Congratulations to Charlie & Ann who ended up as joint winners at the latest winter social and raffle winners too! They took top honours on 72pts with the chasing pack close behind on high 60’s. A special shout out for Peter who matched his play on the bowls green with a remarkably consistent score over the 6 rounds of dominoes but still missed out on the prize!

Next up on our programme of winter socials is the card game Slippery Anne on Tue 8th Dec 7:30pm. It’s a trick-taking game, like whist or bridge, where the aim is to avoid collecting penalty cards. All will be explained on the night.

Before that we see out November with our annual club dinner on 13th (any nice raffle donations would be appreciated); the club AGM on 24th and a team friendly at Richmond Indoors on 29th.

Looking further ahead to next year, there will be three performances of Geoff & co.’s latest production Murder at the Bowls Club. The dates are Sat 27th Feb at 4:30pm and 7:30pm followed by Sat 6th March 7:30pm. Rehearsals are already underway and booking details will be available in due course.

Last week’s winter social went well, thanks to Neil for keeping everyone’s eyes down on the matter in hand. Mind you, it’s uncanny how there appeared to be lucky tables and those .. with no luck at all! Our next get together is to play Dominoes on 3rd November with everyone welcome in the main hall from 7pm for a 7:30pm start. The winner of last year’s dominoes went down to the wire, (just like lots of this year’s club competitions games) and won by a single point!

The green was fully closed on Friday with some hard work then expended in getting it ready for winter. For the first time ever the green remained partially open into October which allowed some keen souls to enjoy outdoor bowling for nearly 60% of the year.

One of the highlights of our calendar is the Club Dinner, which is 13th November this year. The evening will include a review of the year and presentation of awards, with some to be revealed only on the night. The venue is Fulwell Golf Club with our compere Gary .. it should be another great event. If you’d like to attend please get in touch and your name will be added to the list. For those already on the list please could you ensure you’ve made your food selections and payment of £35pp to Sunbury Sports Bowls Club (account  91701800, sort 40-44-39).

Later in November is our AGM on 24th. One of the  requirements is to elect officers onto the committee. All the current holders have indicated their willingness to stand again but that doesn’t mean anyone else can’t offer their services. The nominations form will be posted on the noticeboard in due course and available at the Dominoes social. You can also message direct.

Bowling into October has been a first for Sunbury, perhaps reflecting the ever changing world we live in .. the green will be fully closed from Friday 9th! The work to prepare the second half of the green for winter will kick off around 10am with greenkeepers  dipping in when available and probably into Saturday. Please feel free to pop down to lend a hand; help is also needed to define the edges of the paths amongst other jobs.

Our first winter social is imminent with Bingo! on Tuesday 6th. It’s eyes down from 7:30pm with all welcome.

If anyone would like to attend the Club Dinner on 13th Nov at Fulwell Golf Club and can’t make it down to the sign-up sheet in the summerhouse please get in touch and we’ll happily include you. Sign-ups will close at the end of this month.

The deadline for entry into next season’s Middlesex county competitions is a little later than in previous years – they’ll be a meeting about this for those interested in due course.

Middlesex 2027

Bowls England 2027

 

Sunday’s annual Men v Women match was settled in favour of the men but the winners were everyone who made the event possible including the numerous women bowlers that Sunbury are blessed with. To be able to field a team of 23 women bowlers is to be applauded. It does mean that the men have been on top since the women enjoyed a triplet of wins 2018-2020 but I’m sure they’ll be back to try again next season. Thanks in particular to Nikki & Dennis for organising the teams and BBQ afterwards .. catering for 46 competitors and 70+ for food is no mean feat!

The last round of Friday Triples were played on Friday. Despite an extra 5 games being played this season, we only had one postponement. Congratulations to Eileen in double measure for organising the league with aplomb and for captaining this season’s winning team of Bindley, Don, Martin & Neil.  Here are the final standings ..

22pts – Eileen; 18pts – Diane; 16pts – Colin; Simon; 14pts – Alison; 4pts – Nikki

Tracy left her best to last by winning two trophies at Sunday’s South Middlesex finals at Ashford. Having lost in multiple club competition semis (JonW and others know how that feels!) she was determined to do better on her last bowls outing of the season. She beat a string of men in the 75pts competition and some women (no surprises!) in the Women’s Singles, including our own Eileen in the final. Adding to Alan & Karen’s success in  the NW Surrey Mixed Pairs and others’ fine runs in other competitions, fingers crossed for more success for Sunbury next season. Watch out for a poll for those interested in entering county and external  competitions soon.

The work to the green kicks off following Tuesday’s final Club Night of the season. In addition to the work needed to the green itself the list of jobs that need to be done around the green is growing. Please feel free to take up the reins for any you can help with.

Jobs around the green

We ventured into Berkshire on Thursday to play our last team friendly of the year at Wraysbury. Despite coming second on all three rinks we enjoyed the afternoon in a perverse kind of way .. playing indoor bowls outside!

Just to confirm that Tuesday will be the last official Club Night of the season. After that, half of the green will be worked on to prepare it for winter. This leaves three rinks available for open play until the green faces full closure sometime towards the end of the month.

Also, the first Winter Social is fast approaching with Bingo! on Tue 6th Oct 7:30pm. The next dates are set for Tue 3rd Nov and the revised date of Tue 8th Dec.

The sign-up and menu choices sheets for our annual Club Dinner & Awards evening on Fri 13th November are available in the summerhouse. They will also be available in the hall during Sunday’s BBQ and at the Winter social on 6th Oct. Please make your choices by the end of October.

The club’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Tue 24th Nov 7:30pm. Please do try and attend to hear about what’s happening at the club and to raise any issues or ask questions you may have,

The website Calendar is up to date with all planned events and will be updated as more are known, including next season’s fixtures in the new year.

Due to popular demand we are planning on hosting a Marker’s course next spring. This will be led by a recognised umpire so that we can all learn about the art of marking a game. The date will be broadcast nearer the time.

Looking ahead again, here are some notes for those of you interested in stretching yourselves beyond our own internal club competitions into County and external competitions next season. Entries to Middlesex county competitions have to be submitted by the end of October. We are proposing to hold a Q&A session on this for interested members at some point soon.

County & external competitions

Lastly, good luck to Eileen & Tracy competing in their South Middlesex finals on Sunday, and to everyone competing in Sunday’s Men v Women game. If able, please get down early to help swish and setup the green – all rinks will be in use.

The weekend friendly at Chertsey was played in drizzle although it cleared nicely by the end. Sunbury enjoyed a good win on one of the rinks which offset two very narrow defeats on the others for an overall win. We wrap up the season’s friendlies with a visit to Wraysbury on Thursday afternoon.

It turned a little damp last year but the forecast looks pretty good for this year’s Men v Women game on Sunday. Best of luck to all competitors!

Also for Eileen and Tracy competing in the South Middlesex finals at Ashford on Sunday. Tracy plays at 10am in 75pts and it’s Eileen v Tracy at 1pm in the Women’s Singles.

The green will face a partial closure from Wed 23rd to allow the greenskeepers to work on half of the green for a couple of days. The green will then be closed fully at some point after that depending on the weather and when the guys have renewed their energy levels!

The first winter social of the year on 6th October will be Bingo! Eyes down from 7:30pm. The year will be rounded off with further socials on 3rd November and 1st December.

Sunbury enjoyed a fine start to the three remaining team friendlies of the year with a visit to  Teddington on Thursday afternoon. It’s proved to be a notoriously unpredictable fixture with the last three visits producing two draws and an abandonment. This year saw a comfortable win for Sunbury on two of the rinks and two very close finishes on the others with last bowl drama producing a win for each team. Next up is Chertsey on Sunday 13th and Wraysbury on Thurs 17th.

The penultimate round of Friday Triples saw Eileen’s team crowned this year’s winners. Although they lost to Simon’s team, Diane’s team also lost to Colin’s team. One more round next week to finish off the season.

20pts – Eileen; 16pts – Diane; Colin; 14pts – Alison; Simon; 4pts – Nikki

It rounds off a fine week for Eileen as she played through the rain on Tuesday at Bishop Duppas against a fancied opponent from Staines to win her semi-final of the South Middlesex Women’s Singles. That means she’ll play Tracy on Sun 20th at Ashford BC in the final .. a Sunbury winner guaranteed!

The bowls season may be drawing to a close but it’s not quite done yet. Swishing over the weekend was not as intense of late .. hopefully the worms have got the message that we want the green kept open for some time yet!

Club Night will continue every Tuesday at 5:30pm until the green gets closed by the greenskeepers;

Chris’ Thursday roll-up continues every Thursday morning;

We play three team friendlies – all away games on 10th; 13th and 17th – see the sign-up sheets in the summerhouse;

Friday Triples runs for two more weeks with the outcome still in the balance after last week’s defeat for the current pacesetters ..

20pts – Eileen; 16pts – Diane; 14pts – Colin; 12pts – Alison; Simon; 4pts – Nikki

The annual Men v Women game is on 20th 2:30pm; followed by family BBQ at 6pm; The sign-up sheet is on the noticeboard in the summerhouse.

The South Middlesex competitions finals are on 20th at Ashford BC with Tracy going for glory in two finals .. and, possibly, Eileen joining her too!

Alan & Tracy go to Brentham on 12th, competing in the Middesex Mixed Pairs quarters/semis;

October heralds the start of the monthly winter socials on 6th October 7:30pm .. everyone is welcome.

The Club Dinner & Presentation evening on 13th November .. an early sight of the menu options are on the noticeboard.

Lastly, you’ll have to watch your back in February .. Geoff & co. will be presenting Murder at the Bowls Club on 27th Feb!

We were blessed with some superb weather for our end of season Club Competitions finals .. and some mighty fine games too! Thanks to everyone who contributed in some shape or form .. it was a real team effort and it really couldn’t have gone much better. Here’s how the drama unfolded ..

Club Finals 2026

The weather is set fair for the finals of our Club Competitions on Sat 5th and Sun 6th and everyone is welcome to support the games. The benches and chairs have been spruced up and grounds cleared. The green will get cut on Friday afternoon/evening and switched to play carpark-paddock. The green is then closed for play until the finals. Refreshments will be available over both days, with the games themselves running between 11am-5pm. Thanks to everyone involved including those who, sadly, didn’t make it to a final. We had 50 entrants over all the competitions and there are a lucky 21 represented in a final this year. This is a marked increase over previous years which reflects on the high level of competition. Good luck to all the finalists and everyone involved in making the weekend a success!

In the few remaining external competitions, Tracy added to her recent qualification for two South Middlesex finals by beating an Ashford pair in the last-16 round of the Middlesex county Mixed Pairs with playing partner Alan. So, after 3 consecutive home wins they travel to Brentham, near Ealing, on Sat 12th to play a quarter final in the morning and, fingers crossed, a possible semi-final in the afternoon!

Club Night will now run with a 5:30pm start (please check-in by 5:15pm) until the close of the season. If running late please get in touch with someone already there or post in the member’s WhatsApp group.