Every year we take in a number of new members who have never been a member of a bowling club in their lives, and maybe have not even bowled a wood before. It doesn’t take long to settle in, whether you have a friend who’s persuaded you to give bowling a go or have just decided to try something new for yourself.

There are extensive guides to the game for new bowlers, but the core is quite simple: try to bowl your bowls (or woods as they’re known) as close to the smaller white ball (the Jack) as you can get it. You score one or more points for being closer than your opponent’s woods or, if you’re playing a team game, for someone on your team being the closest.

There are hundreds of minor technical rules about the order of play and what happens in different situations, but if you’re bowling with at least one person who knows the game then you can quite happily play your first game knowing nothing more.

The only other important thing is the most basic of equipment which, for a completely new bowler, is flat shoes which are ideally bowling shoes but as long as they have a single uninterrupted sole, as shown in the image, with no tread, and that they’re clean. You can’t go wrong with dedicated bowling shoes, but sometimes you can find trainers with an acceptable sole. The main dress code at Ilford is grey below the waist (trousers or skirt) and white polo or other collared shirt above.

We have bowls (“woods”) you can borrow for your first session or two and, once you’re sure you want to keep playing, a reasonable second hand set can be found for under a hundred pounds.

Your first couple of sessions will be free, and if you have any other questions then just ask either by calling the club on 020 8597 6040 (when open) or emailing [email protected].