Warm greetings from the North to you all

As we approach the end of the month of September, I am left with the thought that even Mother Nature has been confused in 2020….after a damp start to our official Spring month…we have not seen another drop of rain since and the earth is crying out for some relief….the sprinkling of green that appeared….has since faded and waned a little….but there is a promise by the weather forecasters that the start to the new month will bring some relief from the oppressive heat and lack of rain….this is one summer that even the cricketers are not complaining about the possibility of rain…..the sports people, of course, have plenty of reason not to be happy….in that their beloved sports have been withheld, pending the decisions of the COVID steering committee that has been appointed…..making them miss their weekly fix of exercise and camaraderie…. As the sands of time inexorably pass though the hour glass (hmmmmm, where have I heard that before), we are getting closer to the allowing of sports at an amateur level again…..

I still get a weird sensation on the weekends when I drive to and past the North….and there are not masses of cars around and people in matching clothing running frantically around the fields….the shrieks of laughter associated with the scheduled sport…. the happy smiling faces of competitors, whether they have won or lost their encounter… the constant gurgle of conversation around the beer garden…and the clinking of glasses with some spontaneous singing of songs and giggles of laughter….hopefully they will allow sport to return soon, that we can have our “home” back….

This has definitely been a very strange year and one that I definitely do not want repeated…..

Since we have been allowed back at the North, we have started the Joker draw again each Friday since resumption….and whilst Enrique couldn’t believe his luck at being drawn two weeks out of three…..his ability at finding the joker was no better than anyone else….so this week sees our draw up at R66876….this draw has now gone through 13 weeks and thus have 40 cards still available to choose from ….tickets are on sale until 19h15 on Fridays in the Hall…..with the draw taking place at 19h30….I would like to thank our loyal Friday regulars for their support…..but there is always more place for our friends to join us to celebrate the start of the weekend…..legislation has been altered regarding numbers that can be accommodated at the Club….so please join us on Friday and let us welcome the weekend in….

On Sunday we will be having the London Marathon on the big screen in the hall (and on most televisions in the bar areas too)…..this promises to be an epic challenge between some of the quickest runners in the world…and I am sure that it will be a memorable day….so come along and join us as we have a bring and braai to celebrate this fantastic event…..
I need to pass on my sincere appreciation to everyone who has participated in the Staff challenge….this has raised almost R80 thousand and is being distributed to our staff as grocery vouchers every two weeks and will continue into the new year….thank you so much to make the lives of these fantastic humans a little easier in these trying times….also, my thanks and gratitude to Brett Kree for the smart foot sanitiser now being used at the entrance of the Club….and to Squire for his generous cleaning donation too….

Please remember to keep checking our social media platforms for any changes in Club operating hours in line with new government legislation…

As we move into the easing of regulations….we still need to be aware that the virus has not disappeared as yet….and we still need to be responsible and effective at social distancing, sanitisation and the wearing of masks…. For the first year in many years, I did not experience a cold or flu this year, so the inconvenience of washing hands and the mask have held an advantage for me in this regard…

Hopefully I will get to see you all soon….

Take care and stay safe
Rod