Established in 1932, the Mid Shropshire Crown Green Bowling League – based in and around the Telford area – has been virtually on hold since October 2019, when the end of the season was followed by the Covid-19 outbreak.

League officers were proud to mark the easing of lockdown restrictions in September 2020 by running a singles knockout at Edgmond – the only competition promoted in Shropshire that summer – but a second wave of the pandemic then put paid to any future events.

The League was also happy to make a grant of £42.50 to all clubs last year to help them survive the financial pressures caused by the health crisis by covering the cost of their BCGBA and SCGBA affiliation fees.

And now, despite the delay in the introduction of ‘Freedom Day’ when all restrictions will be lifted, the League will burst back into life in the first week of July 2021. A one-off, half season, has been organised with the aim of getting as many bowlers as possible back on the greens. The usual structures have been replaced with four Friday night divisions for 12 and 10-a-side teams and five Monday evening divisions featuring 10 and 8-a-side teams.

In normal times, the League boasts 26 member clubs with nearly 1,500 bowlers, a popular Thursday night division and Saturday afternoon division having been put in cold storage until 2022.

That Dennis Lewis Thursday Division, named in honour of a hugely respected late chairman, usually features Shawbury-based Elephant & Castle and Shrewsbury's Prince of Wales Hotel to give the League a huge geographical coverage across Shropshire that takes in Albrighton in the east and Highley to the south.

League officers are working hard to try and grow the sport by attracting more and younger people to take up crown green bowls - and are delighted that new County Development Officer and coaching chief Pauline Wilson is using the coaching equipment bought with a £7,145 grant from Sport England to the maximum, especially in the hugely successful Bowls Big Weekend in May.

Mid Shropshire have also continued to award Life Memberships to recognise the efforts of bowlers to further the sport – and this too will resume next year.

But for now, let’s just enjoy the sport we all love and the company and friendships it brings, aiding our mental well being and adding to the quality of our lives after such a tough 22 months.