There was a fine turnout on Sunday for the Closing Drive, which traditionally rounds off the summer season. It was a day of fun bowls and a barbecue buffet, plus afternoon cakes and tea, with the weather generally favourable up until the closing stages of the event. There was a light touch funding element to the day with a number of £1 a go quizzes, activities and competitions in the clubhouse and on the green, plus a well-stocked raffle with all proceeds going to the Club.
On the bowling side, players were drawn into triples team, battling it out over three different games sessions. Although the accent was on fun and enjoyment, teamwork was quite important as players had to rotate positions for each session and decide when to play a Joker that doubled their score. Such was the jeopardy in the matches, that only three of the ten teams finished with a positive shot difference! Everyone entered into the jolly spirit of the day although Chris Champion, acting as referee and greenstalker, armed with yellow and red cards, noticed numerous playing infringements throughout the tournament - including wrong biases, taking it too seriously, pretending a wick was intentional and disputing referee sanctions. In fact, few players escaped reprimand but, somewhat surprisingly, no red cards were issued.
Tournament Result
1st Place (+22 shots) - Martyn Dann, Nick Mitchell & Gwen Cordory
2nd Place (+17 shots) - Chris Britten, Mark Chivers (with Roger, Faye & Chris Champion each playing one session as the 3rd member)
3rd Place (+11 shots) - John Mason, Rick Butcher & Fiona Hart
Other Winners
Spot the Jack winner - Tony Bartrum
Bowls Quiz winner - Glyn Lyford
Winning bid for The Fox meal voucher - Roger & Faye de Brett
Spider winner - Gill Dawson
Target bowls winner - Chris Champion
Needless to say, it was a great team of members that underpinned the success of the day. Special mention then to all those who organised the event, including the catering stars; Anne, Pat, Sandra and Faye who contributed to the buffet plus Rosie for her support on the day and, of course, Martyn for his talent on the barbecue, assisted by Graham & Jim. Carole Watson and Sheila Crisp, as we have come to expect, did a brilliant job of organising the raffle and maximising the ticket sales, while Graham and Gina planned the schedules and maintained the score records and Chris Champion devised the quiz and coordinated the bowls activities.
Thanks go to all those members who provided cakes and raffle prizes and, of course to all the players and spectators who attended the day and helped make it a tremendous way to say farewell to our 2026 outdoor season.