What a fantastic Open Day we had yesterday. The sun was shining, the green looked in great condition and homemade cakes overflowed the table in the clubhouse.
Visitors arrived as soon as the doors opened at 1pm, and new ones dropped in throughout the afternoon. They were able to have a go at bowling, enjoy tea/coffee and cake or something from the bar, or sit in the sunshine and watch the men play the ladies in the annual fixture. Many did all 3.
Our members did a great job showing our new friends the ropes. Special mention goes to Mike Nickson, Jim Purvis and Gerry Bean who helped out all afternoon, whilst plenty of others joined in as needed.
Numerous visitors all seemed to have a good time on the green, and are joining the club as a result.
Captain Hilary has invited the newcomers to a roll-up on bank holiday Monday, as a bit more of an introduction to the game.
Mal and Chris kept up with demand at the bar, whilst Dee handled cakes, coffee and cushions - here she is later in the afternoon, amazed at the amount of cake eaten.....!
Men's vs Ladies Match
The ladies had a reputation to preserve, as last year's winners.
As often happens, teams changed at the last minute, as one of our ladies had an accident and could not play. Hope it's not too sore - get well soon, from all of us.
As the steady stream of visitors were getting to grips with the game on rinks 1,2, and 3, the teams took their places on the remaining rinks. There was a spot of friendly banter about who would get bragging rights this year and a bit of bother as Trevor's woods did a disappearing act. Then the match began.
Rink 4
Ladies 7 - Men 26
Bee Butcher, Angela Bass and skip Sue Taylor started well against Rob Taylor, Kevin Gibbons and Trevor Garfield (skip) but following a 5 on end 5, they struggled to catch up as the chaps capitalised on their early lead.
Rink 5
Ladies 15 - Men 9
Jan Davies, Marina Garfield and Kim Wright (skip) faced the might of John Wright, Dave Williams and their skip Mike Bass. It was neck and neck for the first 14 ends, until the ladies got a 2, taking them into double figures. Then, with a bit of luck and a 3 on the last end, the ladies managed a reasonable win.
Rink 6
Ladies 16 - Men 10
On rink 6 Jenny Williams, Pam Kirby and skip Wendy Coleman started well, winning the first 3 ends. Then, after 2 or 3 comeback ends by Shaun White, Wayne Butcher, Mac Kirby and John Davies (skip), girl power took over. With a 4 on the 11th end followed by even scores for the rest of the match, the ladies took the honours.
The final score was Ladies 38 - Men 45.
Well played chaps - and as for the ladies, there's always next year!
And finally....
Here are a few pics from a very enjoyable day.
