to come along and celebrate performances and achievements of the season.
Hogmanay
We are gearing up for our (now annual) Hogmanay Party; you know the date. Tickets should be on sale within the next month. Last year we sold out and had to disappoint a few people. So watch out for ticket availability and make sure that’s not you!
Inflatable Fun Day
We are playing host to an Inflatable Fun Day on 16 September from 12-5pm.
All proceeds from the day will go to providing copies of "Lucy’s Blue Day" to schools.
The Fun Day is organised by Chris Duke - who has performed at our last two Hogmanay parties and acted as host for one of our famous Dolphin Race Nights.
"Lucy’s Blue Day" is a children’s book that tells the wonderful story of Lucy and her magical hair.
When she is happy, her hair is bright, when she is angry, her hair will turn red and if she is feeling jealous, her hair will turn a shade of green.
But what happens when she one day wakes up, feeling down, and her hair has turned blue.
This story demonstrates that it’s #OkNotToBeOk, in an attempt to break the stigma of mental health in the next generation.