Sidmouth's croquet lawns saw the first action of the season at the end of March.

Sidmouth's croquet lawns saw the first action of the season at the end of March, with the club chairman, John Dixon, playing Richard Mills, one of the strongest players. Richard was standing in for secretary Barbara Clarke, who was recovering from a damaged wrist.The weather was sunny and dry, if a little windy, and there was a good turnout to watch the inaugural games. After a six-month layoff it was not surprising that progress was a little slow at times. Richard came through eventually 13-5. However, this was a good result for John who played the game on level terms and had to forego the several bisques to which he would normally be entitled.Meanwhile, on lawn 2, the first golf croquet games of the season were played between Gabby Macadam partnered by Howard Quarrell, and Marjorie Quarrell partnered by Derek Hewett. Two games were played with each partnership sharing the spoils.A very pleasant morning was followed by an excellent lunch prepared by club caterer Gill Hodge. After lunch, several members took to the lawns to hone their skills for the season ahead.l Training sessions for prospective new members started on the April 1, with the tennis court and lawn 2 converted to form three half-lawns. The installation of a sprinkler system for lawns 2, 3 and 4 is well under way and the situation regarding the availability of lawns 3 and 4 will become clearer later this month.All lawns are in good condition, thanks to the efforts of groundsman, Colin Whitehall. Hoops have been sandblasted and painted; the mallet room has been cleaned; improvements have been made to the fixing of corner flags and pegs and thanks are due to member Rosemarie Aldridge for making new corner flags. Together with the excellent recruitment response, this has been a most promising start to the season.