Fun Day at Lochside
Despite the "Scottish" weather, the fun day held at the club was a great success, with £1500 raised, the proceeds to be split between the club and MacMillan Cancer Relief. Just think what might have been achieved if the weather had been a bit kinder!
But let's focus on the positive - a steady stream of people came along during the day to visit the various stalls on offer and enjoy the provisions. The bouncy castle had a good work out too. And bouncing would be a good way to describe the evening's beach-themed BBQ; the club was packed, the dance floor full and the tills ringing. There was good food and good music. An excellent evening all round.
A massive vote of thanks is due to all who contributed to the success but particularly to Jennifer McGregor and Lisa McDonald. Roll on next year when the sun will surely shine.
Softball Sixes
The Softball Sixes tournament had to be postponed at the beginning of July due to a weather affected cup tie which had to take place that weekend. The rescheduled competition is now set to take place on Sunday 14th August. Anyone interested in playing should contact Glyn Evans (glyn.evans@strathmorecc.co.uk) as soon as possible.
An adopted sister for the club
In our last View from Lochside, we reported on a developing relationship with our namesake in Melbourne. Things have moved on since then. Both clubs have now formally agreed to develop a "sister club" link and are now working on what that means in practise. So we've moved from some interesting chats on the phone to something more substantive. We soon hope to be able to share some specific plans - including the tantalising prospect of a trip to Victoria in the not too far off future.
Best Wishes
Since our last edition, Ian Cran's health has taken a turn for the worse and he is no longer able to play an active role in the life of the club. His work as Grounds Convenor is already being missed - although Fred is rising to the challenge, in spite of his own hip problems.
We all wish Ian well in his recovery from surgery and in the longer term.
Thriving Clubs
On Wednesday 13th July, we welcomed Svend Elkjaer back to Strathmore. Svend's visit is part of our involvement in the Thriving Clubs programme. He wanted to hear about our progress and help us think through some of our outstanding challenges.
Plans are Afoot
We are currently exploring ways in which we can combine some necessary repairs to the windows in the club lounge with ambitions to create disabled access and improve viewing facilities. It's very early days yet, but with support from Kerry Smith Architects we are having sketches and drawings prepared which we hope to share soon. And then there's the question of funding...
On the Field
After losing a number of matches to the weather throughout June, the 1st XI have been back in action in recent weeks securing good wins up North against Mannofield and Stoneywood but losing out at home to Meigle and Arbroath.
In addition to league duties, the 1sts also made it through to Final's Day in the 3 Counties Cup, unfortunately they fell at the semi-final stage in a high scoring match against the eventual winners, Gordonians.
July has been a pretty quiet month for the 2nd XI but they had a convincing win against Arbroath last Sunday and will hope to carry that form into their match at Brechin this weekend.
Thanks to our sponsors
We'd like to thank our match and ball sponsors so far this season. We are very grateful for their support and look forward to seeing them back at Lochside next year.
There are still a couple of ball sponsorships available this year if anyone is interested.
Strathie Sleep Over
On the 10th/11th July we hosted 2 U13 fixtures involving teams from the Caledonian area. The novelty here was that some of the players had a sleep over at the club to reduce the amount of travelling involved. That meant a bigger crowd than might otherwise have been here to enjoy the Euro 2016 Final on the big screen.
This is another example of us being creative about the use of our facilities and helping to support junior cricket along the way.
Monday and Tuesday at the Club
The club is still closed on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Over the past winter we were able to help out Forfar Dramatic Society, who hope to be returning to their own premises in August. So we have a facility that someone else could be using. Do you know of another organisation looking for accommodation? Can you think of activities that the club might launch and add another string to its bow.
All suggestions gratefully received.
Hogmanay is back!
You may think that it's never been away but some of our members have been missing the once regular Hogmanay event at the club.
Good news for them is that it's back.
We have secured the services of a band to play us to the bells and beyond. They will play a mix to suit the crowd - and obviously there will be some traditional tunes to dance to.
Tickets will be on sale very soon at a modest £10 to include entertainment and a light supper. There will be a limited supply at the club and they will also be available online. Early indication are that demand is high so, if you want to avoid disappointment, buy early and get the event in your festive diary.
Theo's Farewell
Theo, our overseas am, heads back to South Africa on Sunday 28th August (the day after our last 1st team fixture). Rather than having a big send off the night before he travels, we will instead be having an early farewell the weekend before on Saturday the 20th.
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