It was discovered at the 2009 Bowl that it was difficult for members of the TSSC from other areas to attend on a Tuesday night due to the distances to travel considering it was mid-week and most of us had work the next day. So it was decided to move the event to a Sunday afternoon hoping that more members and their families could attend.
Shortly after the date for the 2010 DV Bowl was announced we began to realise that several areas that usually compete for the bowl had already organised events of their own for the same day.
So suffice to say it appeared that the move to a Sunday was not to be as successful as we had hoped, but when 55 competitors arrived on the day we were thrilled. Notts, Leicester & Rutland, West Midlands, South Yorks and of course Derwent Valley were represented.
Once everyone had entered their score card they were all mixed up into groups. The ladies from Leicester & Rutland requested that they had their own team as they wanted to prove to the gents of Leicester & Rutland that they are superior (I think Claire Hill had been brain washing them).
Ten games were to be played which ranged from traditional pub games like Bar Skittles and Shove Penny to Whacky ones like Cock in the Bucket. Individual scores were tallied and added together for each area and then averaged with some surprising results.
The whole idea of the Bowl is to get together with old friends and make new but above all have FUN. The gang from West Midlands were very sociable but still remained very competitive. Did they know they were competing for a toilet?
One memorable moment of the afternoon was Tim Ravenhall’s amazing first throw on the quoits when he scored 70 points out of a maximum of 50 – The hoop landed over two pegs – brilliant.
The favourite game of the day was Bagatelle which Richard and Anna’s young son, William, played for hours only breaking off to let the adults have a go and to eat his buffet.
Ah yes the buffet. It was a fantastic spread which we could not quite manage to demolish, leaving a few nibbles for the Bingo players that followed us.
It was great to see a small selection of quality Triumph’s in the car park plus a Ford Cortina 1600E.
The Raffle was quite popular and there were lots of prizes on offer. Julie Hadfield’s over exuberant celebration, when her number was drawn, caused great amusement.
Then came the moment of truth. The results were compiled by Janine and I was discreetly handed a piece of paper.
In 6th place, the team that had hoped to prove that they were better than the men, the Leicester & Rutland Ladies. Personally I feel that the ladies can still hold their heads high as the Leicester & Rutland Gents only just beat them finishing in 5th place.
Fourth were South Yorkshire represented by the Hadfield’s and Hutchinson’s which brought us to the final three – Notts, West Midlands and of course Derwent Valley. There was only 12 points between them and third place went to Derwent Valley.
Instantly the look of horror appeared on Nigel and Claire’s faces, as they did not wish to return home with the trophy, this soon changed to relief when West Midlands were announced the winners, who now have the honour of looking after the toilet until next year.
The individual winner was Tim Ravenhall and the runner up was Sophie Holt both from the West Midlands and Derwent Valley’s Mike Mayfield was third.
We also celebrate the worst individual player and whilst I was making the announcement I was being heckled by my wife Angie. You cannot imagine the pleasure I got when I declared that she was the “Weakest Link” and was to collect her Booby prize which coincidently was a bouncing booby.
Thank you to everyone who attended and joined in the fun and to the Smalley Common Ex-Serviceman’s Club for staying open on a Sunday afternoon to allow the event to take place.
Click here to view all the photographs taken on the day and I hope you all enjoyed the event as much as we did organising it.
Derwent Valley invites you and your friends to the 2011 Derwent Valley Bowl when West Midlands will return to try and pass on the coveted trophy to another area.
Exact details will be on this website in the summer of 2011.
