2026 Club President
I am delighted to announce that this year’s Club President is Hilary Kennett. Although a relative newcomer to the Club she has made a real impact both on and off the green since she became a member. Hilary is pictured here at the launch of the CHAT programme. Hilary will be bowling the first ball at the official opening of the green, taking place on Saturday 11th April (see later), although I am sure she will have bowled many more before then. If Hilary isn’t actually bowling she can often be found gardening and tidying up the flower beds.
Club Trustee(s)
It is a requirement of our Constitution that the Club is overseen by four trustees. Hitesh Mistry has accepted an invitation to become a club trustee following the resignation of Pam Satterthwaite. The four trustees are now Howard Parkinson, David Strutt, Peg Herrod and Hitesh Mistry. A big thank you to Hitesh for agreeing to become a trustee.
The Pedestrian Ginnel – Project Completion
The ginnel has been resurfaced and the installation of the low level lighting has now been completed. These much needed improvements were funded by a grant we received from Avanti West Coast and we are extremely grateful for their support. The lights are operated by a push button switch at both ends of the ginnel. The lights come on for 50 seconds which tests have shown allows enough time for members to complete ‘their journey’. There is also a switch on the old telegraph pole which puts the lights on permanently for social events. Grateful thanks to Duncan (Lawrenson) for completing the electrical work by the deadline, despite having had a recent knee replacement operation.
Flooring and Kitchen extension – Project complete
New vinyl flooring has been laid in the kitchen area and work has just been completed to extend the kitchen work top and food preparation area and adding a new kitchen unit. Funding for the kitchen extension came from a grant received from the Eric Wright Trust, which is administered by the Lancaster CVS. We are once again extremely grateful for their support.
Club Bye-Laws and Code of Conduct
The Club Bye-Laws have recently been updated and copies are displayed in the club room. One of the changes to the Bye-Laws covers the use of our facilities by visitors, with the charge per visit increasing from £1 to £2. All visitors should be accompanied by a club member.
It is a condition of club membership that members agree to follow the Club’s laid down Code of Conduct and copies are on the noticeboards in the club room.
Safeguarding Course and DBS renewals
On Sunday 22nd March the club is ‘hosting’ a Safeguarding course being organised and run by the NL&F CBA safeguarding officer Sue Sinclair. The course is from 11.00am until 2.00pm. The cost for the course is £15 for the first person from a club and £8 for any subsequent club members attending. Luneside & Rosebank is an inclusive club and the safeguarding and health, wellbeing and welfare of all members is of paramount importance. If you wish to take the course, the club will cover the cost as the more trained safeguarding members we have, the better. There will also be an opportunity for those with current enhanced DBS certificates to renew them without doing the safeguarding course. DBS renewal is free and can be renewed at 10.30am before the commencement of the course. Note: Anyone attending the course and for DBS renewal will need to bring with them a form of photo ID, Driving Licence/Passport and copy of a utility bill with home address. DBS certificates need to renewed every 3yrs from the date of issue.
2026 Membership
Membership fees are now due for 2026. If you have not already done so, please can you do so at your earliest convenience. The Membership fee has remained at £40. If you wish to pay by bank transfer, please contact the secretary for the club’s banking details.
2026 Bowling Season
This season Luneside will be fielding a total of eight teams in the various local leagues. This is the most teams the Club has ever had and is a reflection of how the membership has grown in recent years and also the keenness of those members to ‘test’ themselves against opponents from other clubs.
Lancaster League: Tuesday/Thursday evenings
- A team - Division 2
- B team - Division 3
- C team - Division 4 (A new team)
Morecambe League: Monday/Wednesday evenings
- A team - Division 3
- B team - Division 5 (A new team)
Ladies League: Wednesday pm
- Luneside - Division 1
Vets League: Thursday pm
- A team - Division 2
- B team - Division 2
Team practice sessions are currently taking place on Tuesday evenings from 6pm.
CHAT & Social Bowling
CHAT and Social bowling currently takes place on Mondays at 10am with Social Bowling on Fridays at 2pm. Updates as to whether the green is playable will be posted on the WhatsApp group and on the Facebook page (see later).
Fundraising Initiatives
Easyfundraising
In February we received £38.20p from Easyfundraising for on-line purchases made by club members. Although it might not seem a lot it is more or less the equivalent of one person’s annual membership. The scope of the platform is expanding all the time and some in store purchases are now becoming eligible for donations. Luneside Bowling and Recreation Club is a registered cause so if you sign up a small amount for every purchase you make will be donated to the club at no cost to yourself. If you want to learn more please search for “cgba-how-easyfundraising-works” online.
Sponsorship Boards
We are still looking to increase the number of sponsorship boards around the green. The annual charge for a board (2ft x 4ft in size) is £100 per board plus the cost of producing the board. If you have links with any local companies who might consider sponsoring a board please point them in our direction.
Corporate Team Building events
The Club is happy to facilitate corporate team building and social events as it raises the profile of the Club and potentially may lead to participants becoming members of the club. Once again if you have links with local companies please let them know.
Forthcoming Social Events, both on and off the Green
Domino Drive
Thursday 26th March - 7pm - £2 (to cover prizes)
Always an enjoyable evening and a fairly regular event now on the Club social calendar. Refreshments will once again take the form of a Jacobs Join. Such is the quality and quantity of the food members bring that it is worth attending even if you are not keen on Dominoes (although how could you not be?).
Opening of the Green
Saturday 11th April - 1pm - £2 (to cover prizes)
The ‘official’ opening of the green will be taking place on Saturday 11th April, with the first ball being bowled by Club President Hilary Kennett at 1pm. There will be a number of games and challenges for members and guests to enjoy before a more formal social scramble begins at 1.30pm. Please bring food to share. Please note that this event is open to both members and guests.
‘Super’ Quiz/Games Night
Thursday 14th May - 7pm - £2 (to cover prizes)
More details to follow but make a note in your diaries of the date. A bit more than a paper and pen type quiz with audio and visual clues during the course of the evening.
Thank You(s)
A big thank you to those members who recently helped tidy up around the green and those who carried out the Spring Clean of the Clubhouse. Special thanks to Sam Walton who has taken charge of ensuring our windows are cleaned on a regular basis and heartfelt thanks, as always, to Andrew Seddon and John Sugden for their unstinting work on the green.
Building Extension and Scaffolding
Our frustration and annoyance continues to grow as far as the building extension, with accompanying scaffolding, is concerned. Despite assurances on time scales at the start of the project it is looking likely that the scaffolding is going to remain ‘in situ’ for the whole of the coming bowling season. The whole project has had, and will have going forward, negative implications for the Club – with increased shading at the bottom corner of the green effecting the quality of the grass sward, excessive noise disrupting the peace and tranquillity of our special environment and our project to green up the surrounds having to be put on hold. The builders appear to be two paced, either working extremely slowly or not working at all. Some of the workmanship is shoddy as in the case of the guttering down the side of the single storey bedsits. The plastic guttering originally fitted wasn’t fit for purpose, so was finally replaced with steel guttering. Once this was fitted the fascia boards weren’t strong enough to support the weight so it had to be taken down while new boards were fitted. It has now gone back up but they haven’t bothered to plumb in the downspout so any time it rains the water just runs out onto the green surrounds – unbelievable! (Do I feel better for venting my anger/frustration? Too right, I do)
Hearing Loss & Brain Health
Lancaster University are looking for volunteers who are in the process of obtaining hearing aids or have done so in the last 6 weeks. There is a poster up in the clubroom giving more details. Volunteers are ‘paid’ £10 an hour in shopping vouchers and will probably obtain £100 in vouchers by the end of their involvement.
Referees Course
Over the course of the winter we have been hosting one of the NL&F CBA referees courses delivered by club members Linda Murie and Brian Cooke. Congratulations to Nick Ridley, who is the latest club member to pass the referees exam.
Communication and Social Media
The first choice of communication with members is by email. A copy of the latest newsletter will always be displayed in the Clubroom window.
Facebook – the club does have a Facebook page – Luneside Bowling Club. If you are on Facebook send in a request and you can be added to the group.
WhatsApp – There are also two WhatsApp groups – Crown Green Bowls and Luneside Social. The former is used to convey key information whilst the latter is more light-hearted. Please contact the secretary if you wish to be added to these groups.
Website – The Club has its own website - Luneside & Rosebank Crown Green Bowling Club. Although additions are still being made to the site it already has lots of useful information on it, including copies of all the main club policies. If you have any suggestions as to how the website might be improved please let us know.
March/April Calendar of Events
(Home bowls matches shown in Bold)
Saturday 14th March - Clubhouse Spring Clean - 10.00am
Monday 16th March - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
Tuesday 17th March - Team Practice - 6.00pm
Thursday 19th March - LCC Food Hygiene Inspection - 11.30am
Friday 20th March - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Sunday 22nd March - Safeguarding Course and DBS Renewals - 11.00am
Monday 23rd March - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
- Luneside A v Ship A - 7.00pm
Tuesday 24th March - Team Practice - 6.00pm
Wednesday 25th March - Luneside B v Holme C - 7.00pm
Thursday 26th March - Dominoes Evening - 7.00pm
Friday 27th March - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Monday 30th March - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
Tuesday 31st March - Luneside B v Carnforth B - 7.00pm
Wednesday 1st April - Luneside A v Bolton Le Sands B - 7.00pm
- Carnforth B v Luneside B - 7.00pm
Thursday 2nd April - Luneside A v Luneside B - 2.00pm
- Luneside C v Bare B - 7.00pm
Friday 3rd April - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Monday 6th April - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
- Cumberland A v Luneside A - 7.00pm
Tuesday 7th April - Luneside A v Bowling Green B - 7.00pm
- Bailrigg B v Luneside B - 7.00pm
- Palatine v Luneside C - 7.00pm
Wednesday 8th April - Bare B v Luneside Ladies - 1.30pm
- Luneside B v Cumberland B - 7.00pm
Thursday 9th April - Luneside B v Bare B - 2.00pm
- Slyne B v Luneside A - 2.00pm
- Luneside Management Meeting - 7.00pm
Friday 10th April - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Saturday 11th April - Official Opening of the Green - 1.00pm
Monday 13th April - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
Tuesday 14th April - Quernmore v Luneside A (Cup) - 7.00pm
- Luneside C v Bare B (Cup) - 7.00pm
Wednesday 15th April - Luneside Ladies v Bowling Green - 1.30pm
- Luneside A v Hornby B - 7.00pm
- Holme B v Luneside B - 7.00pm
Thursday 16th April - Skerton A v Luneside B - 2.00pm
- Luneside A v Bowling Green - 2.00pm
Friday 17th April - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Monday 20th April - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
- Lune Road D v Luneside A - 7.00pm
Tuesday 21st April - Lansil v Luneside A - 7.00pm
- Luneside B v Overton - 7.00pm
Wednesday 22nd April - Hornby v Luneside Ladies - 1.30pm
- Luneside B v Bolton Le Sands D - 7.00pm
Thursday 23rd April - Vets Cup – 1st Round - 2.00pm
Friday 24th April - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Monday 27th April - CHAT & Social Bowling - 10.00am
- Cumberland v Luneside A (Cup) - 7.00pm
Tuesday 28th April - Luneside A v Lune Road B - 7.00pm
- Warton B v Luneside B - 7.00pm
Wednesday 29th April - Luneside Ladies v Carnforth - 1.30pm
- Luneside B v Quernmore B - 7.00pm
- Luneside A away in Cup if win on 27th
Thursday 30th April - Luneside B v Cumberland - 2.00pm
- Lansil v Luneside A - 2.00pm
- Lune Road C v Luneside C - 7.00pm
Friday 1st May - Social Bowling - 2.00pm
Thursday 14th May - Quiz Night - 7.00pm