Bayside Boules Club - Alden Park - since late 2019

  Hi All.  Which of these applies to us?? From April 19th.     Elite sport High performing athletes , as approved by Sport Ireland, can resume From April 26th.        Outdoor sport:      Outdoor sports facilities can reopen (for example: pitches, golf courses and tennis courts, other facilities as appropriate ) Probably the latter.......Fingers crossed......as well as legs! Great to see some people playing casually but safely in recent times.  We hope to get going as soon as allowed. Other activity at the Pistes included :   The most charitable response is to say people need outlets in these constrained times though you'd wish they'd be more civic-minded and responsible.   We'll keep the place attractive for ourselves despite them. However, let's not dwell on the negative but hope that we can restart our play in the very near future, even with restrictions. Otherwise I'll just have to put DITTO after ...

 Grant Aid: Our thanks to Ciaran who entered Bayside Community Association into a competition in his workplace. He was informed last week that his application was successful and that a cheque for € 500 would be forwarded to the Bayside Community Association [BCA].  I've informed them to expect the cheque and that Bayside Boules Community [BBC] would draw on  € 300  for future events and that the balance could be used to support general Bayside events. Lost and found: The following pair of  easily identifiable gloves were found at the Boules Area.  Call to No. 17 to collect them..... Rubbish collection: We are still collecting throw-away packaging from the benches, occasionally, despite the proximity of the litter bins.  Last week we ending up picking up unspeakable human waste!  I've spared you the detail in the photo.  Hard to believe. Maintenance: The grass has begun to grow as Spring rolls in..........strimming has started.     ...

We are under starting orders....the vaccines are arriving....the virus is mutating...we are still  hibernating.....yet the clack of the boules is imminent!. How can something so small wreak such havoc?  I suppose we just need to remember...... babies! The Boules Pistes haven't gone away you know.......  they are calling from a short distance away.... They are lying in wait...... trapping the occasional unwary intruders....... Some work is never done as Gay and Heather continue to pick up litter in the various green spaces in the area including Alden Park.  Our thanks for their civic-minded efforts even in pandemic. You remember when nature was trying to reclaim the neglected boules area.... Well the intrepid warriors stepped into the breach to restore the beach ..... And order was restored to proceedings.....all wearing the anti-slagging masks.....they didn't work!! The snow tried its best with it's blanket protest...... But from out of their their hides emerged anot...

 Much hasn't happened since our last formal play.  Boules are getting rusty; arms are seizing up; individuals have changed beyond all recognition; group play is now just in the boudoir; competition is just  who gets up earlier in the morning and to cap it all Gerry L cancelled his away trip only to find that the government conspired with a virus to prevent him topping the leaderboard! However there have been green shoots.....all is not lost.....do not despair! Graffiti has been removed. A vandalised tree has been removed. For a short while we continued to have non-competition play until Christmas while restricting numbers and masking-up.   After Christmas the Level 5 restrictions came into being preventing group play..... We managed to decorate a few trees to brighten up the entrance to the park with solar powered lights in festive shapes: Gerry W. paid us a flying visit on his trusty new steed.  He hopes to rejoin us when his injury heals and the virus is ...