“I don’t need therapy, I just need bowling” read the T-shirt on the man in lane 17. On the back, it said “legend.” On both counts, I’m inclined to agree.
Finsbury Park was once the land of pistol duels. Two hundred years later, lethal blows are still being dealt. The accuracy is no less deadly – only now, instead of looking down the barrel, you’re looking down the lane.
Rowans Tenpin Bowl, Finsbury Park, is an institution. Its late-night bowling and DJ nights have made it a hotspot on the weekends with people heading to the area from across London for a good night out. I, however, am here on a weeknight in my most slippery shoes.
Until 7:30pm last Tuesday, my experience of bowling alleys was limited to a smattering of children’s birthday parties. At Rowans, lanes 13-24 are famously reserved for the league, where bowling is a hobby for many, a sport for some, and a community for all.
“We’re looking for someone called Chris, he runs the league,” I tell my friend as we tentatively approach the group at the upstairs lanes. “I bet Chris is the one in the Hawaiian Shirt,” he replies. He is right.
Chris White took over the league in 2008 and bowls every week with wife. At the end of the week, he sends out the weekly scores in a newsletter, and like the league itself, it is “all about the positives,” he says. He recalls that his wife started out watching from the sides, but now she can bowl a 255. For reference, an average person will probably not bowl higher than 100.
He is just as likely to highlight someone’s first 100-point game, as he is someone scoring over 200 points. The scores are handicapped as Chris believes the league is about helping everyone bowl better.
Chris introduces me to Phil, who won the league twice last year. He used to bowl for his county and humbly tells me he picked it up again as a hobby. However, his recent achievement of scoring 200-plus in 100 games raises the question of how casually he views the sport.
We are set up in lane 22 and begin our 30-minute warm-up. In the next lane is Liam, his brother and the evening’s eventual winner, Jake, a 26-year-old Australian who lives in Tooting and started bowling at Rowans a month ago. During the first game Jake scored six strikes in a row.
More than three strikes in a row is called a turkey, and Chris appears with the obligatory turkey hat for a picture. Unfortunately, there are no turkeys on lane 22.
Like most league members, Liam has his own bowling balls, as “you can’t get them [standard balls] to move.” Balls can be picked up relatively cheap on eBay, but for those who want to really improve their game, they can opt for one moulded to their hand. Liam’s set him back £200.
According to Mike, aka Legend, who is bowling with his son, Rowans is: “the only place in London where a social gathering is on equal footing… except if you can’t dance on a Friday night.”
During our visit, everyone seems happy to strike up a conversation, and they all praise the great community at Rowans. It attracts bowlers from all over London and even some from further afield. Simon travels up from Brighton as many Tuesdays as he can to make the league.
Chris says people within the league are very friendly, and that the only competitiveness is self-induced. The energy is infectious, and despite being one hundred points behind the rest of the field, lane 22 never felt out of place. After a successful round, I spin around with a grin to receive enthusiastic high fives from Liam, and the rest of his lane.
A few lanes further down is Jimmy K, the “Greek God of Bowling” – as printed on the six polo shirts he has had made.
Jimmy regularly represents his hospital at the British Transplant games – an annual sports event for those who have undergone a transplant – after his kidney transplant. In August, he is heading to Germany to represent Great Britain at the World Championships, following a silver medal at the 2019 games.
Jimmy says I must come on a Friday night when he and Legend book out lane nine. When I tell him I am not very good, Jimmy says it doesn’t matter as long as you can hold a drink, because on Fridays all league business is set aside for “disco bowling”.
Chris is keen to bring in some younger players to the league and says we must come back another week. Little does he know it, having sampled life in the fast lane, I am already looking up second-hand bowling balls on eBay. Whilst lightning might not strike twice, I am hoping next week I can.
Rowans Tenpin Bowl
Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 10:30-00:30
Friday/Saturday: 10:30 – 2:30
Rowans Bowling League runs every Tuesday of the year except during Christmas and New Year.
Show up at 7:30pm, head upstairs, sign your name, and it is £8 a game. The season is 12 weeks long, ending with a presentation on week 13, you need to bowl 6 weeks out of 12 to be in the league.
For more information Chris White’s email is on the Rowans website.
Araminta Plumptre is a student journalist at City University with a specific focus on her reporting beat, Finsbury Park. Araminta has by-lines at ELLE magazine and experience at The Daily Telegraph she is interested in arts and culture writing alongside international journalism.