A very good morning to you all….

As we approach the “happy” time of the year for most….kids are ecstatic that school has broken up…and now they can frolic in the pool or laze in the lounge….parents are waiting for the day that their break also begins…whether they are travelling or staying home…the expectation of “time off” is always a catalyst to get the adrenalin pumping….I really enjoy this time of the year….while some people are frantically trying to get everything done before the deadline day…. others are coasting their way through to the allotted time….whichever category you fall into, I hope that your December is one of the joyous and merry times that it is meant to be…..

With most of our year behind us, we only really have the final games of the year left for the tennis, baseball and cricket sections…and with the last few days approaching of Athletics “10 in 10” (where these mad people complete 10 kilometre runs for 10 days in a row)…I heard from one of the contestants that it has been really difficult to motivate after the first day or two….so there could be some serious drinking penalties for those who have written in and not completed the tasks at hand….

BNAC’s Junior Section receiving sponsorship from Nike- South Africa. Thank you Nike for your support in our Development in the running of Track, Field and Cross Country Codes.

The final thrust for the year on the Athletics front is Richards Pub run….which has changed a little over the years….but has now settled itself at the Benoni Country Club…with all competitors running inside the grounds of the golf course and are not subjected to the madness on our roads….last year this was a lovely event….so please join the runners/walkers on Wednesday 11th….from 17h30……..I may just have to dust off my “takkies” and see if I can pace myself through this event….I may have to start a little earlier than everyone to ensure that I finish on time…..so hopefully I will see you there….it will be a blast..

I was able to join the social section at their annual fund raiser…the golf day with a difference at the Police Mashee Course near the North…. Always a fun day with an American Scramble as the format of play…..it allows players like me to be able to participate and feel as though they are contributing (even though it was probably only a few putts)…and there was plenty of laughter and camaraderie on the course…not just in our four-ball….but I heard the laughter resounding around each of the sets of players that we passed along the way…….and despite playing for the best part of 5 hours on the day….I can’t remember who the winners were…personally I think we were all winners to have braved getting up at the crack of dawn to “jaag” a little white ball around the course brandishing a bag full of steel weapons with an odd shapes ….but I am certain that everyone had a great day as I did…..well done to Mark and his team on another wonderful and successful golf day….

I am pleased to announce that our cricketers were able to break their losing streak on Sunday, coming home with a four wicket win in the local derby against Actonville Spurs (on a traditionally difficulty “Lords” track)…..and with Kurt winning the toss…he decided not to listen to WG and asked the opposition to bat…..but having Lance in top form, our opposition were in immediate trouble at 19/3….a position from which they were never able to fully recover…and lost wickets regularly to post a total of 136 after 41 overs….with our very fragile history on chasing in the last few weeks, it would be an uphill task….and we didn’t set the world alight in the run chase….with our top score coming from our number 7 Leonard who notched up a brisk 32 off only 24 balls….to get us passed the target for the loss of 6 wickets….I am sure that everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief to be able to come back to the club with a win under their belts….And with a bit of a break in the fixtures now….it means that all the players can have a breather and get adjusted and ready for the 2^nd half of the season in the new year…..

At the start to our weekend….we had Black and Blue as our entertainment…..and as always their performance was impeccable….some fantastic covers had the crowd baying for more as the evening ended too quickly…this week we welcome back some of our old campaigners…the Zimmer Twinz, who now appear to have become a Twio, as Eileen makes more appearances as a permanent rather than a guest…this welcome addition has allowed a greater range of music played….please come along and enjoy the evening with us…

Our Joker draw was given a further week without the Joker as Richard MacKinnen had his first chance at doing the selection….and despite the beginners luck of being chosen out of the beeeg black box…..he was only able to choose the nine of Clubs from the face down cards…..another week of reprieve for those wishing it was their chance at finding the Joker…. with the Jackpot jumping up a little more this week we can expect more people coming to try their luck as we have R105645 up for grabs….please be here before 19h15 on Friday to buy your tickets and then stay for the 19h30 draw as we seek our another person to try their luck at finding the elusive joker….

The wonderful rain has brought a little welcome relief from the oppressive heat that we were experiencing for the last few weeks… that does not auger well for our sports people over this weekend…let us be hopeful that the weather breaks in order to allow everyone to play their game…..   

We have had a fairly busy time over the past few weeks…and that has allowed the building contractors some time to get stuck into the renovations…which are now coming along very nicely and I cannot believe how large the Ladies bar appears already…this is going to make a fantastic change to this area….it is no longer going to be a bar of two areas….and I think in winter that this could possibly be the bar of choice, with the welcome fire now having access all around it…I am really looking forward to the finished product…I can’t wait….in addition the committee room and storage areas are also nearing completion….I know that my staff are really happy about the improved access and capacity of the store rooms…and I know that there will be plenty of interest and bookings for the new and upgraded committee room that is starting to look really awesome…..

Please remember to let me know by email if you have any good or bad news to bring to my attention….please send it to rod.scheepers@gmail.com…

Have a super weekend Rod