First of all, I wanted to say a massive thank you for visiting our crowdfunding page and clicking on Bees Blog. I have been a Club Member and player for over 16 years now, Cheltenham Tigers are my family, and Newlands Park is my home, and to be honest, the community is everything to me!
During the first lockdown, I found myself on Furlough like many other people, and it gave me itchy feet. I love planning, I like organising, and I like doing, and while going on many long walks in the Summer with my trusty sidekick Tedd (dog) around Cheltenham, I started daydreaming of elaborate plans to give back to the club that had given me so much over the years (hangovers mostly).
The playing facilities at the club are superb, and not many clubs can boast the pitch and changing facilities we are lucky enough to have and use; however, the clubhouse, having been inherited when we bought Newlands Park had become tired and old!
Painting the room was my first thought, and perhaps a new carpet? Problem – I do not have any idea for colour or design or where to start! Hmmm what to do? Lockdown was proving the perfect opportunity to refurb the club, and all I needed was an army of helpers and some money right – then it hit me! It’s our Clubhouse, why don’t we refurb it? Why don’t we run a #oneclub campaign and ask the Tigers Family to support, that’s who we are right one club, one family.
As all credible Project Managers know, I needed a whiteboard, some post-it notes, and coloured pens before I could plan anything. Before you know it BOOM – I had two whiteboards, a corner desk (formally a club table), and a mini heater to keep me warm through the winter! I set up a base from the club, I’m still working full time in case anyone was wondering ?, conference calls with the view of Cleeve Hill in the background are always more bearable! Next came the call for help…. An email sent out to members on a cold Tuesday in January and before I knew it, I had volunteers calling, emailing, and turning up! Bees Gnomes were created!=
Once I persuaded the Committee to let me lead the project, the adventure began, and I can’t wait to share it with you all through my blog updates. Whether it’s a flooring update, or a general hello. I will be sharing as many pictures as I can, so you can enjoy the journey, see the improvements and maybe have a giggle or two at my many gnomes and their many adventures. Firstly, I would like to say that no gnomes were harmed in the making of this… and that we followed social distancing rules! Now – let me give you a bit of an update on what we have been up to so far..
It has been a busy few weeks down at Newlands Park, lots of lil gnomes have been in and out helping to sand, rip up, dismantle and generally strip the room right back to the roots!
Lisa from Fabulush Interiors has given us a wonderful design for the room, and our gnome brigade has been busy getting everything ready for the exciting work to start. There has been a lot of clearing up and removing of clutter, as well as copious amounts of smoothing and preparing walls ready for plastering! Store cupboards have been emptied, sorted, cleaned, and tidied.
The carpets and dance floor have all been pulled up, cleaned, and again prepared for our new flooring. You can see from the pictures that the parquet is still intact and excitingly we plan to reuse it to build our new high tables in the front of the bar! One of the most challenging jobs so far has been pulling up the carpet, not only was there a crazy amount of glue holding it down but years of dancing, drink spillages and you can only imagine what else meant the carpet clung on for dear life!
Robbie Tyler, who has been down and fixed the leaky roof, and Marc Pardoe has plugged up the gaping holes in the exterior brick walls. Plumbers, electricians, builders, and plasterers have all been on-site measuring and planning the next round of work. In the coming weeks, the bar and clubroom electrics will get a much-needed overhaul….. followed by our friendly plasterer working his magic to tidy the walls.
The work so far is a testament to the family ethos at the club that we have so many gnomes willing to give up their own time to help.
Thanks,
Bee
If you can help in any way please contact Bee at womensandgirls@cheltenhamtigers.com