Ten pin bowling after two years of lockdowns and avoiding crowded spaces was an Alice in Wonderland kind of experience. The noise, the colours and the nightclub style lighting made it a hyperreal experience. No magic potions were imbibed , although liberal amounts of alcohol were used to clean our hands because bowling balls are still communal. Even though we bowled out of a large perspex box and wore our own shoes. I can’t say I was ever a huge fan of wearing those communal shoes. Putting on shoes damp with my own sweat is always a bit grim, let alone the sweat of a random stranger who just happens to have feet the same size. The thing about ten pin bowling for fun is the absolute joy it beings to everyone involved. With each pod of bowlers contained in a perspex box there is less interaction but the air is constantly punctured by happiness in the form of cheers at success and woeful groans as the ball fails to do what the bowler intended. Alas my bowling skills have diminished during Covid but my ability to laugh at how hopeless I am seems almost to have improved. This morning as I woke up I discovered muscles in my fingers that have been tuned overnight to be ready for unusual action. Too bad that a handshakes are no longer popular I could do a nasty crush with just with my freshly sporty fingers.