Saturday saw us travel to Little Compton for our return fixture, as they were our first opponents at the start of the season.  The day was cloudy but nice and warm, just the conditions for playing bowls.  For those who have not sampled the conditions of the Little Compton green, let me say I use the word 'green' loosely, however the game was played in good spirits but unfortunately we lost the game 48-56, which overturned the result from our home game against them when we were victors 88-59.  I would like to thank Richard Lawrence, who kindly agreed to play for them, as they could only field 10 players.  This meant we had to play 2 rinks and 1 triple, but as soon as we loan anyone to the opposition they always play out of their skin, and unfortunately Richard was no exception!!

Rink 1  -  Lead  -  Tina Timms

               No. 2  -  John Timms

               No. 3  -  Terri Gold

               Skip    -  Bryan Ogilvie

As soon as the Captain realised he was playing on Rink 1 he knew he would be up against it, as usual it was like playing on a sheet of glass, I don't think I have seen so many wood in the ditch in one game.  However, the opposition were also unable to read the green and as a result we came away with a comfortable victory 19-10.

Rink 2  -  Lead  -  Steve Clarke

               No. 2  -  Tony Bird

               No. 3  -  Mick Wilkins

               Skip    -  Dave Bryant

Unfortunately Dave's rink came up against very strong opposition and very soon found themselves 11-0 down after 5 ends.  They did however put up stiffer resistance over the next 13 ends losing these by 2 shots, but the end result was a loss 12-25.

Rink  4  -  Lead  -  Cliff Hall

                No,.2  -  Pete Griffin

                Skip    -  Chris Skidmore

Like Dave's rink Chris's rink gave the opposition a large start and were 7-0 down after 3 ends.  But for this start they would have won the game, but unfortunately went down by 4 shots 17-21.

A very pleasant afternoon, with cake and sandwiches after the game, which went down well and we look forward to renewing our battles next season.  Again a big thank you to Richard for agreeing to play for the opposition.

Having travelled into Warwickshire we were treated to a rare phenomenon, not The Northern Lights, but an even rarer event - a hefty rain shower which saw us leave the green for about 10 minutes to seek shelter.  We played three rinks and given that they had a big home advantage regarding the green we lost 1 rink to 2 and by 11 points 44 - 55.  This was very much in line with the previous game which saw them win by 12 points.

Rink 1

Peter Walden, Yvonne Twomey, David Bryant and Chris Twomey were trailing 11 - 18 after 15 ends but managed to halve the ends and whilst giving away two fours trumped the opposition with two fives to come home victors 20 - 18.

Rink 2

Terri Gold, Tony Bird, Richard Lawrence and Iain Mobbs got off to a slow start and a couple of threes added a degree of respectability to their score of 13 - 18.

Rink 3

Steve Clarke, Chris Shallis, Mick Wilkins and Bryan Ogilvie were 0 - 9 down at six ends but they managed to find their form and whilst they didn't score a single all evening four twos and a three got them into double figures to come home 11 - 19.

An enjoyable evening and we were well looked after for a late supper and even the rain gave the cars a quick wash which in these hosepipe ban days is a bonus!

Saturday saw us travel to Southam for what should have been our return game against them, only they could not come to us, as they could not raise a team.  The game, as usual with them, is a 2.0pm start but as it is the only one at this time during the season, there were a couple of late arrivals, but we were only about 10 minutes late starting and we won convincingly 72-49.

Rink 2  -  Lead  -  Jill Hart

               No. 2  -  Paul Christmas

               No. 3  -  Claudia Stokes

               Skip    -  Mark Stokes

Mark's rink were never in any difficulty and won 12 of the 18 ends to win very comfortably 20-11.

Rink 3  -  Lead  Chris Shallis

               No. 2  -  Steve Clarke

               No. 3  -  Tony Bird

               Skip    -  Iain Mobbs

After losing the first 2 ends Iain's rink took control winning 10of the remaining 16 ends and again won very comfortably 19-13.

Rink  4  -  Lead  -  Kath Buckingham

                No. 2  -  John Timms

                No. 3  -  Tina Timms

                Skip    -  Bryan Ogilvie

The Captain's rink were well and truly beaten, after 9 ends they were 11-1 down, they did put up some resistance over the remaining 9 ends, but could not make up this deficit and went down 12-16.

Rink 5  -  Lead  Pete Walden

               No. 2  -  Yvonne Twomey

               No. 3  -  Howard Buckingham

               Skip    -  Chris Twomey

Chris's rink took a strangle hold of the game from the off and after 6 ends were 9-0 ahead and they only let the opposition win 6 of the 18 ends and took the honours for the day, winning 21=9.

A very nice afternoon both weather wise and result wise.  The green played very well and, although they failed to come to us at the start of the season I do not think we should drop them from future fixtures.

Saturday saw us travel to Brackley for our return game, which was only 2 weeks ago.  Unfortunately they reversed the result, but only just winning by just 5 shots, 88-83, even though we won 4 of the 6 rinks played.  The weather was just right, nice and sunny with a little breeze to keep it pleasantly cool.

Rink 1  -  Lead  -  Len Selby

               No. 2  -  Dave Bryant

               Skip    -  Phil French

A close game and although Phil's rink shared the ends won, they did not score as heavily when winning and eventually lost the game 12 - 16.

Rink 2  -  Lead  -  Cliff Hall

               No. 2  -   Pete Griffin

               Skip    -  Chris Skidmore

With 2 ends to play Chris's rink were coasting home, but lost 4 shots over the last 2 ends, but still managed to win 13-11.

Rink 3  -  Lead  -  Steve Clarke

               No. 2  -  Yvonne Twomey

               Skip    -  Chris Twomey

Just like Skiddy's rink, Chris was 15-7 ahead with just 4 ends to play, but lost the last 4 ends conceding 7 shots, but just managed to hang on for a victory 15-14 .

Rink 4  -  Lead  -  Kath Buckingham

               No. 2  -  Howard Buckingham

               Skip    -  Mark Stokes

Mark's rink were up against it from the start, unfortunately playing against the strongest triple from Brackley and unfortunately went down 27-4.

Rink 5  -  Lead  -  Chris Shallis

               No. 2  -  Claudia Stokes

               Skip    -  Bryan Ogilvie

The Captain's rink were in control from the start and only conceded 5 ends to the opposition and came home comfortable winners 23-12.

Rink 6  -  Lead  -  Tony Bird

               No. 2  -  Mick Wilklins

               Skip    -  Iain Mobbs

Another rink where Iain was in complete control and never looked like losing and came away victorious 16-8.

The result had nothing to do with Marks result, as only Phil's rink won the last end with all the other rinks losing theirs and conceding 10 shots in total.  However it was a pleasant game played in good spirit and company and we look forward to enjoying their company next season.  A huge thank you to Len who stepped in at the eleventh hour, as Pete Walden was unable to play.