My bowls journey is really a story about family, friendship, two countries, and a sport that found its way into my life. It started with my Grandad, grew seeds in my childhood in England, resurfaced at a difficult time 35 years later, and followed me across the Atlantic to California.

My first connection with bowls was through my Grandad, Don, who played at Bournville Bowls Club in Birmingham in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Bournville is famous around the world as the home of Cadbury chocolate. George and Richard Cadbury established the famous chocolate works there in the late 19th century and built recreation and sporting facilities into their vision for the community. Grandad was a keen bowler and I remember a couple of trophies sitting on the window sill. Sadly he passed when I was only 5 years old.

I had a couple of goes myself as a young kid  during summer holidays on the public green at Abbey Fields in Kenilworth. My home town of Kenilworth is just a short distance from Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s home. I also recall the indoor bowls world championships broadcast live on BBC2 and so I will forever recall the names of bowls legends David Bryant and Tony Allcock.

The next chapter came many years later, following the death of my beloved ‘Nan’ and widow of Don, Mollie. While I was back in England organizing her funeral and dealing with her estate, my cousin’s husband Philip gave me something I didn’t know I needed — a break. We played crown green bowls together in Rubery.

For anyone unfamiliar with crown green bowls, it is a traditional form of bowls particularly associated with the Midlands and north of England. Unlike the relatively flat surface of a standard lawn bowls green, a crown green has a distinctive raised centre and subtle slopes. The jack can be rolled in any direction, anywhere on the green – there are no rinks!

After returning to California, I started wondering: I wonder if bowls exists in the Bay Area?

I searched — not expecting to find much. I certainly never imagined that I’d discover not just one club, but a whole bowls community across Northern California. Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club answered the call and in May 2024 I joined right there and then.

Tucked away in Berkeley, I find the club to be so peaceful and the green and surrounding grounds are beautifully maintained. That doesn’t happen by accident. It is the result of an enormous amount of volunteer effort; working on the green, landscaping, weeding, pruning, repairing and generally doing whatever needs doing.

And then there were Janie and Patricia. They took me under their wings and couldn’t have been more supportive, kind and funny. They donated old equipment, encouraged me, and answered my questions. It’s all in the coaching!

I built up the courage to play in a few tournaments and even won the BLBC Novice in 2025. I particularly appreciate the opportunity given to newer bowlers for their own tournament and to compete. Now my name is up on the club’s winners board, which feels incredibly special — especially when I think back to Grandad Don and his trophies. As Janie & Patricia would say, “bowls is in your blood”. More recently in 2026, Janie & I achieved another milestone by finishing second in the Vet-Novice in Oakland. 

Today, I’m proud to sit on the BLBC board giving me an opportunity to help with the next part of the journey: getting more people into bowls. We promote and support new membership through advertising, free lessons, and mentoring new bowlers so that it is as welcoming as I experienced. We have a wonderful club and keeping it thriving means constantly bringing new people through the gate.

So what is it about bowls that keeps me coming back? I still play plenty of other sports which are mainly cardio (running, soccer, cycling) but bowls is a wonderful change of pace. There is something incredibly satisfying about standing on the green, reading the shot, judging the weight and line, and then committing. For those few seconds, everything else disappears. The emails, the chores, the noise, the rest of the day — gone. In that sense, bowls is my meditative place as I walk in Grandad Don’s footsteps.

It’s been a while since BLBC last held a League event for its members, so we decided to send summer off in style with our first September Smackdown. The announcement went out in late August and within just a couple of days all twelve spots on the roster were filled.

Over the course of three Thursday mornings (huge thanks to the Landscaping Crew for letting us share the green), participants competed in Rotational Triples, Aussie Pairs, and Cutthroat matches. There were also individually scheduled Singles matches which rounded out the four different disciplines, making the Smackdown a comprehensive test of overall lawn bowing prowess.

When all was said and done, Phil Grattan took advantage of a better differential to best three other contenders for fourth place. Because they were tied on both points and differential, Sal Garcia-Lemus needed the seldom-used ratio tiebreaker to sneak past Russell “Rolly” Coe for second place. Cindy Moss went undefeated through all four of her matches to run away with first place. Congratulations to these deserving bowlers.

But wait! There was still the Ron Byus Memorial Kitty to be awarded. In this spirited one-bowl rolloff, Joann Lorber laid down a perfect shot to claim the bounty. Well done.

Thanks to all the contestants for their cheerful participation. Perhaps this can become an annual addition to the Club’s tournament schedule.

BLBC Member Alexandra Terninko’s father passed away on June 29th at 86 years. Most members will remember John getting his wheelchair rolled up to the green when the weather was sunny and warm, where he happily watched the Thursday morning groundskeeping crew and lawn bowling games.  He also was greatly interested in club work parties, watering of the lawn, and operation of machinery – all things that he would have enjoyed earlier in his life when he lived on the family farm in New Hampshire.  It must have been a tremendous break from the inevitable day-to-day sameness that comes with living in a memory care center for seniors.

For the last three years of his life, John resided at Silverado, the nearby memory care center on Sacramento and Bancroft that is only two blocks from the BLBC.  Alexandra first noticed lawn bowling while taking John out for a wheelchair roll and they stopped to watch all the activity on the green.  Clearly, John was interested and fortunately (for all of us) one thing led to another and soon both Alexandra and Ben S. became BLBC members.

While John never lawn bowled, he could be seen sitting in his wheelchair following the path of a thrown bowl – first leaning one way with the arc of the bowl and then leaning the other as the bowl rolled back to the center of the rink.

Alexandra and Ben S. wanted to thank all BLBC members for always welcoming John so warmly whenever he visited the green and greeting him so enthusiastically.  Members brightened many of John’s days.  Even at a time when smiles and words became fewer and fewer with the progression of his dementia, it was clear that both the people and the beautiful club grounds brought him a lot joy and smiles during this final years and months. 

When he was younger, John was a nationally ranked fencer and even completed in the World Cup held in Croatia placing third in one event for 70+ year olds.  At a different national event, he won gold in the veteran (70+) age group.

It may be a rhetorical question, but the answer still explains a lot: nearly everyone loves pizza. That simple truth may be one reason Tuesday Evening Bowls has remained a favorite part of BLBC’s summer schedule for almost a decade.

Longtime club member Erwin Vista is credited with starting Tuesday Evening Bowls. In its earliest days, the gathering featured casual draw games followed by frozen pizza that Erwin heated and served.
Several years later, Leslie Engler and her spouse took the reins, renamed the event Tuesday Evening Bowls ’n Pizza, and elevated the menu with fresh pizza from a favorite local spot. Last year, under Rolly Coe’s stewardship, the food improved once again. Gourmet pizza is now joined by a generous potluck spread that often includes fresh salads, fruit, desserts, and plenty of fine wine to share.

The evening begins with a draw, usually producing a mix of pairs, triples, and the occasional cutthroat game, depending on how many people turn out. On a good night, attendance can top 20. But the games are never just about the final score—they are about good-natured banter, easy laughter, and enjoying a summer evening together. If you haven’t joined in yet, don’t be shy. Tuesday Evening Bowls ’n Pizza is delicious, nutritious, and best of all, wonderfully convivial.