Thursday 18th July - Cup Match Away at Dickleburgh

A wonderful sunny evening the best of the year, saw us visit Dickleburgh for our cup match, the first time we have played there since before Covid.

We started well on a great green, with two rinks winning the first three ends and the other rink winning the first two.

The rink of Sheila Smith, Michael Harvey and Gerald Smith started to pull ahead, and at the halfway stage had a reasonable lead. The other two rinks were a bit behind but still in a position to fight back. 

In the second half there were changes made by both teams (not like England) which did make a difference. We started to come back on one rink and Dickleburgh started to come back on one rink, leaving our third rink still fighting but being outplayed.

After a good enjoyable game we did lose 65-40 which was a presentable score.

Well done everyone. There is always next year.

Now we can concentrate on the league.

Tuesday 16th July - Home match against Pulham Market

Tuesday saw us entertain Pulham on a dry evening with the green looking great thanks to Gerald. Even though the green was good we got off to a bad start by all rinks losing their first end. After this we started playing better, with one rink beginning to pull ahead, one rink falling behind and the other rink even-stevens.

At halfway this was still the case. During the second half one rink pulled further ahead, one rink still even and one rink starting to catch up, but not enough. With two rinks finishing quicker than the third everyone was watching the last two ends as this could decide the result of the match. It was so close; we were two shots ahead overall. The last end was exciting we were one shot ahead and holding two shots, with Pulham's Skip to bowl his last wood, which was a perfect  shot taking one shot and thus drawing the rink, which overall gave us a good result of 4 1/2 - 1 1/2; 47-45 very close and enjoyable.

Well done everyone for a fighting performance.

Tuesday 9th July - Home match against Stradbroke & District

Another wet day kept us on edge as to whether we would play or not. It turned out fine so we entertained Stradbroke and District, but as usual as soon as we started playing it started to rain, wetting us all, then after about 10 minutes it stopped enabling us to have an enjoyable evening.

The green was quite heavy after the rain, so some of us were finding it difficult, but we all persevered and we got off to a good start with two rinks getting a bit of a lead with the other rink up and down.

By the halfway mark we were ahead on all three rinks. The second half saw the rink of Sheila Smith, Terry Broomfield and Gerald Smith move ahead with a good score finishing 32-9. The other two rinks were doing well and staying ahead all the time, finishing with good scores giving us a 6-0 72-33 win.

Keeping up our good season.

Well done again everyone.

Tuesday 2nd July - Away match at Mendlesham

Another miserable wet day gave us thoughts of another wet evening, but it was dry and the sun did come out for a little while which made it a great evening to play bowls at Mendlesham. The green looked lovely and at the start everyone was trying to get the run of the green, and we did well at that by winning the first 4 ends on all three rinks. Now everyone was getting the run, and things started to get more even.

The triple of Danny Smith, Hazel Carter and Tom Bell were doing well opening up a commanding lead, so at the halfway stage they were well ahead, with the other two rinks just holding their leads. The second half started with Mendlesham starting to come back on two rinks, one drawing level and the other closing the gap. After a couple more ends one of our rinks changed some positions which really helped them to move ahead nicely. The other rinks were doing nicely after Mendlesham drawing level we started to get the upper hand which saw us start to open a nice lead. This continued until the end of the match with all three rinks winning which gave us a result of 6-0 78-37 another good result.

Well done everyone for such an enjoyable match and a good win.

Tuesday 25th June - Away match at Beeches

The best day of the year, saw us travel to Beeches, looking for a win after losing our last two matches.

The green looked good and we were all looking forward to a good evening.

As usual the game started slowly with all the players getting the run of the green, two rinks were up and down but the rink of Michelle Bradley, Peter Croxson and Barry Woods were getting a bit of  a lead. At halfway they had a good lead with the other two rinks just about holding their own.

So once again everyone kept battling away, with one rink holding their own and the other two rinks getting a good lead. At the end two rinks had good results, with the third just being pipped on the last end by one shot.

This then gave us a good result of 5-1 71-31 which helps a lot with our shot score.

Another good performance by everyone.

Monday 17th June - Away match at Connaught - Yare

A lovely day gave us our first evening match in the sunshine, no jumpers or waterproofs in sight.

We visited Connaught Yare on a Monday evening and hoping that we could get a good result which would be the first time at their green.

The match started very even as usual with ends going both ways as each team was getting the run of the green. This was the same up to the halfway mark with us being just behind. The second half would see us pushing to win ends.

One rink did start to move ahead slowly, but this was cancelled out by Connaught doing the same on another rink, with the third rink going anyway as the game went on. As usual we kept fighting hoping we could get a result, but however much we tried we just could not get over the line.

So we ended up winning one rink but losing two, which was a defeat for us of 1-5 38-46. Which was a good result after such a close game.

Well done everyone.

Tuesday 11th June - away match at Shotford

Tuesday dawned again with rain, so waiting for phone call cancelling our match against Shotford. It did not come so we arrived at Shotford with them wanting revenge and us to keep our record. The green played really well considering the rain that we had. 

The match started very evenly and from this early you could tell that it was going to be a close game At the halfway stage we were trailing but as usual our fighting spirit kept us going. The rink of Sheila Smith, Terry Broomfield and Gerald Smith started to build a nice lead which was helpful as the other rinks were holding their own. On one rink Shotford started to open a lead, so it depended on the last rink. As they started the last end we had a 1 shot lead and did well but eventually with the last bowl Shotford managed to win the end  with a very tight measure for two.

This result gave Shotford the win of 1-5 54-55. Well done Wortwell, we now have another record to break.

Tuesday 4th June - Home Match against Long Stratton

Another  overcast evening saw us entertain Long Stratton, who came down from Division One this year.

We were keeping our fingers crossed that it did not rain.

As usual the first few ends were very close and going both ways. Then our fears were brought to light as it started to rain, not unusual this year. This rain changed the run of the green. It kept raining until we had finished, then the sun came out!!!  

All through the evening two rinks were very close and the third rink were starting to get a good lead, this continued all evening gradually pulling ahead at halfway and after the final end. At halfway the other two rinks were very close with one winning and one losing.

In the second half one rink, as I have said, was moving ahead nicely and the other two were still fighting with one being just ahead, and on the other one the lead was changing all the time. As the saying goes it is never finished until the final bowl is bowled. This proved true tonight with one rink well ahead and winning, one rink that had been in the lead was level for last end, but 2 shots down when the skip played his last  bowl it just missed the Jack and left them  losing the game. The last rink was one shot ahead on the last end and all to play for with Barry bowling his last bowl and coming in to take three shots which gave them the game.

So overall it was a good close game but we came out on top winning 5-1 57-38. I think that if we haven't yet we must be near breaking the club record of matches without a defeat.

I would like to say that with such a small amount of players everyone has pulled their weight and helped us to this moment.

Tuesday 28th May - Away match at Thorndon

Another wet Tuesday sitting waiting for a phone call saying our match at Thorndon was cancelled as it rained all day. No phone call so we travelled to Thorndon for the first time in over two years, as they came down this year from Division 1.

We have never been fortunate enough to get a win at Thorndon, so we were all on a high to try and break our duck this year. The match started with a cloudy evening but got better as the evening went on. We started slowly, as usual trying to get the run of the green, which after all the rain was running heavier than normal. As usual we kept going with tight ends being played, no one could afford to lose an end as the scores were very close.

At the halfway stage we were just ahead on all three rinks. This is when our fighting spirit comes out by winning ends by 1 or 2 shots. The scores on all rinks were low all evening, which showed that the match was hard and anybody’s to win. Our gutsy players persevered winning on all three rinks but still close giving us a 6-0 55-34 win.

Well done each and every one.

Thursday 23rd May - Home Match against Connaught - Bure

Another match day had us all with our fingers crossed for a nice sunny evening, which it was, so shirtsleeves were the order of the day.

We entertained Connaught Bure at home, with the hope of another victory.

Once again it was a slow start for all the rinks. After a while all players started to get the run of the green. At the halfway stage two rinks were starting to pull ahead with the other rink holding their own just being behind but still fighting.

As the game went on the two rinks were pulling further ahead with the rink of Danny Smith, Hazel Carter and Tom Bell pulling ahead and finishing well with a result of 32-10. This gave everyone else a lift towards the final score.

The remaining rinks were still fighting with one finishing on a good score of 23-10 but the final rink not being able to overcome a 4 point deficit all evening. They finished with a 9-14 loss. This gave us a win of 5-1 64-34.

Once again well done everyone.