We swapped our shuttlecocks for bowling balls as we took to the lanes at Nameco
By Katie Garner
My team! l-r: Kay, Mick, Katie, Joel and Mike
What better way to encourage thriving team spirit then pitting two groups of five against each other in a competition-fuelled, alcohol-induced battle of amateur bowling? Since our last bowling session last February has gone down in history as one of the drunken nights of Wychelm past, I thought it was about time to create some new bowling memories, where the focus was actually on the bowling.
On Friday 17th October, 10 badminton players put down their rackets to instead tour the ball racks suspicious, checking finger hole size, weight, and most importantly colour, of the various bowling balls. Hogging two lanes at Nameco in The Brewery, Romford, we were all signed up for two games and ready to get our game faces on. Although it wasn’t open warfare, the battle lines were still drawn in the discreet spewing of arcade tickets that dictated how well each team was doing.
So on my team with me, I had social regular Mr Mike, who knocked it out of the park with a succession of strikes and spares. He even won the special prize when he got a strike by hitting the red pin at the front, earning himself two meals from the specials board. He kindly put the prize up for raffle, with Het earning the lucky ticket. Joining Mr Mike and I was married couple Kay with partner Mick; Kay engaging in a very distracting yet amusing style of using a double handed grip on the ball and then swinging between her legs before flinging it down the lane. Surprisingly to great effect! Our final team member was Joel, whose iconic serve was mirrored in his dramatic bowling style, with the ball zooming down at 21mph!
Team two consisted of another married couple, this time Janet and David, with David competitively putting down the side barriers before the games had even begun. Joining them was squad star Het, social butterfly Helen and latecomer Noel.
l-r: David, Janet, Het, Helen and Noel
Scores:
Game One:
- Katie – 137
- Mike F – 112
- Mick – 110
- Helen – 103
- Kay – 101
- David – 99
- Het – 90
- Noel – 85
- Joel – 82
- Janet – 52
Game Two:
- Mike F – 117
- Mick – 116
- Katie – 105
- Noel – 103
- David – 102
- Kay – 91
- Helen – 87
- Joel – 82
- Het – 72
- Janet – 71
Kay’s unique style
So, victory was all mine in the first game, with the top score of the night, with the win of the second game going to strikster Mr Mike. Overall, we all had a fantastic evening and some more drinks after the bowling too in the bar area where we clustered over numerous tables and sofas. After earning 209 tickets from our bowling scores, this translated to a bag of marshmallows and a handful of Fruit Salads which is rather disappointing for that number of tickets! We enjoying munching on our prizes though as we sipped our final beverages.
Thanks to everyone who came along! November’s social is the Roding Rally, which is the exciting overnight orienteering. I believe the teams have already been set and entered by Mike, so it’s too late now if you want to join in – you should have read the board sign! There are still spaces for Christmas for people who are interested, but they are filling up fast so please let me know on Monday.
