The weather has been very wet and some fixtures have had to be cancelled or played in the rain.

Our first friendly at Shalford at the end of April was a welcome half-way from bowling indoors to outdoors as their artificial surface is certainly a lot faster than outdoor lawn greens this year. We played 10 ends in the relatively dry and then stopped for tea and finished off in the rain. Merrow were just ahead before tea and managed to buck the usual trend of ‘everything changes after tea’ to win on all four rinks, and keeping Catain Debbie’s unbroken friendly  record.

The friendly against Albury was cancelled due to overnight very wet weather but we played away at Horsell on Saturday 4th May and Captain Richard recorded his first win as weekend captain this season.

Work on the flower beds and banks continues and lots of the new plants are relishing the rain. We look forward to  enjoying all of Barbara and team’s hard work whilst we are playing and watching.

Skills on Monday afternoons have started but once again the poor weather has meant some cancellations and the start of the Aussie Pair league on Monday evening has also been delayed.

The drier club nights on Tuesday and Thursday evenings have seen lots of members enjoying triples and pairs games. Don’t forget if you want to be included in the Thursday club night league to turn up at 5.45pm.

Knaphill triples has already started and the other interclub leagues will soon be in full swing. County and club competitions are also underway so now all we need is some fairer weather to enjoy it all. Report by Debbie

Our President David F ‘opened the green’ after a short welcome speech by casting the jack and putting up a bowl. We played a short six end game to get our arms in ready for outdoors and then had our customary tea and cakes. Twenty-eight members plus some guests enjoyed a chat with refreshments provided by Helen, Melanie and Pauline.

The next day during our committee meeting the green was transformed back to winter mode by a hailstorm!

Although Mike B made plans for a back-up day in the event of poor weather we were blessed with the perfect day on Saturday to get all the outdoor painting done ready for the outdoor season.

18 volunteers came to garden, paint, build screens and finish off painting the clubhouse. The bulk was done in a couple of hours and we enjoyed a well earned rest with lots of yummy cakes thanks to Helen, Pauline and Barbara.

There are just a couple more jobs to do but we look forward to welcoming everyone back on Sunday  14^th April at 2pm to our refurbished club house. Come and join us for a short game, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and collect your fixture booklet and sign up for club competitions if you haven’t already. Report by Debbie and photo by Mike.

On Sunday 17th. March, at Wey Valley Bowls Club, Castle Green played Merrow in our annual indoor match. Initially Merrow went ahead and then at the half time tea break the two captains adjusted the handicaps giving Castle Green an additional 45 shots. Having done this the score was virtually even with only a couple of points difference. This inspired Castle Green and made Merrow try even harder. The final result was a win for Merrow (145 – 115).

Unfortunately at the end of the game the Castle Green Captain, went home ill and handed his speech over to John R. On the plus side Ken B did get an extra Pork steak!

Great fun was had by all and we all look forward to the outdoor games with our friends from  Castle Green. Report by Allen M.

Lots of work is going on behind the scenes to get the club ready for the new season.

Ditches are being cleared, the banks have been lifted, the green is being regularly swished, and the flower beds, troughs and bank have been weeded and planted up ready for spring. Our ditch and rink markers have had their annual repaint.

Working parties are being organised to get the clubhouse painted and the outside woodwork (ditch boards, posts and sheds) painted for the new season.

The fixture booklet is in the process of being finalised before printing and the affiliation return to Bowls Surrey is being completed. We are also investigating new shirts for the coming season.

Thank you to everyone who contributes with these jobs.

Our penultimate indoor friendly against Burpham was played at Wey Valley. The result was a win for Merrow winning 4 out of the 6 triples. We enjoyed a post-match meal and drinks with our neighbours and look forward to playing them outdoors this summer. Our final indoor fixture is with Castle Green on the 17th March.

It might be frosty (or wet and windy) outside, but things are still happening. On Sunday 21^st January, Trevor led Merrow to a welcome victory at Camberley Indoor Bowls Club (101-81). This was the second of our four indoor friendlies, with the next two at Wey Valley against Burpham (18^th February) and Castle Green (17^th March). Please apply on BIAS if you can play.

Our New Year quiz on the 13^th January was very well organised by John and Sally.  We had great fun arguing over the answers to questions and it was very surprising how many bowlers didn’t know what ‘the kitty’ was.  We raised £227 for club funds.

Many thanks to Tony and his team who are swishing the green on a regular basis, and to Mike and Derek working hard (between coffee breaks) on levelling the bank nearest the clubhouse.

Merry Christmas Cakes
There were 12 of us at the Owen residence on Tuesday 5^th  including a few new faces. We had a refresher on how to marzipan the cakes which everyone undertook with ease. Like their bowling they are all becoming real professionals at work!

I demonstrated the intricacies of the melting snowman and then one penguin. I had four more to show them, but they were all too keen and raring to go. So instead of watching they were OFF. And the great thing was that they all got very brave and went off piste doing their own version of their chosen design. Encarna had 3D layers of green/red trees with a lovely forest affect going on around the sides. Paul (a newcomer but by no means a shrinking violet) got going on, not one but, two Christmas cakes both melting snowmen; one with a flat cap and pipe. We also had blended use of a 3D Christmas tree and stars from John along with fab penguins or baubles from others.

Our reindeer pioneers came up with some super looks to their cakes but we didn’t have time for me to demonstrate my version so I just had to do it once they’d all gone!

Wonderful morning… assuming we do it again next year we will have to do something a bit more advanced.

So here’s wishing you all a Happy New Year and well done to one and all!
Report by Barbara

Ps I think the sloe gin and Christmassy chocolate cake helped too!

Winter Friendlies
We had a lovely warm welcome at Mole Valley from Sandy who used to be a Merrow bowler before moving nearer to  Leatherhead and her team. We played four rinks, with trial ends whilst waiting for the latecomers and then 18 ends ‘proper’. The overall scores were very close with both teams vying for the lead, but Merrow just managed to hold on with a three-shot win thanks to Helen, Chris, Pauline and Tony.

Well done to those who don’t normally play indoors too for being part of the team and thanks to Chris and Mike for substituting in one way or another.
Report by Debbie

Winter Friendlies
Don’t forget to apply on BIAS for our four indoor fixtures. All members are welcome to come and play – it doesn’t matter if you have not played indoors before. The first is at Mole Valley on Wednesday 6^th December.

Jumble Sale
Thanks to the generosity of donators, hard work from our members selling and a host of willing customers we made £550 from this year’s jumble sale. The proceeds will go towards our clubhouse makeover.

Many thanks to Joan and Allen for organising this.

Presentation Lunch
Fifty members and guests enjoyed a delicious lunch at Sutton Green Golf Course at our annual presentation lunch. Trophies and awards were given out to club competition winners and runners up and Knaphill Triple winners. We had an opportunity to celebrate success and thank all those who help the smooth running of the club, with a special mention to this year’s club person, Mike B, and Derek. A raffle by Andy and Ken rounded off the afternoon.