Put Twist Into Bowls With Biassed Stair Knob

Northern Advocate, 27 November 1948, Page 8

Put Twist Into Bowls With Biassed Stair Knob

DUKE'S DRASTIC ACTION . . .

NECESSITY is the mother of invention! When a titled Englishman ruined his perfectly good bowl, one day in the 15th Century, he probably tore his wig in vexation until a brain-wave lighted his contorted features.

Hurriedly hitching up his doublet, Brandon of Suffolk made for the nearest castle in great haste. Bursting into the hallway, the Duke immediately seized the ball-shaped top of the first stairway post, wrenched it off and returned to his game post haste. What occurred to the game of bowls as a result of Brandon’s quick excursion, is told by Mr Wallace Calder, of Whangarei, in a note to “Anstruther.” Mr Calder reveals that, after all, Drake was “small potatoes.” He beat the Armada, but he played the game with bias. Brandon, too, would seem to be the first trundler to exploit a full-blooded drive. This to some enthusiasts of today would make him something of an outsider and a cad. INSPIRATION

“How many of those who engage in the game of bowls know the origin of the bias bowl ? ” asks Mr Calder. “Over 400 years before the time of Sir Francis Drake j and his famous game at Plymouth Hoe, bowls were round'and measured siin in diameter. “During the course of a game which was being played at Goole, Yorkshire, the Duke of Suffolk, Charles Brandon, threw such a vigorous shot that one of his bowls split in two. “Not easily discouraged, he ran to the nearest house and brought the top from an elaborate bannister post. “The top was nearly round, but not perfect, and Brandon’s first shot naturally ran narrow. “Next end he allowed for the curve and came in for shot. “It was not long afterwards that bowls were all made with bias.” ADDED ZEST

For centuries Drake has had all the limelight associated with the history of bowls. He certainly passed an historic remark and spanked the Spaniards, but after all, it appears this man Brandon, put that twist into bowls, which added to the zest of the game which Francis obviously enjoyed. What a lot bowlers of today have to thank the good Duke for! He took bowlers off the “straight and narrow” (he’d frown if he saw some of today’s “straight pokers” which have escaped the tester) but I think I would enjoy a roll-up with “Twister” Brandon if he were with us today.—“ANSTRUTHER.”