Here’s a date for your diary. On 24th July, we play our parent club, Merrow Village Club.
Previous years have seen a close-fought match, tempered with a barbecue and raffle. There is usually a good turnout from both sides, with those who have never bowled often showing us how to bowl!
Do try to come along. If you are able to attend, please add your name to the team sheet in the changing room.
See you there!
Saturday, 9th July, saw Merrow visit Astolat for a friendly four-rink triples match. The day was warm but tempered by a very strong wind, which had its own effect on the bowling.
In general, this was a hard-fought match, with the lead on some rinks some rinks see-sawing between each team. However, the final outcome was a good win for Merrow 74-60, with three of the four rinks winning. Congratulations to David Matthews, Calvin and Ken for notching up an impressive win on their rink.
Merrow normally only play a friendly with Astolat once a year, but this is likely to be our last match with them, as there are plans for Astolat to merge with Guildford and become Stoke Park Bowls Club. It is a pity to lose a well-liked club in this way but we wish their members well in the revised set-up.
On Wednesday 6th July, Mayford Hall visited us to play the return match. The match at Mayford had been rained off at the interval, so a warm and sunny afternoon was a real treat. It was a pleasure to renew acquaintances with those we had met earlier in the year and we looked forward to an enjoyable afternoon.
Merrow had several new bowlers playing in the match; David, Mo and Ken, all of whom acquitted themselves well and we look forward to their continuing involvement over the rest of the season.
We had four triples rinks in play and a hard-fought match ensued, with a mixture of results. However, Mayford ran out winners with a total of 75 points to Merrow’s 52.
On Saturday, 2nd July, a windy day with some sharp showers, we visited the new Ripley Bowls Club. The new green is right next to the A3 but the traffic noise was soon forgotten as we got into the match.
We were playing triples over four rinks. With such a strong wind, the bowls didn’t always go where one expected, and a rain shower prompted the interval tea break. However, the sun did come out and the latter half of the match was played in lovely conditions. Merrow won on three of the four rinks and had a good 34 point win overall.
The Ripley team team very welcoming and it was a pleasure to visit them. We look forward to the return match at Merrow on 23rd July.
Saturday 25th June saw Merrow travel to Ottershaw for a friendly triples match.
The afternoon didn’t start well. On leaving Merrow, the heavens opened and much of the journey was through a torrential downpour. Fortunately, on arrival at Ottershaw, the sun had come out and a pleasant afternoon was in prospect.
Play was over four rinks on a green initially slowed by the rain but otherwise giving a good run for the bowls. Three of the rinks finished in Merrow’s favour, with a good overall win for us as three of the four rinks won.
A most enjoyable afternoon for all concerned.
Wednesday saw our first matches in the Harding Cup, a competition for mixed triples. The competition is between five Surrey villages; Wednesday saw two matches played between Merrow and Albury, one home and one away.
Both home and away matches resulted in losses for the Merrow teams. The home side lost by six shots, while the away team were comprehensively beaten by Albury. Leaving the scores aside, it was a very enjoyable evening, with matches played in glorious conditions and match experience gained by the newer bowlers.
We look forward to the forthcoming matches.
We have a new banner to build on the success of our Open Day. Hopefully, the continuing reminder will encourage more people to come along and try bowls at our club. The banner says it all really!
We couldn’t have wished for better weather on our Open Day on Sunday, with record temperatures of 26C recorded in Guildford. Beautiful day to show off both the green and the game.
A good number of interested people came along to try their hand at bowls and to find out how it is played and about the club. We had an encouraging number of conversions into new members, which repaid all the effort put in by the club.
If you weren’t able to get along on the day, you can always come to one of our informal club nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are normally members around from about 5:30pm.
Here are a few photos from the afternoon session.
We had two friendlies over the weekend of 30th April – 1st May.
On Saturday, we travelled to the Pippbrook club in Dorking. Our team were four players short, so Pippbrook kindly let four of their players join us for the afternoon. It was a pleasant afternoon, spoilt only by a brief rain shower during ends eight and nine. However, the sun soon returned and Merrow went on to record a seven shot win.
Sunday’s match was against Albury. A warm sunny day was in prospect; quite a change from the recent cold and wet days. There were mixed fortunes, with both wins and losses across the four rinks, but the end result was a well deserved draw.
Merrow Village Bowling Club would like to invite you to “Come and play bowls” at their special “PLAY BOWLS DAY” on Sunday 8th May at their green, behind the Merrow Village Hall and Social Club, on the Epsom Road at Merrow. Members and the club coaches will be on hand from 10-12am and 2-4pm to welcome both existing bowlers and those who have not tried the game before, but who would like to have a go. The sessions are free and can be followed by a course of four further sessions at times to suit you in the following days or weeks. The club are particularly keen to encourage new lady bowlers to join their existing ladies group.
Why not come along, make new friends and find out that there is much more to the game than you may have thought. The club stress that enjoyment of the game is the main aim, and play friendly matches at weekends throughout the summer, against other local clubs.
For further details contact club coach Rodney Morrison on 01483 232000
Merrow Village Bowls Club 