And the winners are...

Yes, it’s time to roll out the big box of bowling puns and fire them at Will (sorry mate), because we have results from the knockout Harris Hill Charity Series Bowling Night 2019!

What's more, we’ve also tracked down the big box of darts puns (I say box, it’s more of a padded bag for safety reasons) to report from the fabulous Flight Club, where we recently took the winners of our ~~regrettable~~ unforgettable Golden Softballs competition!

Confused yet? Stick around. We’re talking darts, assorted balls, free drinks and competitive charities. What could possibly go wrong?

L-R: Citizens Advice celebrate, Team HH take on the name-typing challenge, and a blue box for layout purposes.

Bowl up, bowl up!

To London's Finsbury Park first of all, where the good people of Rowans Tenpin Bowling once again did a fantastic job of hosting the big charity bowling night, coping admirably as the best part of 40 kind and caring charity teams descended on the venue determined to knock defenceless skittles into next week.

Team Harris Hill were on hand with beers, pizzas and almost-priceless medals which we were in no danger of taking home again this time, as it was soon clear that whatever skills delivered our shock 2018 score had been safely jettisoned over the course of the year.

So which of the capital’s charities is top of the tenpin pops?

Here’s the top ten rundown, with a quick caveat: some organisations love bowling so much that they have enough enthusiasts for two or more teams, some of whom did pretty well! But to give more charities their due, rather than anyone going the full Sheeran and taking up half the top ten, we've just counted their best performance towards our chart.

One organisation we'd otherwise be seeing twice are at number one, so we hope they won’t mind too much: many congratulations to the champion bowlers of Citizens Advice!

Just one solitary skittle separated the top two, putting Parkinson’s UKin super-close second, taking over from last year’s silver medallists GOSH, who nonetheless stayed safely inside the top three.

All of which saw former chart-toppers and long-term top three residents Age UK strike out at no.4 (though they're sure to return), while our highest climber at no.5 isn't just one charity but a supergroup of stars from several – the Band Aid of the bowling charts, if you will - namely the committee!

As the people who make it all possible, this was their second of three games on the night, and if we weren't implementing the Sheeran rule (see above), you'd also be seeing their first score at no.9! Game three, not so much: fatigue had clearly started to set in by then, while the bar having been open for several hours is entirely unrelated information.

Rounds of applause to the highest individual scorers too: Will from team Macmillan with 167, Tommy from Parkinson’s UK giving them a second silver with 168, but out in front with 175, winning double gold for the team while simultaneously making ‘top female bowler’ redundant as a separate category, Sarah from Citizens Advice!

Thanks from all of us for a great night, congratulations to all the teams and we hope to see you somewhere in the 2020 Series, kicking off with the quiz night in February or so, followed by the return of softball. Which brings us to some competition news...

L-R: the lovely Vauxballs, popstrels Little Mix, and Harris Hill's Harriett, Dagmara, Hannah and Harriet.

The first rule of Flight Club

…is - well, you know, so we’ll just whisper that the winners of our 2019 Golden Softballs competition, comprising numerous neighbouring charities from this very parish, were none other than the Vauxballs!

This year’s prize was a (double) top night out for the team at Flight Club, the home of social darts, which as we've explained before, is exactly like anti-social darts except that you throw them at a board rather than other people in the bar (hey, if you can't #recycle in a #climateemergency...)

Victoria was the chosen venue, and while the Harris Hill blog couldn’t be there in person, its trusted representatives report that venue, staff, food and drinks all firmly hit the bullseye, as did the aforementioned Vauxballs who were a real delight to spend the evening with!

Our sincere thanks to them and indeed to every single person (of whom there were hundreds!) who took the time to trawl through our stickers, gather the codes and enter the competition. And should you inexplicably wish to see what they went through but without the prospect of winning anything at the end of it, simply click below.

Meanwhile a very Merry Christmas (if we don't speak before) and look out for more events news in the new year!

Team HH x

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