Taking on the bias

 Last week, I made a couple of sports related miscalculations:

1) I thought that lack of progress in bouldering  after a year of lock down could easily be rectified in one brief coached session.  

    I could not walk properly the following day.... I will not go into detail, but let's just say glutes are a pain in the backside. 

2) That same following day happened to be one of the the hottest days of the year so far.  Therefore, I concluded that it would be the perfect opportunity to take my sore glutes on a bike ride.  One which involved the only uphill route in all of East Anglia. (It was only to town and back.  But Bishop's Hill...)

    I don't think I need to explain my feelings about my life choices that afternoon. 

To relieve myself from all this self inflicted suffering, I decided to treat myself to my penultimate blogging letter:  Ladies and Gentlemen, I skived football and went to "L"awn bowls instead.

A few weeks prior I had spotted a little poster in Holywells Park, advertising open sessions every Tuesday in the summer It had been a long, hot, sore day and I simply forgot to worry about joining a group of people I had never met before to try something I didn't have a clue about.  (I also forgot that the park is totally within cycling- and walking distance and took the car.  I know.  It was a low point.)

Holywells Park Bowling Green.  Lush!

And I am so glad I didn't worry about it, because I was met by the friendliest group of people.  Brian, the club's coach, was away on holiday, but Liz and her husband Tony took me under their wings and showed me the ropes... well... balls.  Woods, I mean.  You know, bowls. Tony patiently showed me how to place the matt and the jack, and then coached me one-to-one for nearly on hour to help me get used to the bowls bias, explaining how to use fore- and backhand to my advantage. 

The matt, the jack, and the size 0 bowls I got to play with

Liz would kindly help me out each time I had to judge whether something was in a straight line because my eye-brain communication when it comes to straightness of lines is... well... watch my parking. Paul, who runs the Tuesday afternoon sessions, helped me from the side-lines with my footwork, and all in all, between the four of us, I managed to actually get a bowl to touch the jack.  I know!

I also managed to get quite a few into a ditch, so let's not get ahead of ourselves here. 

Whilst the game might look gentle from the outside, I did start to feel the weight of the bowl and was glad to be offered a pew and a nice cuppa by Paul and Liz whilst we watched Sue win a competitive game on the far side of the green.  We chatted about the benefits of playing bowls, and everyone agreed that what they liked most about bowls - aside from the actual exercise - was the social side of things. There are separate men's and women's competitions, but there are also mixed ones and I can't think of any other sports that - whilst still fiercely competitive - are so inclusive of all different age groups.  Brian, the absent coach, had told me on the phone that he works with the local primary school to encourage children into the game and that they often have open events to encourage people to give it a go.

Tony showing me how it's done

So if William Shakespeare liked it so much, might it be worth you giving it a go?

- I of course can't speak for all clubs, but if you are looking to meet a group of the nicest people, I'd suggest you get yourself there

- If - like me - you dread the idea of joining a class or a group where everyone is miles ahead of you and you have to breathlessly admit defeat, you do not have to worry about that here. This game is about skill, planning and precision.

- If you are competitive, I think this would be the perfect sport for you.  Because I had my own personalised training session, I didn't fully grasp how competitive this sport is.  Only during our chat at the end did I realised how many competitions there are, at all different levels, in different places...I think if you join a club, you will most certainly be kept busy. 

- The club kindly let me borrow equipment for the sessions, so I don't know how much stuff costs - it did look like most people have their own kit, which makes sense seen as you would want to play with correct size bowls for your hands.

- This particular club charges a membership fee of £40 a year plus £2 per competition.  In return you get a key to the clubhouse, a parking permit and access to the beautiful green.  If you play about 20 weeks a year, that may still work out cheaper than many classes - and not many classes offer this particular view!

- If you don't want to commit just yet, but just have a little taste, Tuesday evenings from 6:15 as well as some Saturday afternoons from 2pm are drop in times (just past the stable building).  Or just give Brian a ring, he told me he'd love to hear from you (and gave permission to share his number: 07971 716 728).

So.  M to go.