My mum used to say that the older you get, the quicker the time goes by, and like most youngsters I didn’t believe her, but she was so right! With only a few days left of the year I ask myself, ‘where did 2017 go?’

It’s certainly been a year of ups and downs unfortunately; most of the downs were in the Ladies section, while our Men were very definitely on the up! Despite this, our Ladies had a really enjoyable time of it, even though they remained firmly at the bottom of both their leagues, but the experience gained by our new ladies will hopefully prove invaluable and see us romping up the league tables next year. It was good to note that Bett managed to get through the whole season with both Achilles’ tendons intact! The chaps, on the other hand, had a brilliant season, winning through to four Cup Finals, and we are now proud to include a County Unbadged Champion, Aaron, in our ranks. So what can I say chaps? Keep up the good work, we think you are just FAB-U-LOUS!

We were all saddened, this year, to learn of the deaths of four of our members and friends – Margaret Aston, Ernie Witcombe, Maggie Collins and Anne Wilkinson – all of whom will all be sadly missed at Norwest.

So what will the New Year bring for us all? Have you, like me, made any resolutions? And more to the point, will they last beyond the first week of the year? I’d like to, on behalf of Norwest, say a great big HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our fellow bowlers and friends. Hopefully 2018 will be a year of peace, good health, wealth and happiness for us all.

NH