Something to look forward to at City and Port of Bristol
In bowling there is always something to look forward to and equally something to look back on and to enjoy the memory.
At City and Port of Bristol there is still a Winter Bowling Break to look forward to in March 2024.Organised by Dee Crawley and Gill Hinksman it will once again be at the splendid Toorak Hotel in Torquay from Sunday afternoon until Friday morning.
There will be not only four games of bowls on the hotels indoor arena but also use of all the facilities that the hotel group has to offer. Bowling is for two hours each day so there is plenty of time to take in whatever is going on at the hotel or to venture out and explore Torquay and the surrounding area. There is an excellent bus service making exploration of all the local attractions very easy.
Sadly there will be no new outdoor season to look forward to in 2024 because the club has now closed but there is plenty to look back on from the 50 years at the green in Nibley Road and the years prior to that when sharing a green with Avonmouth.
Club Summer Tours, Special Days Out, big days at the green and all the very many games of bowls that were played — some purely for the pleasure of being on the green and others more competitive with the aim being to win. At one point in the clubs history there was bowling at the green seven days a week.
Something that bowlers, families and friends will remember is the Sunday evening social events which came to be in the latter years of the clubs history.
They ran in the Winter months at the main Social and Sports Club and they had two objectives. Primarily — they brought people together during the bowling close season. Without them people would not meet again until the new outdoor season started. Secondly — theyraised funds which were much needed when bowling was not taking place but bills still had to be paid.
Social evenings were not the same every month — there were Beetle Drives — very frustrating but great fun. Skittle nights were always popular — and a challenge to those who had not played before. Table skittles was a challenge of a different sort — it was always in the swing of the ball and not everybody quite mastered it. Sometimes there was mini putting on the end of a skittle alley — presented by Brian Crawley the aim was to put a golf ball into a numbered mouse hole — not as easy as it looked.
Possibly overall favourite was the Gordon Dimond quiz — thinking caps required for the quiz devised and presented by Gordon —- lots of questions across many subjects for the teams of four to answer and at the end of it — there were winners and Gordon provided the prizes.
Lis Davies organised many of the social evenings and on one occasion devised a totally different game that involved taking an object to her — first to do it took the point. Some things were easier to produce than others — it raised lots of laughs.
Sunday evening socials were all for fun and meeting people and there were chances to win prizes — on the tombola and the raffle — and sometimes a lucky dip.
Bowling is a game that can be played and enjoyed in many ways. It can be played for fun or on occasion great fun. In September 2014 there was a fancy dress bowls match at the club and some of the fancy dresses were amazing, Amongst them — an Arab, an Archbishop and Andy Pandy. There was bowling but the focus of attention that day was on what people wore.
In the next edition — a complete contrast when Gloucestershire and Somerset came to play at the green — lots of formality and ceremony — not to mention speeches and presentations.
If you have memories of the club from way back when please call David Hinksman on 07932 387217 and tell him.
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