HGMC July28th 2025: Berkhamsted Bowls Club

First and foremost, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in running this evening. Everyone at the bowls club was incredibly helpful and made sure we were all well looked after.

I think the first thing everybody said on arrival was that they hoped the weather would turn. To say it was raining would be an understatement. It was absolutely lashing down. The weather had been very unpredictable all day, but we’d been assured that so long as the rain wasn’t consistent we’d be fine. Sure enough, the rain didn’t last. A few people arrived a little late as they’d been hiding out in their cars to avoid the deluge. The clouds cleared, and we decided not to stand on ceremony.

We got outside into what was fast becoming a very clear summers evening. It wasn’t overly warm, but pleasant enough and the ground wasn’t too waterlogged. We got divided up into three teams, were allocated our equipment and rinks. Following some gentle coaching and advice we were all away. It was clear that all three groups had a healthy sense of competition and the conversation soon began flowing. Occasional cheers or bursts of laughter would break up the background noise, and probably more swearing than the bowls green has seen all year punctuated the calm air. Along with wonderfully times double rainbow.

We played several rounds and began to get the hang of it by the time the light was failing us. Not 30 seconds after we’d got everything away and cleared off the green that rain returned. It felt like we’d been truly lucky to have “gotten away with it” for the evening. As is custom with our HGMC events we gathered round for a check out. The way we conduct these varies depending on the event and how much time we have left etc. Today we were pressed for time and thus condensed it down to synopsis of we’d been feeling as of late, an example of something we’re each grateful for and one example of something we can do for our own mental fitness in the coming week or so.

Continuing the theme of gratitude just established. All the evenings goodbyes were interspersed with “thank yous”. Speaking of which I would also like to thank all the attendees for making it such a great evening. I had a great time and can easily see how this hobby appeals to so many people across so many generations. It is a genuine privilege to put on these events and to be involved in this community.  

See you at the next one?