Balloons and Bowls - a heady combination!

Weekly News

Open day success for Banwell

We were at the club early. Mike and Gerry were putting up the gazebo and digging out the barbecue. Kim and Wendy were blowing up Bowls England Bowls Big Weekend balloons and tying them up in key spots around the village. Dee and Charlotte were organising the whisky/Bailey's raffle, with Janis helping Bob to set up the bar. Numerous members brought home-made cakes, along with bric-a-brac, plants and pre-loved bowling paraphernalia for sale.

Our first visitors arrived half an hour before the start of the event, and all day there was a steady trickle of people keen to have a go at bowling. Coaches Wendy and Allan were kept busy on the green, and others joined in to help out.

All ages took to the green, from toddlers upwards. Here is one youngster, who got the hang of the game very quickly, under the guidance of Allan and Wendy.

Captain Mike was seen on the green several times in his pinny, in the dual role of chief cook and bowling teacher.

Sausage Sizzle!

As lunchtime loomed, the delicious smell of burning sausages drifted across the green and into the clubhouse.

Before long, the queue of hungry bowlers began to build up as Pete and Mike formed a production line of hotdog assembly beneath the gazebo. Caught on camera - one hungry customer, tucking in!

The ladies vs the men - 'we let them win', proclaims one player....

The highlight of the open day was the annual match between the ladies and the men.

The rain held off for most of the match. Photo by Bob Grant

The ladies have been the victors for the last 2 years. Some of our visitors watched from the benches, as the match unfolded. Read the match report below to find out what happened this year.

And finally....

We raised £140 from the sausage sizzle and £60 for our plant, bric-a-brac and bowling sales. The raffle has not yet been drawn. Eventual proceeds will be added to the total, and split between our Captain's Charity - MND Association - and club funds.

Thanks to all for taking part.

Come and try bowling with us

Coaching equipment

Allan/Wendy hold coaching sessions every Monday at 4:45pm, prior to the start of the Umbrella at 6:15pm. As well as instruction on the green, the coaches will provide hints and tips, pointers on rules, and of course, etiquette.

Why not come along and join in? Potential new members are welcome. Call Mike Nickson, club captain on 07708 451348 for details, and to book a place.

Calling all members - are you free on Fridays?

We've been having a go at a shorter version of bowling called bowls bash. It takes about an hour, and we're finding it to be great fun. If you fancy a go, then come along to the club on Fridays at 2pm to join in.

A message from Wendy

To all members, just a reminder to book your internal competition matches, especially the men's championship, handicap and veterans, the open pairs, and the 2 wood singles.  The deadline for the first round is Saturday 14th June, so there are only a couple of weeks to play these games.

---

Match Report

This week the over 55's were in action twice, with mixed fortunes.

21/5/25 Over 55's away to Clarence Golds

We played Clarence Blues on Wednesday and lost. Winning on three rinks, and losing on the other three, unfortunately the winning rinks could not make up the difference in the shots lost by the other rinks. Paul Aldus's was rink of the day, winning by 10 shots - well done. My rink took the wooden spoon. I am not going to tell you the score....

The overall scores were Banwell 89, Clarence Blues 106; points were Banwell 6, Clarence 14. The highlight of the day was a punch up between a couple of lads and some members of Clarence!

My thanks to Paul Aldus and Martin Brand who stepped in at the last minute.

Thanks to all who played. 

22/5/25 Over 55s knockout cup away to Ashcombe Templars

On Thursday we played Ashcombe Templars in the league cup, where our fortunes were reversed from the day before, by winning the tie.

We took the match quite comfortably, winning on four rinks, losing on another, with the other one being abandoned as one of Ashcombe's players was unable to continue. We trust that he is feeling a lot better today. We won by 100 shots to 74.

John Wright's rink was star rink of the day, winning by 14 shots. I am not going to tell who had the wooden spoon - you can try to guess.

Special thanks to Wayne Butcher and Pete Skipton. Pete didn't know that he was playing until 1.50; he did very well to get to Ashcombe by 2.30 then help Alan Vickery to a 6-shot victory.

Thanks to all who turned up and played. To those of you who couldn't though ill health, I hope you will soon recover. 

Allan Shattock, coach/ over 55s captain

24/5/25 Ladies vs Men, Banwell open day

For the past two years the ladies have run out victorious in this popular fixture. Due to the shortage of ladies this year, a reduced version was played with four battle of the sexes duels comprising four wood pairs games to decide bragging rights.

On paper, the ladies looked like they were up for hitting the hat trick, with a strong showing on their side. There was little in it over the first few ends, but as the matches progressed the men clearly took heed of the warning to "turn up" this year, and eventually came out on top on three rinks out of four.

Final score was 39 to the ladies but 55 to the men...finally the tiny trophy was back home, and there wasn't even any need to add any winning scores from our spare men's rink should it have all gone in the other direction.

John Wright

.