Anyone for Croquet?

My cousin is involved in running the Edinburgh Croquet Club, and is keen on setting up a club and a lawn in Bamburgh as another sport for residents, and if it takes off, visitors. There isn’t a croquet club between Edinburgh and Belsay. There could be a good reason for that – but also, there could be an untapped demand.

So on Easter Saturday, on what felt like the coldest day of the year, we stood on the Castle Green hitting croquet balls to see how true the grass was (the grass visible under the snow that is) watched by some incredulous passers-by and the remains of a snowman.

I hadn’t played croquet properly (i.e. not the bash other people’s balls off the court variety) before last year, but I found it engrossing. My cousin gave me some shots to compensate for my lack of skill, and three hours later we were about 2/3 of the way round the course. It’s an immensely strategic game. It’s obviously useful to be able to hit the balls where you want to but even more to think ahead about where you want to be. I’d recommend it, especially for board or card game players who want fresh air.

There should be a place on the Bamburgh web site to express interest in joining a club soon..