After I retired I decided to give something back to the community and being a member of this wonderful Bowling club I thought it was an ideal opportunity!
The Clubhouse was in a bad state. So I started to rebuild the Victorian wooden Pavilion. During the covid lockdown I worked everyday replacing rotten floorboards and rebuilding most the clubhouse on my own. The Bar was totally rebuilt with donations of wood and some skip finds and with the help of grants from many charities I put in new electrics and a new kitchen, washing facilities and new toilets.
Then the work started on getting the Bowling Green back into good condition. because I started my apprenticeship as a mechanic so I took on the job of servicing and setting up the Mowers and various Scarifiers and slitters . The one piece of equipment we need is an aerator which would make a massive improvement to the green if we used it every month. The one we need is small enough to operate and handy to put away until needed.
For the last 7 years we could only afford to get the green aerated once a year and that was an industrial piece of equipment that was difficult to get onto the green. We have lots of local community that come along and play crown green bowls, some people just come to relax and watch the games even if they are recovering from serious operations or cancer treatment. It's great way to combat loneliness and make friends 5 minutes from the Birmingham City Centre. We also have Palates, a tuneless choir, darts, pool and table tennis with bingo and quizzes taking place throughout the year, anything to help the community, and it's all run by volunteers. Find us on CENTRAL EDGBASTON BOWLING CLUB facebook page