Brockham Bowls Club - Dinners
Dinners
"The first club dinners were held in the School dining hall. One of our club members was my Canteen Supervisor (Mrs Beesley) and she produced an excellent meal for 17/6 per head," wrote former Brockham School headmaster Harold Rogers in a letter to club secretary Keith McIndoe in November 1988.
He was thanking Keith for sending him notice of the annual general meeting and a draft of the new constitution and also relinquishing the role of club president at his third - and this time successful - attempt.
Dorothy and Bill Beesley remember that dinner well. "He said he'd book the hall out to the Young Farmers," says Dorothy referring to Mr Rogers, "and that would make it cheaper."
On the evening Dorothy was endeavouring to help with the food preparation and serving and eat her dinner at the same time. "We did not have a licence for drinks so Doug Balchin brought supplies from The Duke's Head on sale or return. We could not charge for drinks but members made appropriate donations at the end of the evening," Dorothy explains. That the event was a great success is confirmed by the cheery faces in an excellent collection of photographs taken by professional photographer Mr M A Booth, and which Mr Rogers pasted into the club's first scrapbook.
The school dining hall was the venue for the first three club dinners - February 1968, February 1969 and October 1969. After that the venue changed almost annually. "Jack Blanch would ask me 'Are you free on Monday?'" recalls Bill Beesley, and they would go out and try various eating-places. The first commercial venue (October 1970) was The Barley Mow, which stood where The Arkell Manor Harvester now stands. The Holly and Laurel at South Holmwood, The Watermill at Dorking and the Betchworth Park Golf Club have all been used on more than one occasion.
In the late 1980s outside caterers were used to provide buffet-style meals in the village, at the Church Hall and the village hall, and one year the lady members did the catering for a similar meal themselves. More recently The Watermill and Betchworth Park Golf Club have been the chosen venues once again. Of course, the presentation of the club tournament trophies is the high spot of the evening though this was almost eclipsed the year the entertainment included a home-produced "ballet" featuring gentlemen players in skimpy tutus, bras, streamer headdresses and Wellington boots.
In 1990 a special trophy was presented to George Newland. Its design incorporated an old lignum wood and it was given to mark George's 25 years with the club.