As most of you are aware Jan & Mike were caught in the Covid 19 lockdown as they were about to leave for their new home in Hastings.
Unfortunately this meant that as a Club we were unable to give them the fitting farewell we intended, and unable to honour them for being such wonderful members of our Club.
Mike joined the club in 2008, was on the Executive for seven or eight years as Midweek Tournament Manager, was on both the Bowls & Greens committee and was Health & Safety officer. More importantly, he was our go to, fix it and maintenance man. There was nothing in the too hard basket with Mike, as a ‘Mr Fix it’ he could always devise a way to overcome any problem.
Mike took on the role of coaching the Kelston Boys High School bowling team as they prepared for their annual Collegiate tournaments and, along with Jan, always made themselves available for our ‘Have a Go’ days, and for green hire events where we needed hands on deck to provide coaching and encourage new people into the game. The feedback we got proved that they did an excellent job and made all visitors feel welcome.
Jan joined the club in 2011 as a First Year player (if you can’t beat them, join them) and it wasn’t too long before she joined the Executive taking on the job of Welfare Officer, which she did with great compassion. Jan brought a breath of fresh air to meetings, not afraid of letting her views be known and putting her hand up whenever required.
With her background in banking, Jan was the perfect person to slip into doing the early morning cash ups as our older members retired, at times doing six or seven mornings a week until we recruited a few more volunteers .
It was fortunate for us that Jan was unable to walk past a weed, and so spent many hours on our lovely gardens, dead heading, weeding, pruning and planting, with Mike often helping out and carting weeds and clippings away.
Other talents included quilt making for member’s children or grandchildren, and jams and chutneys would often turn up for members or the trading table.
Jan & Mike played both weekend and midweek bowls and, as such, were an important go between for both facets of the club. They enjoyed playing in and had many successes in all interclub, championships and tournaments.
We have all enjoyed their companionship and friendship, we don’t know how we will be able to replace them, but we wish them both all the best for this next step in their lives.
