BBC BROADCAST No 1826 WED 6th/SAT 9th APRIL           (Terry Norwood at the desk)

Important info to kick things off:

1. VALE Lew Wilson. We have now been notified that the memorial service for our late patron and life member Lew Wilson is set down for 11am Friday 15th May at St Jude’s in Bowral. The wake will follow at the Bowral Bowling Club. RIP Lew.
2. Round 9 of the Open Pennants Competition was completed on Saturday, with grade six at Picton and grade seven at home, so more on that below.
3. The latest meeting of the Men’s Bowling Club Committee was held on Wednesday May 6th and the draft minutes are now posted on the notice board for the information of members.
4. Also posted on the notice board are the participation figures for July 25 to April 26, and unsurprisingly our evergreen nonagenarian cobbler Gordon Lewis still leads the table. This is not a competition, but we do like to acknowledge how often bowlers get out onto the green.
5. On Friday the 8th of May a sub-group of the Men’s Bowling Committee (Terry Norwood, Robin Staples and Graham Hunt) met with representatives of the Women’s Bowling Club to pursue possibilities of the two groups working closer together. When details of the meeting are put to paper they will be passed on to members.
6. The AGM of the Men’s Bowling Club will be held at 10.30am on Saturday August 8th, so it’s approaching the time for bowlers to start thinking about who they would like to run the executive committee for the twelve months following the AGM.

Pennants Round 9

Grade Six

The twelve eager Bowral bowlers travelled to Picton to take on the locals and endeavour to improve their position on the Section 2 ladder. Currently third, a win was going to give Bowral the opportunity to move into second and, perhaps be in touch with the leader.

In the first game, Mick Fisher, Dennis Beatty, Peter Martin and Dugald Braithwaite were 3 all after four ends but a five shotter followed by a double had them 10 – 3 to the good. Picton then steadied, to keep in touch and be only three shots behind on the tenth. It was then in the back half of the match that Bowral applied the pressure to get the upper hand and make it home eleven shots the better at 26 – 15. Great result!

On the next rink, Tisi Lear, Peter Flight, Dave Coltman and Al McGhee made a solid start to their match to be up 7 -3 after six ends, and then 15 – 8 to the good after eleven. The back half was filled with tight ends but Bowral retained the upper hand conceding only four shots and finishing very solidly on top at 22 – 12. Another great win!

In the final match, Noel Fraser, Jim Neely, Oscar Whalin and Ash Lewis dropped a double on the first end but then roared ahead to lead 11 – 3 after six, and were still comfortably in front at the halfway stage. The back half of the game saw Picton hold their own, but the lead was too much to reel in Bowral, and Ash’s team made it home 20 – 11.

Overall then, it was an excellent day for the Bowral team as they collected all 10 competition points and moved to equal second position on the competition ladder. Taralga has already wrapped up top position, but Bowral is now locked in a battle for second with our friends at Bundanoon. And, as luck would have it, Bowral travels to Bundy for the final round so second position is the prize for the victorious team. Go Bowral!!!

Grade Seven

Holding down second position on the competition ladder, Bowral Grade Seven team played host to the leaders Camden RSL in a top of the table clash of huge consequence. A win for Camden would give them an unassailable lead, while a 10/0 win for Bowral would put us level at the top with the final round to play. Pressure!!! On a beautiful afternoon, Bowral won the toss, took the mat and kicked off proceedings.

On rink 8, Mick Flynn, Lynne Boshier, Gordon Lewis and Chris Forrester started solidly to lead 4 – 1 after four ends, and with a couple of three shotters were 10 – 7 to the good after eight. It was at this point that Camden settled into the vagaries of the Waratah green and ran together four ends to take a 16 – 10 lead. With their third and skip then all over the jack, Camden kept outpointing the Bowral side to extend their lead. Despite a solid four shotter to Bowral on the nineteenth, Camden proved too solid and skated home 27 – 16.

In the next game, Ted McPhee, Ian Duncan, Reta South and Bob Edwards dropped the first three ends but by the fifth were only behind by one shot at 3 – 4. They then dropped a three shotter on the next end, but rallied to be only one shot down after the tenth. And then disaster struck!! Without shots in the head they dropped a four and a five consecutively and were really under the pump. They did win three of the next five ends but it was a trickle and not the flood that was needed. And then for the last four ends the wheels fell off the cart completely and they went down 35 – 12.

In the last game, Graham Hunt, Richard Denman, Terry Norwood and Robin Staples made a fine start to lead 7 – 1 after five ends, but then dropped five ends on the trot to trail 7 – 10. However, Bowral then grabbed a three shotter, and with Robin in fine form, began to get a grip on the game. With Terry chipping in occasionally and Robin consistently outpointing his opponent, Bowral won seven of the eight ends through twelve to nineteen to lead 19 – 12. Not to be denied, Camden hung in to take the last two ends, but Bowral got home 19 – 15.

So, unfortunately for Bowral, it was not a good day on the green. Camden RSL took 9 competition points from the encounter to the 1 point for Bowral and so scooted away at the top of the table. With other results in, it was clear that the RSL boys had stretched their lead and could not be overtaken in the final round. With one round to play, Bowral will now be fighting to get to second position, so there is still much to play for. Currently 4 points behind Robertson, Bowral will need a win against Campbelltown in round 10 to have the chance to finish second, and avoid ending up fourth with a loss. There is much to play for!!

Social Bowls Wednesday May 6th

Thirty-four bowlers turned out for a roll on a great afternoon for bowls. One game of pairs was organised by the Match Committee along with five games of triples. Members were able to welcome newcomer to the area Craig Babic who was keen to have his first roll on the the Waratah Green after being a bowler in Sydney for some years.

On rink 7, Charles Coode, Craig Babic and Robin ‘maestro’ Staples grabbed a juicy four shotter on the first end against Jill Harwood, Barry Werfel and Denis ‘rowdy’ Lees, but were only one shot in front after five. However, although they then moved the score to 7 – 4, a solid three end run by Denis’ team gave them a four shot 11 – 7 lead. With Craig then finding good form, Robin’s team edged to the lead and when they cracked a FIVE on the sixteenth, they led by six. With plenty of G & D, Denis’ trio took four of the final five ends, but team Staples held on to get to the clubhouse 19 – 17.

In the pairs game, visitor (and former President of BBC) Jeff Williams and Mick ‘potters’ Flynn made a shaky start against Terry Norwood and the cobbler Gordon Lewis to be under the pump at 0 – 10 after three. Much to their relief, they grabbed a double on the fourth, but with Gordon in dashing form, Terry and Gordon poured on the pressure to be 17 – 4 on the tenth and looking the goods. Mick and Jeff then sneaked three singles only to drop the following five ends and be facing a walloping! A four shotter got them to double figures, but Gordon and Terry finished them off at 28 – 11!

On rink 9, Grahame Denman, Graham ‘Pisa’ Hunt and Chris ‘back on to the old’ Forrester were matched by Mark Barrow, Peter ‘Virgin’ Flight and Viv ‘low’ Gear to be 4 all after five ends. However, Chris’ team then applied the screws to win seven of the next nine ends and have the opposition gasping at 20 – 7. It was then that Viv and the boys found the jack, dug in and won five of the next six ends to get within six with one end to roll. However, there was to be no miracle on the last in this match as Chris’ mob grabbed a double and finished 23 – 15 victors.

In the next game, Peter ‘senior’ Marshall, Graham Hartnup and Paul ‘ricochet’ Rubie totally overwhelmed Col ‘Hawaii’ Stone, Paul McInerney and Richard ‘gazelle’ Denman to lead fifteen – blot after five . . . put the ambo on speed dial please!! Not needed, as Richard’s trio finally found the rink (!!) and amassed a SIX shotter and finally had some ink on the card! However, they must have then celebrated too hard as they dropped the next three ends and, turning the corner into the back half, were 13 shots down. Surrender was not an option though, and they got their heads down and motored home winning five of the last six ends, but Pauls’ team had the smiles at 25 – 21. What a big-dipper ride!

On rink 11, Clive Hutchens, Shane Harvey and Joe ‘rusty nail’ O’Donnell opened brightly against Russell Dunstan, Mark Shelvey and Owen ‘wily’ Williams to lead 5 – 2 after five ends, but then saw the opposition match them to be 9 all after eleven. Joe’s team then asserted some authority on the game over the next four ends and looked in great shape at 18 – 9. However, Owen the fired up his troop and the momentum shifted, the pendulum swung, the . . . whatever . . . so that team Williams won end, after end, after end! In fact, the last six ends including a double on the last to get them up by a shot at 19 – 18. What a comeback . . . great stuff!

In the final match on rink 12, Ted ‘Mr Ed’ McPhee, Ian Duncan and the wily leftie Bob Edwards won the first couple of ends against Alex Christlo, Neil Puckeridge and Dave ‘pot black’ Charlesworth but were only one shot up after the first five. However, Bob’s trio then flexed their muscles and with Ted and Ian on the jack, pushed the score out to 14 – 3 after ten. Not taking a backward step, Dave marshalled his group, won the next six ends and moved to within two shots . . . game on!! The response was for Bob’s boys to grab a four and a single, but when they conceded the next two they had to hang on to get home 20 – 16. Phew!