Thame
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Thame
BOWLS CLUB
T
hame Bowls Club had its first committee meeting on the 24th April
1924 and by the time the 1925 season started there were 34 members.
Today we are still flourishing with over 120 members.
Some eight years ago Vic Brooks and
I, with our wives, went to an open day at
Thame to try out Lawn Bowls. We were
shown the rudiments of the game by
John Timms, a very experienced bowler
who was winning major competitions as
far back as the 1970s and even today is
still bowling a very high standard. We
fell in love with the game and Vic was
destined to win the top club competition
within a year or so of joining. But it
wasn’t very long before we realised the
need for changes.
Year by year the club was losing
members and so we decided to have
a really strong attempt to recruit new
members. Vic was still running his own
business and I had been in charge of the
BBC Weather Presenters for 25 years so
we thought that we had a fair chance of
success.
We organised a stall at the local
market and invited the BBC to film
us there and on the bowls green - this
resulted in us recruiting 31 people
in that one year and we continued to
increase our numbers to the present
day when most bowls clubs are still
losing numbers and some closing down
altogether.
The challenge we have had over the
past five years was to change the club
to allow these new bowlers to develop
and to encourage them to take part in
club and county games. But that is not
the entire story because, important as it
is, changing the focus on the social side
was also a top priority. And we now
have a very happy club who all enjoy
the facilities on both the green and the
activities in the club house.
One of the great successes has been
the introduction of the Friday League
when over 70 club members take part
throughout the season; this has been so
successful that it has been sponsored by
a leading firm of solicitors in the town.
Over the years we have also been
lucky to involve students from the
local Comprehensive school who have
been learning about bowls for part of
their sport GCSE - indeed Mike Bushell
brought BBC National TV down to make
a film with them extolling the virtues of
the game for the young.
Every year the club seems to be
getting stronger and stronger both with
the bowling and the social side and
2017 was no exception with the Men’s
League Team winning all twelve of their
matches and the Ladies performing well
on the county scene.
Now that the outdoor bowling
season has finished we all look forward
to playing carpet bowls in the club house
twice a week as well as playing indoor
bowls either in Oxford or Aylesbury
as well as enjoying the many social
evenings that are planned throughout
the coming winter.
Two main events happen in October,
firstly the Presentation evening when
over 70 members and friends congregate
in the club house to honour all of the
winners of the various club competitions.
The Cottage Bakery
Thame & Haddenham
Established in the year 2000 is a family run bakery located in Thame &
Haddenham. Offering traditional English breads, patisseries and cakes
all freshly made on site daily. The Cottage Bakery also offers wholesale
services for pubs and local business.
Proud sponsor of Thame Bowls Club
TEL: 01844 212257 WEB: WWW.THECOTTAGEBAKERY.NET
28 UPPER HIGH STREET, THAME, OXFORDSHIRE, OX9 3EX
54 Issue 16