Sports Club President's Day
From Lacey Green History
Comment by Joan West. Presidents Day was started when Presiding for a club with three sections, all with different, often opposing situations, made it impossible for them to enjoy being "one united club". A fun day for everyone was the aim.
Hallmark June 1993. Sports and Social Club report by Ron Fisher. Presidents Day
Sunday June 20th was a day to remember - not only did the Presidents' pig get roasted, but their team set about trying to roast the Lacey Green cricket first team as well! Not like the weather, the result was a glorious piece of divine engineering - a draw (!??).
Nearly 300 villagers came to the sports ground for what turned out to be a stupendous day.
Ostensibly the day was organised by the West family who got a cricket team together to challenge Lacey Green. But then the game turned into an event.
The tennis Club ran an American tournament which had over 30 entrants
A man turned up and inflated a 10 foot high wall, donned a velcro suit and hurled himself at it to demonstrate "Bar-Fly Jumping". He then persuaded all able bodied, young and old, to hurl themselves at the wall, the idea being to get stuck to it upside down!
The wall was fun to watch and judging by the queues, fun to do. I noticed that the adults only indulged in this activity towards the end when the bar had been open for at least three hours.
John West arrived with a trailer load of straw bales which were left for the children to climb all over - with the music blaring, they were as happy as kids on a beach.
And all afternoon, the aroma of a roasting pig made everyone of us extremely hungry. Judging by what was left, you might say ravenous.
Well done John and Joan for a successful day - and thanks to all those who helped make it happen - you know who you are.
Hallmark August 1997. Presidents Day
This was held on Sunday 15th June. Fortunately, there was no Wimbledon type deluge to ruin everything – probably the result of so many crossed fingers! Presidents Day has become very much part of the village tradition. A great deal of time and organisation is required and John & Joan West unstintingly provide both of these. The Sports Club is very grateful for their constant interest and support.
The rather chilly conditions resulted in fewer spectators for the keenly fought cricket match. I think the Village Team beat the President’s X1 by about 100 runs but for some reason no member of the latter team could exactly remember the score! I am also reliably told that Chris Oakford would have definitely made up the deficit for the President’s X1 – but he ran out of partners – I believe he was 5 not out when their tenth wicket fell – a definite century in the making!
Unfortunately for some of the children there was a disappointment in the evening. The people running the ‘Kiddies Karting’, who had been booked for 6 hours, from 2-8pm, packed up and left two hours early, without a word to anyone. Consequently there were – some understandably long faces amongst children who had eagerly been expecting to have a go. Having paid £50 up front and expecting this to be repaid, plus a percentage of the profits over and above the deposit, Joan is still battling to get anything back at all – all power to her elbow!.