Friendly competition for our social skittles night

There was lots of friendly competition and fun at our summer social skittles night. Ros and Graham tell all…

The skittles event took place at the Coach and Horses in Wimborne with 17 in attendance. Unfortunately Declan (for whom it was his last job as social event co-ordinator) was unwell. However he did appear at the beginning to ensure we knew what we were doing and to tell us that his credit card was behind the bar!

Ros in action as band members watch in anticipation

Team Simon (conductor) vs Team Bev (conductor’s wife)

A few of us had played skittles before so after a few minutes’ discussion we began the first game. Declan had very kindly written all our names on the board for us. We played three games in two teams (Team Simon – our conductor – and Team Bev) where every player had three balls to try and knock all the skittles down. Scores ranged from 1 (no names disclosed) to a full 9 from Karen on her second go. Scores varied greatly from round to round.

It took one or two games but everyone soon had the idea of what they were doing, including the people standing up the skittles at the end of the alley and returning the balls. This was probably harder than throwing the ball, as the skittles were very wobbly and prone to falling over without a ball! Thank you Simon for helping put up the skittles when I (now clearly getting older) asked you if you could assist.

Graham getting read to throw

When it came to throwing the balls there were very varied techniques. Simon and Graham in particular were taking it very seriously and it was necessary to stay clear when they were playing. Others such as Lucy and Mary were slightly more gentle and some even used two hands to throw the ball. We also had some bouncing balls, especially from Janet!

Break time

After three games we had a break whilst some people went over to the pub to have some food. The remaining people then played a game of killer, which was challenging as the skittles are not picked up until every one has been knocked down. By some miracle (no skill involved) I managed to win this one.

Band members enjoying a break from the competition

After the food break the whole group resumed for another game. Team Simon won by four points so it was a very close conclusion to the match following four games in total.

Following this, the whole group played killer. This became quite an intense event, getting more and more competitive as it progressed. There was lots of roars, cheers and applauding, and in particular moans and “what have you done?” when only one or two skittles were left for the next person to take down. The final two players were Graham and Simon and the winner was our maestro who excelled himself with his skittle playing.

Band members excelled themselves

It was a very enjoyable evening for all and one which hopefully we can repeat in the future. Certain members of the band excelled themselves, especially Mary (who had never played before); Gemma who was very controlled in her throwing; and also Dave (husband of Janet) who was extremely enthusiastic in his performance. The scorers also did well, especially Kerry and Gemma (who was determined to add up all the total scores).

It was lovely to participate in such a fun event with such a lovely group of people, and in my case to meet people socially away from band rehearsals.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made it such a fun evening. Also to Declan for arranging (hopefully your credit card avoided any charges)!

By Ros on bari sax and Graham on euphonium

Check out our Facebook page for more photos of our skittles night.