Mersey Bowmen Tennis Club

On the first day of Christmas, the Bowmen gave to me...

2010-12-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

... frolics at the MB parteeeeeee!
Folks, don't forget that this Saturday (11th) heralds the MB Festive Frolics, from 8:00 at the club (there's an invite attached below). We'll strut the night away to Swingology, and have a hearty feast of food and drink too. If you're planning on coming along, please let Sue know. We'd also be ever so grateful if you'd bring some scran as a contribution - even if you just roll through the door with a packet of cheesy Wotsits it'll be much appreciated (and I for one'll be a happy girl...)

On the second day of Christmas the Bowmen gave to me, free cash in the MB kitty...
Last minute Christmas shoppers ahoy... If you sign up for EasyFundraising (via http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mbltc), 15% of the total value of your purchase is donated to the MB. For nada. Nottin'. Just sitting on yer er5e and clicking 'click'. So, if you're buying from any of 200 stores and websites, including Amazon, Argos, M&S, eBay and John Lewis, they'll chuck back 15% of your prezzie price into the MB pot. Please tell your friends, family and any other shopaholics you know too, and we'll be building a superbowl stylee stadium and six lane motorway access through the Seffy Park lake before you know it. Happy shopping! As if you needed an excuse ;-)

On the third day of Christmas the Bowmen gave to me, croquet in a style com-e-dy*
Scratch this in your brand shiny new 2011 diary... A day of mulled wine, Scouse, chilli, croquet and fresh air to blow the new year cobwebs away. It'll be on Sunday 2nd January from around 11am, running into candle-lit (and quite possibly double-vision handicapped) croquet by the end of the day, as James has invented a croquet hook candlestick holder doncha know - which will be tastefully packaged and available for sale soon from JML, Wilkinsons and selected branches of the Asda soon. Or maybe not. But one way or t'other, it'll be a day with a difference, lots of fun, plenty of warming wine and absolutely no expectation of technical ability or finesse (*although I mentioned 'comedy croquet' to James, which was apparently a bad choice of words. He's rather good at it.) So, gather friends and family and bring them down for a bit of a do. We're also working on a 'crazy croquet' brand, complete with ornamental windmills, for future play......... All will be revealed in good time.

Commitment shy?

2010-12-09T07:10:00.001-08:00

Well, me too, but sometimes saying 'yes' just feels nice. And we've still got a couple of outstanding positions on the committee this year; social secretary and pavilion person are still up for grabs, as is the role of the ladies' captain. So, if you'd like to get involved and have your say in how the club's run - and who turns out on the courts - then let us know. Not that we're at all bored of each others' company (although we've run out of variations on our limited repertoire of tennis-related innuendoes...) but we'd really like to encourage some newer members onto the committee. Come on board, join us... It's not too onerous - we have about four or five committee meetings a year, plus the AGM, and have got some really important and exciting decisions to make at the mo, which will decide the future direction of the Bow Hoes.

2010-12-09T07:09:00.001-08:00

2010-12-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

Remember remember, the 5th November

2010-12-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

OK, so the last thing we'd want to see is a lick of flames anywhere in the vicinity of the mighty Bow, and it's been a while since we burned any effergies of dissenters (although it's a trend I can see making a comeback), but Bommie Night's a Friday this year, so we'll be throwing the doors open and making the most of the best spot in the park. Fireworks will be lighting up the sky from 7:30, so come down to the MB first, keep warm, sup some hot wine or soup and make the most of our location, location, location.

World Cup feevah

2010-05-27T03:04:00.000-07:00

Drink beer from lunchtime, let your work attendance plummet and watch England lose on a penalty shoot out. Must be World Cup time. And now you can speculate on the outcome of every game-of-two-halves/Christmas-tree formation/totally-against-the-run-of-play-goal/good touch for a tall fella/*insert your own cliche here* at the World Cup. Absolutely no footie knowledge is required (boys, you know who you are) for our World Cup competition, so please get 'em out there and get guessing.

It's really quite simple - you predict who's gonna win what, for every group game and the knock-out stages, and tot up points along the way. And then - if you're any good - you'll earn yourself some cash.

Entry's £4 each, and the more people we get involved, the more money there'll be in the prize kitty. Half of the cash goes to the MB, and the other half all goes back in out in the way of prizes. So get your workmates/ friends/ family/ on the case.... Please email me at fiona@capsica.net for a (pretty-self-explanatory) spreadsheet of all of the games - entries need to be received by June 10th pleez.

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Liverpool style

2010-05-27T02:59:00.002-07:00

Now, it can't have escaped your notice how manicured the grass is looking, and you might have spied an assortment of hefty new implements neatly lined up in the clubhouse. That's because we're welcoming our sister act, the Liverpool Croquet Crew, aboard the Good Ship Bowmen. Because if it's good enough for Wimbledon, it's good enough for the Bowmen. So croquet will soon be played on our manicured lawns - mainly on afternoons in the week I believe, which generally means there'll be more people around down at the club, which should help keep things busy and lively and secure.

James has been slogging away for hours getting the pitches up to scratch - the area's just been reseeded, and over the next few days fertiliser will be going down. It's going to be cordoned off to give it a chance to all start bloomin', but please make sure that you don't walk on any of the bits which are marked out - you'll get some nasty cross-contamination with the chemicals, and it's pretty nasty stuff whether you're a weed or not. So if you handle anything that's been on the ground, pleez wash your hands before eating / drinking / licking your fingers (or anything else you've exposed to it).

Bowmen members are of course invited to play, although I'm not sure swearing's allowed in croquet (just me then?!), and we look set to get a good few new members via the Croquet Crew, which all helps secure the club's future. And by the Bank Holiday play will be ready to commence. So if you fancy swinging a mallet instead of a racket, pop down this weekend and give it a whirl/ twirl/ hurl - James will be organising taster sessions for all MB members, so make sure you take the chance to try it out...

You can see more details at www.liverpoolcroquet.co.uk

Summer dreams, ripped at the seams?

2010-05-27T02:59:00.001-07:00

Con-Dem-nation, England underperforming in the World Cup, the wettest summer since - ooh, last summer?? So they might not ALL happen, but you can cheer yourself up by getting your sticky summery mitts on some mega prizes in the MB summer draw, including a mega Canon Ixus digital camera, Ralph Lauren clothing, a digital radio, swanky new haircut or a stack of vino. Meryl's been busy organising quality prizes, and is the person you need to speak to to get hold of books of tickets (merylk@talktalk.net) Tickets are £1 each - needless to say, the more you buy, the greater your chance, and the more money we make for the Bow. Perfecto!

Sunday Symphony

2010-05-27T02:56:00.000-07:00

The world-famous Crosby Symphony Orchestra are playing at the Phil on Sunday 11th July, with a little bit of Dvorak, Britten and Elgar for your delectation. Ken Dodd will be narrating the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, and the rest of the choices are also accessible, lively and fun... We'll get £5 for every ticket we sell, so if you fancy going along, or have got your eye on a gap in the market to sell tickets to, please contact the man with the plan, Guy Soulsby, at g.p.soulsby@blueyonder.co.uk.

Read all abaht it, read all abaht it.......

2010-03-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

People. After hours (and yes, I really do mean HOURS) of committee fun this week, it appears there're a few things goin' dahn which we should tell you about. So, here goes....

We'll be having another swash-buckling Kenny-from-South-Park-meets-Andy-meatloaf-Roddick American tournie on Saturday 27th March to get everyone in the mooooood for the new season. There'll be more details about it in the impending-wait-fer-it-wait-fer-it-ooh-the-anticipation-NEW-SEASON newsletter, but if you fancy wielding a racket like a lightsaber, drop me an email and I'll put you on one of me lists.

And to our next item.

Following the increased numbers of ragamuffins and urchins in the park in the wake of 2009's recession-induced rutting season, there are lots of eagle-eyed CityWatch types on patrol. And seeing as they've had some complaints about the number of cards in the park, we thought it was our duty to remind you that you can only park on the left hand side (as you drive towards the club), and you need to make sure you've got your hazards on when entering the park. Parking permits also run out at the end of the month, and you won't get a new one until you've paid up and filled in a new membership form for 2010. And here ends the lesson.

You might also like to know that there'll be an outdoorsy clean-up of the courts and grounds will be on April 10th, and will once again include a tasty lunch. But we'd like to reassure all members that there's no truth in the rumours that it'll be made entirely from things that grow around the clubhouse.

And you should have also heard on the jungle drums that team practices start tomorrow. Yes, that's TOMORROW (Saturday 13th), from 1pm. Be there, or be consigned to the annals of H.I.S.T.O.R.Y.

And finally.....

If you're not already hard at it, pleez keep on collecting Echo Wish tokens. We're doin' OK, can still do better.... Meryl is our coordinator extraordinaire, so if you've been foraging the wilds of Echo-land, please let Meryl know (merylk@talktalk.net) so she can take them off your hands.

Start buying the Echo today to win MB cash...

2010-02-14T23:45:00.000-08:00

The Echo's Wish campaign starts today, with tokens being printed every day for the next eight weeks, until April 9th. Mersey Bowmen has been accepted into the pot... Now all we need to do is start collecting tokens. So please ask your friends, family and colleagues to start stockpiling tokens for you.

There's £50,000 up for grabs, which is allocated depending on the number of tokens we collect - the more we get, the bigger our share of the pie. We've got eight weeks to collect as many tokens as possible, with the cash we raise going towards work on the clubhouse, so we can increase Ritchie's coaching programme.

Any questions, give me a shout. You can email me at fiona@capsica.net...

In the meantime, if we can rally as many people as possible to start collecting tokens for us, and hang on to them for now - Meryl Kelbrick is collecting them for the MB, so we'll also update you and tell you about the best way of getting them to her. Or you can just follow the instructions in the Echo. Thanks folks!

2009-11-13T01:42:00.000-08:00

The MB Christmas Draw this year features slap up din dins for two at eight Lark Lane restaurants – Elif, Maranto's, Pablo's, Pistachio, Que Pasa, Red Fort, Romios, and the Moon and Pea have donated prizes. The tickets are printed and ready for the hard sell from members, your families and friends... Let's make a whack of money to put towards the refurb' of the clubhouse. Ticket books are available from Meryl, who'll be peddling them down at the club this weekend (14th/15th Nov); they're being sold at £1 each in books of ten....

If you can't make it down this weekend, just shout and we'll get some over to you.

Gunpowder, treason and plot: Bommy night at da Bow

2009-11-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

Bommy Night at the Bow will be providing shelter, sustenance and sparkling facilities around Seffy Park's annual fireworks display this Thursdee, November 5th. 2009's spangly spectacular will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landings. Space, sky, rockets... It all fits, see. Clever old Liverpool City Council - see what they did there?! A specially-orchestrated firework display will be set to what VisitLiverpool.com teasingly describes as 'space-themed music'. Hmm. We just hope it's one space-themed playlist Babylon Zoo have been omitted from. Wrap up in tin foil for extra excitement, and hit the park with family and friends from about 6:30pm. The Bow will be a simmering cauldron (oops, wrong celebration...) of seasonal smells, with soup, pizzas, cake and mulled wine on the go. And, probably, Walking on the Moon at some point.

MB Autumn Open Day

2009-10-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

The MB Autumn Open Day, will be setting out its wholesome homemade stall this Sunday, from 12 noon. Bring your kids, mums, dads, friends, foes.... press-ganged-loafers-frequenting-pubs-before-the-sun's-reached the yard-arm-on-the-holy-day for an afternoon of tennis, fun games and tasty food. Bring a racket with you or borrow one from the club. We're easy. Obviously. Hurry on down while the sun's shining, the leaves are falling from the trees and it's clear, crisp and chilly out there.

Get a bunk up on the winter ladder

2009-10-05T02:36:00.000-07:00

Remember, if you want to play in the winter ladder you need to let me know as we'll be setting it all up soon.... Just email me back and tell me who you wanna play with. So to speak. And the rest will happen, as if by magic. It's £3 to enter per person, as there'll be prizes on offer at the end of the season. There'll also be a monthly social evening so everyone can get together, eat some tasty food, have a few jars and admire the recently-rediscovered cleanliness and cosiness of Club MB. You know you want it.

2009-10-05T02:34:00.000-07:00

1. 2009 AGM
The date: October 8th
The time: 7:30pm
The place: Club MB

It's THAT time of year. The MBAGM. You'll get to hear about funding opportunities, coaching, clubhouse plans, the teams and all sorts of other nuggets of interesting info. Be there, or we'll talk about you...

And there are still a couple of places unfilled on the committee - namely secretary and social secretary (although of course you're welcome to put yourself forward for any position on the committee. Full job descriptions are up on the noticeboard in the club) - it's the only club to be a member of, kids. Job descriptions follow, so if either of them are roles that you think might be right up your street, read on.

Those committee job descriptions...
Secretary:
- Coordinate the convening of all regular committee meetings. Which are FUN.
- Coordinate the convening of the club AGM and providing an agenda and previous minutes.
- Take minutes at committee meetings and the AGM.
- Liaise with the Club Membership Secretary to keep an up-to-date members address list.
- Be the main official club contact person for all external correspondence coming to the club.
- Receive external mail and liaise with relevant committee members.
- Ensure any relevant notices about tournaments and events are displayed on the notice boards so Mersey Bowmen can complete a clean sweep of the Parks tournie (and the rest) next year too...
- Apply for annual club Wimbledon tickets, organise the ticket draw and keep records of ticket holders in line with LTA regulations.
- Be responsible for the notice boards in the clubhouse, removing out of date notices and updating displays when relevant with pretty pictures and the odd incriminating photo
- Help make sure that players using the club are members, and are adhering to club rules.
- A pencil skirt is not required, and thoughts of Maggie Gyllenhall in darkly er0t1c James Spader films are not necessarily accurate. But might be encouraged...

Social secretary:
- Be responsible for organising club social events and advertise to the membership. Lots of drinking and dancing. Beer. Basically.
- Maximise the fundraising and profit element at all planned social events/functions (provide lots of beer)
- Coordinate the roles and responsibilities of committee members, and others, in the planning and running of social events and functions (to buy, sell, fetch and carry beer)
- Explore and coordinate potential sponsorship possibilities for social and other organised events (esp. with organisations which might provide beer)

The Finals Day bandwagon rolls into town

2009-09-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

I'm sure it goes without saying that you've all got Finals Day scribbled in your diaries in big red letters for this Saturday, and have been awaiting it with rampant anticipation. So with only 50 nailbiting hours to go until kick off, here's a bit more info for you....

Matches will be starting at 12, so pleez make sure you're ready to play, lend your most vocal support or stare intently at the lines. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that there are some new faces amongst the finalists, alongside the old stalwarts of the fair game, so come down and give them a cheer...

Order of play will be:
12:00 Men's singles & Ladies' singles
1:30/2:00 Men's doubles & Ladies' doubles
3:30/ 4:00 Mixed doubles

We'll be having a party tea throughout the afternoon, so if everyone who's coming down can bring something to chip in, that'd be great... Sarnies, cakes, sickly sausage rolls. La la la. Then we'll be doing a big fat barbeque from 7:30, so make sure you're around for that... And - oh - there just happens to be a Liverpool tea time kick-off at 5:30pm which we had to ask them to reschedule around our finals, so you don't need to miss a thing. Presentations will take place in the evening once everyone's suitably well oiled and rowdy. Come and join the party!

And, dare I say it? We're due some sunshine, although scorchio it won't be, so a few layers might come in handy...

If you've got time on your hands then both quarter finals and a couple of semis are being played dow at the club over the next couple of nights, so have a stroll down and take a look.

Davis Cup arrives in Liverpool

2009-09-10T03:48:00.001-07:00

Team GB's (that's Great Britain, not Team Gary Burns - although it's an easy mistake to make...) tie against Poland in the Davis Cup comes to Liverpool for the first time ever in the event's history next week. NEXT WEEK. We (!) are playing Poland in the Euro/Africa Group I tie from 18th to 20th September at the Echo Arena.

Davis Cup captain John Lloyd, said: 'Liverpool is a fantastic city with a rich sporting pedigree and I’m very excited to be taking the tie to the Northwest. That Mersey Bowmen is a cracking club and I'm thinking of calling up a few of their players. They really are something else. I am delighted that the city is so keen to host what will be a difficult tie for us and we will need the support of a vocal crowd if we are going to maintain our place in Group 1 in 2010.' Or did he?

The stats tell us that the tie'll be played on an indoor hard court with an arena capacity of 4,000 to 5,000... We've played Poland seven times in the Davis Cup and won all of the previous ties. Oops. And the last tie was held in Poland in 1991 with Great Britain coming out on top 4-1. Ken Skupski (of Palmerston fame) is in the GB squad, so for all of you out there who beat him when he was four, it's your chance to brag about glory days against a Davis Cup player.

Tickets are still available from the Liverpool Echo Arena Box Office on 0844 8000 400 and online at www.echoarena.com and I think British Tennis Members may even be able to get a discount...

It's YOUR MBC

2009-09-10T03:46:00.000-07:00

Your MB needs you:
26th September: is the day of the MB clubhouse clean-up, from 11am. Please come along and wield a hoover, duster or make yerself useful and put the kettle on. By the end of the sesh we're sure the club'll be clean enough to eat your tea off the floor (although someone else can test the theory) so please come along and chip in. I'd almost go so far as suggesting it'll be fun, but can confirm it will be followed by the summer's final fling of tennis in the afternoon sun, and.....

....... the comedy-dancing, eccentric food and tennis-people-looking-very-strange-stripped-of-their-trackies that is the League Dinner. Making its debut at the Liverpool Marina this year, go along to whoop and cheer the clever folk who won things in the league and cups this season. Sadly I can't go, because, er, I've got plans (KAZIMIER, KAZIMIER, KAZIMIER!!) but if you'd like to go, or even organise the MB delegation minibus, then feel free... Nuff said, it's a cracker of a night.

Then...
8th Oct: is the uber-informative AGM. Which will take place in the clubhouse. Very clean clubhouse. And tell you all about funding, plans for the club, the teams' performances, our new coaching programme, a bit of financial chit-chat and other Bow banter. Can't wait? Put it in your diary now - always fond of a cliche, it's YOUR chance to find out what's going on at YOUR club, and YOUR chance to get involved and make a difference. Remember kids, this isn't the BBC, this is the MBC.

8th October will also be the last date you can sign up for the winter ladder, which will run throughout the bright sunshine and frosty mornings of winter until March next year, when Bow Boot Camp begins for pre-season. Matches can be played at your leisure, at a venue of your choice - under floodlights, indoors, at the Bow in a sunny Satdee afternoon - as long as it's keeping you playing and socialising. It's a ladder, so pairs of all abilities are welcome. You're not going to be finding yourselves playing someone 1000 times better - or 1000 times worse than you - as ladders let you bob around and find your own level. Clever, eh?! We'd prefer mixed pairs, please, as it includes the greatest number of members, but don't be shy, grab a partner, and sign on the line... If you're already raring to go, drop me an email saying you'd like to play, your partner's name, shoe size and favourite colour and we'll dust that list off.

We'll also be having a monthly social night at the club - probably on Thursdays, but feel free to suggest - when we'll whip up some food and get everyone to congregate for a bit of scran and a few beers and some truly enlightening tennis talk. Ahem.

The winner takes it all

2009-08-31T03:09:00.000-07:00

The club tournie is go go... The entrants have thrown down the gauntlet and the draw has been made. It's on the noticeboard in the clubhouse, so pleez go and have a look, see who you're doing battle with and let the games commence.

Each round has a play-by date so we can keep proceedings chipping along at a decent pace, so keep an eye on them. All play-by dates are weekends and Wednesday evenings - we'll have the bar open in the club so come down and play, or come down and watch some most excellent tennis, and we'll ply you with tinnies.

And Saturday 19th September is Finals Day, so don't forget to put that in your diary - biryani, barbeques and beers. Bargain...

Yee-Haw

2009-08-31T03:08:00.000-07:00

Big thanks go to everyone who played, panted and prayed for sunshine in the YouEssAye-YouEssAye-RIPTeddyKennedy-HotDog Open last weekend; we'll be doing another one soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Congratulations to our victorious champs Jeremy Nicholls and Tony Horton, and to our plucky finalists, Galia Piunovskaya and Adam Vaughan...

cHiCkEnStOcK

2009-08-13T02:48:00.000-07:00

This Saturday • from 7pm • £4 • beers; bands; barbeque
tickets from Greendays cafe (Lark Lane) or on the door...
Pete Bentham & the Dinner Ladies • Voo • Emily & the Faves • The Haunted Swing • Bernie Connor (DJ)

Team MB; team MB - it's time to kiss the badge, kids

2009-08-07T03:48:00.000-07:00

We have a limited (and therefore very special edition) number of Mersey Bowmen t-shirts left, in sizes small, medium and large. If you'd like to turn out in official Bow colours this season, email me back and stating which size you'd like, and we'll put one to one side for you. First come, first served (no dodgy tennis pun intended......

It's CHICKENSTOCK - the Dinner Ladies' Rock 'n' roll picnic

2009-08-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

If you didn't make Glasto this year - and, let's face it, it was MuddEE - rock off to Chickenstock at the MB on August 15th; Pete Bentham and the Dinner ladies are topping the bill, supported by VOO + EMILY & THE FAVES + THE HAUNTED SWING, while one Bernie Connor (he used to DJ at Eric's, you know) will be doin' the mixing. And there's a barby. And a bar full of beer. Tickets are selling fast at the bargain price of £4, so snap 'em up now if you want one. Speak to Stevie B to get your hands on a ticket - his email address is sjb1@talktalk.net or give him a call. Have a look at: http://www.myspace.com/petebenthamandthedinnerladies

The ticker-tape-tastic MB American Open is on August 22nd

2009-08-07T03:40:00.001-07:00

Instead of our traditional mid-August finals day, we'll be playing an American Open tournament. It's open to current and former members alike, and anyone you fancy bringing down to impress/ sell into Bow-slavery or dish out a sound thrashing to, so invite friends, family and frenemies... We'll be playing a round-robin format - pairs'll picked out of a hat to ensure that you're all as equal as possible, and we'll play a semi-final and final at the end of the day.

It'll be £5 per person to enter and lunch will be provided... please email me to enter - you don't need a partner, all pairs will be picked at random on the day. All comers welcome.

In return we promise you cheesy USA-USA prizes, hot dogs, star-spangled banners galore and the right to life (you see, no getting knocked out in the first round here...), liberty to express yourself with a bat and the pursuit of happiness on a tennis court. But not to bear arms. Or bare arms. One of the two...

A club tournament with more than 33% of the club's players in it? Never...

2009-08-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

Well well well... In a controversial yet decisive move, we've decided not to play the club tournament next month, but to move it to September. We obviously have far too many members with time to play with and money to burn, as approximately half the club is away for most of August. Instead, we're going to start the tournament on the Bank Holiday weekend, as it just doesn't seem right to be giving out the tupperware when so many of our much-loved players can't, actually, play (much as I have been a beneficiary of this in the past ;) ) The deadline for entries is Friday 28th August at 6pm when we'll do the draw, and you can start playing any time you like after that (you don't need to be here for the Bank Holiday weekend to enter the tournie.)

So if you thought you couldn't play and fancy it now, please put your name down now. You can email me, or stick it on the list in the clubhouse. Once again for the record: men's singles, ladies' singles, men's doubles, ladies' doubles, mixed doubles. Finals Day will be September 19th, so please make sure you're around for that. We'll be having a bit of a do...