Clubhouse Corner - 14th October 2020

The latest updates from the SHC clubhouse, including details on this weekend's match teas...

Well that was a week! What a team! …No, not the Cobras, although they think they are special, not the Ladies 7s who are quite often a bit special, not even the M1 who we all know are very special.

The team I'm referring to is your management team - every single person involved in the running of the club is pulling out all the stops in order to ensure your training and weekend fixtures happen, not just safely but in the case of this weekend, at all.

After the electrics failed on Wednesday, we had the fuse ordered on Thursday and replaced on Friday morning but it blew straight away and after much scratching of heads and talk of rerouting power from the rest of Sugden Road, at 7pm on Friday it looked as though we may have only four of Saturday’s 12 matches on. In the space of seven days we went from too much water which saw Fred and Powders don their wellies to get the pumps going, to no water on either pitch and lights only on P2. For those unaware the cause of the power outage was the deterioration of the 3-phase electrical cable which feeds (or not as the case may be) the P1 floodlights and watering system.

After scenes akin to the final of The Apprentice we managed to source a generator on Friday evening for delivery on Saturday morning where John Angus (our acclaimed spark) was poised and ready to hook Jenny up. Hey presto, we had power. The sighs of relief were audible even above Jenny's incredibly loud drone. Replacing the cable is going to be disruptive & expensive but obviously necessary. If this is your area of expertise please get in touch.

After all that what could possibly go wrong with the rest of the weekend? ‘Wifi' I hear you cry? Indeed we struggled with the card machines on Saturday and Sunday so thank you for your patience. We have the tech team on this and should be sorted by next weekend. 

Despite everything it was a great weekend from the clubhouse side of things and the addition of Elisa waiting on everyone for their post match teas made a huge difference to the speed and quality of service. I am hoping she was not too fazed and will be back with us next Saturday. Thanks to Oli who resembled a chimney sweep by the end of Saturday having spent all day behind the BBQ, and Hugh and Debbie who kept the kitchen churning out the meals. A few figures for you if you're remotely interested: you ate 65kg of chicken and drank 654 pints, 186 shots and 1 can of Sprite.

Thanks to Liselle for sorting the booking system for Saturday’s first team games, we probably had the right numbers in order to maintain social distancing. For those that think it’s just me talking balderdash and enjoying having a moan at people, the Police really do have the powers to immediately close down any venue that it considers is not taking all the right precautions with regards to the Covid regulations. With this in mind we will now be calling last orders at 9pm on Saturdays with last orders at 9.20pm, this is earlier than we need to by law but is necessary as it is apparent that once a bit sozzled the ability to follow very simple instructions diminishes greatly among hockey players.

The last word this week goes to masks. While I hoped the message had got through by now it would appear that some of you believe you are impervious and while I hope that's true a mask is not for your benefit - you are wearing it to protect everyone else.

Please stick to the rules, stay safe and be kind.

This Week’s Match Teas Menu

• Herby chicken & mushroom pasta
• Squash & sweet potato pasta with crispy sage & brown butter
• Garlic bread
• Crispy Salad

Match Tea Schedule - Saturday 17th October

• 11.30am: M5 vs Leatherhead M1
• 12pm: L9 vs Wimbledon L7 (OL)
• 12.30: L7 vs Sunbury & Walton Hawks L2
• 1pm: M4 vs Tulse Hill & Dulwich M3
• 1.30pm: L4 vs Spencer L2 (OL)
• 2pm: Sparticans vs Sunbury & Walton Hawks M4
• 2.30pm: L3 vs Epsom L1
• 3pm: Sirens vs Old Georgian L4 (OL)
• 3.30pm: Mongooses vs Chertsey Thames Valley M2
• 4pm: M2 vs Banbury M1 
• 5pm: M6 vs Epsom M3
• 6pm: L2 vs Reading L1