Our annual Fish ’n’ Chips night on the 19^th September proved to be the last opportunity to bowl outdoors this season as the wet weather meant our last two friendly fixtures were cancelled.

We played in teams for Allen or Trevor in a combination of triples and pairs until the bell rang time. No one know quite who won! This was followed by fish and chips in the main club. Thanks to Trevor for organising and for all those who came to play or eat later and contributed to the raffle.

Our annual Bowlers v Main Club match was held on Sunday 15th in warmish sunshine. We played two bowl triples over 16 ends and finished with a barbeque and drinks. Everyone from the youngest who was 9 years old up to the oldest nearing 80 enjoyed some competitive bowls.

The bowlers won on 5 of the rinks and by overall shots. David O and Helen on the top rink accepted the cup on behalf of the bowlers.

Steve M, John and David E were successful in their WSBA Triples final held at Knaphill on Saturday 14th and will be awarded the trophy at the WSBA AGM. The game against Woodbridge Hill was very competitive but Merrow managed to open up a lead to win after 17 ends.

Our club finals were held over a week due to the WSBA semi finals and the poor weather. Spectators came to support the competitors for every match, which was much appreciated. The winners and runners up will be awarded trophies and medals at our annual presentation lunch on 20th October. Many thanks to David O for his organisation.

Report by Debbie.

After another successful season in which we reached the Finals of the Knaphill Triples for the third year running, the outcome was close but not sufficient. The final chapter was written under dreadful meteorological circumstances. It rained all morning in the semi-finals in which Merrow lost to Albury by one shot over two triples. The afternoon saw thunder and lightening and the green was waterlogged in places. The third-fourth playoff match was abandoned and Merrow will share third place with Knaphill. I would like to thank the other 11 players for their support in all the games. We won sixteen and lost only two, scoring 776 shots for and 489 against.

The competition, divided into four zones, is well organised and well suited to all players at the Merrow club. There are 40 teams, with several clubs having two or more teams. Report by John W.

The green was transformed into a 9 hole ‘golf’ course for our Crazy Bowls event organised by Tony D. We had great fun working out how to navigate the practise round before enjoying a really good spread for tea. Then the 20 players set off on a scoring round. Chris and Paul came in as eventual winners having the lowest combined score. Report by Debbie.

Merrow welcomed Ripley on Saturday 31st August for our annual friendly but with the David Matthews Trophy at stake. The match was close, with each side winning 2 rinks, but Merrow got the victory on overall shots. Thanks very much to David O for the mid-match tea. Report by Debbie.

A fun afternoon was had by all at Holloway Hill on Wednesday 27th August as they celebrated their centenary. Although Merrow lost there was only a 2 shot difference at the end with special thanks to John, Sally and Robin saving Merrow from a bigger defeat by winning on their rink 24 – 8.

Speeches were made and the Holloway Hill Captain presented Merrow with a Centenary pennant. Report by Allen.

Club Night 1st August…

…Jo and Debbie admit defeat as the thunderstorm and hail arrives to flood the green.

Aussie Pairs Competition

This year the Aussie pairs competition was held in glorious sunshine. We played in two leagues with the top team from each league playing in the final. It was a long but enjoyable day with everyone winning at least one of their league matches with shot difference the only way to separate some teams. The finalists were John W and John P and Barbara and David O with the winners above being presented with the Raison Trophy.

Friendly Update
Sunday 11^th August saw Merrow play a friendly at Woking Park. Unusually for this summer the weather was hot, as a result we agreed to play just 14 ends then retire to the shade of their canopy and a cooling drink.

Also unusually the match ended in a draw, with two wins apiece, and an overall score of 40 shots each.  We will meet up again with Woking Park on the 17^th August for the decider, when we are hosts. Report by Richard.

The day before our Wednesday game of bowls at Wonersh (24th July), I received a phone call from the Wonersh captain to say that two of their players couldn’t play, so he only had three teams and one spare player. A few phone calls later and Ken and Lesley came to the rescue by playing for Wonersh making up the four triples required.

Then two hours before the game another phone call from the Wonersh captain asking where the game was due to be played! I reassured him that we were on our way to Wonersh.

The game went well on a pleasant afternoon with Merrow winning on three rinks out of four and by 79 shots to 67. Report by Allen.

The weather was perfect for our annual President v Chair match on the 20th July. This year, President David F’s nominated charity was the Royal Surrey County Hospital ‘Greatest Need Fund’. Match fees, proceeds from the spider (won by Pauline) and the raffle were all donated.

We had a lovely afternoon playing triples, stopping for tea with home-made cakes supplied by Barbara and Pauline.

The result was a win for the Chair by 89-70 shots, but the President did win on three out of five rinks so a close match overall. Afterwards players and spectators enjoyed a drink and picnic tea in the sunshine.

Thank you to everyone who came to play, support and donated raffle prizes – we raised £200 for David’s chosen charity.

At last! Merrow Bowls Club had their first mid-week friendly victory of the season winning 78 – 58 against Holloway Hill on Wednesday 10th July. Not to take anything away from Holloway Hill, who played well, but this time lady luck was on the Merrow side. It was a jolly affair with a win to Merrow on 3 of the 4 rinks. Congratulations go to Robert, Clive and Barbara for a good win on their rink. It finished with a drink in the sunshine with our friends from Holloway Hill. Report by Allen.

Saturday 6^th July, we welcomed near neighbours Stoke Park for a 4 rink friendly. The clouds looked ominous as we started, but the rain generally held off and we completed the 18 ends, with the green playing well and fast despite the rain in the preceding 24 hours. At the interval we were 2 shots down overall, but thanks to the tea provided by Paul and Kathy, Merrow turned it around after the break to win by 74 shots to 51, winning on two rinks, losing on one with the other finishing all square. Report by Richard.

On Wednesday 3rd July we welcomed our friends from Mayford Hall. The weather was a bit unpredictable as was the Merrow game other than on one rink where Robert, Ian and Tony D won by a decent score. Although Merrow lost overall it was a jolly affair and gave new members a chance to test themselves in a proper friendly. Report by Allen.

We played our inaugural fixture against Haslemere on Sunday 23rd June at their beautiful hill top ground. It took us a while to learn the green but in the end we managed to win on all three rinks. The opposition were very friendly and treated us to a very enjoyable high tea afterwards. Report by John W.

Merrow continue to have reasonable league success. You can check out the latest tables here.

On Saturday 15^th June we visited picturesque Albury for a four rink friendly. Hoping for better weather than our home fixture against them earlier in the season that had to be cancelled due to rain, we commenced under a grey sky. However despite two brief interruptions for rain we managed to complete the full eighteen ends.

Each team won two rinks, but Merrow just edged home overall by 59 shots to 53. After an enjoyable game we headed to the bar! Report by Richard.

Despite losing, we enjoyed again the company of Castle Green on the evening of Wednesday 16th June. Merrow lost on two rinks and won on one rink, where Stephen M, Ian M and Andy Kiplayed well, as they were losing half way through by 5 shots but came back with great gusto in the second half to win by 7.  We all sat down after and had hot and cold drinks with biscuits and crisps and enjoyed each other’s company. Report by Allen.

We visited Puttenham on Wednesday 5th June. Despite losing by 3 shots overall, the Merrow and Puttenham players had an enjoyable afternoon. Merrow were ahead at the tea break, but due to all the sandwiches, cake and bonhomie, Puttenham upped their game and went on to pull back on both rinks, so although Merrow won on one rink it wasn’t enough to win. A great afternoon was had by all. Report by Allen.

Saturday 1^st June saw Merrow play a home friendly against Heathervale (based in New Haw). We played three triples and won two of the rinks for an overall score of 64 – 44.

 It was good to see Heathervale introducing younger bowlers to their ranks, with three being of school age, proving that age is no barrier to bowls, either young or old.

Thank you to Michael for the mid game teas. Report by Richard.

Skills sessions continue to run on Monday afternoons (2pm til 4pm) and are a great way to learn how each rink is running as exercises are set up over five of the rinks. We have a trial go at each exercise before completing for real and collecting points for success. Why not give it a go, all members are welcome.

Although the Bank Holiday weather was not good for our Big Bowls Weekend event on Monday we had several keen visitors who braved the rain for a taster session. We have invited them to come and join us for club nights and to organise some coaching sessions.

On Sunday 26^th May we entertained Knaphill in four rinks of triples. Fortunately, the forecasted rain only made a very brief appearance and we were able to complete the 18 ends without interruption. Merrow won three of the four rinks by a combined overall score of 78 – 61. Special mention should go to Ruth, who was playing her first match and was on one of the winning rinks.

Thanks go to Pauline and Chris who provided the half time refreshments. Report by Richard.

Following a lot of hard work by Helen and John W, our new shirts have arrived. First to show them off were the ladies after their win in the Surrey Advertiser match against Seale and Sands on Friday 17th May.

The weather couldn’t have been better for our friendly match against Mayford Hall on Wednesday 15th May. Although Mayford Hall won by 7 points  (69 – 62) two out of the four rinks were won by Merrow. Debbie, Paul and Jarek won their game – trailing by 5 shots at half time they came back and won by 3 shots. David E, Barbara and Tony D were also trailing by 1 shot at half time but came back and won by 2 shots.

The hosts were very accommodating with tea and biscuits at half time followed by a drink at full time in the shade outside. We look forward to the return match at Merrow on the 3rd July. Report by Allen.

At long last the sun came out and there was warmth in the air as we headed south to play our friendly match at Liphook on Saturday 11th May. 

Richard can’t bear to watch what Michael might do next

We had a most enjoyable afternoon, stopping for mid-match tea and a drink afterwards. As for the bowls Merrow won the four 3 wood triples by 71 shots to 46. Thanks go to our hosts at Liphook and we look forward to the return match in Merrow later in the summer. Report by Richard.

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!