25 years and counting
Croquet
Medway Croquet Club are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year but are continuing to look for a new home.
Minister for Sport Tracey Crouch was among the guests at their current venue at Cobdown on Saturday to help mark the occasion.
Crouch attended with her four-month-old son Freddy and braved the weather for a game with members and guests.
Chairman Richard Lea said: “Tracey Crouch was sporting and showed herself to be a promising croquet player. It was a great afternoon, despite the weather.”
The club have been longtime residents at the Cobdown Sports & Social Club, which has recently been taken over and rebranded under the K Sports umbrella.
Mr Lea is working on a solution but isn’t concerned over the future of the club, which has been going strong since it was formed by 12 members in Chatham back in 1991.
Medway CC have the use of four lawns and currently have around 50 members.
Mr Lea said: “We have been looking for a new home but it’s not easy and a huge amount of money would be needed as we play on a surface similar to a bowling green.” A location in East Malling got as far as the planning stage but the club failed to gain the grants needed to complete the move.
“We would like to stay here, it’s a beautiful venue,” Mr Lea said.
“We are happy where we are and we aren’t worried.
“We are not sure what the future holds. We haven’t been told we have to move but we haven’t been promised we can stay, either. They want us to keep looking.”
The weekend celebrations were well supported, with croquet luminary Bill Arliss among those invited to attend. An informal game took place followed by cream teas in what was the club’s main event during their anniversary year.
It’s a game Mr Lea admits has got him hooked.
He said: “I am addicted. It’s a wonderful game and I love it. It’s not really a spectator game but it can be competitive.”