h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I remember reading a very funny story in the paper last last year about two middle-aged women Crown Green bowlers who got in trouble with the bowls powers-that-be for allegedly bringing the game into disrepute. They won a ladies' doubles tournament and celebrated by lifting their shirts and flashing their bras at the spectators! I cut the story out of the paper and sent it to my Dad, who's a keen bowler, along with a note asking him if that sort of thing went on at his bowls club!

Well I play for one of the youngest and the most sucessful team in Ireland. We are constantly pushing the envelope of disrepute. However 2 Summers ago one of the Under 25s from Devon boriught the game into disrepute for writing on the scorecard some obscene comment about one of the selectors, always a good move to get noticed, though not picked and he got a lengthy ban.

Well this broke just when the Under 25 internationals were being held in Belfast. Now our club would be constantly being reported if some of our opponents actually fully understood the various codes for other words that we use every saturday, and one of our number had the press cutting. He went up to every English official having a nice conversation before asking totally dead pan where this young player was. Now this was one of our International's so they were all giving him due respect, up to that point. But they couldn't do anything about it. We were all bursting at the seems as he carried on carrying this off.

I may well have to do something on the genteel art of bowls hooliganism shortly though.