A good morning to all……

So we see the end of our efforts in the Cricket world Cup with a win against Australia of all teams…..and while all this was concluding on the muddy island…on the African continent, near the historical pyramids, the host nation (and one of the tournament favourites), were coming to grips with being dumped put of AFCON 2019 by Bafana…..I must be honest, that given our current form and past history, I was not holding out much hope for the national soccer stars….but they definitely proved me wrong…and I am sure there were plenty of people that woke up to a surprise on Sunday that we were in the Quarter Finals of AFCON 2019…..our next opponents are Nigeria (who are always a perennial African soccer giant….but are currently not riding on the crest of wave on the form front), but will always be difficult opponents….they do appear to be vulnerable….so we could have our first appearance in the semi finals of this event since 2000…… A quick summary for those with short, or possibly a very long, memory (in 1996 winners, 1998 silver medalists, 2000 bronze medalists) ….good luck to Bafana Bafana for the match on Wednesday night…by the time you read this you will probably know the result…hopefully we will have qualified for the semi’s…..(even if they haven’t…it was the first time since 2000 that we have qualified for the knockout stages….so well done to the boys for getting this far)

Onto our Friday evening at the North….we had a Karaoke evening and although we didn’t unearth any new talent….it looked like the crowd had a lot of fun, with some good, some average and some not so average performances…well done to all the contributors…..Earlier in the evening we had another “newbie” to the Joker cabinet, as Greg Dawson was the lucky fella to show us his skill at tracing the whereabouts of the Joker…..but his skill proved to be as good as all the other contestants….as he was able to select the Ace of Diamonds…..giving another roll over and bumping up the next Joker Jackpot value to R61364…..try your luck this week at the Joker draw and see if you can be our winner…We welcome back Ryno and Freedom Unfound this week…so Alan will get excited to know that Lighting Crashes will be on the playlist again this week for him….

Last weekend our Soccer boys went to the SAB play-offs….but found that life of higher league football is a lot tougher than in our super league…..with interesting decisions from the officials and questionable antics from the opposition…unfortunately we went down 4-2 in both of the matches….but according to players, coaches and administrative spokesmen…it was a worthwhile exercise and was a great learning experience for all concerned…..

Our first side also played in a Cup match played on Tuesday evening against the very strong and competitive Randburg side…..and with a seriously depleted squad after a rigorous weekend behind then, we competed in a wonderfully competitive match…and were able to emerge with 3-2 win…this is a fantastic result for our boys who now progress to the semi’s in the Cup…. and with Sporting giving our reserves a walkover…both of our sides have progressed to the semi’s….something that both sides together haven’t enjoyed too often in recent history….so well done to both sides….two more wins on the competition and you will be able to hold the Cup aloft….

Our Rugby players are back in action this weekend and are hosting Meyerton on Saturday….please go along to support them…and next week is their semi final…..so their final practice on the playing field to sharpen their skills for the final run in on the season……good luck boys…..hope it goes well….

Our hockey seasons are still in full swing…with Ladies and Gents leagues on Saturdays and Sundays respectively…expect a full beer garden with hockey players trying to drown their sorrows or celebrate their success….sometimes there is a very fine line in identifying the difference…. (but I am not going to bother even trying to analyse it…I have been playing hockey for almost forty years and haven’t really worried about it before…)

Our Pizza kitchen is nearing completion and the oven is now in the 14day curing progress…so we may see our first pizza’s rolling off the production line shortly….don’t forget to have your say in the naming process of our own “Pizza Hut”…there are on line entries and they can also be filled out an dropped into the box in the Main Bar….. details are contained elsewhere in the newsletter…. everyone must also have seen the “red devil” caravan which will be used as our Mobile bar in the future and will make its debut at the rugby this weekend…..and is also looking for a name….so have your say in this one….we have had some really interesting proposals thus far….it will be interesting to see what the committee finally decide on….

Additionally, we are gearing up for some events in the near future…here are those for the immediate future….so get ready for the SA Pipe Band competition on July 27…our Junior hockey festival on Saturday August 3…..and groove along with Mango Groove on August 31….please diarise these dates…I am sure they will be worthwhile and bags of fun…

A very short and quick message for this week… quite bit shorter than usual…keep warm…but the weathermen do forecast some warmer weather later in the week….yay….

Please let me know if you have any complaints or compliments about the North….email me on rod.scheepers@gmail.com

Cheers

Rod

Benoni Northerns Naming Competition!

Something exciting and new is happening at Northerns and we want your help! Beady eyed members may have noticed a wee bit of construction going on in the Beer Garden lately, and come 01 July 2019, we will have a new pizza and coffee cafe up and running to serve our members as well as a new mobile drinks bar in the form of the caravan to alleviate some of the bar traffic.   We are running a competition to choose the names of both the pizza/ coffee cafe and the mobile drinks bar. Submit your entries by clicking the link! The winners will each be awarded a R250 Benoni Northerns voucher! You can enter as many times as you like! Winning names will be chosen by the committee and will be contacted directly!

The Green LIVE is excited to announce; Benoni’s BIG Day Out with Mango Groove! *Tickets are available from Benoni Northerns office for R140*. Alternatively you can purchase online tickets from www.howler.co.za/bigdayout. (No 15-17 year olds allowed access due to alcohol being served). More info and support acts: https://www.facebook.com/events/1284070921756387/ 

Greg Dawson (Athletics) drew the Ace of Diamonds – Joker Draw a turnover at R61 364.00 for Friday 12th July. Be present to win!!

“Freedom Unfound” playing on Friday from 18h30

The start of the Benoni Northern Rugby Club’s Junior League games are around the corner. There is still time to register your children to join East Rand’s strongest Sports Club. U6 to U13 kick off on the 13 July and U14 to U18 kick off on the 24th August. – contact Jaco Havenga – havenga_j@yahoo.com