Did you miss me? Yes, after two weeks chilling out under the Egyptian sun I’ve come back, older, yes a whole decade, but probably no wiser and it would seem that a lot has been happening at Norwest while I’ve been away.

Over the last two weeks, our ladies have been busy with lots of league games: first in the Wild League they’ve played five games, winning two against Street and Wyrall Park, but losing against Shepton Mallet, Frome Selwood and Purnell. In the North Somerset League, they played two games, the first against Bath, which they won and second against Fosseway, which they lost. However, they did manage to win some points from all the games and with the end of season in sight, every point counts.

There were two mixed games: our last game in the mixed Mid-Somerset League against Keynsham got off to a bad start, when it was rained off, so had to be rearranged. The replay saw Norwest lose 4-8, but by only one shot. Our second mixed game was a friendly against our old friends from Paulton, and again we lost.

Now for the lads: and what a lot of busy bees they’ve been. They played three friendlies, winning against Stothert & Pitt and Bloomfield, another soggy game, with only 14 ends played, but losing to Yeovil. Two 3-2 successes came with the start of the Floodlight Charity League, both against local teams, Paulton and Purnell. A great start. This year they will be raising money to ‘Help Henry’, a local lad who suffers from cerebral palsy spastic diplegia, a very worthy cause. 

Now for the County League and what a nail-biting finish it’s been! Our A team have played brilliantly all season, ending up at the top of the league with one game to go, but then the pressure got to them and they slipped to second place when they lost their final game. The B team’s season has not been so rosy, with them sitting at the bottom of the table most of the time, but they kept slogging away and with a final flourish, they managed to climb to fifth from bottom, hopefully avoiding relegation. Well done the lads. 

Sunday, at Norwest, was a special day when we played the Anne Wilkinson Memorial Trophy game. It’s a special game when we remember a very special and well-loved lady and friend. The atmosphere on the green reflects the true spirit of the game, and I know Anne would have been delighted to see her granddaughter, Nina, out on the green. We were one player short and Nina agreed to step in. Thanks Nina, you did a great job and we’ve got a membership form here if you decide you’d like to join us.

The trophy went to Bett, Cilla, Aaron and Eric but I think everyone who played was a winner as it’s such a special afternoon. It was also great to see Ken, Anne’s husband, and her family there to support us.

NH