News

The Club is very pleased to be hosting a Mens County match this coming Saturday (August 6th) when Hertfordshire take on Wiltshire at 2.00 p.m. We are hoping for warm, dry weather and a good attendance to see some quality bowling.

We want to put our best face on and the ‘Green’ and ‘Catering’ teams, led by David Brown and Carole Dunn, respectively have been hard at it to ensure that our visitors enjoy the facilities and welcome of our club. We’ve even snapped David Brown on his knees, but the big question is why?

Was he waging war on those pesky worms that always seem to pop up and deflect his otherwise perfect deliveries?

Was he looking for that five-p coin he dropped last winter?, or

Was he praying to Mecca for some divine help?

Apparently none of these – he has gone to great lengths to claim that he was attending to minor repairs on the green for this match – but what do you think?

Come along and ask him yourself!

This week Berkhamsted hosted an evening for the Hemel Rotary Club in which they had a go at playing bowls. This is becoming an annual event and 33 members of the Rotary Club turned out for a full evening of entertainment playing bowls with members of bowls club lending a hand, when needed, to iron out any problems and smooth a few feathers. Berkhamsted’s blind UK bowling champion, Sarah Marshall, gave the Rotarians a demonstration of the techniques used by blind bowlers, assisted by Linda Ralphs. The pair of them are off to South Africa in March 2017 where Sarah will represent the UK in the World Blind Bowling Championships. Sarah needs to secure funding for her trip and anyone wishing to sponsor her should ring the Club Secretary, Christine Sims, on 01442873413 or E-Mail her at berkhamstedbowlsclub.sec@gmail.com. The evening was rounded off with and excellent meal provided by Lesley & David Brown, Janice Murgatroyd and Lesley Drake.

In the Dacorum Shield match Berkhamsted did not fare so well against Potten End losing 51 – 74 shots which gave 4 points to Potten End and 1 to Berkhamsted.
A match was held against the Chesham Pioneers who are a team of visually impaired bowlers which Berkhamsted won 36-21. This was helped by a top rink of Geoff Drew, Christine Sims and Dave Drew assisted by Berkhamsteds other team of Paul Sims, Corine Little and John Webb.
The week ended with a match against Broadway who unfortunately were 2 members short for the match. Rather than cancel it two members from Berkhamsted, Jean Greenfield and Eric Lloyd, volunteered to play for Broadway and ended up getting top rink for Broadway. Berkhamsted won by 58 shots to 33 with a top rink of Judy Kenyon, Geoff Drew and Terry Kenyon.

On Wednesday 27th July we hosted Chesham Pioneers for a 2 rink mixed triples friendly match.

Nothing unusual in this, unless you are aware that Chesham Pioneers is a bowling club whose members suffer a range of visual disabilities. We, in our club, are indeed aware of this because of our own UK Blind Bowling Championship winner, Sarah Marshall, who was once a member of Chesham Pioneers, but joined us to improve her skills by playing regularly with, and against, sighted bowlers.

The afternoon was a tremendous success. The Pioneers displayed a level of skill far beyond that which ‘normally sighted’ bowlers would believe. Suffice to say that on a number of ends, the Pioneers’ play left us wondering how they could be be so good!!. The camaraderie was excellent – and the the home bowlers took great benefit from the information being relayed from the head to the mat by the Directors/Guides via walkie-talkie radios – perhaps if we hadn’t listened in then we might not have been able to sneak a small advantage!!!! The result did not matter; only the pleasure it brought to all present – definitely a case of ‘The taking part that counts’.

Afterwards we enjoyed excellent hospitality in our clubhouse, which I hoped showed how much, as a community spirited club committed to providing bowling opportunities for disabled bowlers, we value matches like these. Indeed on Wednesday August 24th we are playing a match against a Disability Bowls England team that we hope will demonstrate further our commitment in this area.

This post writer is looking forward very much to next season’s match when, if selected, he can renew acquaintances forged during Wednesday’s bright & sunny afternoon. Good luck and best wishes to Chesham Pioneers and the opportunities and pleasure that they afford to their members.

Thirty Three members and friends from Hemel Hempstead Rotary Club enjoyed a full evening of entertainment at our Club on Tuesday evening (26th July). They had a game of bowls with members from our Bowls Club lending a hand,when needed, to iron out any problems and smooth a few feathers! The evening was rounded off by an excellent three course meal provided by Lesley & David Brown, Janice Murgatroyd and Lesley Drake.

Sarah Marshall, the club’s UK Blind Bowling Champion, ably assisted by her ‘sighted’ Director Linda Ralphs, gave a demonstration to the Rotarians of her skills. Willow, Sarah’s dog, was also in attendance and admired by all.

Sarah is off to Cape Town, along with Linda, in March 2017 to represent the UK at the World Blind Bowling Championships. Sarah has to secure funding for her trip so if anyone would like to sponsor her please make contact with our Club Secretary Christine Sims – berkhamstedbowlsclub.sec@gmail.com or via phone on 01442 873413.

In the individual competitions this week David Brown & Kevin Clarke beat a pair from Garston by 23 Shots to 5 in the Watford and District Pairs competition. Success also came in the 2nd round of the Watford & District Ladies pairs for Carole Dunn and Mary Clarke who beat a pair of ladies from Garston.

In the friendly matches this week Berkhamsted won both. At the start of the week Cheddington were beaten 97 – 94 shots in a very close fought match with a top rink of Marion Maynard, Luke Swan, Peter Batchelor and Bill Howells. In the other close match Berkhamsted won 66-61 against Wing and again Marion Maynard was in the top rink along with Alan Baker and Ken Maynard.

Berkhamsted also played Little Gaddesden in the Dacorum Shield Competition winning 87 – 32. They won on all 3 rinks with the Ladies rink winning 27-7, the Men’s rink 23-14 and the Mixed rink 37 – 11 which was the top rink of Janice Murgatroyd, Linda Ralphs, Bill Howells and Ken Maynard, giving Berkhamsted an all 5 points win.