It’s hard to believe that we are already in the second half of the season. Where did that time go? We have been fortunate up to now with the weather. No snow to speak about so no closures or postponements. Let’s hope we can see the season through with no interruptions.

Our new members, all 45 of them are settling in nicely and we are fortunate to have secured some pretty good ‘Newbies’, some of whom have never played bowls before. I personally have played two of them and both gave me a run for my money. So you Club veterans, watch out because they are going to be the champions of the future. If you have joined the club since the beginning of 2023, you are entitled to enter our NEWBIES competition which is due to be held on the 27th March 2024.

It has been a very successful start to our 2023/2024 season and we are pleased to welcome 42 new or returning members, to date with several more interested in joining in the next few weeks or at the beginning of 2024. Welcome to you all.

At the time of writing, we are delighted to advise that we already have taken on 30 new or returning members, many of whom are much needed women members who we hope will strengthen this section of the club. We extend a warm welcome to you all and hope that you enjoy playing and socialising here at Ilford.

We hope that you have all had an enjoyable and successful outdoor season. The club will reopen on the 18th September 2023 for a week of rollups and practice. However, the green is being stretched on the 18th September so will not be available until approximately 10:30 on that morning.

Our finals matches are now complete and the winners are listed below. However we just wanted to congratulate ALL of our competitors because reaching a final is no mean achievement. The standard of play was very high this year and there have been some upsets along the way which just goes to show that you have to be in it to win it.

This year’s AGM could be very interesting. There are several proposed changes to how the Club operates and these COULD affect every member. In particular, proposed changes to the existing two tier sections and the question of substitutes in internal league matches has reared it ‘ugly head’ again and several members have expressed concern about how these rules operate and how they are open to abuse. You will have already received a Revised Notice of AGM with the new proposals listed. These changes affect YOU so if you are not at the meeting, you cannot object to any changes approved at the AGM. Whatever changes are proposed, although it might not seem like it, they are done in the best interests of the Club and ALL its membership. Organisations such as Essex Indoor Bowls Association have already amalgamated the ladies with the men’s section and County League games next season with include both genders. So why not here at Ilford?

It has been a very busy and productive time at the club and we are pleased to announce that we have over 30 new members which as you will see below, takes our tally to over 300 members for the first time for several years. Of course we have to factor in that we have lost some of our older members who are no longer able to play for health reasons or have moved away from the area. We give thanks to them for supporting the club for many years and we wish them well for the future.