Ten Pin Bowling

Hi TonyS, in response to your quote no 30. You are correct about the bowling alley position. It took me a while to figure it out because I was sure you got to it from the Cov market car park. There was a bridge walkway, you can still see part of it sticking out from the back end of Iceland and the barrier missing from the corner of the car park. Bit of a delay but still trying to catch up, hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

There was a door at ground level on Rover Road - I think it's still there although boarded up - and you could also enter directly from the carpark on the roof of the market (that link has long gone)

Adding to this topic. The supermarket underneath the Victoria Road bowling alley was Victor Value

I can remember it being Anthony Jackson's supermarket, an el cheapo place, before Kwik Save arrived. Many years before, actually. I believe Victor Value bought them out or took over.

Victor Value has been mentioned previously elsewhere in the forum. Enter 'Victor Value' into the search box (top left) to bring up these posts.

I drove past the old Forum Bowl a couple of weeks ago and seeing it rekindled memories of going bowling on a Friday night with my mainly older mates from Leamington. This was back in 1965 to about 1967 when bowling was extremely popular. There were generally about 8 or 9 of us in two cars which were parked in the underground car park. I remember that sometimes we had to wait some time before a lane became free and then we were always sent to the far end which was away from the better players. For a sport which was so popular it surprises me that this topic has laid dormant for approaching five years. Someone out there must have some more memories about The Forum Bowl, The Savoy Bowl in Radford, Queen Victoria Rd Bowl, or even the more recent one in Walsgrave.

I went to The Forum Bowl in 1964 and before that Queen Victoria Road Bowl where some of Jimmy Hill's Players used turn up there.

I went to the Forum Bowl when I was 14 in 1961 and recognised Phil Storey and his wife, Barbara in the lane next to mine. Phil was the track manager at Brandon and a very familiar face driving the tractor between races. I asked him how to get on the track staff - the best view of the racing in the stadium! Very timely, he said - come to the stadium next Tuesday evening and that's when the track staff will be selected. You are sixteen? I confessed that I was not, but he told me to turn up anyway. I certainly could - and did - pass for a sixteen-year-old and, with promoter Charles Ochiltree presiding, Phil made sure I got picked. I worked on race nights for several years, and later spent a couple of University summer holidays working with Phil.

My time was a while before yours then JW. Maybe in the middle 50's. We stood where the riders came out onto the track. I can smell it as I write this. Brandon of course - not Ten Pin Bowling.