Hi all- It's been a while. Here's the news...

Today is possibly the most momentous in the considerable recent history of Phoenix CC. About 10 years ago (John Mullins grey hair may attest to slightly longer) the club set about a Golf Day to raise money to purchase raised (wheeled) covers for the club. These were deemed essential by the LCU at that stage (in a day when they still cared about the development of the clubs in represents). Many fund-raising events went by, almost all with great success, but the raised covers never appeared in Phoenix.

I am delighted to say that today, nay maybe even as we speak, these covers have arrived in the Park and are in the process of being assembled. There is no doubt that these are the way of the future, and will assist greatly in the process of pitch preparation.The Executive have sourced and purchased these from a company that specialise in covers for public parks. They are low profile, so not clearly visible, and are also adapted to be difficult to move once locked together in place. All of these features added to reassure the committee that they were suitable to our surroundings and therefore would be a worthwhile investment.

At the same time we were also able to invest in replacement number boxes for our scoreboard, which sadly fell into a state of some disrepair. I'm sure that Conor and all the other scorers will be delighted not to have to get up on a chair to change the score once we get past 50.... We were also able to purchase a mobile net that can be used for middle practices and other features.

Of course that investment does not come cheap. In fact, at the moment, the club does not immediately have the resources to pay for these investments.  However the Executive has taken a leap of faith that the members will  support these improvements to the club by way of paying their  subscriptions (not optional), by supporting upcoming fund-raising social  events (slightly less not optional) and by taking part in the upcoming 5K  FunRun challenge (not optional for all that can walk or run).

Subscriptions are due by all at this stage and if the notion of a grilling from Treasurer Jonty Wardell doesn't strike you down with fear, let me tell you that he has recruited Lee Bradley as his Rottweiler. If the notion of Lee on your doorstep at 5 in the morning looking for a cheque doesn't worry you then you should volunteer to help!

The fund-raising committee, spearheaded by Frank Flanagan and David Ford, have put in place a series of methods of assisting you in contributing to the club and you should have already received details from them directly. If you have not then please let us know. In the near future there is a major social/fund raising Pig Roast and BBQ. This is on the 26th of July and there are a variety of events and attractions on the day. Tickets are available from any member of the Executive or from David or Frank directly. Please do support these events, they are vital to the continued development of the club.

Oh, we also play cricket as well !!!

Things haven't been great on the field so far, with a combination of below par performances and bad luck not helping. In the near future there are a couple of highlights: On Monday night the 4th XI continue their defence of the Whelan Cup with a semi-final at home to Rush. On Tuesday night the 1st XI visit our near neighbours Old Belvedere to contest their 20 over cup with a place in the Semi Finals up for grabs. Please do support these and all cricket events.

The 1st XI match on Tuesday was originally scheduled to be played tomorrow, Thursday, but was postponed as a mark of respect to the late John Wright, who died yesterday. John was a huge servant of the game in this country and will be missed by all. The condolences of the club have already been passed to those closest to him in his beloved Malahide CC.

Regards,

Kevin Gallagher

Hon Secretary