BBC BROADCAST WEDNESDAY MAY 15th       (Terry Norwood at the desk)

Some bits of information as a start:

1. As requested by management, the men’s social bowls was allocated to the grass of the Wilson Green for a month over April/May and feedback on the playing surface was collected. This information has now been collated and will be passed on in the next couple of days.
2. Management of the Club has called for tenders for greenkeeper and a short list for interview has now been formed. Those interviews will be conducted in the next couple of weeks.
3. The Men’s Senior Singles competition will start on Saturday June 1st. The schedule for nominations is now posted on the notice board ready for bowlers to make their entry. Entries close at 5pm on Saturday May 25th. For the record, seniors are those who are 60 years or older by June 30th 2024. That’s just about everyone isn’t it??
4. Also, the Men’s Senior Pairs competition will be conducted in June and the nomination schedule for this event is posted on the notice board. OK gents, get yourselves sorted and make your entries asap.

Social Bowls Wednesday

A beautiful afternoon greeted the thirty-eight bowlers who’d listed their names for social bowls on May 18th. The number included Robert and Gwen Scott from Melbourne and members were delighted to greet them on the day. The Match Committee organised two games of pairs and five of triples which took up all rinks of the Waratah Green.

On rink 7, Graham ‘jockey’ Hunt and Gwen and Robert Scott took on Ian ‘cool’ Duncan Steve Day and Steven Goddard. Although they dropped two shots on the first end, the Scotts adjusted to the green well to take the next three ends. The game was nip and tuck from then so that there was only one shot difference after ten ends with Steven’s team having edged in front. Scores were locked at 11 all after fourteen ends and then the lead to team Goddard was three with the last end to play. Stephen’s team then made sure of victory with a scorching four shotter on the last! The word after the game was that Ian had a blinder of a game as lead for the victors.

In a pairs game on the next rink, Mike Hook and gentleman Jim Starkey did battle against Paul McInerney and Joe O’Donnell. Both teams scored early for the score to be 3 all after four ends. The scores were still equal after seven ends but two ends later Mike and Jim had leapt to a lead of 10 – 5. Far from done, Paul and Joe won three of the next four ends to have the game level again at 12 all. The game then burst open when team Starkey notched an eye-watering five on the next end, only to have Joe and Paul reply with a five shotter of their own and a couple of singles. Behind by three with two ends to play, Mike and Jim then responded well to bridge the gap and tie the game! Gentleman Jim is well accustomed to these close results!

In the 18-ender on rink 9, Keith ‘fox’ Edwards, Bill ‘the’ Pope and Paul ‘ricochet’ Rubie battled for bragging rights against John Fleming, Harold ‘stentless’ Wall and ‘junior’ Cummins. Team Cummins had the better of the first three ends but by the sixth end the scores were locked at 5 all. Paul’s team then edged to the lead but were unable to shake off the opposition who again had the scores level at 9 all after eleven ends. From this point however team Rubie did shake off their opponents and took a stranglehold on the game. With the fox and the pope firing in some handy bowls and the skip bumping his way into the head, they came out well on top at 20 – 13. Bragging and exaggeration followed in the clubhouse and there was talk of a wimpy shot or two!

In a pairs game on rink 10, Graham ‘pop’ Denman and Terry ‘PNE’ Norwood faced off against Peter ‘Virgin’ Flight and Arnold ‘black feet’ Lenczuk. Both sides scored early so that the score was 4 all after six ends. Peter and Arny then edged to a lead of 7 – 4, but then Grahame and Terry found some better form to win four ends on the trot and hold a lead of 12 – 7. Arny and Peter then replied immediately with a three end run so that they had wrestled the lead away and it was 14 – 12 to them after fifteen ends. In a really tight match, the lead changed again a couple of times until it was 18 all with one to play. On the 21st end, the measuring tape couldn’t find a winner so the game went into a 22nd end. In a tight end, Arny trailed the jack with his last bowl to have it settle, unfortunately, with the opposition. In a thriller, the honours went to Grahame and Terry at 20 – 18.

On rink 11, Ted ‘Mr Ed’ McPhee, Mark Rundle and Bob ‘wily’ Edwards took on Barry Werfel, Dave Charlesworth Clive ‘dasher’ Neutze. As with most of the other games, this one started with both sides winning early ends for the scores to be lacked at 5 all after five ends. Clive’s team then got the better of their opponents so that by the eleventh end they led 13 – 7. And then an Edwards tornado struck! Bob’s team scored consecutive eye-watering, mouth-watering, scorching five shotters to have team Neutze gasping for oxygen! However, with much guts and determination, and to the surprise of team Edwards, Clive and his boys won the next three ends to regain the lead at 18 – 17. Unfortunately for them though, their run fizzled at that point and Bob’s team stormed home to a 30 – 18 victory.

On rink 12, Joel ‘Grr’ Hunt, Graham ‘hardnut’ Hartnup and the venerable cobbler himself Gordon Lewis AM battled for honours against Denis ‘rowdy’ Lees, Russel Dunstan and the miracle man Peter Morales. And this match, contrary to the expectations of the Match Committee, did not turn out to be a close one at all. Gordon’s team won six of the first seven ends to have a strong lead of 11 – 1. With their best run of the game, Peter’s team won the next three ends to get the score-line to 6 – 11. Unfortunately for them though, they could win only two more ends as team Lewis marched relentlessly on. Although they were unable to win ends, to their credit Peter’s team members were able to restrict the opposition to singles and doubles. The final score was 25 – 9 to team Lewis.

In the final match on rink 13, Jill Harwood, Don ‘gentleman’ Chapman and Mick ‘potters’ Flynn took on Phil Payne, Richard ‘denman’ Denman and the maestro Robin Staples. Although they dropped a shot on the first end, Mick’s team was soon into top form. By the seventh end, they had roared out to a lead of 16 – 3 and looked to be in command of the situation. Robin’s team kept chipping away but by the fourteenth end trailed by 12 – 20. It didn’t get any easier for them as Mick’s team ground out a strong finish. In the end, team Flynn swept the opposition aside to take out an impressive victory at 29 – 16. All bowlers had their good moments, but gentleman Don was well on song throughout the game.