Bowlathon 2026

Club President Liz Dyer hosted a hugely successful charity Bowlathon on Sunday 21st June.

The day started at Dawn (3.48) when 6 hardy, or perhaps foolhardy, bowlers took to the green (Liz, Jack, Richard, Kevin, Clare & Jonny). The first hour involved a lot of hand signals to try not to disturb the neighbours. They were joined at 5 by Bruce & Jeannie who played a club competition match against Jack & Jonny. Once Bruce arrived, the neighbours were definitely awake!! It was decided that we were all much better playing before 6am and it was suggested that we move all our matches to early morning!! Reinforcements arrived at 6 to allow the early risers to have some sausage/bacon rolls – thanks to Annette. Ater this there was a rotation of bowlers throughout the day, including players from Empingham, Oakham, Holwell and Greetham Valley.  As can be seen in the pictures, many family members also came to have a go – perhaps a way to see their dads on Father’s Day!  A special mention should go to Dave who spent most of the day at the club despite it being his birthday. There was an ample supply of tea throughout the day as well as cakes, snacks and ice creams that had been donated by our generous members. We had a visit from Rutland and Stamford Sound’s Rob Persani who interviewed Liz about the charity and the day. He also interviewed Liz’s grandson, Stevie, about his West End role as Jonathon Brown in Paddington the Musical. He included both interviews in his breakfast show the next day along with one of the songs from Paddington. Stevie has Type 1 diabetes which is why Liz chose Breakthrough T1D as her President’s charity. As the hours ticked by, the weariness began to show but everyone soldiered on and as the last 2 hours approached, there were 16 bowlers determined to see it out and make it to Dusk at 10.22. An interesting last 7 ends were played in semi-darkness with much jollity. During the day, people guessed how many ends they thought would be played. The guesses ranged from 200 to 1645!! The final tally was 447 with Pat Wood guessing a surprisingly accurate (for Pat) 444. Well done to her. As usual, Marko members worked together to ensure a great day was had by all. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way with the day.