Alnmouth Croquet Club

Yesterday, whilst our 2nd division Greens were fighting for a win at home, our 1st division Blues were doing the same down at our furthest fixture in Bishop Auckland under a very hot sun and on a dry & fast lawn.
Bishop Auckland took an early lead and were 4-1 up but our Blues chipped away and won a few games to bring the score level to 7-7 …
Our blues then managed a singles win and took the lead for the first time in the match . Once again, familiarly, it comes down to the last game in the last set of 3 and the Blues with a draw managed to just sneak the win! .

Final score 9.5 - 8.5
Well done Blues …
🔵🔴⚫️☺️

Today our 2nd division “Alnmouth Greens” welcomed “Tyneside Hunters” to our lawns.
The weather was glorious , not too hot , and pretty much perfect playing weather.
Tyneside Hunters took an early lead but our Greens were biting at their ankles and kept up for the duration of the match. As is often the case, the last round of games were crucial and a win for either side would be determined at this point . Neither could just take it and the day ended with a draw !
9-9
A satisfactory, if not a little disappointing, result for the Greens.
Well done both teams for a lovely match and friendship throughout.
🔵🔴⚫️☺️

On Saturday our 3rd division “Alnmouth Purples” took a trip over to the beautiful Belsay Hall & Gardens for their next match of the fixtures.. It’s always a pleasure to play at Belsay and the weather was lovely..
At the half way mark Belsay were just ahead by one game so all to play for after lunch… both teams then played good competitive games with great team spirit.
We must give credit, and thanks, to Belsay for helping our very newest member, Ian, of only a few weeks, with the off side situations etc . He was a late recruit due to lack of availability but took it all in his stride and managed to win a singles game too. 👏..
Purples couldn’t quite get ahead of Belsay and the end result was a win for Belsay 11-7
🔵🔴⚫️☺️

Today our 1st Division ‘Alnmouth Reds’ took a drive to the lovely lawns at Backworth for the next match on the fixture card.
The sun had it’s hat on and also came out to play, relentlessly 🌞 …so sun cream, caps and water were all the order of the day.
We managed an early lead and by lunch were sitting a couple of games ahead but Backworth never let us get away from them and it took the last ball of the last game to secure our win 10-8 ! …. Well done Ian!
A very close match fought out the whole day with lots of laughs and the usual banter.
Thanks to Ian & Mick who came to support.
🔵🔴⚫️😎

A big Happy 93rd Birthday to Ted…⭐️
Our founder/ my dad/ captain/ treasurer/ handicapper/coach/ …..
Still competing , leads our Blue 1st division team and played at Bamburgh in the Alice Fleck competition at the weekend.
An inspiration.
🔵🔴⚫️🥰

What a day!🌞 ….Perfect weather and setting for our yearly trip to Bamburgh for the Alice Fleck Trophy competition.
Our team ( Wendy, Ted, Ian R, John W, John H & Matt) all played well, losing only one game! …
Ted @ 92 and 361 days old had a fabulous day and no cramps while the rest of us kept up ! … great to see so many familiar faces in one place on the same day with the same outlook for the day … just enjoy it .. oh and win it …. 😄…
We kept a lead all the way through but just didn’t quite hold on to it and were pipped by Bamburgh by one single point to finish 2nd which we were still delighted with .
Well done Bamburgh 🏆
Many thanks to Jamie and his crew for another fabulous tournament. See you all again next year ……

Thanks also to our steadfast, non playing, team members, Derek, Mick & Elaine who came along to support . ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔵🔴⚫️🥰

On Wednesday our 3rd division ‘Purple’ team welcomed ‘Bamburgh C’ to our lawns for the return match.
Bamburgh took an early lead and were ahead at lunch. Our Purples, with a few close games, tried to tighten the gap in the afternoon but didn’t quite make it and Bamburgh took the win 12-6 .
🔵🔴⚫️😉

Last week the 2nd division ‘Alnmouth Greens’ welcomed ‘Backworth B’ to our lawns. A chilly day which, fortunately, just managed to escape rain except for a little shower. 🌧️. Alnmouth Greens took an early lead and were still ahead at the half way mark. Backworth came back a little after lunch but couldn’t quite catch up and Alnmouth Greens managed to just keep their lead and take a home win 11-7 .
🔵🔴⚫️☺️

On Friday our 3rd Division Purple team had a short jaunt up to the most beautiful setting of Bamburgh to play their 3rd division team. A lovely sunny day with a little breeze made for a pleasant match at one our favourite places. The match was played in good spirits. Purples established a good lead by round 4 but Bamburgh got their act together towards the end of the day in the doubles. Purples ended the day with a very satisfactory 12.5 - 5.5 win. Well done all.
🔵🔴⚫️🟡

On Wednesday ‘Bamburgh A’ made their 2nd trip down to us at Alnmouth to play the Blues, our other 1st division team. .. It was rather chillier than the week before but thankfully stayed fair. Bamburgh took an early lead but Alnmouth got into their stride and levelled it up after the 2nd round. Bamburgh then had a spurt and took the lead again and it was close then right up until the last games. The day was full of humour and laughs ,variety & drama… including cramp!… and once again some great jump shots. It all came down to the last couple of games and Bamburgh held on to take the win 9.5-8.5 .
🔵🔴⚫️🟡