IAN HART: Bowls should stay in town

MORE local doom and gloom with the possibility of the National Bowls leaving Worthing?

I sincerely hope not. Reports didn’t look encouraging but I understand all is not lost.

This is not the first time the threat of Leamington Spa hosting the championships has come up. Similar discussions took place five years ago but with some positive action Worthing Borough Council got another five-year deal from Bowls England. While some in the governing body want a move to the Midlands, it is my understanding that rank and file bowlers from the length and breadth of the country still favour Worthing and all it has to offer.

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What Bowls England needs is to be loved, cosseted or whatever you want to call it by Worthing Borough Council. Five years ago, councillor Paul High was given that specific job and he delivered the goods.

I spoke to him last week when the story broke and he states he can deliver again. So, council leader Paul Yallop, let’s cut out the huff and the puff and give him the all-important job.

Otherwise, it will see another nail in the coffin of our local tourist industry, which surely is something no-one wants, or do they?

l Although, if the bowls does sadly depart, perhaps we should consider making Worthing the national centre for Zumba? We now currently have two fine exponents of the art, Rachel Apps, who has classes at the Glendale Dance Studio while Lois Doe runs sessions at the Beechams Social Club. The commander-in-chief has quickly become a fan of the mode of exercise, although I’ve not succumbed to it yet, I might be giving both ladies a call when I get back off my holiday in June!

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l And finally, many thanks to the number of people, including Tony Malone, Roger Cloake, Percy Nowell and Mark Amey, who took the trouble to get in contact regarding my enquiry about Leo Sayer and the Mexican hat last week.

It transpires that despite singing about the Mexican Hat in Moonlighting it’s probably unlikely he ever played there in that guise as it changed its name to the Golden Key in 1967 before becoming the Carioca in the early 1970s.

Leo specifically played locally with two bands, Terraplane Blues Band and Patches, before being snapped up by the management of Dave Courtney and Adam Faith.

The Terraplanes came out of the Worthing Art College, and included Max Chetwynd, who now fronts local band Mad Max, and played such venues as the Starlight Rooms (Where were they?), the Assembly Hall, Worthing Pier, Worthing Technical College, Upper Beeding Village Hall and the Shoreline at Bognor where they supported The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.