It is intended to hold the Chater Bowls 2022 AGM on Monday 4th April at 2pm in Clubhouse on Pinfold Lane.
If you have an interest in wanting to play lawn bowls, non members are invited to come along to meet existing members and see how the Club is run. You can also view our recently decorated Clubhouse.
Alan Costello
Secretary Chater Bowls Club
During the lockdowns clubs were unable to meet but it is hoped that as restrictions are eased to revive the once active Garden Club.
There will be a meeting on Wednesday 16th February at 6.30pm in the Community Centre.
You don’t have to be a keen gardener; just to be interested.
Don’t forget to dress warmly, bring chairs, torches and cash donations for a collection (funds will be split between those in need, and Church expenses)
Carol Sheet for the evening can be downloaded here:
Anyone who has played cricket will know the importance of the condition of “The Square” – the hallowed area where the wickets and creases are located.
Following two years of lockdown, the pitch on North Luffenhams own “Oval” was in very poor condition. Nick Davenport agreed to take on the not inconsiderable challenge of maintaining the area and temporary repairs were made in June 2020 to ensure the surface was safe to play on for this season.
Advice was taken from Keith Exon (ex head groundsman at Glamorgan County Ground & Oakham School) who, along with his son Alex, now offers a pitch maintenance and renovation service through his business ‘Perfect Pitches’) and they were able to advise on what could be done do to return it to it’s glory days during the off season.
As it happened, Keith phoned at the end of September to say that he had finished a job at Old Trafford, and had a gap in his schedule before he went to Trent Bridge, and could fit North Luffenham in – elite company for a village pitch indeed!
The cricket club accepted the offer, and Keith arrived with his highly specialised equipment
Keith used a Koro Field Top Maker to remove all surface vegetation from the top 6mm of the square, levelling out hollows and bumps and preparing a good base for reseeding as you can see in the following images. A huge amount of surface vegetation was removed and at the Butt Lane end of the pitch a further 2mm was removed to lower the slope around the crease and the excess soil was placed at the opposite end to fill a depression which ran along side the top side of the wicket. This should ensure the pitch is perfectly level.
The next step was to use a scarifier to remove any remaining vegetation and leave grooves at 20mm centres to give better seed/soil content.
35kgs of grass seed and 25kgs of fertiliser where then applied and covered by 1250kgs of Boughton County Loam.
Keith’s last step was to drag a matt/lute by hand for final levels and so ensuring a good finish for germination.
Keith’s attention to detail and his professional expertise have been crucial to the renovation of the square. We could not have achieved the same outcome and ongoing support for the care of the wicket without his intervention. We should not underestimate this given Keith currently carries out the same task for county grounds such as Trent Bridge and Northamptonshire.
Watering wisely then became a key factor to encourage germination and support the emerging grass in what turned out to be a hot spell. This required frequent visits to the oval to move the sprinkler to avoid drowning the seed and avoiding the hottest time of the day to prevent scalding of the emerging grass. The outcome of all this has been 99% germination, great coverage of grass and to date two cuts to keep the grass at 20mm to encourage tillering and strong root growth.
The plan over the winter is to keep the grass level to 20mm and then in spring begin a regime of gentle rolling to settle any upheaval caused by frost. Gradually lowering the cutting height to around 6mm and increasing the rolling as we move towards the start of the season.
Chater Bowls Club will be holding its AGM on Wednesday 21st July in club house on Pinfold Lane at 2:00pm.
Non members are welcome, so if you are thinking about playing outdoor bowls this summer come down and introduce yourself and see how the club is run.
I can assure you it is not a stuffy affair.
Cricket at the Oval tonight, 15th June, from 6:15. Bring a blanket, a drink, may be a picnic and enjoy a lovely evening in the sunshine.
Getting the pitch ready for this evening’s game of village cricket on the Oval
As you may know, the Parish Council have taken over the management and operation of the Community Centre, in the room located behind the school.
The room and toilets have been redecorated by RCC as part of the handover, and additional facilities will be added in the next few months (new furniture, IT equipment etc)
The room is available for booking by any person or group wishing to use it.
If you would like to make a booking, please contact Charles Cade on 01780 720467
Do join us for services in church this Sunday and on Easter Day at 9.30am.
All are welcome at both services + when the church is open on Wednesday and Sunday.
Also come and see the figures decorated at school and around the village have been transformed to tell the story of Palm Sunday and Easter.
(Please remember that to comply with the law, masks must be worn in church and households cannot mix indoors)
For February and March the Rutland Water Benefice Parish Magazine will not be printed and delivered. It will be available online only
The link to the February edition of the magazine is below
For those who could not attend in person, a video of the Rutland Water Benefice Remembrance Services has been produced. Please click on the link below to view
Is there anyone who could spare time to deliver the Benefice (ie, Church) Magazine to fifteen houses in lower Ancaster Way? The Magazine comes at the end of the month, and is distributed by volunteers in the ten villages in the Benefice, of which we, North Luffenham, are one.
We are very grateful to Valerie who has done this for years now, and wish her well.
If interested, please contact Mima Bolton, Acre End, The Jetties, mmkb@mac.com, 01780-720906
Sadly we are no longer permitted to keep the church building open, but Church is not buildings, Church is the Christian community. Rev. Pippa will be conducting a Service this coming Sunday for the whole of the Benefice at 0930hrs. It will be accessible on the Rutland Water Benefice Facebook page as a Watch Party. It has the options of being listened to, or joined interactively. It is very easy to access, but to do so you must be on Facebook and then join the Rutland Water Benefice group. And if you are not a Facebook person, joining both Facebook and the Group is easy!
To join Facebook, search for Facebook, answer a few questions, provide a password and there you are.
Then, search for The Rutland Water Benefice
To request to join the The Rutland Water Benefice Facebook group, “Press Join”..
You will then become a member of the group – it may take half a day to add to you or far far less !
You will then have access to the Watch Party ready for Sunday 0930hrs
Please spread the News of the Rutland Water Benefice Facebook page as it is updated daily and a valuable source of Christian fellowship locally.
Below is the programme of events for the North Luffenham Garden Club for 2019 / 2020. All are welcome to attend any of the events listed below
North Luffenham Cricket Club play in the Tuesday evening Borough League (Division 3)
For those who might be interested in playing or watching an evenings cricket on The Oval the home games this year are below – All games start at 18:30
Tuesday 21s t May – vs Hickling
Tuesday 4th June vs Frisby
Tuesday 18th June vs Sproxton
Tuesday 16th July vs Melton Mowbray
Tuesday 30th July vs Syston
North Luffenham Good Companions.
I am trying to get enough people for a bus to Sandringham Flower Show on Wednesday 24th July leaving North Luffenham at 9 am and leaving Sandringham at approx. 4.30. This trip is open to all the villages. The cost will be approx. £22 50 including entrance to the show. Please ring Evelyn 01780720528 or Helen 01780720607 as soon as possible.
The April Garden Club meeting is on Thursday 11th April, at 7.30pm in the Community Centre and we would like to remind you that our speaker this month is nurseryman, Rob Potterton from Caistor N. Lincs, giving a talk about Alpines & Bulbs – From Mountain to Market.
As usual there will be hot drinks and a Raffle , with hopefully, some plants to buy as well. Please do come as everyone is welcome, including non-members.
The Chater Bowls Annual General Meeting will take place in The Fox in North Luffenham at 2:30 pm on Monday 25th February.
Non members welcome to attend.
Chater Bowls is situated on Pinfold Lane in North Luffenham. We play friendly matches throughout the Summer from May to September with other local bowling clubs.
New to the area or just retired and wondering what interests to pursue. Come and join the friendliest bowling club in Rutland.
We have roll ups on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:00 pm when you can try your hand at the game.
Launch Event & Seed Swap
Join us for our launch event at Oakham Castle on Saturday 9th February 2019 between 10.00am and 1.00pm. Find out more about the project and meet the project team, Claire Crowley and Alex Wilby, founders of Root-and-Branch Out CIC, who specialise in nurturing community through nature. Alex is a professional horticulturist and Claire is a permaculture designer.
