A glorious morning and not too hot and the pollen forecast has gone down to medium  Good news for many people!

This morning, Sarah & Lucy are playing their Middlesex Over 55 Pairs against Ann Bamber & Partner – match rescheduled  because it was due to be played on the day the temperatures were heading towards 40C.  A very sensible re-schedule.

Later this afternoon – maybe at 5.00? – another cracker of a match between Kevin & Lucy and Ange & Dave in the Middlesex Mixed Pairs.  I’ll be along after the Hampton league match – it’ll be very enjoyable enjoying a drink and watching this match.

Four bowls each and 21 ends!

What an odd week. Temperatures through the roof on Monday and Tuesday down to almost feeling chilly this morning. Still don’t worry, it’s going back up to 23-25 C over the weekend which is very pleasant!

Alas, Sarah & Lucy beat the heat but not the opposition on Wednesday morning. They reported it was a good game although surprised that the opposition said it was four bowls each not three as in previous rounds. We’re still not sure why.

Friday morning roll up and Friday Night Leagues tonight. Tomorrow we play Hampton at Hampton in the Richmond & Barnes League – thanks to all who signed up and the last minute volunteers.
goid luck to Brian & Val Noel in their Captain’s Golf Day Competition.

On Sunday, the friendly v West Ealing had to be cancelled as members are playing elsewhere. Tina, Nadine, Cathy & Ann play Yasmin, Angela, Jo & Wanda (North London) in the Middlesex Fours Final and Dawn plays Terri (Bush Hill Park) in the Two Bowls Singles Final. All the other Middlesex Finals will also be played at Bush Hill Park, so if you fancy a day of spectating ladies’ bowls, that’s the place to go.
On the other hand, if you’d rather watch the chaps, the Men’s Singles quarter and semi finals are at Hendon. Our own Dave Pitt is playing Noel O’Shea (Paddington) who I believe was his opponent in the indoor singles final in April. They meet again!
Play starts at 09:30 at Bush Hill Park and 10:00 at Hendon.

Sarah & Lucy play their Middlesex Area Final of the Senior Pairs at West Ealing starting at 9.30 am this morning v Sue Apperly & Hannah Hollis from Bush Hill Park. Good luck!
Supporters welcome. Take your own water.

Steve, Norman, Mike & Laurence didn’t manage to beat the heat or the dark last night and lost out to Paddington at Paddington in the Middlesex Semi-Final of the Middlesex Senior Fours.

10 C cooler today. Hooray. Yesterday was rather overwhelming , wasn’t it?

Some of you came to watch our Middlesex girls last Sunday in the Walker Cup at Cambridge Park.

Well, on Sunday, for the first time in years they made it through to the Regional Final after beating Hampshire in what was (for the spectators at least) a nail biting semi!

The match was close but Middlesex stayed just in front until about the 13th end when Hampshire ramped up a gear and at one point were 2-3 points ahead.
Digging deep, Sue Butcher, Sue Apperley, Tonia Gann & Sandra Williamson-Mills gained the lead on their rink and took a brilliant 5 on the 20th end to give them a winning lead and a boost to Ann Halliday, Nadine Mullins, Terri Watkinson & Cathy Taylor who were 2 ends behind.
Spurred on, Ann’s rink won by 4.
Amazing standard of play in the Sunday morning heat.
Over on the other two rinks, Kent (whose team could have been made up with our granddaughters – they were so young!!) got off to a flying start and, although Surrey went on to win one rink, the shot difference in the end was about 13 in Kent’s favour.
We tried to avoid the post lunch snooze and geared up to support our girls again.
The two new rinks gave our girls a few problems as they tried to find the lines and get their bowls nearer the jack than Kent.
Unfortunately for Sue’s team, they were facing Sian Honnor’s rink. Sian being a commonwealth team player and the rest of her team displaying no signs of nerves of the occasion and taking it all in their stride. Sue’s girls did get to double figures but left a 12 shot deficit for Ann’s teams to collect on their final two ends. A bit of a tall order.  They ended up with an honourable 13-13  draw.  So, the fat lady sang, and it was all over.

Well done to Janine Bancroft who came in for Nadine in the final. Everyone who played contributed to the team’s morning success and certainly did their best to win in the afternoon, but the opposition were just too strong. Good luck to Kent at Leamington in the back end of September.
Thanks to Cranleigh BC for hosting the day.

… we certainly can’t can-can!

Phew it’s hot and we haven’t even reached Tuesday yet.
How are you doing? Melting into a puddle?

Alas, Saturday wasn’t Nadine’s day and she went out in the quarter final of the Middlesex Singles to Sandra who went on to beat Isobel from Bishop Duppas in the semi-final.
Sue Butcher had gone out to Isobel in the quarters

Tonia from Brentham beat Kembra from Paddington who was runner up in 2021, then went on to beat Terri Watkinson from Bush Hill Park in the semi. Well done to both girls who will contest the final next Sunday at Bush Hill Park.

Nadine has reached the quarter-final of the Middlesex Ladies Singles and will be playing Sandra Williamson-Mills (Grovelands)  this morning at West Ealing.
Other ties are Sue Butcher (West Ealing) v Isobel Morton (Bishop Duppas); Tonia Gann (Brentham) v Kembra Healey (Paddington) and Terri Watkinson (Bush Hill Park) v Kate Tidey (Harefield).
the Unbadged Quarter-Finals and semis will also be at West Ealing.

Good luck to everyone playing. Stay watered!

Did anyone see the Buck Moon tonight?  It is supposed to be the night when the stags are roaring and engaging in rutting to gain their superiority in the pack/herd.

Another bit of trivia for you!

The National Mixed Fours match at West Ealing was a battle and a game of two halves. Paul & Dawn started well and then got stuck on 16 whilst Tina & Ashley caught back up. They played well leaving Paul & Dawn 4 down going into the final end. They held two and a clip on a nearby bowl edged Tina’s bowl in for 3rd at the same time nudging Paul’s bowls off to the right leaving him an impossible task of making four with his final bowl. The jack was also in a position where it would only get ditched at the back and not off sideways if Paul tried to kill the head. So, a 20-18 win to Tina & Ashley. Well done to them and we wish them best of luck in the Middlesex Area Final.
It was good to see CP members at West Ealing who came to support both teams. It was a close game and they enjoyed watching – at least that’s what they told us and we were pleased about that!

The weather seems to be cooler today with a high of 25C. That’s very pleasant compared to 32C!  Still remember to take water when you go out.
For those who have recently tested positive for the dreaded Covid, we hope you don’t feel too rough and recover soon.