As the next phase of lockdown restrictions are lifted in exactly one week’s time – Saturday the 4th July, we’re happy that this will mean partial re-opening of our club.

After more than 3 months of minimum activity, we are pleased to kick start the club’s reopening with our Annual General Meeting in the morning, followed by the long awaited opening of the Peacock Pub at 2pm, as well as the launch of a new partnership with Peacock Archery.

AGM – it’s great that we’ll now be able to host this annual members meeting at our club in person. This meeting will be held on pitch 6 starting at 11am. Please arrive in good time as a one way system will be in place and you will be allocated a marked out (socially distanced) area on pitch 6 to stay within. If there are any members who have concerns about attending in person and would rather participate virtually then please let me know so I can make the necessary arrangements for you.

Bar Reopening – I know that many of you will have been looking forward to this for quite some time and it will be fantastic to have our Peacock Pub open again, so that we can meet up at The Davey Field as we used to.

However, enabling this happen has not been for the faint hearted. Behind the scenes, our bar and facilities teams, Annaleaza Finlayson, Tom Arnold and Robin Boatman, have spent countless hours reviewing and preparing our facilities and operational procedures, so that we are compliant with the latest government Covid-19 guidelines. They were also aided by the generous assistance offered by RML through their Head of HSEQ, Matt Davies.

Given the unprecedented situation that we find ourselves in, it is of course understandable that your normal visit won’t be exactly the same for quite some time. Pitch 6 will now become one of the largest beer gardens in the area with socially distanced squares marked out for members and their guests (only).

More information on exactly how this will happen, including: bar opening days and times, how to order and pay for your drinks via the hatch or our new app, how to reserve a space/table on pitch 6 and how the one way system will work, will be shared with you in the coming days. So please look out for this and take the time to read it fully prior to your visit.

At this point, we must strongly emphasise that all government social-distancing guidelines must be followed at all times and we expect our members to set exemplary standards. So that as a club we can continue to welcome back all members and staff in the safe, friendly and warm environment that we have always enjoyed at The Davey Field, as we approach the long awaited return to all things rugby and the start of the new season.

We hope that you can appreciate that this is uncharted territory for all of us and as such this will be a steep learning curve for our members, volunteers and staff members. So, the golden rule is to be kind, be patient and let’s support one another as we adjust to the new normal.

Peacock Archery – and finally, we’re pleased to announce that our club will be welcoming even more peacocks to The Davey Field, through a new partnership with Peacock Archery starting on the 4th July. This partnership will see them using pitch 4 as their new home on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. More information will be shared soon and please feel free to visit www.peacock-archery.co.uk to find out more about our new feathered friends.

Your fellow peacock,

Mikael Biard
Honorary Club Secretary
07811167077
secretary@shelfordrugby.co.uk