...The Official Home of the...
B52's
"Come on!!!"
The B52's are a bowling team located in Cardiff, Wales, and they are made up of eight individual players, seven of which work in the Cardiff City Council Education department, and our other player works for Trading Standards! The B52's were formed in January 2003 accidentally after a planned pay day treat, which involved going out for a bite to eat, a few cocktails, several shooters and a couple of rolls of bowling. It was due to be a one night deal...
A whole year later, the team are still going strong, and in November 2K3, the B52's screamed 'CHAMPIONE!' to the high heavens as they won a Golden Pin, annihilating two other teams, one from Halifax, the other from SET! After the game, SET, a stationary supplier to the Council, were asked if they had any spare trophy cabinets left in stock so that the pin could be displayed for all to see, however no staff were available for comment!
Most importantly however, on the night the team raised over £500 for Kidney Research, thanks to the generous families of the players and the wonderful staff in the Schools Service department! This night was also a monumental one for the B52's, because David Parkins (who plays for the team but couldn't be at the event as he was watching the Cardiff Devils) officially became their manager/coach, after appearing at the end of the game when all of the hard work had been done, taking the trophy for his own, and promoting the team to whoever would listen! Dave still plays for the team however (when the Devils or the City aren't at home) and has been a vital member of the B52's (when he plays).
Since then, the B52's have accepted several challenge matches from various different sources, and throughout 2004, they will be playing the likes of Willows High school in a re-match from last year, Fujitsu and the WDA! In addition, they will also be playing Pupil and Student Services and even the Cardiff Council's main rivals, the Vale of Glamorgan! Also in February, the B52's will be going for another trophy, this time they will be playing against six other teams for the Echo trophy on the City Rd Bowling alley! Since this is the first time they will have played at this venue and it is considered to be away from home, they will be at a disadvantage, but as a famous philosopher once said 'where there's beer, there is no fear!'. They hope to go for a curry afterwards in the Bay of Bengal which is just next door, hopefully with the trophy by their side!
There are also rumors abound that the B52's may play the Cardiff City youth team and the Catering department at Bessemer Close in the coming months! However, these are unfounded rumors, but if any of these events are confirmed, you better believe that you will here about it first on the official B52 website!
The B52's home stomping ground is Hollywood Bowl, just opposite the City Council building! Before each game however, the pre-match warm-up ceremony for the B52's includes eating in the Old Orleans, (anything with meat and chips with it), chatting about life and luxury then afterwards, they proceed to drink all of the cocktails on the menu, (annoying the bar staff in the process). Particular favorites among the B52's are "Big Wednesday", "Zombie" and "Love on the Rocks". Mark Bunston, our Trading Standards regular, has never been a big fan of cocktails, and as such, he wasn't particularly keen on participating on the drinking side of things in the early days of the B52's. However, he has recently confessed to the group that the drinks are 'growing on him', and we think he may have even developed a soft spot for a 'Purple Rain'.
The fun really starts though when the shooters fill the table! The shooters on the menu include 'Cowboy', 'Flatliner' (Mark's personal favorite), and our namesake 'The B52'! Needless to say, after a few rounds of these, the team are in the right frame of mind to take on all comers, go on a rampage, and knock every pin down at the speed of light! Or in the case of Raymondo, throw every ball down the gutter at the speed of light!
Still, nobodies perfect!
We hope you enjoy your stay here at the B52 website, and if you have any questions/queries, any additions you would like to see to the site, or if you fancy challenging the B52's to a game of bowling, feel free to email me at rayfnwillmott@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you from all of the team.
Powelly (Andrew Powell)
Swinny (Matt Swindell)
Mr.Bump (Mark Bunston)
Parky (David Parkins)
Jobey (Andrew Job)
Downsey (Andrew Down)
Raymondo (Ray Willmott)
and the Scud! (Jason Townsend)
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Fan's comments! (All welcome to contribute - just email me!)