14th May 2004, Cadbury Country Club

The annual Dinner and Dance took place last Friday at the Cadbury Country Club and a lavish affair it was too. Sitting down to a sumptuous roast beef dinner, the 140 guests enjoyed every moment of it, dressed in their very finest clothes. There was a broad range of coiffeured beauties around including the ginger twins of Russell and Potts and a fair selection of freshly polished pates from others. The ladies looked stunning in their evening wear and the whole affair went like clockwork, which is a tribute to organisation of Mike Thomas and Paul Squires.

In the palatial surroundings of Cadbury Country Club, the assembled crowd listened intently to the speeches and the presentation of the various cups and awards.

Chairman Paul Squires made the opening speech, thanking all and sundry for their efforts throughout the season, especially the huge contribution made by the club sponsors. He presented the prestigious Clubman of the year award to Mike and Ruth Thomas for their fund raising efforts and both seemed shocked at being the recipients of this accolade, even though it was well deserved. He also mentioned that it was the club's highest league finish, falling short of National League playoff spot by just 38 points difference (less than 2 a match!!) behind Cinderford.

Councillor David Shopland spoke on behalf of the guests, which included a lovely man from Yatton, Smudger Smith, who is now a referee and enjoying every moment of it. He was obviously tickled pink at the prospect of attending the famous Clevedon dinner and was welcomed warmly by one and all! Councillor Shopland sat down after a wee while and gave way for Club Captain Jeff Durant to hold court.

He gave a thoughtful, witty and funny rendition of a poem he had concocted only the night before and it brought the house down. Most players were in for a bit of stick and the full text will be appearing here shortly, although for those not in the know it will probably mean very little. Nevertheless, it warmed everyone up for the players prize giving.

First up was the 2XV Captain Bradley Kemp to accept the 2XV Merit Table Winners trophy from Chairman Paul Squires, closely followed by members of the team for their trophies. Kevin Weaver was given a shirt for driving the minibus on their end of season crawl across Somerset.

The Kicking Cup went to Neil O'Rourke, the Try Scoring Cup went to Wayne Wheeler, as did the 3XV Player of the Year, both cups being accepted by 3XV Captain John Evans. Alun Dunn got the 2XV Player of the Year, Ashley Vailes, Most Improved Player, Tom Thie, Captains Tankard, Mike Panoho, Coaches Cup and lastly The Players' Player went deservedly to fly half Tom O'Rourke, whose speech was short and to the point, just like his tackling!

A raffle and an auction of a signed photo of the English World Cup back row followed, which raised over £500 towards club funds, then the evening really began and is where most of the stories will come from in the coming days!

A thoroughly enjoyable night that took a couple of days to get over, ended with everyone taking home a Commemorative Programme containing photos and stories of the season.

Clevedon 26 Dings 35

Clevedon reached the finals of the Bristol Combination Sevens tournament after beating Bishopston 56-0, Old Colstonians 38-5 and Clifton 38-5. Dings were their opponents and good game looked in prospect. It started well enough with Clevedon going 7-0 up after a minute, but a couple of silly passes later allowed the young Dings scrum half to score 14 points. Another try before half time made the score 7-21 in Dings favour.

Ten minutes of rugby left and fourteen points to claw back, that's all it was! The second half didn't start too well and Clevedon were soon 7-35 down with 5 minutes remaining. As as happened all season long, Clevedon fought back and the scoreline of 35-26 with a couple of minutes remaining was just reward for their efforts. Unfortunately, the extra winning points proved illusive and Dings finished very satisfied winners. Next season's South West One fixtures look to be an interesting proposition, but in the meantime there will be a summer to enjoy before the serious business begins again.

Clevedon 10 Cleve 0

Clevedon Under 16's beat Cleve in the final of Clifton tens tournament. Coach Mark Hawkes was ecstatic and was singing the praises of his young squad. "They'll go far" he said to no one in particular. A very proud moment for Clevedon Under 16's and the whole of Clevedon RFC. Well done lads.

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