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If you are thinking about taking up archery, our recent experiences in this shop might help you. We happened to call in to see Annette the other day, not having seen her for almost a year, wanting to just see how things were going.

Annette happened to be out and the shop was in the care of Luke Price (below right), a personable young man whose interest in archery we questioned.  

Rochford Life: You are an archer?
Luke: Yes and I teach archery to kids from 5 years old upwards. I teach it at all the Beaver groups and at Belchamps activity centre.

RL: So how long have you been doing archery?
Luke: I’ve been doing it for fourteen years. I started as a youngster in Beavers and I’ve gradually gone up and at eighteen did my leadership course and I’ve been doing that for two years. I’m now twenty.   Annette actually taught me.

Now the reason we mention this snippet of conversation is that, as Annette is heard to say, “Archery is like Marmite; you either love it or hate it.” Luke is clearly an example of a young man who tried it and loved it, and in our experience there seem to be a lot of these people around.

The next day when we returned, we found Annette back in the shop and chatted about how things were going. While sitting there talking, a relatively elderly man came in and explained to Annette that he was coming up to retirement and he and his wife had been thinking about taking up archery, partly to keep fit and healthy and partly as a means of getting out and meeting people.

His problem, he explained, was that he had a weak left arm. I sat in the background and watched as Annette checked which was his dominant eye (in order to determine which hand he would use to hold the bow and which one to pull the string) and then quizzed him as to how mobile he was. She then introduced him to the basic parts of a modern bow, on display in the shop there, and recommended starting out with a fairly low weight on pull bow to see how he got on. She also showed him an attachment to the string that would make it easy for him to release the string without much movement.

Although he explained the relatively large budget he and his wife were prepared to set aside for this new enterprise, Annette carefully kept him down in the lower regions of expense, warning that this would be a good starting level without undue cost, but if they really became hooked on archery, then they could upgrade to more expensive equipment later on.

When he asked for details of a nearby club where they could start, she provided him with that information and he left with the prices written down to go and discuss it with his wife. So well did I feel she dealt with him, it took an effort to overcome the temptation to say, “Yes,  right, now how about me?”

So, if you are wondering about taking up archery, your starting place is to come and talk with Annette, where you will find yourself in good hands. If you want to know more about archery then we recommend you read the first interview we did with Annette by CLICKING HERE.