Looking to the future
In conclusion, and looking forward to the future, it became clear that after the club’s successful early years , it “ fell upon hard times “ in the middle of the 20th century and with an ageing membership that had not been replaced, it was necessary to sell both land and property merely to remain “afloat” . Nevertheless , their fortunes improved in the final quarter of the century continuing past the Millennium and into the new decades.
In fact, the finances of the Club had never been as healthy as they were then , due almost entirely to the sound husbandry of successive Treasurers over the past 40 years, the business acumen of the Directors and the willingness of the members to undertake work required at the Club which would otherwise have resulted in a significant drain on its resources.
Any club and limited company could not operate successfully on a day-to-day basis without the sound administrative skills of the many secretaries and company secretaries who have held these posts over the years. In addition, they have had to come to terms and respond to the plethora of legislation enacted during the 20th and early 21st century .
It is, perhaps, not a coincidence that during its successful years, there had been a stability in the leadership of the Club when W Hamilton served as President for 8 years, J L Menzies for a similar period both in the 1920s and 1930s, J F Garrett for 7 years at the turn of the Millenium , S Willey serving for 6 years thereafter and P. Tomlinson since 2014 until the present day .
Maybe longer periods, similar to those mentioned , could be a template moving forward but who knows what the future will bring – whether bowls will still be played on grass greens , artificial surfaces or will it be “ virtual bowls “ ? Whether costs will determine that all bowls will be played indoors or will it even be necessary for clubs to amalgamate their resources to continue into the future.
There will always be change and one wonders whether our predecessors throughout the early years of the Club’s history could have believed that the game would eventually have been played with coloured bowls made of a composition material not to mention members wearing coloured clothing and white and coloured bowling shoes .
Despite the benefits of having a healthy balance sheet , it goes without saying but stands repetition that the aggregate amount of the annual subscriptions do not in themselves cover the running costs of the club. Without fund-raising activities including whist and bridge drives, rummage and bring and buy sales, raffles, Christmas draws, race nights, coffee mornings, quizes , the annual gala and the “100” club and the like, the future would be bleak.
Clearly, therefore, fund-raising must continue to enable Three Spires to flourish but, nonetheless, current members can take pride in the knowledge that they have given our successors the best possible platform from which to move forward with confidence into the coming years .
December 2024