Hanwood Bowling Club
Last month at the club’s annual general meeting I met a gentleman who said to me “I had lived in the village for 5 years and didn’t know there was a bowling green here”. I was somewhat shocked. Everyone knows there is a bowling green in the village, don’t they? Well obviously not. For me I was taken there at the age of 11 and assumed that everyone was at least aware of its existence, some 43 years later a chance conversation made me realise that is not the case and some publicity to the local community might not be a bad thing.
The club was formed in 1924 and were founder members of the Shrewsbury League, and considering the transport issues, the lack of phones and the lack of floodlights, taking part must have been something of an achievement.
The club currently runs 8 teams, 2 senior citizen’s teams that play on Thursday afternoons, 2 teams on a Monday night, 2 teams on a Tuesday night and 2 teams on a Friday night. The teams cater for all abilities from beginners to the club’s 1st team that plays in the Shropshire Premier Bowling League. After finishing in a very creditable 5th place last season the team will look to build on last year’s success, and all of the community are very welcome to attend matches as all support would be greatly appreciated. The team is a mixture of all ages with a strong core of local players as well as having Birmingham based Greg Smith, one of the games top players playing in his fourth season for the club. For anybody not having seen a game of crown green bowls before, I recommend you come along one Friday night as you might find it a little more entertaining than you probably envisaged. The season starts on Monday 3rd April and continues until the end of September.
The beauty of the game is that it can be played by all ages, all abilities, or simply enjoyed as a social activity, with many watching rather than participating. The club would welcome new members and anyone interested in joining should come along and ask about how they can get involved. As a part of this we are offering free membership to any under 18’s who would like to join.
If anyone has any questions to ask the please feel free to contact
Secretary, Ursula Longmore email w.longmore38@btopenworld.com or
Treasurer, Phil Talbot, email talbot81@btinternet.com
And by the way the bowling green is directly behind the Cock Inn right in the heart of the village!