Spring is here and the bowls season is almost upon us – the green has received its first cut with the cylinder mower and the fencing has come down. There’s still plenty to be done so please try and make it down on clean-up weekend 6-7April, or anytime you can spare the time .. there’s always weeding to be done!

Joining Night is set for Tues 26th from 7:30pm but if you can’t make it there is a membership form available online Membership Form

Finally we’ve recently heard the sad news of the passing of past member Alan Jones, husband of perhaps better-known member Glenda. Alan was a very good bowler in his own right and picked up a few trophies down the years, the last of which was the Mens Handicap in 2012,  beating our much-loved President Tom in the final. RIP Alan.

PS: Alan’s funeral is to be held on Tue 9th April at 1pm at South West Middx Crematorium, and afterwards at Fulwell Golf Club. All are welcome.

 

 

The last of our winter socials takes place next week .. Quiz Night on Tues 5th March 7:30pm. Our resident quizmaster Gary will be compering the evening .. members, friends & family are all very welcome.

Then at the end of the month is Joining Night .. Tues 26th from 7:30pm. Come and hear about the the plans for the coming season and a chat too. All the fixtures are available on the website and will be distributed via the Members’ booklet.

Calendar

John Nutt triumphed in the latest Bowls Club social, pipping Jenny Clark by one point in an evening of Slippery Anne. Our last social of the winter will be a quiz hosted by our smooth compere Gary on Tues 5th March 7:30pm. After that we get very close to the new bowls season starting with dates for all events being finalised shortly. The green has received a winter haircut and treatment and work has commenced on the grounds – there’s a lot to do so any offers of help appreciated.

Elvis is coming, but before that we have our next winter social on Tuesday 6th Feb at 7:30pm .. an evening of the card game Slippery Anne .. all are welcome. We’ll then round off the season’s winter socials with the ever-popular Quiz Night on Tuesday 5th March 7:30pm.

The Cricket Club are delighted to welcome Paul Richie one of the UK’s top Elvis Tribute Acts to our Club on Saturday, 2 March. Paul will perform 2 incredible live sets the first dedicated to Elvis and the second a mixed set also including some of Elvis’s musical friends such as Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Cliff Richard.

Paul has won awards both in the UK and America for his fabulous Elvis Tribute Shows. This will be a very special night at our Club so get your tickets now for just £10 (or take advantage of our limited 4 for the price of 3 offer) before they sell out using this link:

https://www.sunburycricket.co.uk/payments/elvis-is-appearing-at-the-club–saturday-2-march-107177.html

The club is also hosting our first Comedy Night on Saturday, 23 March. So please keep this date free and we’ll send you more details, including how to get tickets, in the next couple weeks.

Happy New Year to you all. With the advent of the new year attention turns to booking holidays for some or just wanting to add events to the new 2024 calendar! After some debate it’s been decided to run Finals weekend over 31Aug-1Sep. Since I’ve been involved in the club competitions we’ve been very fortunate with the weather, but as a backup the following weekend of 7-8Sep will be used.

The winter social programme continues on Tuesday 9th with a night of skittles .. everyone welcome from 7:30pm.

We wouldn’t usually mention birthdays but this one is very much worthy of note. Many happy returns to Terry Kinsley on his 90th birthday .. he pips Charlie (yet again) to the accolade of oldest playing member! Terry enjoyed success in this season’s Friday Morning League as an integral part of Diane’s team. Enjoy your day Terry!

Last week’s Xmas social added over £100 to our clubs funds. Money was obviously one of the topics under discussion at this week’s committee meeting. We are surviving due to a grant we applied for a short time ago – all income is accounted for but a new mower will be required soon. Any donations welcome and we’d even look to put your name on it! Other items discussed include the new club colours .. navy (or dark blue) bottoms was confirmed at the AGM and will be mandatory when representing the club.

Next year’s fixtures are in progress with a good mix of league and friendlies, allaying fears of some clubs pushing back activities. Thoughts are turning to promotion of Open Days with adverts being considered in local bulletins and shops.

We kick off 2024 with a night of skittles on Tuesday 9th January. In the meantime here’s to a happy festive period to everyone 

The funeral for Tom Dowthwaite will take place on Tuesday 19th December at 11:20am at South West Middlesex (Hanworth) Crematorium and afterwards at the SSA Bowls Club.

Tom was a much loved member of Sunbury Bowls for many years, switching from Midweek Captain to be our Honourable President in his latter years. It’s fair to say the job suited Tom down to the ground, showing his face and chatting to literally anyone and everyone at club events as well as handing out trophies with aplomb. That’s not to say he wasn’t a very good bowler in his time, picking up silverware fairly regularly down the years, starting in 2009 with the Mens Handicap and Mens Pairs (with Jack Bache) up to his last trophy in 2021 in the Mixed 2-woods Pairs (with Alex Kelly). He tended to apologise whenever he won which sums Tom up very well, always thinking about others. He’ll be a hard act to follow, RIP Tom!

The green received its last cut of the year this week. We’re hoping that’s the last of nearly 40 cuts this year as it was heavy going at times even with lighter mowers! Also this week, the hedges got their first cut of the year as part of the SSA general grounds work. The hedge by the road was cut shorter and they all look the best they have in a long time.

Just a reminder that our last social of the year is Tuesday 5th at 7:30pm .. all welcome.

Events on at SSA ..

Tickets are selling quickly for our NYE Party with Red Rocket:
https://www.sunburycricket.co.uk/payments/new-years-eve-with-red-rocket-103870.html

Sat 25 Nov: Pop Up Christmas Market from 11:30am to 2pm
Manchester City v Liverpool PL 12:30 TNT
Saracens v Bristol GPR 3pm TNT (if demand)
Brentford v Arsenal PL 5:30pm Sky

Sun 26 Nov: Tottenham v Aston Villa PL 2pm Sky
Newcastle v Exeter GPR 3pm TNT (if demand)
Everton v Manchester United PL 4:30pm Sky

Mon 27 Nov: Bar Closed

Tue 28 Nov: PSG v Newcastle United CL 8pm TNT
Manchester City v Leipzig CL 8pm TNT

Wed 29 Nov: Arsenal v RC Lens CL 8pm TNT

Thu 30 Nov: Liverpool v LASK EurL 8pm TNT
Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw ConL 8pm TNT

Fri 1 Dec: Harlequins v Sale GPR 7:45pm TNT (if demand)
Preston North End v QPR Ch 8pm Sky (if demand)
Surplus Cafe open from 6:15pm

Sat 2 Dec: Exeter v Bath GPR 3pm TNT (if demand)
Nottingham Forest v Everton PL 5:30pm Sky
Newcastle United v Manchester United PL 8pm TNT

Sun 3 Dec: West Ham v Crystal Palace PL 2pm Sky
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur PL 4:30pm Sky

We enjoyed the annual dinner and presentation of awards at Fulwell Golf Club on 17th November. Illness caused some absentees and we wish everyone well, including our President Tom. Our Honourable Secretary David deputised with the speech, somewhat shorter than it would have been! Our departing Captain Diane took the dual honour of presenting the trophies after the meal and the winning captain of the Friday Morning League. Many congratulations to the thirteen who were awarded trophies, including three first-timers Keith & Jenny Clark and Jen Benson. The two winners revealed on the night were the close-run affairs of Club Night champions .. Simon Reynolds for the Men and Tracy Frankson for the Women. Well done all, and especially those that David kindly described as the losers, without which there wouldn’t be any winners. Roll on 2024.

All the photos from the evening are available here .. Presentation Dinner 2023

Next up is our Christmas special winter social on Tuesday 5th December.

 

Blue bottoms, Chris’ contribution and Di’s departure were three of the major topics at last night’s AGM evening.

A motion to adopt navy blue bottoms as part of our formal club kit was carried unanimously. This was mooted during the season and is in line with Bowls England’s mission to present a more modern image for the sport. It’s being adopted by more and more clubs and signals the end of the tradition of weekend whites and mid-week greys. So from next season it’s club shirt (new or old) and navy (or dark) blue bottoms in all competitions and club matches. The choice of which colour shoes (flat ones) and socks to wear is a personal one. A more relaxed approach for Club Night and ad-hoc roll-ups will persist if preferred.

Chris Shire was presented with the Club Trophy for the last year. His contribution to helping around the green and club on match and competition days was recognised together with his arrangement of ad-hoc roll-ups during the week. He joins a select group of well-deserved winners including Nikki Morris, Ann Templeman, Tony Henning, John Nutt and Karen Pilkington in recent years. Well done Chris.

Sadly, Diane Saunders has decided to call time on her team captaincy. She has done a sterling job down the years, cajoling folk to play and having to make some difficult decisions at times. We may have finished towards the bottom of the South Middlesex League table (again!) but she can certainly leave on a high .. wrestling the Bluewood Shield from Hampton back in August! We’ll still see Di around the green next season and she’ll continue her contribution to the committee and club. Stepping into Di’s shoes will be Dennis Morris, unanimously approved as next year’s Captain.

Amongst other items mentioned was the adoption of a safeguarding officer being mandatory for all clubs; our club finances should be able to absorb the yearly SSA fees which will be announced in due course; the extension of the Friday Morning League to more than 10 weeks, so running until September.