bowls

Bowls Newsletter: August 2017

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR FUTURE NEWS LETTERS SHOULD BE SENT TO OUR EDITOR: KEN HOMEWOOD

DIARY DATES
Wednesday 2nd August – Match at the seaside (Eastbourne)
Friday 4th August 2:30pm – Lady Captain v Vice-Captain
Friday 11th August 2:30pm – Semi-finals of Ladies’ Trips
Saturday 12th August 2:30pm – Mens Captain v Vice-Captain
Saturday 19th August 10:30am – Mixed 2 wood trips & BBQ
Monday 28th August 2:30pm – Bank Holiday roll-up
Congratulations to Linda Pillman
Linda was awarded her John’s Flash/Pocket during July.
Congratulations to Jenny Baird
Jenny retained her Officers Cup trophy with a marathon of a match of 29 ends lasting 3 hours which she eventually won 21 – 20 after being 16 – 20 down.  Jenny has now won this event 3 times
Captain Hotshot
In our game against Oxshott Adam’s rink of Robert Postle, Ron Haddingham & Reg Hopkins achieved a “HOT SHOT” i.e. a maximum 8 shots on one end. They were 17 – 12 down at the time and went on to win 23 – 21. Well done. 
NWS Surrey Competitions
We are still well represented in most events as they approach the semi-final stage. This years the events seem to be dominated by Weybridge and to a lesser extent Egham but we are still hopeful of having a finalist or two at Egham on Sunday 27th August.
Coronation Triples
The event is down to the last eight and our remaining triple, Malcolm, Baird, Colin Jones & John Garland, the defending winners, play Imber Court on Sunday 6th August.
RACAL-DECCA LEAGUE
The final outcome is expected to be close between Cheam and ourselves so we need good results in our last two matches.
RACAL-DECCA CUP
We were unable to repeat our success of last year and lost at Malden Manor by 14 shots. Jerry, Val, Linda & Mike achieved a hard-fought draw but our other rink never managed to adapt to the pace of their rink against a home rink that all played well.
NWS LEAGUES
We are currently in 4th place in the Mixed League and 5th in the Double Rinks League.
HEATHFIELD MEN’S DOUBLE RINKS
We lost our first-round match against a very strong Egham 17-39 (10-16 & 7-23)
FRIENDLY MATCHES
In July we played 6 matches, winning 4 losing 1 with one match being a tie.
CLUB BOWLS
It appears that some members think that the club bowls are for sale, that they can be taken for a few quid. This is not the case as we use these for beginners.  All the club bowls in the shed, as well as those in the four ladies’ lockers + the men’s ‘coffin’, are clearly labelled PROPERTY OF EMBER BOWLS CLUB. 
CHARITY SUPPER – 1st July
65 people attended the Charity supper and enjoyed the food and hospitality. The raffle was well supported with contributions from many people and at the end of the evening over £1,000 had been raised for Walsingham Care.
Val would like to thank all those who helped organise and run the evening and to all those who contributed to the raffle. 
DAY AT THE SEASIDE– Wednesday 2nd August
This match against Eastbourne BC at Saffrons Road has now been finalised and it will be a seven-rink match starting at 2pm. A coach will take us there, and bring us back. All those who signed up should have received detail information on timing and costs from Bill Budge.
If anyone who has not been contacted would like to go please contact Bill 020-8398-3850 and he will see if he can include you in the party.
MIXED 2 WOOD TRIPS COMPETITION + BBQ ~ Saturday, 19th August
Just over two weeks to go so put your name on the sheet in the Mixed availability folder and in your diary.  This is a fun competition open to ALL ladies and gentlemen of ALL abilities. New bowlers are welcome as this is an opportunity to participate in a serious but fun competition. The teams will be drawn on the day taking into account the individual handicaps to ensure that games are evenly matched.  Losers in the first round will enter a plate competition so everyone is guaranteed at least two games.  The day starts at 10am with the draw and bowling starting at 10.30am. Coffees, teas and biscuits are included in the entry fee of £2.50 and there will be prizes for the winners of both the main competition and the plate competition. The winners will formally be presented with the Trophy on Finals Day.  Sadly, lunch is not included, so you must bring your own.
We have been lucky to obtain the Master Chef of BBQs, Andy Hughes, and there will be a BBQ at 6pm after the competition: The sign-up sheet for this is on the notice board.  Everyone is welcome to come along to enjoy the evening’s good food and good company.  Please sign-up early so that we may plan the catering, a bargain at £6pp.
HOSTING
At short notice, we were asked to host Surrey Ladies Bowls Benevolent Triples Zone 3 on Friday 28th July 2017. Thanks in anticipation for all those who have volunteered to help on the day.
BAR ROTA
The list is now on the notice board for August and there are slots still to be filled. Will all able members please make sure they sign up for at least one turn during the month. Any queries please contact Adam Willson on 01932 889662 or b.willson@ntlworld.com
THE GREEN
Further damage has occurred on the green and ALL bowlers should be aware for the need to use the mats. If you are causing or observe others causing damage please put the mats down. Damage caused takes several months to cure and will cause inconsistent roll of the bowls.
We recognize that no-one deliberately causes damage and anyone having difficulty with their delivery should ask one of the coaches to help them produce a better release.
Club Competitions
We are now well into our Club Competitions program. If you are having difficulty in arranging your games for any reason please let the Competition Secretaries (Linda Pillman & Dave Bardsley) know sooner rather than later. Your co-operation will be greatly appreciated.
The competition draws are available on the website and in the display envelopes on the notice board.  Please keep your eye on them if you are waiting for earlier matches to be completed. 
EMBER EVENING LEAGUE
6 rounds have now been played and the current leaders are Alpha but this can all change in the remaining 6 games as many of the games have been very close. The 2 games that had been washed out have been rearranged.
Unfortunately, we have had 2 games where one team has only fielded 2 players. Please make sure if you cannot play you arrange a substitute as it spoils the game for 5 people.
 
Take a look at these websites to keep up to date with bowls at county and national levels
www.bowlsengland.com
www.surreycountybowls.co.uk
www.ladiesbowlssurrey.co.uk

A Slightly Wet Trip to the Seaside

A bit of a wet trip to the seaside this year for Ember Bowls Club. We visited the lovely coastal setting of Eastbourne, and the very friendly people of Eastbourne Bowling Club.
Unfortunately, the weather got the better of us this year, and the match was called off after 5 ends due to the torrential rain. All was not lost though – we had a great time socialising with the Eastbourne players, a nice tea, a good few drinks and a great fish supper to round off the afternoon before heading back to Ember.
Thanks to the very friendly Eastbourne players, the people who made us such a great tea and to the whole club for making us very welcome and accommodating us when the weather got a bit dodgy!
 









Perfect Bowls Evening

A perfect evening last night for a roll-up!





Ember vs. Sunbury Friendly

A great day out. Even the odd shower didn’t dampen the bowlers’ enthusiasm!

How many of these have you used?

Seen on the noticeboard of Cambridge Park Bowls club yesterday….
 

Indoor Game vs. Cambridge Park

Although we didn’t win, it was a great afternoon and we had some great games, with some wonderful tea and cakes afterwards!

 

 

Bowls Section Shufleboard Social Evening

Thanks to all who came along and had a great meal and social evening at Ember last night! The Shuffleboard proved to be especially popular.
A great thanks must go to Linda for organising and creating such amazing food, and to Adam and all the team who helped organise such a great evening.
 

Ember Big Band Evening 2017

Some wonderful pictures and videos from our Ember Sports Club Big Band evening!





Christmas at Ember!

Merry Christmas from all at Ember Sports Club! Here are some pictures from our annual Christmas carol service.
 
https://youtu.be/BCYnT2Gtjl0

From the Archive…

Thanks to Peter Collins these documents have emerged.  Mysteriously contained in an envelope marked “Not to be opened until the year 2000”  Peter held back until now to reveal a menu from Ember Bowling Club’s 25th Anniversary Dinner and an autographed menu from the 1976 Surrey County BA Presentation Dinner.  Different days, but you may recognise a few names…
ember-25th-anniversary-dinner-01 ember-25th-anniversary-dinner-02
scba-dinner-1976-01 scba-dinner-1976-02 scba-dinner-1976-03 scba-dinner-1976-04