Saturday 14th Nov 2020, and I rather grew up or turned into my Mother, not certain which. Winter 1954 I remember it well the school under 11’s had to catch 2 buses to play football at Aldershot Manor Park.
It must have been one of the coldest days in history we played this game in cold and wet conditions. Changed into our clothes (no showers) and caught 2 buses home. Our fingers were so cold we could not button our shirts, flys, or shoelaces we must have looked like rag, tag and bobtail, but we were happy. Mother could never understand, she would say “they should not let you play on days like this” Mothers never understood!!.
However 14th November 2020, a miserable morning in Spain not cold, not raining just a light drizzle but importantly no sun. I should be up at the club to report on the competitions, but today Mum’s advice makes sense.
I sent Shirley up to play and said I might follow later. Well at 11.30 I convinced myself the weather was not that bad and I went up to see the second half of the games and what a fool I had been, there was at least a dozen folk watching and what an exciting 3 games were going on. 2 men’s singles and 1 ladies pairs.
The men’s singles between Tom Spencer and Alex Maurrice and Don Fowkes and John Rae were 2 of the best games I have seen in a long time, real television stuff, Alex beating Tom 21-17, and John overcoming Don to win a final end 21-20. The Ladies Pairs, Anne Stone and Carol Smith versus Margaret MacLaughlin and Shirley Hadaway were 6-6 at 12 ends when I arrived, then Anne & Carol, our reigning champions found their rytham and went on to win 17-12.
On Monday the two captains arranged a friendly game between the Explorers and Pathfinders, if the scores did matter the Pathfinders were clear winners 8-4 and overall shots 97-85 but bowls was the true winner and thank you Captains for arranging the event.
Barclays Winter League. – in the words of Eric Morecombe all the right results but not necessary in the right order, all five results were 6-2 on points. But the lowly Tigers bear the Koalas the Lambs lost to the Dolphins, the Collies beat the Seals, the Lions beat the Monkeys and perhaps predicable to form, the Pandas beat the Bears. These results leave the top 4 teams – Lambs, Lions, Koalas, Dolphins, with 36-36-34-34 points and the Pandas close behind on 31.
Dave Hadaway
