It’s the big week for charity bowling!

It's the big week for charity bowling!

Like many of us, you probably imagine people working for charities as kindly, caring types who wouldn't hurt a fly - more likely they'd find out if it was rare or endangered and start a protection fund to save it.

And yet, around this time every year, dozens of London-based charity teams (and us) descend on the lanes of Rowans Tenpin Bowling in Finsbury Park, with the express intent of hurling a heavyweight assortment of differently-sized balls at some poor, defenceless and unsuspecting skittles.

Maximum destruction seems to be the aim; word from the skittle community is that they fear another relentless assault from Age UK, while everyone hopes it'll be their turn to work the Harris Hill lane, given there's a pretty good chance of surviving the game entirely unscathed.

Yes, this can only mean it's time for the last Harris Hill Charity Series event of the year, organised by the squad of third sector superstars behind the London Charity Softball League!

Booked up in record time, this year sees more charities than ever taking part with a total of 39 teams, so the competition looks set to be fierce!

Last year saw the aforementioned Age UK chalk up a convincing victory for their second consecutive year; three in a row would be completely unprecedented but could it be on the cards? We couldn't quite reach the team for comment, possibly confirming our theory that they've got to be practicing 24 hours a day to hit those stellar scores. At least, that's what we'll be telling ourselves as we fail to hit anything at all...

But we did catch up quickly with last year's surprise challengers, shooting straight into second place to snap up the silver, Macmillan Cancer Support! Here's what personal assistant and team member Fonso Bennett told us:

How long have you been taking part in the bowling night and what's been the highlight so far?

This will be my second year and my highlight was last year's tournament. So incredibly well organised, great to see so many faces you see during the season, I had a fantastic time. There's nothing like the charity sector and those who work in it, simply sensational people.

What's the secret of your success?

Drinks, and lots of them!

[Note from Team HH: we've tried this method - really quite extensively - and can confirm that sadly it doesn't seem to work for everyone...]

Who would you say is the team's MVP?

Everyone's an MVP, even you, the reader :)

Is there a particular team you're determined to beat?

It has to be last year's winners, Age UK!!

You shook up last year's leaderboard with a second-place score that gave Age UK a real run for their money - could you go one better this year?

We hope so! We've been at the bowling alley day and night [see - we knew it!] perfecting our game! Hopefully this time we'll actually turn up when we're called by the organisers, instead of being downstairs playing Ping-Pong!

Our thanks and best of luck to Fonso and team, and of course all the other charities who'll be battling it out on Thursday for the honour, the glory, the prestige, the highly sought-after Harris Hill gold medals which can go for anything up to £1.20 on eBay*, and so much more! (*provided you offer free postage and a complimentary pound coin)

As ever, we'll be on hand with pitchers of beer, pizzas and prizes, so may the best team win and we'll see you there!

Team Harris Hill