The new outdoor season is almost upon us. The green will be officially opened by our President, David Matthews, on Sunday, 21st April, giving us a week to hone our skills before our first match on Sunday, 28th April. The match will be preceded at 1pm by our MP, Anne Milton, opening our 90th season. Do come along and support your club.

Club nights start on Tuesday, 23rd April, so why not come along, have a roll-up, and meet up with old friends.

On Saturday, 13th April, we held our first jumble sale of 2019.

We were lucky with the weather, cold but sunny, which helped to bring the buyers.

Friday evening had been a very busy time, setting up tables and putting out the jumble ready for the early Saturday start. I’m particularly grateful to all the club members who turned up at 10:30pm to get us set up.

On Saturday, dealers were our first visitors at 8:30. They pay a premium for early entry, which helps boost our takings. At last 10:00 arrived and we were able to let the public in. It was good to see some familiar faces and there is always the opportunity for some freindly banter. Sales were brisk and, as expected, some great bargains were there for the taking. A first for this year was the cake stall, where all but two fairy cakes went to an appreciative home.

Eventually, time was up and we set to work clearing the hall. It’s always surprising to see items that one expects to sell still on the tables.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who helped make the sale a success. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Our next jumble sale is on 26th October.

Yes, it’s our first jumble sale of 2019!

Why not come along to Merrow Village Hall at 10am on Saturday, 13th April and bag some bargains. We’ll have textiles, books, toys, and bric-a-brac stalls to temp you.

A new feature for this year is a cake stall. Indulge your taste buds and support the bowls club at the same time.

Doors open at 10am with an entry fee of just 50p. If you want first choice, you can pay £5 for entry at 8:30am.

Tuesday, 26th March was a lovely warm and sunny day. Taking full advantage of the favourable conditions, a group of club members spent the morning planting, painting, mending, rolling, and mowing.

David and Debbie’s herculean efforts on the green have certainly born fruit, with a lovely smooth surface. We all owe them a vote of thanks for their work.

Update: I should also mention the hard work put in by Bernard and Andy preparing the benches ready for painting. There’s been a fair bit of repair work and an awful lot of sanding!

We are holding the first of our 2019 Jumble Sales on 13th April. If you are able to donate jumble please get in touch with any committee member, who will help organise storage.

If you are able to put aside some time to help set up on the Friday evening from about 10:30pm, or if you can help on the day of the jumble sale, please let David R know. We always have a great deal of fun dealing with the buyers, so the more the merrier.

Click here for the details: Jumble Sale ad A4 white

On Sunday, 17th February, Merrow hosted Burpham at Wey Valley IBC for a friendly of 6 Rinks over 21 ends. This match was the last of Merrow’s indoor matches and required almost all of our players, with the final numbers being made up by Brian and Rose from Burpham.

The match was played in a very friendly manner, with much jollity among the teams. Up until our break for tea and cake, the overall scores were very close. However, after the break Burpham started to edge ahead, eventually winning by 31 points, with an overall score of 107-138.

However, it was not all bad news. Merrow had two winning rinks: Rink 5 with Sally, Joan, Andy, and David E our top rink winning 32-10, and Rink 6 with Sue, Tony, Len, and Rodney coming a close second with a score of 31-17. Congratulations to both teams.

One further team worthy of special mention was on Rink 2, where Sue, Rose, Ken, and Bob came a close second, losing by a mere 5 points. What makes this result stand out is that only Ken plays indoors, so the team was really up against it.

After the match, a delicious meal was served up by Nicky and her team, which everyone enjoyed. We mustn’t forget Robert behind the bar

We look forward to our two outdoor matches against Burpham over the Summer.

As Merrow celebrate our 90th anniversary, it’s pleasing to see that Scuderia Ferrari are also celebrating. Perhaps they’d like a game of bowls 😀

Unless you have paid your Village Club (not bowls) annual subscription, then your subs are overdue. Please drop into the club any day to pay.

Merrow’s second indoor match of the season took us to Camberley for our annual game of five triples.

The match is always “interesting”. Merrow’s status as a small outdoor club contrasts strongly with the large indoor club that is Camberley, so the overall result was never in doubt, with Camberley winning handsomely. However, it was not entirely one-sided, with a tremendous win on rink 4 by Sally, Andy, and David E. Well done!

Despite the result, Merrow thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to next year’s fixture, when we hope to have more indoor experience.

Our match was followed by a delicious meal. Merrow managed to win all the raffle prizes, so we did have a kind of victory!

Our final indoor match sees Merrow hosting Burpham at Wey Valley on Sunday, 17th February. If you aren’t playing, why not come along and cheer us on.

After a very long delay the hedge was trimmed back today. As you will see below it makes the green look so much more attractive. It will also help improve airflow to the grass and make maintenance of the boards easier.

Hedge and Green looking good (December 2018)