This blog is about bowls, usually things about the club and what has or is going on but for me, today was a day of remembering how I started playing the game.
Allan Shanks had been asked by Dorothy Wilson to play in a gala at her Levin Women’s Bowling Club and he asked me to join them as the third player. This I agreed to do and it was for me, the first time there for many years.
I first played on the ‘green’ as a Boy Scout in the 40’s when we were taken there to play games and then in 1980 I played my first bowls there. My father, although a member of the Levin Bowling Club, was the green keeper and when I told him that I wanted to join his club, he took time off his green keeping tasks to introduce me to the finer points of the game.
Herb Wenham
After becoming a bowler, I played a few time on the Ladies green, but since then, had not been back until today. My mother played at the club and when she died, my father gave the club a flagpole and it still stands there with the plaque, Mavis Wenham Memorial, attached to it.
Mavis Wenham and Francie Galloway who still is a member of the LBC
Perhaps the other unusual thing about my father is that, because of the years of work he did there, they made him a Life Member. I wouldn’t think that there would not be too many men nominated for that position in a Ladies club.
So, even though the rain was present at the start of today’s gala, play got underway and once we moved from Rink 1, which does have its problems, we enjoyed playing on the green and had a good day, winning three of our games.
I wasn’t at yesterday’s Grant’s Whiskey Corner to Corner round but I have heard that Margaret MacKay took away the prize; the third female to take home a bottle of the sponsor’s product.
Earlier in the day, the Men’s Gala had been played. Our thanks go to May Thompson, Grace Virtue and Marion Bell who gave their time to fill in so that there was no bye.
Winners :
J Bentley (s), N McCutcheon, R Spicer – 4 wins, 24 ends and 46 points
J Willis (s), A Shanks, B Thompson – 3½ wins, 23 ends and 43 points
C Smith (s) B Taylor, B Court – 3 wins, 20 ends and 44 points