Summer Sports - Bowls
a torrent. There had been flooding affecting the greens back in 2000 and now and again water has intruded since, but nothing like it did last Christmas Eve and twice more in January and February. They were the worst storms in forty-five years. “Flooding is a concern that’s always in the back of your mind here, but we always get over it and manage to carry on bowling,” said Norman. “There’s nothing that can be done about it, except perhaps putting a six foot wall around the whole site. The water would probably still get through even then. We just have to except that, once in a while, the club becomes part of the River Mole.” Recent watery engulfment was clearly
exceptional. The Gables Nursing Home, across the road from the Popes Mead club, had to be evacuated and those living there moved to safety by boat. Every picture tells a story and he shows me some taken at the time by the local press. Norman indicates the level the water reached. It seems unreal on this lovely summer’s day. For viewing, rather than as a flood
resistance measure, the clubhouse was built a metre higher than the greens, so it escaped the surging Mole: not so Norman’s adjacent equipment shed. His impressive kit armoury had to be rescued and subsequently given a professional once-over. All was fine and fit for duty, he was happy to be told.
The original construction of both greens
incorporated excellent sub-drainage and this aids the drying out process considerably. Any surface water drains to receptor tanks that pre-date the club and are close to the site and adjacent to the river. This takes out any silt and muck and discharges clear water back into the Mole. It can only do this when the river level itself has receded, so the Mole always calls the tune. The level of the Mole did recede pretty quickly and, astonishingly, three days later, the day after Boxing Day, Norman was mowing the green. But there were other consequences, of course. It seemed to Norman to be firmer than
ever. He spoke about this to his agronomist, Mark Wilton, who has been advising him and supplying the club with materials since the club was re-sited at Willoughby Fields. If
ever he has a query, or something to do with the green he doesn’t recognise, Mark is contacted. It’s a relationship that has worked well year after year. Norman values what Mark says. A cubic metre of water weighs a ton, he reminded Norman. There are 1500 square metres of turf on the green, so there had to be 1500 tonnes of water sitting on it. There had been massive compaction. Norman says he will be on the case come the autumn and has already made arrangements for a contractor, Mark’s brother Peter, to do some serious aeration via a Graden machine as soon as the fixture programme is fulfilled. Norman’s biggest concern for the grass
green was the potential influx of unwelcome seed. Scarifying had to be a post-flood
priority. His difficulty this year was that it was so consistently wet right through February into March and the green under further water from time to time. He just could not get on it to do much work. Also, he noticed that the floodwater was much muddier than in previous floods and the silt residue unusually thick. When the floodwater subsided, both greens were covered.
Normally, as soon as the all-weather green All weather? “ Both greens under water last Christmas
Flooding is a concern that’s always in the back of your mind here, but we always get over it and manage to carry on bowling
is free of surface water you can bowl on it, but this year because it has flooded three times, there have been exceptional difficulties. Norman doesn’t like play on the grass green in April, so it is the all-weather that is used for early season fixtures, but this year the residue from floodwater was not conducive to bowling at all and the thick layer of silt inhibited drainage, even though it is laid on porous Macadam. Professional jet washing sorted out the surface to the tune of £2000. ProMaster greens are made in Australia and the one at Popes Mead has a rubber- cushion backing that gets it as close as possible to the speed of a grass green. Ironically, Norman says, it has to be watered occasionally to keep it up to speed. It is sand-filled with sixteen tonnes of it across the whole surface. A section had been lifted and badly rucked by the force of the Christmas floodwater and it was all hands to the pump to get this put right before a final over all jet-wash. No matter how they tried, they just could not get it back into position, so they resorted to undoing one of the surface seams and using a leaf blower from Norman’s equipment shed. Forty members then helped painstakingly tread the surface down. Damage was also caused to the edging of
the ditch structure in one or two places and this has yet to be repaired, but otherwise Popes Mead’s all-weather is looking and bowling well. All of the upkeep of the club’s greens and the surrounds is done on a voluntary basis. Mentioned particular in dispatches were Les Buck, who does all the ornamental bedding and shrub care, Aubrey Biles, who keeps all the non-playing surface grass in trim, and Alf Bridges, who looks after the flower baskets,
After the flood, Norman’s kit and materials drying out PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 I 65
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