Friday night dinner

The annual dinner and presentation of awards is nearly upon us – if coming, please arrive by 6:30pm for a start at 7pm. The dinner, presentation of awards and raffle is expected to take around 3hrs. If you feel able to donate a suitable raffle prize please seek out Eileen or Di on arrival at the club.

We have been advised by Fulwell Golf Club that the code for exiting the car park, if required, is 1904.

 

How many months have 30 days?

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.

                            

Jean’s on the green

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.

 

 

Middlesex 2023 entries

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.”

 

 

Skittles

The winter social evenings kicked off on Tues 4th with around two dozen members putting their bowls skills to the test on the skittle alley. The rules were followed to the letter, but not sure which one? There was only occasional heckling, lots of cheering and some gasps of astonishment. After three rounds the “Newbies” clinched a close win.  Overall, a good time was had by all.
Quiz Night is the theme for November’s social on the 1st, and an early note that the AGM is on the 8th.
+ Thanks to roving reporter Chris Shire for this report .. your regular contributor was otherwise engaged at the Queen Consort’s 50th birthday bash, courtesy of The Crown series 6!

All wrapped up

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.

                                   

End of the season

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.