BBC BROADCAST SATURDAY JUNE 29th       (Terry Norwood at the desk)

Some reminders and information to start with:

1. A final reminder on membership fees; they are now due so any member who hasn’t yet renewed membership is urged to do so as soon as possible.
2. Cagey bowler and good bloke Neville Tanner is now on the mend after his knee operation. He’s at home recuperating, and indications are that he will be back on the green before too long to plonk those moo cow bowls of his beside the jack.
3. Ninety-year-old Bill ‘the’ Pope has now had his cardiac procedure and is back in Bowral Hospital in recovery. Bill had some stents inserted to clear some arteries and indications are that he’ll be back on the green in the not too distant future.
4. Members are again reminded that the AGM of the Men’s Bowling Club will be held at 10am on Sunday August 18th. Nomination forms are available at the entrance to the Club, so members are urged to get cracking on lodging nominations for any of the positions.
5. As indicated in the last report, the Women’s and Men’s Bowling Clubs have got together to organise a Birthday celebration bowls day on Wednesday September 4th. The day will commemorate 110 years of bowling in Bowral, as well as the 85th birthday of women’s bowling. The format will be mixed triples and the starting time will probably be 12 noon. The fine details of the day will follow soon.
6. A final reminder to any bowlers interested in participating in Region (formerly Zone) events; schedules for upcoming events are posted on the notice board for you to enter your name.
7. With the completion of bowls on Saturday, the participation in bowls numbers can now be finalised. These figures will be posted on the notice board around 11.30 on Wednesday.

Social Bowls Saturday June 29th

Twenty bowlers turned out for social bowls on what was a windy, though pleasant, afternoon. The stiffish breeze coming out of the . . . well, mostly the north-west but sometimes other directions, combined with the Waratah Green running at about 18, made the day quite a challenge. The Match Committee organised two games of pairs and two of triples.

In a triples game on rink 8, Grahame ‘pop’ Denman, Mike ‘fish’ Hook and Dave Charlesworth took on Barry Werfel, Harold ‘stentless’ Wall and the wily Bob Edwards. Bob’s team won three of the first four ends to lead 5 – 1, and had their opposition under some pressure. Dave’s team got the score back to within three shots, but by the end of the ninth end, they were really under the pump at 3 – 13 down. Team Charlesworth did grab a very useful three shots on the eleventh and another three on the sixteenth, but it was all too few. An horrendous five shotter against them on the twelfth had had them in deep, deep trouble and they were never really able to recover; where’s the oxygen when needed?! So,  it was Bob’s team who went on to triumph at 23 – 12 when time was called.

On the next green, Keith ‘the fox’ Edwards, Graham ‘jockey’ Hunt and the maestro Robin Staples battled against Ian ‘cool’ Duncan, Richard Denman and the irrepressible cobbler Gordon Lewis. Although Robin’s team led 3 – 1 after three ends they were quickly behind the eight ball. Gordon’s team won the next eight, yep eight ends on the trot and roared out to an impressive lead of 18 – 3. (We need to keep that defibrillator closer to the green!) Gordon was in red hot form and the opposition had little answer to his fine bowling. Team Staples did manage to win six of the last ten ends, but the heavier scoring against them on the other four ends meant that they slipped even further behind. The final score of 30 – 12 was a clear indication of Gordon’s and his team’s dominance.

In a pairs game on rink 10, Terry Norwood and the ebullient Bob Crowley faced off against Peter ‘Virgin’ Flight and Stephen ‘doc’ Della. In a really tight first four ends only singles were scored for Peter and the ‘doc’ to lead 3 – 1. Bob and Terry then found some very good touch to win the next four ends and set up a useful lead of 12 – 3. Stephen and Peter hit back immediately however, with a four and a single and were right back into things. Team Crowley then pushed their lead out to 16 – 9 on the twelfth end, only to drop an horrendous, eye-watering, six shotter on the next end! They quickly composed themselves however, and won the next four ends; but, far from done team Della won three ends and there was only one shot difference going into the last end. Bob and Terry steadied, got three shots on the jack and held on to win 25 – 21. All bowlers had their moments in a cracking game.

In the other pairs game, Jill Harwood and Mick ‘potters’ Flynn took on Graham Hartnup and George Hindi. Graham and George won the first three ends to lead 6 – 0. Mick and Jill got themselves onto the scorecard  on the fourth end, but were behind 4 – 8 by the sixth end. Each side then won a pair of ends, but a three shotter to George and Graham meant that they led comfortably 12 – 6 after ten ends. And then a hurricane hit . . . a scintillating five shot haul on the eleventh end catapulted Mick and Jill back into the match! With plenty of chat and encouragement, Jill and Mick finally hit the lead on the sixteenth end . . . but then they had it snatched away from them when George and Graham grabbed four shots on the 18th. With it all to play for and two shots behind, Mick and Jill scored a three on the last to get home by two shots! Great stuff!