In general, not much is known about croquet, but hidden away in a corner of Reigate, Surrey, our club has been established for nearly 100 years, catering for members of all ages, from all walks of life. A sociable and fun past-time, with the potential for games to range from simple and carefree, to devilishly tactical, croquet is a low-impact sport, which is easy… Read more →
Croquet Stories – Simon
Seeing as there’s no croquet to be played at the moment, it means there’s some time for reflection on how some members got into croquet in the first place. First up is club Secretary Simon Ling, and his story (or at least some of it!) is below. If you have a croquet story you’d like to share (not just Reigate… Read more →
Finals Results! From 1996…
With free time in abundance during the lockdown, Alan Slade was charged with clearing out old files at home, and came across this report from the Surrey Mirror. The picture is of Alan himself, with Becky Cosier. The text reads (with scores reformatted for easy reading!): REIGATE Priory Croquet Club’s annual finals weekend did not enjoy ideal weather but the… Read more →
Cryptic Quiz – Local Towns
During these self-isolating times, our croquet club members are staying in contact with each other, and the other day a quiz was devised and shared by Simon and Judy, with some tricky clues to lead you to some place names from the Reigate area (and maybe a little more towards Ashtead!). Check your answers by clicking on the clues below… Read more →
Di’s Daily Discipline
With the lawn closed, members are having to compromise somewhat when keeping up their skills, and Di is a perfect example of this – her picture and words below… Read more →
COVID-19 – Lawn Closure
As communicated to all members recently, all facilities at the club are now closed. While there was a little hope held out that, with sensible restrictions in place, croquet could possibly continue, it’s clear that it is no longer tenable. Obviously there’s no knowledge of when we’ll possibly be able to re-open, but this will clearly be entirely dependent upon… Read more →
Charity One Ball 2020
There was a fairly low turnout for this year’s Handicap One Ball, with only 8 contestants, but this made the organisation somewhat easier for Andy Gray, with 4 games being played at a time on the full lawn. Player on a full lawn, there were two blocks, with the winners competing in a final. Caroline Barnard and Chris O’Byrne won… Read more →
H-oops!
A certain high-ranking, England-representing member had a slight issue today, when running 4-back from a few yards away in a friendly game of one-ball. He even tried claiming a retake, due to the ball technically ending up in a wedged position…! Read more →
2020 One-Ball Charity Event
On Sunday 15th March we have our annual Charity One-Ball competition which, this year, is raising money for Macmillan. One Ball is Association Croquet, but with one ball per side, and tends to encourage accurate shooting and hoop running. It is also quick and ideal for playing in cold weather as each turn is generally short. See our report on… Read more →
Christmas Cracker 2019
A well attended Christmas Cracker was helped out by a lack of precipitation, and heaps of mulled wine! With Martin’s leadership, a version of Golf was played on half lawns, where only 3 hoops were used per game. This allowed 4 games to consistently be underway with no waiting, ensuring plenty of play for all, and very little sitting around.… Read more →
Reigate Wins at Southwick!
There were three players from Reigate Priory entered into the AC Advanced Tournament at Southwick, 21/22 Sept – Andrew Grey, Roger Tedstone and Neil Coote. Neil & Roger were in the Solomon Trophy, the main event, and Andrew in the Sussex Tumblers. The main event was done as a knockout, and the other was done as a block with all… Read more →