Playing for a year’s worth of meat and the Holidays keep rolling on!

Howick Village Lawn Bowl Fields

Howick has many parks for such a small village and one of the most used contains the Lawn Bowl Fields. Lawn bowling in NZ is usually an outdoor sport  played on a well-tended green.  

It came to our attention that those white clad denizens of the green fields actually get more than exercise and a social outing.  One veteran player of lawn bowling said that he and his wife are pretty good and usually win all of their yearly meat supplies, but they don’t really care for the lamb.  We quickly said, “We love lamb!” but apparently some of their other friends love lamb too and were in line before us.  I don't know if the meat prize is an official part of the game or if this is for personal wagers.  Also of note is that most of those people tossing balls onto the green fields are somewhat mature.

Walking with a neighbor, who is 10 years my junior, I inquired if she had thought of taking up lawn bowling.  I said this only to enjoy her disquiet and amazement that I would insinuate that she’s ‘mature’ enough.  “I’m not THAT old yet!” she replied.  I laughed but was later informed that people lawn bowl here in NZ at all ages.  The sport is used to foster team play and good sportsmanship among young players. I do admit that most of the players have hair as white as mine and appear to be ambling about on the field.  But we are told that the competition can be intense and the winning quite fulfilling. 

Here in Howick Village there is a sign posted stating that a cobble path from Selwyn Avenue to Uxbridge has a stone embankment built to retain the lawn for the public lawn bowl field used in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

I have played bocce ball in the past and the robust Italian fervor was wonderful to experience.  So at some point I may join those ‘old folks’ and try the game.

Lovely Easter Monday here today.  Yes, there is Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and then Easter Monday and in Australia there is even an Easter Tuesday.  Oh these people in the southern hemisphere know how expand on and enjoy the official holidays.

All is good, J