Bowls club chalks up 100 years

The Old Cross Bowling club, based in Langley Green, now has more than 70 members ranging from 15 to 80 years old.

In 2008 the club celebrated its centenary year and has enjoyed one of its most successful seasons, with a host of teams scooping top awards across the area.

Among the latest honours to be won include the senior citizen team scooping the Oldbury Challenge Cup and gaining promotion to Division One in the Oldbury league.

Frank Whittingham and Les Simmonds, both aged 83 and from Langley, are stalwarts of the senior citizen team and use the sport to help them stay fit.

Old Warley ward councillor Les Pawlowski is chairman of the club which also includes ex-football and cricket players.

"The main thing with the club is that the sport is such good fun and we are a very welcoming club," he said.

"In all of my lifetime I will not go or be going anywhere else to bowl.

"The people here are really special and they are almost like an extended family," he added.

Other teams from the club have also enjoyed success in the Warwick and Worcester League and the Business House league.

President of the club Colin Boyle, aged 71, a father-of-two from Satchhouse Road in Bearwood, said: "All of the teams have worked extremely hard and this has paid off with our success in various competitions throughout the year.

"I am delighted that people still find the sport so enjoyable and it is always a great occasion when we get together and play the games.

"Everybody is so enthusiastic and passionate about the sport that it keeps us really well motivated."

The club, which was once home to a cycling club, has also noted an increase in the number of youngsters taking up the sport.

Former Perryfields pupil Jack Johnson, aged 16, and Chris Watts, aged 17, have both been chosen to bowl for the Warwick and Worcester Bowling Association after a successful season with the club. Chris also teamed up with fellow Warley bowler Jacob Dancer to lift the prestigious Dudley Juniors Doubles Competition.

Club secretary and father-of-three Bob Unitt, aged 59, from Farley Lane in Romsley, said the success of the club was based on its friendly approach to the game. "I think the special thing about this club is we pride ourselves on having fun and to be honest it is probably more of a social club than it is a competitive kind of club," he said.

"We enjoy winning things, of course we do, but more importantly we like to create fun for the members and the atmosphere here is just fantastic."

Fellow club member and father-of-two, Graham Cooper, aged 66, from Ardav Road in West Bromwich, said: "I have been a member for six years now and I have loved every minute of it. It is great to see so many people come along and enjoy the sport, we all help each other out and that is what makes us so special."