Just Bowling Along
Farmlife - Farmers Weekly Magazine 17th March 1989
Edited by Ann Rogers
Scoring often calls for a measure.
A windmill placed part way along the mat stops players firing their woods to scatter their opponents.
Staffordshire Farm Women's Club members recently spent a happy afternoon playing bowls, an indoor version which, Judy Steele discovered, has ensured the survival of a village hall and encouraged new friendships within the local community.
Bowls has a sedate image: Retired ladies and gentlemen dressed in white, playing calmly on an expanse of well kept emerald green grass. But at Harlaston Indoor Bowls Club in Staffordshire every age group from seven to 70 is represented.
"Sometimes the noise in here is horrendous," says FWC member Joyce Rowe, the club secretary, whose husbands farm is opposite the village hall.
About four years ago the village school closed and the council plaanned to demolish itto make way for a housing development. But it gave the community the chance to buy the building for use as a village hall.
A survey of the residents showed some enthusiasm for the project. By this time, though, the school had been closed for a year and some potential users had been forced to move to a hall in a neighbouring village. It was essential to get regular bookings so that the new hall could pay its way.
A demonstration of indoor short-mat bowling provided an unexpected solution. Over 40 people attended and a local farmer offered to buy the demonstration mat which, at £212, was being offered at a considerable discount. A club was formed, and its popularity has surprised and delighted Joyce, who now has 79 people on her register.
"I expected that people would come mostly from outside the parish," she says, "but almost all of them come from the village."
"The club has really bought people together," says member Rita Hill. "It's the best thing that has ever happened to the village."
Joyce admits that she's met people through the bowls that she has never seen before, even though they may have lived in Harlaston for 20 years. One couple, who had lived in the village for several years, had been disappointed by the difficulty of getting to know people, but belonging to the bowls club has made a big difference.
In its first year the club took more than £1000. The hall is now regularly booked for two afternoons and three evenings a week during the season, which runs from October to the end of March. Club membership costs £10 a year, with £1 "mat fee" for each session.
A grant from the West Midlands Sports Council helped the club buy a second mat and, with 30 people at some of the evening sessions, both are well used. One mat is reserved for tournaments, leaving the other for social bowling.
Prizes for the singles, doubles and triples tournaments are awarded at a presentation evening at the end of the season. Finals night and the presentation event attract a lot of non-players, who come to support their families and friends.
Some members play outdoor bowls in the summer and indoor bowls in the winter. Many keen 'regulars' came as complete beginners, with a sceptical attitude, and are now hooked. Joyce is delighted with the interest shown by teenagers. She has just been knocked out of the singles tournament by her son, much to his delight.
As well as the internal tournaments there are friendly matches with oother clubs, and Joyce's ambition is to field a league team.
The rules of indoor bowls are similar to those of flat-green bowling. The mat is 45ft (13.5m) long and 6ft (1.84m) wide. A rectangle of wood, called the "windmill", about one-third the width of the mat, is placed in the centre of it about halfway down its length. This is an extra test of skill, and also acts as a safety device to prevent players "firing" the bowls - sending them too hard and fast down the mat - and damaging people and property.
When all the players have bowled from one end of the mat, they move to the other end and start again. On busy evenings play often has to be restricted to four ends a match.
The hall is maintained by volunteers - the bowls club has an electrician and a builder amongst its members. The Staffordshire Probation Service has provided some workers on the community service scheme whose labour is free, so only the materials need to be found. Fundraising for the hall has been fairly brisk, with £6000 raised already. Recently a Sunday lunch bought in £600.
Planning permission has been granted for five houses on the playing field adjoining the hall. It would be ideal for a bowling green.
But that's a long-term project. Joyce's next plan involves the younger members of the community.
"We have some very fustrated four-year-olds who come in the afternoons with their mothers," she says. "Of course, all they want to do is to pick up the bowls and play, but they are far too heavy for children of that age."
She plans to invest in a set of minature "carpet" bowls and set them up in a corner on a strip of domestic carpet, which should keep them happy. It may even encourage them to join the club when they reach the mature age of seven.
Joyce Rowe and player Peter Hawkins discuss pairs' progress
On busy evenings play has to be restricted to four sides a match.
