Photos - 2021
Photos by year
Vets 3rd Team - 17 May 2021
Vets 3rd team on first day of the season, 17 May 2021, Captained by Gerry O'Shaughnessy.
All very smart in Rykneld caps.
Front Row (L to R) - Roy Millward, Reg Baggaley, Gerry O'Shaughnessey (Captain), Paul Eason, Dennis Read, Frank Bracken
Back Row (L to ) - Ian Millward, Roy Buckley, Roger Howe, Gordon Pick, Malcolm Holden, Steve Winter
Prime Timers - 26 August 2021
Given Government restrictions that applied during the 2020/21 bowling season the Club decided to scrap all internal competitions - with the exception of 'Prime Timers' which took place on Thursday 26 August 2021.
The Club's full santisation precautions were followed.
The event was a big success - with Graham Buckley emerging as the worthy winner.
Vets 3rd Team Presentations - 10 September 2021
After an extremely difficult year, beset by COVID-19, Gerry held a meeting of the Vets 3rd Team, to give his personal thanks as Captain to the team in general for their efforts and support - and to certain players in particular.
Awards presented were to :-
Roy Millward - for his long and loyal service to the team
Stuart Kerry and Roy Buckley - as the best doubles
Dennis Read - for outstanding performance
Paul Eason - best player of the year
Many thanks to Ian Millward for providing refreshments.
Twiggy from Radio Derby - 7 October 2021
Andrew Twigge from BBC Radio Derby paid a surprise visit to Rykneld on Thursday 7 October 2021 and met up with our very own Gerry O'Shaughnessy.
Whilst there, Twigge had a go at crown green bowling.
Is there no end to this man's talents?
Will he join our Club?
Green Renovation - 28 October 2021
On Monday 11 October (one day after our green closed for the season), a comprehensive 'Green Renovation' programme was commenced by our chosen external contractors, Sportsground Maintenance and Machinery Limited of Leicestershire. This company, and their MD Richard Shepherd, were highly recommended by Peter Bagguley of Russels Groundcare - agents for Dennis Mowers who supply all our green maintenance equipment.
It is believed that this ambitious renovation programme is the first of its kind since the Club was formed in 1918 - and it follows on from an in-depth report produced for the Club by Alan Lewis, one of the UK’s leading Sports Surface Consultants.
The first step in the programme was 'deep scarification' of the playing surface to 20mm depth in two directions - which left the surface looking like a ploughed field.
This was then followed by a) removing thatch / other debris, b) applying 6 tonnes of dried Mansfield sand, c) direct drilling 60 kg of Hurrells 'special bowls' seed mix in six different directions, d) verti-draining to a depth of 6 inches and finally e) applying chemicals.
This work was expertly carried out by the contractors who worked tirelessly throughout the day and finished just before dark.
On Wednesday 27 October, Richard, his son George and another member of the team arrived with more equipment and checked the green for progress.
The grass seed previously planted on 11 October had already started to germinate - and further seed was planted with a tractor-drawn specialised 'grass seed drilling' machine. An Autumn feed dressing was then applied.
The green is now well on its way to recovery, aided by the exceptionally warm weather for this time of year. The start of the 2022 season will enable members to reap the benefits of this extensive renovation programme.
The work done to date and dedication of Richard and his team has far exceeded expectations. A further visit is planned early November 2021 - and until then the Club’s Ground Maintenance team have nothing to do (ha...!!!) - as regards the playing surface.