BNSC NEWSLETTER

A fine good morning to you all

Finally some respite from the heat wave…and some welcome rain for our parched ground….the grass on our fields has been decidedly “crinkly” underfoot with the sun extracting any moisture that it contained with a vengeance over the last two weeks…Brian and Victor have been trying manfully to water the fields….but by the time it leaves the sprinkler…I think it evaporates…and the ground is as dry as was before…but the rain seems to have brought the necessary nourishment back to the earth…everything smells and looks fresh again…..hopefully this year summer can balance the weather a little better….to have extreme heat-waves and then destructive storms is a really disconcerting mix…..maybe my memory is playing tricks on me….but I seem to remember whilst we had some serious daily heat too…but the clouds used to roll up in the mid to late afternoon for three or four afternoons a week…we would have a joyous thundershower (sometimes even with the old “monkey’s wedding”, as the sun shone brilliantly, while sheets of rain were teeming down to relieve us of the heat) and within half an hour the skies had cleared and we were still able to enjoy a brilliant sunset whilst braai’ing some meat, and / or enjoying a sundowner in the cooler conditions…..but just maybe, my memory has become “selectively biased”….#sheepishgrin#

I saw a sad message from our intrepid City Times journalist Logan….that two of the monstrosities of floodlights at Willowmoore Park were imploded this week….I always thought these bastions of the night, would stand “guard” at the entrance to Benoni down Tom Jones Street forever….sadly my fairy tale does not have a happy ending…..new lights have been erected and the old have to make way for the new….I am sure that almost every single one of our older Benoni residents have at some point in their lives participated under those lights, either running around the track, playing on the fields, shouting at inter high or inter house sports, watched and sang along at a Carols by Candlelight festival…or have some special memory of this wonderful home of sport in Benoni….I am all for improvement for the better….but when I saw Logan’s post, it brought a tear to my eye, as I had some nostalgic recollections of a multitude of memories I had there…..

Back to the festivities at the North over the weekend….cricket is the order of the weekend…with juniors and seniors swelling the numbers at the Club over the weekend….boys having their bit of Friday night fun under lights…while their team mates were polishing up their skills at practice…and their parents were kicking back in the beer garden and under the Bedouin tent….having some cool refreshments to soothe their dry throats….we had the hugely talented Adam from Boycott Ballad serenading the crowd in his own unique style….he does covers of popular songs and really alters them to suit his style….and really owns them….he has built up a solid following of Members (who make sure that they do not miss out on any of his performances)…and they sit often mesmerised, listening to him….we definitely welcome him back when he is able to fit us into his busy schedule….the set of Members draws produced no winners….but the raffle had a popular name in Ralph Cook coming up….while the feeding frenzy for the Joker Draw is starting to occur as the Jackpot approaches the magical six figure number…. The beeeeeg black box is starting to get fuller with tickets…and this week the name pulled out came from the lucky corner…..Alistair’s corner in front of the Joker cabinet ain the Main Bar….Martin Iske had his name selected (and brings hope to Emil, Theo and the handful of regulars in that area, as they believe it is just a matter of time before some of the magic frmm the lucky corner rubs off on them!!)…enough of that now….Martin was most distraught that he had to have his photo taken with me rather than Glenda as it usually is….but he got his ducks in a row pretty quickly….assessed the board….and made his choice….slightly up from centre and second card from the right…..a hushed silence awaited the big reveal…. Martin muttering something about “hurry up you so-and-so”…but I had to draw my moment out a little more…..and turned over the card….to show the Martin and the awaiting crowd….the eight of spades….a short silence while the crowd still held their breath…and then the joyous shouts or delight that the Jackpot is still available for them in the next week… so we are almost at the halfway point….25 cards gone…28 still available….and Jackpot of R93651…..that is a bunch of money that will change quite a few things for the person that walks away the prize…. Join us this week…as the Zimmer Twinz will be entertaining us for the night while our Members and their guests will try to test the lucky stars if they can be our winners for this week….

Our Premier league cricket side took on the might of Springs Old Boys…..Springs won the toss and elected to bat….but did not have the most successful day at the crease…scoring 158 all out after 38 overs….with all of our bowlers sharing in the wickets…even our coach Nic taking one wicket in his four over that he sent down…. In our chase, everyone contributed….with the top score coming from Rian with a solid 50 not out off 44 balls…allowing us to pass their total with still 7 wickets remaining and only half the overs used….so after 6 matches, we are on the crest of the league with 6 wins out of 6….and well ahead of the chasing pack….keep it going chaps…..this weekend we take on United (who currently lie in third position) at the North…..with all the activities on across the road at the ToyRun….we can expect a quietish day out…but I am sure that the numbers will roll in over the course of the afternoon….all the best…..

Last Sunday we hosted a Christmas party for a local childrens home…and it turned out to be a bumper afternoon of frolicking fun for both the Members and the children…..who were taking turns in racing up and down to ensure that they got their opportunity to slip their way down the water slide….from all the shrieks of laughter….it appeared that this should be a permanent fixture on hot and steamy days…… thank you to Adele Steyn for taking the initiative and setting up the day….and to all the volunteers and contributors, who ensured that it would be an afternoon to remember for all the kids….

This weekend, we host the annual Toy Run….which is always a fantastic event….the en masse arrival of the motor cycles from throughout Gauteng….is definitely a sight to behold….all carrying various different sizes and types of Cuddly Toys…. We are privileged that we have been chosen as the preferred hosts…and would like to thanks the Lions and their organising committee for bestowing this honour on us again….thanks to our staff and volunteers that ensure that all the bikers remain hydrated throughout the day…. And to our organiser in chief (and President nogal too) Craig Wittstock, who makes time to head up all the teams and organisation from Benoni Northerns for the day…Thank you Doc….

Our international sides had a great Saturday of results…even our Soccer players coming out with a draw against Nigeria….while the rugby and cricket sides enjoyed wins over Scotland and Australia respectively….and albeit that the rugby win was another close call….I would rather win in a fiercely competed match than come out second…..the cricketers had a fairly comprehensive win against the Aussies…after I initially thought there would be no play due to the rain….it was the first 10 over international match that I have watched….but it was great to beat the Aussies again…well done…

Hope that everyone has a great weekend a super week…take care…contact me on rod.scheepers@gmail.com if you have any suggestions, queries or complaints…

Cheers….see you all soon…Rod

CHILDREN’S HOME XMAS PARTY – Sunday 18th November was a great success and enjoyed by all (Adults included).

  

Thanks to everyone for all the donations, gifts and love that you shared with them.  A BIG THANKYOU to The Main Club for the venue and all of their help and assistance – Adele Keyser-Steyn  

   

Martin Iske (Social) drew the 8 of Spades. Joker Draw now on R93651.00 for Friday 23rd November. Be present to win it.🌮🥗🍻🥂

“ZIMMER TWINZ” WILL BE PLAYING from 18h00 on Friday 23rd November.

 

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ATHLETICS

Entries for the Two Oceans ULTRA marathon on sale 13 November 2018 at 10:00.  Update/create your race profile now to ensure ease of entry.  www.twooceansmarathon.org.za     

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CRICKET

Benoni Northerns U8 Impala vs SOB  –  Two undefeated teams met in the first night game for the season. SOB won the toss and sent Benoni Northerns in to bat. Benoni Northerns ended on 133 for 2 in their allotted overs. SOB down to 96 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs. Another great win for the boys in red and white. Congrats to our players of the game!

  

🏏Senior Cricket Fixtures – 24/25th November🏏Please note that the entrance to the Main Club on Sunday morning will be via the gate by the Cricket Nets.

Good luck to our three ladies representing Benoni Northerns in the Easterns squad against KZN Coastal in KZN.
We know you will make us proud!!
🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏  Lila Nell – Calley Jansen – Alicia Smith Harding

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FOOTBALL

 

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