Social Events 2015
Golden Anniversary
2015 was the 50th anniversary of the Club’s move to its current site on the edge of Goddington Park. We marked the occasion with a Hog Roast, provided by member Pete Townsend, and a ‘golden’ drive - and the sun shone on us!
Portugal Tour April 2015
After months of eager anticipation, the tour group gathered at the unearthly hour of 5.00 a.m at the bottom of Spur Road on Monday 20 April. Everybody arrived in good time with two exceptions but it was a very early start so it would be unfair to name and shame the latecomers.
Once the Pollards had finally arrived, the coach set off on its lonely journey to the airport. The only other vehicles on the road were driven by the regular group of insomniacs who circumnavigate the M25 (once the Circle Line has closed for the night).
All the travel arrangements went smoothly but, just before take- off, Ron Jeffery informed the group that, although he had sailed around the world three times, he had never flown before. Unfortunately for Ron we were travelling by Monarch Airlines rather than Virgin which would obviously have been more appropriate. The Woolacott’s ( Carol and Tony) had made arrangements to travel separately to the airport and booked seats as far away as possible from the rest of the group. Unfortunately for them, once Ron had made his announcement, there was an exodus from the seats around Ron and everybody made their way to the back of the plane to join Carol and Tony.
The flight and hotel transfer arrangements all went without a hitch and by midday, the majority were on the verandah of the Hotel Dom Jose in Quarteira sipping wine and having a spot of lunch. All the hotel rooms had a sea view and balcony and were of roughly uniform size which was good news for the single occupants and especially good news for Phil Connell’s teddy who, for once, had his own bed. Things were a bit tighter for those sharing a room with the women utilising the wardrobe and cupboard space and the men utilising the rail at the front of the balcony.
“ Bowling Abroad” along with Ladies Captain, Mo Jordan had made all the arrangements and had put together an itinerary that combined matches with tours of local towns plus a couple of free days. There were four scheduled matches, the results of which are detailed further below but, in very brief summary, this is how the rest of the tour unfolded:
The whole group stayed together on most evenings either drinking and socialising in the hotel bar (having re- arranged most of the furniture ) or playing cards in the TV room. The world record for the number of people playing “chase the ace” was broken on several occasions with the dealer sometimes having to walk up to 30 yards just to distribute the cards.
On Wednesday 15th, which was a free day, the majority went to the local market in Quarteira ; Dennis Storey was kind enough to escort Ron but there were no takers (presumably because of his age) so he had to bring him back again ! . In the evening, the hotel had arranged for a couple of local dancers to entertain those in the bar. Unfortunately the booked act couldn’t attend and were replaced by a couple from the local traffic police.
The group awoke on Thursday 16th to wonderful news ; Colin Stock had found the instruction booklet for his camera . Celebrations continued all day and well into the night.
On Friday 17th, the majority visited Villamoura, a lively resort only a short distance down the coast from Quarteira, with a casino, a marina and a plethora of waterside restaurants. In the evening, some of the group met up with our old friends Peter and Jean King who now reside in Portugal for the majority of the year.
On Saturday 18th , “Bowling Abroad” had arranged for the group to dine in a local restaurant in Quarteira rather than in the hotel which provided a welcome change of scenery albeit no respite from the barrage of food consumed as the portion sizes defeated even the heartiest of eaters.
The tour concluded on the Sunday in Alvor at the home club of Peter and Jean followed by a lavish barbecue and the presentations.
The key to the success of the trip was the camaraderie of the whole group throughout the week but special mention must go to the following:
Mo Jordan who co-ordinated the whole trip;
Sarah and Ron from “Bowling Abroad” who ensured everything went smoothly in Portugal;
Yvonne who supported the team at all the matches.
Peter and Jean King who attended two matches as supporters and made everyone very welcome at their home club of Santo Antonio;
Ron and Joan Woodhams from Bromley Common BC who fitted in seamlessly with the Goddington gang;
and finally, all the participants from Orpington BC who made the week such a success.
Phil Connell
PS Phil forgot to mention our wonderful train journey along the streets of Canela where we viewed various areas with workmen drifting in and out of the rubble and a choice of demolition sites along the route. Although the piped pan music took some of the negativity away-didn’t it? Tony certainly liked it, singing along with all the tunes or shall we shall one long monotonous tune, BUT it was a lovely yellow train!
Mo Jordan
