13th May 2026 A warm welcome was received on our visit to Oxford City & County for a celebration match whilst in the area. President & Captain Mick made us feel very welcome and the game was played in the usual good humour and sportsmanship. The weather was quite changeable with 2 heavy downpours making the green a little heavy at times but we managed to find it on most rinks. Despite winning 3 rinks and…
Tuesday 12th May We arrived at Kidlington on a cool but dry day. Warm clothing was the order of the day. The ladies in the kitchen had prepared an array of filled rolls which we could add to with onion, tomato or sweet pickle. Very tasty indeed. I already knew club President Chris Cox so it was good to catch up on old times. We started proceedings with a Spider for a large bottle of…
Monday May 11th 2026. With winter finally behind us, this was the first Friends’ game of 2026. With 27 fixtures scheduled across the country, it marks the start of a busy spell — including three matches in the Oxford area. The Abingdon green looked and played beautifully, and their electronic scoreboard kept us all well informed throughout the afternoon. After the game we enjoyed an excellent two‑course dinner, followed by a short and very engaging…
Friends of English Bowling are very grateful to Bowls International, who now include a monthly feature from Friends in their publication. This is fantastic exposure for us — and for the many bowls clubs we’ve visited throughout the season, whether celebrating milestones or sharing interesting news from across the sport. It’s a brilliant initiative, and one we’re proud to be part of. Thank you, Bowls International, for the opportunity! In no particular order, here are…
🤝 The Friendly Fixture vs Bowls England On Thursday 28th August, Friends took to the green for their annual match against Bowls England. This year’s opposition featured players from the Performance Team, including Sandy Hazell, Mo Monkton, John Bell, and Mal Evans—setting the stage for a competitive afternoon. At halfway, Friends trailed by just seven shots and led on three rinks. But Bowls England surged in the second half, securing a 113–79 win, with Friends…
🏆 The Friends Pairs Competition The weather was good for the ‘Friends’ Pairs Competition which was held on Friday 15th August at the home of and during the National Championships at Victoria Park, Leamington on Green E. It was an early start with players arriving at ‘The Extra End’ from 8.15am ready for the draw at 9.30am. We had 43 members turn up to play for the Winners Salver. This included 10 pairs of couples…
Tuesday 27th August 2024 The National Championships at Victoria Park, Leamington Spa have been running now for 12 days, and today Friends challenge a BE select Team in their annual match. The weather, whilst a bit dull, was warm but blowy – thankfully not cold, like the previous weekend. This year we began the game earlier to allow BE to fit in more Championship games after we had vacated the green. Players met on D…
20th August 2024 With great anticipation Friends accumulated early at the ‘The Last End’ for the tournament draw; those who entered as an individual were also waiting to see who their partner would be. It was all down to Mike Bertrand – Friends’ Competitions Coordinator. The players were duly informed of the game plan, and players in the preliminary round made their way to E green, where the competition was to be played. 20…