Newsletter Issue 296 17/08/2026
Hello there!
Did you spot the deliberate error last time? It was M0nday. Look out for this issue’s deliberate error.
Let’s go.
BOWLS STUFF
Winter season:
There’s still time to enter your teams. Will all existing and prospective team captains please confirm their team entries for the Winter season direct with the office or by signing the book in Reception or else by emailing Steve at sdbluck@sky.com.
N.B. Team entries deadline is Monday 24th August
National news:
Bowls England who govern outdoor bowls and EIBA who do the same job for indoor bowling are set to amalgamate. Their respective boards have agreed to this and the process should be completed by the end of the year. The new body will be known as England Bowls.
Changing rooms:
If you have any clothing items in either the men’s or ladies changing rooms, please either remove them or make sure that they are clearly labelled with your name. During September, we will be removing any unclaimed garments from both changing rooms and donating them to charity.
Coaching, an occasional series by Dave Giles our head coach:
We all want to play bowls the best way we can. When we finish the game for a cup of coffee, we’re either left wondering what went wrong with our game , or trying to understand why we can’t normally perform as well as we just did? I think the foundation of good bowling is all about achieving consistency in our game. Over the course of forthcoming newsletters, I’ll be putting together some tips and techniques that, hopefully, might prove useful to you in your game. Please let me have your thoughts and if you would like any tips on part of your game that you have issues with, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
The first article covers the basics of your delivery. These elements are the building blocks of every single bowl you will ever play.
Perfecting Your Stance and Balance
Everything starts on the mat. An unstable stance will lead to an inconsistent delivery. Your goal is a solid, balanced, and repeatable setup that allows you to swing your arm freely and smoothly.
How to do it: Stand on the mat with your feet comfortably apart, roughly shoulder-width. Your weight should be evenly distributed. As you prepare to deliver, step forward with your foot opposite to your bowling arm (left foot for a right-handed player). Bend your knees and hips, keeping your back relatively straight to get low to the green. This low centre of gravity is the key to balance.
Pro Tip: Your non-bowling arm should be used for balance. You can extend it out to the side or rest it on your bent front knee. Find what feels natural and stable for you.
Coach needed:
With one of our coaches having moved away, we urgently need a replacement. If you are interested in becoming a coach your training is free as the cost is covered jointly by the club and the EIBA. If you would like to put your name forward please contact our Head coach, Dave Giles or let the office know.
Singles Draw Bowls competition:
Don’t forget to turn up on Saturday 22nd August for the Singles Draw Bowl Competition at 10 a.m. It’s great fun and a wonderful way to improve your draw shots. Breakfast rolls will be provided plus the bar. Prizes will be paid to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.
(Volunteers needed bar, kitchen and markers please)
BOARD STUFF
The Board has informed the Bowls committee that they are free to organise their competitions, setting entry fees and rink fees, with any prize monies coming out of the entrry fees. Any large expenditures should be run past the board and all events should at least break even or else generate a small profit.
An urgent message from our Director for Office Services…
Reception cover for Autumn/Winter season
As we are fast approaching the start of the Autumn/Winter indoor bowling season, we are once again asking for help with office cover for the reception. You don’t need me to remind you that our club doesn’t happen without our members helping us with various jobs, and the reception is one of those crucial roles.
Just think, when you come to our club, your first greeting is with the person sitting behind the desk, this is a very important role. If you think you could be that person then please let me know. You would need to be able to cover every other week, as you would be working with a buddy who would be covering the alternate week to yourself
There is also a WhatsApp group for those who take on this role and this will help you to find someone urgently to help cover for you if needed. Training will be given, all we need is for you to please help us with this task. The sessions are 9am – 1pm, 1pm – 3.30pm, 3.30pm – 6pm, and 6pm – 9.00pm, and you will be given training.
If you can help, contact Liz Giles either by email, lizgiles57@gmail.com or by phone 07926 183811, or by speaking to someone in the office who will pass on your details to me. I will always respond to your messages, so please feel free to contact me.
SOCIAL STUFF
Summer cribbage is on alternate Wednesday mornings from10-12, with the next being on Wednesday August 26th. This will continue throughout the Summer.
The next quiz night is on Saturday, 19th September with Jill Whiting as the quizmaster. Cost is only £6 per person, £7 for non-members including a buffet. Enter on the notice board by reception.
Yoga is held every Wednesday from 12.30 – 1.30p.m. The cost is £10. Please bring your own mat.
We hold a whist drive run by Rachel at 7p.m. on the 1st and 3rd Friday evenings. The next is on the 4th September.
There will now be a Summer Bingo break so it will restart on Sunday 20th September. Please bring a raffle prize.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
This has proved to be a very popular feature. Please let me have your headshot photo with a bio and you will be in the newsletter. – Tony Letts
I’m Tony Widdows. All of my working life I have been in the motor trade, leaving school straight into a motor mechanic apprenticeship with Ebdons in Bath Rd Cheltenham. When that finished, I was called up to do two years National Service in the RAF. After demob I managed to get a job with Cheltenham Garages, Winchombe St. as a used car salesman. A few years later I was head-hunted by someone who opened a garage in Cirencester, who was a car sprayer but knew nothing about buying and selling cars.
In 1957, I got married, fell out with my boss, moved back to Cheltenham and started a car sales business in the Lower High St. In 1968 I bought land opposite my site, built a new showroom and workshop and obtained an Opel Main Dealership, as they had just moved back into the UK.
I sold up and retired in 2010, after 50yrs in the business.
I joined the Dowty Kart Club and raced at the disused RAF Rissington. In 1970, I joined the Staverton Flying School and obtained my Private Flying Licence.
In the eighties I took a sailing course at Gosport sailed around the Solent with an instructor for 3 days and got my Day Skipper ticket, which enabled me to assemble a crew from friends and family, and sail around the Med.
Getting older I bought something slower, a 1961 AEC 41 seater coach, which I displayed at bus shows as far apart as the Showground in Exeter, Brooklands, and Duxford Airfield.
Now at the ripe old age of 93, all I am able to do is play bowls (badly).
PUNNY ENDING:
A newly discovered pyramid in Egypt apparently had a garage. A sign on it saying ‘Toot and come in’.
IN CLOSING…
The next issue is out on Monday August 31st. Unfortunately one of our quizmasters has had to drop out. If you are interested in becoming a quiz master, please let me know as soon as possible.
I’m always contactable at the email address below.
Bye for now,
Tony Letts. chairman@midglos.co.uk
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