Our quizmaster Gary kept the trick question until last at the latest monthly social. The answer, of course, is 11 and helped The Champions win by the closest of margins – half a point!  All six teams were close and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to Gary .. we’ll be booking him again soon!

Next up is the AGM on Tues 8th so do try and make it to hear about how the year went and what’s planned for next. Please do feel free to ask any questions once the formal proceedings have been done. One additional item up for discussion is the potential new club shirt as modelled by our Honourable Secretary.

A very final reminder for those wanting to enter the Middlesex county competitions next season – please contact David Chatterton for details and entry.

Here’s a blast from the past .. 1986 to be precise. This article was recently posted on the South Middlesex Bowling Association’s Facebook page and mentions Sunbury Bowls .. I’m sure some folk probably recall Jean Baker.

It’s a timely reminder that the deadline for entry to next season’s Middlesex competitions is nearing. Please contact David Chatterton for more details and entry.

Our next social is a quiz on Tuesday 1st Nov, followed by the AGM on Tuesday 8th.

For those of you looking to test yourselves against other bowlers from around the county our Secretary David Chatterton is co-ordinating next season’s entries to the Middlesex competitions. It includes Singles, Pairs etc. competitions with the early knock-out rounds played against more local clubs and latter stages and subsequent finals against county-wide players on specific days. The women have provided the most recent success with Anita Harvey and Glenda Jones reaching the final of the Women’s 2-woods Pairs in 2019. In the same competition last year, Tracy Frankson and Eileen Leatherby came close after reaching the semi-finals. In Singles, Cassie Chatterton was runner-up in 2015 for those unbadged (ie. not having qualified to play for the county). It can be quite confusing so please contact David or reply to this update for any further information.

“Hi all, I know it is only the end of the 2022 season but Middlesex County want to know your intentions for 2023 by the end of  October 2022. This only applies to Middlesex and National competitions so if you have no intentions ignore this. Entries to less elevated but just as worthy competitions within North West Surrey , South Middx and our own club competitions are not due until next Spring and we will remind you later. Attached are forms provided for clubs by Middx. Mixed pairs are on Men’s form. Complete forms or let me know your entries and return to me Club Secretary and pay the Club Treasurer electronically or by cheque. We will send all entries to Middx as a Club batch on a separate aggregate form with the aggregate fees so don’t try to submit them direct to Middx yourself. David Chatterton. Hon Sec.  Tel 01932 783092.”

The green was prepared for winter over the weekend of 1-2Oct. This involved spiking it and scarifying it to remove the moss and thatch .. just one pass of the scarifier resulted in the machine needing emptying! After that, it was seeded and levelled with a drag mat. A top dressing was then laid with more seeding and levelling. Meanwhile around the grounds, the ditches were emptied, edges cut straight, paths cleared and benches painted. The green will be surrounded by a fence in due course together with the application of fertiliser. Alongside the work around the grounds, the clubhouse rooms were tidied and cleaned. Refreshments were well-received and provided a welcome rest. Many thanks to all those who were able to lend a hand – it really is appreciated by the green keeping team.

Don’t forget the first winter social on Tues 4th 7:30pm .. all welcome.

Ten hardy souls wrapped up the playing season at Tuesday’s Club Night, braving the murky conditions .. a bucket of water was definitely in order to help wash the bowls after each roll!

On Monday we finished our campaign in the South Middlesex League with a rearranged match at Teddington. The hosts were keen to avoid bottom place and duly inflicted an 8-2 defeat on Sunbury. Unusually we had draws on two of the rinks.

Looking back on the season, finishing 5th is okay but having registered a win against both teams above us there’s a feeling that we could have gone higher. A particularly bad weekend where we failed to get a single point against the top two teams undoubtedly knocked us off course and hit our confidence. With a larger pool of players next season aiming for a top 3 finish may not be unrealistic.

The green gets put to bed over the coming weekend 1st-2nd Oct, and we kick off the monthly winter socials on Tues 4th Oct.

The work on preparing the green for winter is set for the weekend of Sat 1st & Sun 2nd Oct – please do come and lend a hand if you’re able to.

The aim is to put the green to bed in the best possible condition in order to hopefully reap the rewards in the spring. Top dressing, fertiliser and other materials are arriving and a scarifier is on order. Dennis and the greenkeeping team plus helpers will be concentrating on the green but any lighter work around the grounds and clubhouse will be well received too.

After the last SML match at Teddington on Mon 26th and Club Night on Tues 27th we have the first of our monthly winter socials on Tues 4th Oct 7:30pm in the main hall. It’s been decided to give the women another chance in a Men v Women skittles competition (the official score from Men v Women bowls match on Sat 17th was 77-59)! All are welcome even if you don’t fancy knocking over some skittles. A quiz, card games and xmas games are all on the agenda for subsequent socials so please try and keep the first Tuesday of each month free.

Looking further ahead to November we have another winter social on Tues 1st 7:30pm closely followed by our AGM on Tues 8th 7:30pm. Further information will be forwarded on this but please do try and attend to hear about what’s happening and what you’d like to see happen around the club.

The Presentation Awards Dinner is set for Fri 18th 6:30pm for 7pm start at Fulwell Golf Club. Please add your name to the sheet in the clubhouse if you’d like to come – all are welcome. Payment details are on the sheet (repeated below) together with a menu selection.

• payments of £29.50pp to the Sunbury Bowls Club account (a/c 91701800; sort 40-44-39) or let Barry have a cheque or cash.

The men enjoyed a hearty 3-1 win in Saturday’s annual Men v Women match.

After a few years of female domination the men have turned things around and will be looking for a hat-trick of wins in 2023. The weather played its part with lots of sunshine and the day was rounded off with a most enjoyable bbq afterwards courtesy of Nikki & Dennis and others.

The following day we played our last team friendly of the season with a visit to Chertsey, winning on one of the three rinks. Let’s hope the mild late-summer weather continues as we wrap up the playing season with an SML match at Teddington on Monday 26th and Club Night on Tuesday 27th.

Just a reminder that we have our first winter social on Tuesday 4th October at 7:30pm in the main hall.

Here’s a couple of other promotions ..

Sat 24th & Sun 25th – Egham Indoor
Bowls club are hosting open days .. please do mention Sunbury Bowls if you sign-up!

After a couple of weeks of bad luck with the weather we’re hoping for a better last two weeks of the season.

Club Night will continue to run until the 27th, but at an earlier sign-up time of 5:15pm. We appreciate this may be too early for some – apologies, but we need to beat the failing light.

This weekend we have the much anticipated Men v Women match followed by family bbq. Although cooler it’s forecast to be a nice sunny day and, hopefully, very little chance of cancellation! The following day on Sunday we travel to Chertsey for our last team friendly. Again the weather is set fair.

The last remaining South Middlesex League match against Teddington has been rescheduled for Monday 26th 2:30pm. Please put your names on the new sheets in the clubhouse if you’d like to play.

Looking not too far ahead to October, we’ll let you have more details on the green closure work on Saturday 1st and/or Sunday 2nd and also our first winter social evening on Tuesday 4th 7:30pm – it may be skittles but we will keep you posted.