May round-up: Bowls season opens & AGM

The opening of the bowls season has been a key focus in May. We host ‘social bowls’ sessions on Fridays at 5.30 - 7.30pm and Sundays at 3-5pm. They’re open to anyone - singles or groups - and there’s no need to book. No experience required as we have informal tutoring on hand, followed by friendly games to practice your technique. Your first session is free, thereafter £5 per session. Tea & biscuits & wine/beer & nibbles are on offer for a small donation. All very sociable. Attendance is encouraging with 10-15 people per session.

A lot of effort has been put into getting the green in better shape this year and it’s looking great, thanks to Enable and Continental Landscapes, urged on by Lewis from the MAC. Help us keep the last remaining public bowling green in Wandsworth by coming along and playing.  You’ll enjoy it!!

Our AGM took place mid month, our annual opportunity to meet and report to our members what we’ve been up to. We held a hybrid session this year which worked faultlessly thanks to our A/V expert John Crossland. 40 attended in person, another dozen on line and almost 20 more have watched the recording, which you can see here

Our first bat walk of the year was as popular as ever and was informed by data from the monthly bat transect walks our volunteers are now involved in. 

Sarah Webley hosted a very popular family tree walk which conveyed lots of fascinating facts in just an hour, including with a session of Tree Top Trumps. Great fun.

As part of this year’s Wandsworth Heritage Festival, local historian Philip Boys related stories from the Surrey Pauper Lunatic Asylum, the site of the former Springfield Hospital. Most of the original patients were women but in some cases all the records that remain are photographs, including some very famous and poignant ones. Philip also very cleverly showed how the marketing material for the recently built luxury flats highlights some of the original architectural features which have been retained.