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Pyramid Hill is another tiny Victorian town in the Loddon Shire. It has about 500 people and a beautiful bowling club. We've come today for a rollup. The clubhouse was opened in 1968. It's a little tiny room. Jean first spoke with the very helpful Jan who gave us contacts for Boort Bowling Club. Jan put Jean on to President Marie. Marie was very proud of the PHBC sculpture she arranged. Nearby the old roller sits proudly. We were fascinated by the mural with realistic figures. Marie painted that and other decorations around the club. There are two really nice-looking grass greens. We rolled up on the front green. It's the Alf Pickles Memorial Green. Marie told Jean the club only has about 25 members who work hard to keep the surrounds in top shape. The rose garden is particularly nice. The forecast was for 35 degrees today so Jean thought we'd better get started. Mal said " You scored one but I knocked you up! " " Yeah, right. " Jean replied. Mal was determined to better that. He said " No that's how Number Ones should bowl! " We were a bit all over the place but Jean was happy with her weight - mostly. Mal did his best to get himself a Resting Toucher. He almost made it! At least it touched. It was already 32 degrees at 1pm so we thought we'd better go back to our nice cool caravan. Hot stuff at Pyramid Hill!

We were told by our new mates at Cohuna that the folks at Gunbower are great fun. We came to watch Saturday Pennants and maybe roll up. It's a little tiny clubhouse. With a fine array of achievements. The passed members' badges are a nice touch. The club has a small under cover area out front. One of the guys told us about a video of the club that Bowls Vic did: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AEUzf36ct/ There are two nice-looking grass greens. We rolled up on the first green where they played Pennants. We wondered who Chicken was. The permanent shades are quaint. President Kel and long-time Secretary Marg were in the kitchen making sandwiches for Pennants. Of course Mal had to get a photo with the President! Marg's son Bill is the Greenkeeper and skips in Division One. Jean's been talking with Pete on Messenger. He told us we could park our caravan at the club. We wanted to get out for our roll-up before the Pennant players arrived. Mal stepped out. Jean thought she had shot but alas Mal had stolen it. Jean found the quick green tough. She had to wait until the last end to get a photo of her shot. She got a full count! We finished our roll-up around 1pm just as the Pennant players turned up. They played Division One today against Kerang Golf where we haven't been yet. We met Marlene from Kerang who gave us all the juice about their club. We'll be there in eleven days for social! They were quite the spectacle in all their blues. We enjoyed watching the Gunbower Pennants. Great bowls played! LEITCHVILLE We just love little old Victorian country towns. Leitchville is no exception. We stopped in to check out the bowling club. We saw they are 111 years old! There was nobody around so through the window we got a shot of the clubhouse. There's a wide under cover area outside. There are two grass greens. We're told by Gunbower people one of the greens is a bit difficult. The one outside the clubhouse needs some repair. The permanent shades are nice. A nice time at Leitchville and Gunbower in the Victorian countryside.

We're very happy to be on our way to north-west Victoria. We've stopped in Cohuna for a roll-up and a home-cooked meal. It's a tiny little country clubhouse. The honour boards are impressive. There are impressive permanent shades. Jean's been talking with Barbara via Messenger. She told Jean there's practice on Friday night and the ladies cook a $10 meal. Jean said " We'll be in that! ". When we arrived Jean called in to see her. Trevor and Ursula served us at the bar. The seats are donated in memorium. The garden is lovely. There are three grass greens. The middle green is nice. The bird protects. We walked over from the free-camp. Everyone was so friendly. Tania called us over to roll with her. We were against Ian and June. Mal started well. Jean raced down because she was certain she had shot. Alas Ian pipped her. Jean felt better when she scored two. Mal did a beauty. Jean nearly got him. We came inside. Everyone was ready for dinner. We sat with Ian and friends. They told us Johnny Farnham got his first gig here in Cohuna. It's being remembered tomorrow night at a concert for the town's centenary. Dinner was Chicken and salad. We met Stephen the President. He gave us a shirt. Jean went to say goodbye to Barbara. The ladies snuck her a piece of passion fruit sponge. Cohuna - we felt so welcome!

We're staying in Mulwala on the Murray for a couple of days. Yarrawonga is a stones throw away across the river. We've come for an evening tournament. It's a tiny little clubhouse with friendly natives. When we were at Yarrawonga-Mulwala Golf on Tuesday, one of the Pennant players told us they have a Wednesday evening tournament. We came to Yarrawonga and met Evelyn who said they are a team short. She found us a third and put our names down. The guys were relaxing after a hard Pennant game. There are two synthetic greens. This one is flat carpet. They've just spent $25,000 on new lights so they're having the tournament to test them out. The other looks like Tiger Turf. Evelyn found us Eugene who reckons he's a gun bowler! WEDNESDAY We got a sad call at lunchtime on Wednesday to say a team had pulled out and they had to cancel our entry. We were a little sad. Missed out at Yarrawonga.

Mulwala is on the NSW side of The Murray and Yarrawonga is in Victoria. They are very close to each other. We came to tick off some we haven't done yet. CLUB MULWALA Out the front is a great old RAAF plane. We were hoping to get a game but forgot about Tuesday Pennants. There are two grass greens. They played Pennants on the bottom green. This is the top. The TW Mullarvey green. They were at home against Corowa And Howlong. YARRAWONGA-MULWALA GOLF The Golf club is just a block away from Club Mulwala in NSW. Golf bags everywhere. A Lyre Bird sauntered around. It's a big club. It even has a cinema! There are two grass greens. They are proud to be the Border club. They'd played today at home against Yarrawonga. One of the guys told us two of the ladies are Australian champions. Third left and fourth right. The Yarrawonga guys told us there's a Tournament there tomorrow night. We'll check that out! Nice to visit the border at Mulwala and Yarrawonga Golf!

We're in Albury for a couple of days on our way to the NSW Central Coast for a party. We stopped in at North Albury Bowling club on Saturday and found out they have social bowls on Sunday morning. We put our names down. We liked the 'Life Members Bar' in the clubhouse. Former committees adorn the wall. There's a little outdoor area off to the side. Hard to catch the Hoppers flag! Frank's Retreat has lots of good plaques. There are two nice grass greens. This is the top green. It's the Alexander Collins Green. North Albury is the home of 'The Hoppers'. There's a cute little wind sock. Des asked why we were taking photos. We explained about our trip and the blog. Jim came up to say hello. He rememered us from when we met him at Tumut. SUNDAY Titch and David looked after the draw. We played together. Against Butch and Des. It was Jean and 11 blokes. A lot were away. Too tired after Pennants yesterday! Mal was bowling well but kept knocking up their bowls for shot. We were down eight-zip. Jean finally got a couple in. We managed a three. Mal got shot. We dropped a five then a seven. No coming back from that! Jean snuck one in. We came inside for drinks and interesting conversation. Bowl with the Grasshoppers at North Albury.

We left Victoria this morning on our way north for a party on the NSW Central Coast. We've stopped in Albury for a couple of days before heading home for a day. The first Albury club we came across was Lavington. It's a Penrith Panthers club. We checked out the little clubhouse. With the past Presidents above the bar. There are two grass greens. Pennants was happening on the bottom green. It was running really fast Mal said. The top green is nice. It's the Frank Tracey Green. It was opened in 1985. It has a cool green speed indicator. Des saw Jean moving towards the club and came running up to investigate. She explained about our trip and the blog. He said he understood but had to be careful! The club is owned by the Penrith Panthers. Lavington was playing Pennant against Dederang. We enjoyed our visit there last January. Caught red-handed at Lavington :-)

We're on our way north for an 80th birthday party for Jean's first cousin once removed (in law). We've stopped in to the teeny tiny town of St James to see the Bowls club. FRIDAY Wikicamps told us we could camp in the back of the pub next door but it was abandoned and all locked up. We asked at the bowling club and they said we could camp out the back. We had a great view of the silos. Inside the club is a fantastic brag wall. The ladies in 1974 had great success. There's a painting of the club logo. Below is GJ Coles - the founder of Coles Supermarkets as he opened the club in 1964. More about that below. With a great photo of a roller. It has a long verandah out the back by the green. The scoreboards are donated in memorium. It seems Steve donated the drink fountain. John helps with the green There's just one grass green. It's the Bert Roberts Green. It has nice permanent shades. John left us a mat and Jack for a roll-up. We had terrible heads. Jean said " But I've got you surrounded!" While we were rolling up Jim and Dorothy left us some oranges. Jean was happy because she can make a Thermomix Whole Orange cake! They came in their golf cart. The drive it everywhere in town. John told us St James boasts the first ever GJ Coles store in Australia. The silo art celebrates that. Apparently the Coles family had six sons who got knighted for various things. Dorothy and Jim told us there's food tonight at the Golf club next door. The town only has 123 people so there's nothing here. We were worried about what we were going to do for Friday dinner. St James Golf Club SATURDAY We stayed for a little while on Saturday so we could see the Pennant players arrive. They were against a team from Mytleford and also from Corowa. We've visited both . We met club Secretary Doug and Gavin. Jean asked Gavin how many members the club has. He said " Enough for two Pennant teams. Nobody get sick! " A tiny team in a tiny town of St James!

We're in Melbourne for just a couple of days for some medical appointments. Between appointments we decide to check out a couple of clubs. Both were closed. The first was Footscray Park with a little visit to Flemington-Kensington where we'd been before. We saw the clubhouse through the window. There's a long under cover verandah. It has two grass greens. The new Footscray Hospital sits behind the green. It's named for the Dawson Family. The other green has a very long name! An old Scotsman gives green speed. There used to be a third green. Not so now. It's a very old-fashioned club. The shades are quaint. The other club we visited was Flemington & Kensington where we played pennant for Melton. We forgot toe get photos when we were last here. We saw a little bit of Melbourne at Footscray Park and Flem-Ken

We popped in to Tarwin Lower when we were in Gippsland in January this year. But it was all locked up. They told us via Messenger that we could park our caravan there so we've come back for a camp and a roll-up. We found a nice spot to camp by the clubhouse. It's a nice little clubhouse with a cuppa always on. It was opened in 1990. Achievements are proudly displayed. There's a good outdoor entertainment area. Jean's been talking with Dave on Messenger. He met us when we arrived. Dave introduced us to President John. There's one carpet synthetic green. It's a Tiger Turf copy. The permanent shades are great. Each end is named for a life member. Rod and Brian were having a Singles championship. We waited for them to finish. Rod won. Dave Rolled up with us. Kevin joined in. Mal had a go. He bowled two beauties right to the ditch. The rest of us went in! Jean was nervous. The boys were really good bowlers. Jean said " I'll never get a photo of my shot bowl ". Then Dave knocked the kitty over to her. She jumped for joy. Next end Jean nailed it. The boys spent all their following bowls to take her out - with no success! Jean told Mal he had to do a photo-worthy bowl. He did it. We came in for drinks. Jean ordered a Chardonnay. Kevin explained about the Tarwin pour. They're famous for it. We loved the Tarwin pour. PS : Before we took off to Koo Wee Rup in the morning we stayed to watch the first half of the first Tuesday Pennants game of the season. They played against Wonthaggi where we went earlier in the year.

Jean's been in touch with Yarram Country Club via Messenger. They are very excited about our visit and invited us to play Sunday afternoon Barefoot with them. It's a nice little clubhouse with a bistro and pokies. It has a long verandah by the green. Inside the honour boards are in the hallway. Mick, Glenn and Brett had just played first round of the Pairs. We chatted with them afterwards. There are two greens. One is grass. The other is a carpet synthetic. The Westwood Green. A bowler shows wind direction. There were only seven players in all. We played a game together. Against Jeff and Bri. It was soooo windy our bowls went nowhere near the Kitty! Jean took the kitty and cried " How the hell did I do that?! " The group decided to play Skins which we'd never played before. Everyone joined in with two bowls each. How it works is the player with the furthest bowl, or if the bowl goes out of bounds, that bowl is out of the game. If you get a Toucher you get a bowl back. They put the 1970's music on. First end Mal lost a bowl. Darn wind!!! Jean got in the mix next end but nowhere near shot. Next end Jean got shot but lost her other bowl which went out. Jean went out of the game next end and Mal the one after. We both blamed the wind! Jeff won! Nick cooked the sausage sizzle. The sizzle is a regular Sunday afternoon thing. They offered $20 to the person who could get closest to the sign - corner to corner. Mal won! A nice sizzle at Yarram! Rosedale On our way to Yarram we stopped in at Rosedale for a look. Jean had been in touch via Messenger. They told her it's a tiny little club so they don't have social bowls. We wanted to check it out anyway. We couldn't get a good photo though the glass. There's a kind of outdoor area. At least there's a barbecue! There's one grass green. It looks un-mowed. The Lions Club donated it - the Maurice Clark green. Hi little Rosedale!