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JUNE 2016 6th EDITION

Volunteers Sunday – Sunday 26th June Your football club needs you!

Oneofourhardworkingdirectors,AmyWeaver,alongwithherpartner,matchdayPAannouncer,DavidBrown,areorganisingaVolunteerClubDayonSunday26thJune.Theideaisthatprovidedthereissufficientinterest,supporterscometoLongmeadandaregiventaskssuchaspainting,vegetationclearance,weedingetc.alltoensurethat we continue to have one of the smartest stadiums in the Ryman PremierLeague.AmyandDavidhavepromisedmusicandpossiblyabbqandallyouhavetodoisbringsomedrinkandsnackstoshareandwillingnesstodowhateveryoucan.Likeyourstruly,youdonthavetobeaDIYexperttohelp!IfyouareabletocomealongpleaseemailDavidondmbuk66@gmail.comThanks and remember this all about making our club better. When you arewatchingagameonafreezingJanuaryeveningmaybeyou'llbeabletothink'Yeah,Ididthatbitofpainting'.

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AsmostofyouwhovisitedLongmeadtowardstheendoflastseasonwillalreadyknow,weendedthe2015/16seasonwithonly75%ofourfloodlightsworkingproperly.Duringthecloseseason,wehaveemployedaspecialistfloodlightingcontractorandI'mpleasedtobeabletoreportthatall24luminaire's(thelampfittings)arenowworkingatfullcapacityfollowingacompleteoverhaulandspringclean.Unfortunatelytheexistingluminaire'sarenowobsoleteandsparepartsarebecomingverydifficulttosourcewhichiswhyyouwillnodoubtnoticeanewluminaireonthetopoftheNorthwestfloodlighttower.Thewiringintheoldfittinghadburntoutandwasconsideredtobebeyondeconomicalrepair.Forthoseofyouwhoareinterestedinsuchthings,apartfromthewiringandfittingsbeingoverhauled,tightenedupandgivenagoodclean,theLongmeadfloodlightsrequiredsixnew2000wattRadiumHQI/Tlamps,onenewstadialuminaireandonenewTridonicballastunit.WeareextremelygratefultoToniJarrettandthe200Clubwhokindlyagreedtofundthefloodlightrefurbishmentproject.WehavebeenadvisedthatitwouldbeinourintereststobudgetforasimilarfigurenextsummerinordertokeepthefloodlightsattheiroptimumperformanceandtoestablishadequateLuxlevelsacrossthepitch.Someuselessinformationforyou:Theoldluminaire’sthemselvesareaffectionatelyknownas“Sids”withinthetrade-afterthechapthatoriginallyimportedthemtotheUKduringthelate1970’s,early1980’s!Whataretheoddsofoneofthelamps“blowing”atourfirsthomeeveninggamenextseason?!

FLOODLIGHTS

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Regrettably,duringthelasthalfterm,theMarquee,theAcademyminibusandoneoftheburgerwagonsreceivedthreeunwantedvisitsbyvandalswhoseemtobeintentoncausingseveralthousandpoundsofcriminaldamagetopropertywithinthestadium.Whilstthepolicehavebeenprovidedwithanabundanceofevidence,theClubhavehadnoalternativebuttopurchaseadditionalCCTVcamerastoprotecttheStadiumfromfurtherdamage.Ourweekdayvolunteershavealsobeenbusyimprovingthephysicalsecurityaroundthestadiumbyputtingupadditionalfencesandbarbedwire,butitreallyiscashthatcouldhavebeenbetterspentelsewhere!

Withthefundsraisedfromthe“SponsoraGoal”initiative last season we purchased a RegaRainmobile Turbo travelling sprinkler to assistwith important pitch irrigation during thesummermonths.The sprinkler unit can travel the length of theentire pitch under its own water driven powerandcandragthehosepipealongtoo!Itmeans of course that the pitch can be evenlywatered during the week, although the recentheavydownpourshavebeendoingthejobforus!

VANDALISMNEW TOY FOR GROUNDSTAFF

TheannualpitchrefurbishmentwascompletedduringthesecondweekofMaywithover80tonsofsportssandbeingappliedtotheplayingsurface.Thepitchwassubsequentlysubjectedtoan“Earthquake”machinewhichisdesignedtoeaseareasofcompactionand300kgofhighqualitygrassseedwassownusingadiscseeder.Ourvolunteerforcehavealsoonceagainbeenbusybyflatteningoutraisedareaswithineachgoalmouthaswellasbuildingupcertainareasofthepitchthatarepronetopuddling.Andfinally,theimportantapplicationoffertiliserandwater,togetherwithabitofwarmsunshine,willhopefullyproduceapitchthatwillenableourplayerstoproducetheexcitingfootballweallwanttosee.

PITCH REFURBISHMENT

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OurimportantsummereventshavesofarbeenextremelysuccessfulandweoweahugedebtofgratitudetoDarrenApps,theeventsteamandallofourvolunteersfortheirfantasticeffortsandstamina,todate.ItisprobablyfairtosaythattheGarden&LeisureShowwasmore“compact”thaninpreviousyears’andyetallthemoresuccessfulforit.Angelfest5wasanabsolutecrackerwithrecordcrowdsinattendanceasthesunshonethroughtheweekend.Everyonewasawinneraswevirtuallysoldoutofbeerandafurther£1,000raisedfortheCRYCharity.TheSkatonicsattractednearly250visitorsforourSkaandReggaeeveningandsixtimesworldsnookerchampion,SteveDavisentertainedaround100guestsatourrecentsnookerevening.NextuponourbusysummerentertainmentscheduleisaBarnDanceinthemarqueeonFriday8thJulyfrom7:30pmandticketsareavailableat£5fromTamaraon07947898271.Also,ifdartsisyourthingpleasekeepyoureyesopenforourEricBristoweveningonThursday25thAugustwhenthe“CraftyCockney”himselfwillbemakinganappearance.SundaylunchtimeJazzisalsobeingplannedduringAugust,togetherwithanOktoberfesteventsoplease“watchthisspace”astheysay.WearealsoholdinganotheroneofourpopularSportingDinnersonFriday14thOctoberwhenthe1966EnglandWorldCuphattrickheroGeoffHurstMBEwillbeourguestspeaker.TheeveningwillbecomparedbythehilariousBob“thecat”BevanMBEandticketsare£45perpersonincludingdinner.

SUMMER EVENTS