Season starts in 7 days!! 1 of 2

The weather forecast for Thursday 21st April at 2pm on BBC Weather is currently "Sunny Intervals and a Gentle Breeze" perfect for the first roll ups of the season.

Toilet Block Cleaning!!

Barbara has completed the rota and it's up on the volunteer page on the website. Really good to have 8 volunteers. Cleaning will be done weekly. However, to ensure toilets are always in the best possible condition it is down to all club members to check toilets before friendly games, league games and roll ups for any problems.

Tea Rota

Denise is compiling the tea rota for home friendly games. It has been decided that we will provide tea/coffee and biscuits rather than the more lavish teas we have done in the past. This is in line with most other clubs. All those who take part in friendly games are asked to take a turn to do the teas. However, a special tea is planned for the Queen's Jubilee weekend when we are hosting Charing and probably for Rochester Blind Bowlers.

Ashford Community Lottery

https://www.ashfordcommunitylottery.co.uk/support/biddenden-bowls-club

10 members have signed up for a total of 19 weekly tickets. The exciting news is that in the first three draws a member as won £25 and 4 others have received 3 bonus tickets for next Saturday. Remember that the club receives 50% of the cost of all tickets purchased by our supporters and this week we have received our first payment of £28. . On just this level of supporters we would raise nearly £500 over a year.

Please if you have not signed up do think about it as it's a really great way to support the club. Entering for a weekly ticket costs just £4.34 a month.

Making Payments

As there is a steady move away from cheques and even cash it has become clear that many members are now keen to use online banking and cashless methods to make payments. So, this season we are trialling a few new ways to pay

£3 Tokens for Match Fees and Competition Entries - members will have the option to purchase tokens in multiples of £3 which can then be kept in their bowls bags to pay match/competition fees. The money paid up front will be held in a separate bank account and drawn down as the tokens are used. For those who find having to have £3 cash with them for match fees a bit of a pain this is another option. (e.g. Pay £30 direct to the club account and get 10 tokens).

SUMUP - a new electronic touchless payment facility which will be available for members to pay match fees for friendlies and league games and for competitions fees on the day. It will also be available on Ladies Day and Finals Weekend to allow people to pay for drinks, cakes, BBQ etc. This is a trial but we have tried it out and think it should work well.

RAFFLES - don't forget though to have £1 cash for raffles!!

CASH - of course cash will always be accepted!!

Any queries please talk to Kim

JUNIORS - John Mayne C of E Primary School

Pupils will be joining us at the green for a session of fun bowls activities on Tuesday 26th April, 3rd May and 10th May from approximately 1.30pm to 3pm. We are expecting 4 different year groups and between 15 and 25 children for each session. The children will be accompanied by Tom Swaine from Sports Route Coaching, their teacher and a support assistant. it would be great to have at least 8 volunteers along to help out at each session. Fancy a fun afternoon!! Please let me (Kim) know if you would like to help. These afternoons are really good for promoting the club's profile in the village.

Bowls Big Weekend and Taster Sessions

29th May will be our BBWE event when we will hope to attract lots of people to the green to see what it's all about. However, taster sessions are on offer throughout the season and we have our first one on Saturday 23rd April at 2pm when 3 potential new members are coming along for a bowl.

LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING LOTS OF YOU ON THE 21ST OR SOON AFTER AND WELCOMING EVERYONE BACK INCLUDING OUR NEW MEMBERS.