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We're finally on our way back home after 2 months in WA. We've done every bowling club in WA but one - Scaddan. It's the last one on Highway One before we get to the Nullarbor. We've been welcomed to stay the night. Quite fitting we think! We peeked through the window. The clubhouse looks cosy. There are nice gardens. Roses out the back and Hibiscus out the front. Jean's been talking with Trudi via Messenger. Trudi said we could park here overnight. Mal rang her and she was in Esperance so couldn't meet us. The had a nice chat though! We parked the van near the clubhouse. It was very dark overnight.. The sign says they got their synthetic green in 2012. It looks nice - if a little worn. The permanent shades are cloth. Around the green are high nets - we guess to catch golf balls! Jean took a turn. It was late in the day so we only used two bowls each. The whole rollup Jean did one good shot. It was hard to get used to in a short time. Mal stepped up. He did a little better. We only did a few ends because Jean wanted to get in and make the dough to cook our pizza! Scaddan - bye bye WA!

We're on our way back home. We only have five more WA clubs left to do. Jean's been in touch with Albany Bowling Club via Messenger. Secretary Mark told us there's a game on Wednesday and that we could park our caravan there overnight. We've done our best to get here for that! When we were in Denmark (35 minutes away) we called to find out what time they started. We spoke with Kevin who took our names. We got there too late to play social. They were already on the grren but Kevin organised a game of Triples for us. It's a nice clubhouse. We didn't realise there was a bar. It was hidden until they opened it up. There are lot of successes on display. There's a great donated bell. The club's synthetic greens were aided by the WA Government. Outside is a lovely memorial garden. The ramp is decorated with old bowls. All the seats are donated. Mental health is important. It would be good to know what happen in Ted and Austin's Bullshit Barn! There are three plastic synthetic greens. We played alone on the middle one. It's the E.W. (Ted) Daniels Memorial Green. The players were Kevin Jean and new bowler Teresa Who played against Gwenda, novice Tracey and Mal Jean got shot on a lousy end. Mal scored two on an even worse end. We came inside and Kevin introduced us to Vice Captain Fred. As we were driving the 5.5 hours to get here our caravan battery didn't charge. All the members were really helpful finding us an auto electrician for a late afternoon visit. We had to leave to go to AutoSpark auto electrician but before we did Kevin introduced us to President David. When we got back they were still all here - there was a farewell happening. We had to go back to the auto electrician in the morning. Our battery was low so they found us a power point and hooked us up. We were so grateful for that. The battery went back to 99%. Fun and helpful people at Albany!

We rang Ellenbrook's President Robbie to find out if there's social bowls. He said no so we asked if we could roll up on Thursday. He said yes - after midday. We turned up. Robbie was the first person we met and he said "Actually we've got a game on today if you want to join us!". We jumped at the chance. It's a nice clubhouse with a friendly bar. We liked the plaques under the bar for founding and other members. They are the Black Swans. The bowlers all sat outside. They were very friendly with us and liked to rib each other (and us). President Robbie noticed us as we arrived. He said " You people must be from Canberra!" . It was three-bowl pairs. Two games of 13 ends. Jean teamed with Glenn (Double N). Against Mal and Vicky. Jean felt she didn't bowl well and was very happy to photograph her good shots. Mal just pipped Jean. He did that all day! A major sponsor was Little Things Pest Control. They were everywhere. Mal won. Second game Jean played Brian and Jillda. Mal's opponents were Alan and Mal but he forgot to take a photo. He also didn't take photos of his good shots. Jean wanted to get a photo of her good bowls before her opponents came in and took them back. Mal won two games but wasn't in the money. Jean won the 'Not a Bowlers Arsehole' award and got her $5 back. The crew gave Jean some ribbing about Anthony Albanese - her being from Canberra. She took it on the chin and told them she got him elected first time. Robbie gave us two bucket hats. A nice unexpected game at Ellenbrook!

We popped in to Willeton while we whizzed around country WA visiting all the clubs. We met some lovely people there so decided to write a blog. The ladies were all sitting having a nice chat when we arrived. Jean had a great conversation with them all about our trip. There is an impressive array of Pennant flags. Marg went and found an old over-sized Swan shirt for Jean. They have new dragon shirts now! There are two synthetic greens. The sky was stormy over the green. They have electronic scoreboards. We haven't seen many of those. Mal wanted a rollup. As usual he started out very well. Jean not so much! Jean was determined to do better. She managed a shot among errant bowls. Still errant but two shots for Jean. After our Willeton rollup we visited many more clubs that day.

We've already been to North Beach Bowling Club. In fact we've done all the WA clubs except those on highway 1 for our trip home. We're having a little break so came back for a nice game of Fours. The Beach Bar inside the clubhouse is nice. Mal met Brian at the desk. He told us to make ourselves comfortable inside. All the 40 bowlers sat together happily chatting. They were all very friendly. People kept coming up and introducing themselves. The Pennant flags were impressive. There are three greens. One is grass. We played on Green A. Plastic synthetic. The Jim Slater Green. The permanent shades are good. The rose garden is lovely. We had two games of 11 ends. It was Graeme, Peter, Jean and Yvonne Who played Wal, Tricia, Brett and Ron. Mal was on the Triples green with Barbara and Peter Against Peter, Erica and Rob. Jean put one in early. It was very windy so all the bowls went right. She won a measure. Mal reckoned he didn't do any good bowls but Jean spied one. Jean's second game was against Mike, Simon. Will and Steve. Mal played Gordon Trish and Brian. Mal lost one and won one. Jean's team got third place with two wins. Tough sea breeze at North Beach.

So we're finally in Perth. We're doing six to ten clubs a day so we can get to all of them before we leave late April. We weren't going to do a blog today but met some lovely people at Kardinya.. The ladies were sitting inside. Jean had a great chat with them about our trip. They're all a bit tired after Pennant finals. They are The Kardy Kats. There are lots of trophies. With pictures of special events. There are two synthetic greens with pull-over covers. This is the one out front. The John and Pat Cranny Green. We met June when we arrived. She told us all about the club. June introduced us to Matthew the Vice President. The ladies told Jean they just had a Gala day with a Friday 13th theme with over 100 ladies.. All the club's ladies worked in the kitchen. Everyone joined in the theme. Looks like fun though hard to bowl in! Scary days at Kardinya!

So we've been criss-crossing WA to visit all the bowling clubs before end of April. Today we did eight clubs but we finished with a great visit to Collie. It's a nice clubhouse with a long inviting bar. Inside are lots of bowls memories. Jean met Ladies Captain Kerry working in the kitchen for the Pennant barbecue. President Hans is sitting out because he hasn't been well. One of the members told us Collie is the coldest place in WA. That made us feel quite at home! There are two synthetic greens. One is plastic The other is a Tiger Turf. There were two Pennant games happening. One was Busselton (which we visited today) vs Collie. The other was Brunswick where we'll be tomorrow. We watched a bit of the Pennants. We saw some great bowls then went to our caravan park. Collie - some good Pennants

We're still zig-zagging across the WA countryside to get WA to get all the clubs done. YEALERING Yealering is a tiny town that's lucky enough to have a bowling club. The only sign was initials on the gate. WICKEPIN We were surprised to see people at Wickepin on a Tuesday. They were there for Pennant finals. The ladies were sitting inside waiting for the final in the afternoon. There are some great Pennant memories on the wall. Marge (The club's oldest member) and son Greg came to check us out. There are two plastic synthetic greens. They were playing Pennant on the first green. They were hosting the semi-final of the Women's Pennant. It was Brookton vs Williams. Wickepin topped the ladder so they play the winner this arvo. LAKE GRACE Lake Grace is the furthest East for a while. We were happy they had a couple of fuel stations. All the bowls information sits above the bar in the clubhouse. We got our pic in front of the nice sign. There's one plastic synthetic green. KUKERIN One of the ladies from Wickepin told us she was from Kukerin. Mal peeked through the window at the clubhouse. The sign was ours for the taking. It has two plastic synthetics. We parked our caravan momentarily by the green. The permanent shades looked solid. DUMBLEYUNG The we popped in to Dumbleyung. It made us think about Harry Potter. There's a beautiful mural across the street at the Indigenous centre. We stood below the sign. And saw through the window the clubhouse. WAGIN Our last stop for the day was Wagin where we were staying. The sign was in front of the green. We couldn't see a lot through the window. We took off for our caravan park in Wagin. East to West again for us - six clubs.

In our bid to finish the 139. 8 remaining clubs in WA before we leave late April - we're doing lots of clubs each day. Today we went from Northam east to Narrembeen. We started in York. YORK Ou r first stop was York Recreation Centre. We got the obligatory photo with the sign. It has two plastic synthetic greens. We were excited to get to Beverley because we met some of the people in Northam yesterday . BEVERLEY We wanted to come to Beverley Bowling Club because Jean wanted to get one of their shirts. It's a pleasant clubhouse. They respect their life members and old stories. We liked the lady bowlers. Farmer Jeff came for a chat. We learnt about GPS Headers from him. Brendan. Rick. Ben. Alan Sheldon, David and Aaron had just finished the Fours. We had a great chat with them about our trip, There are two plastic synthetic greens. They played Club Fours on the front green. The permanent shades are lovely. Jean managed to get her shirt. Off to Quairaiding. QUAIRAIDING We had a quick stop in Quairaiding. Here's our photo with the sign. We peeked inside the window. There's a plastic synthetic green. Shackleton was next for us. SHACKLETON Shackleton all looks pretty new. They seem to be building the clubhouse. We found the sign. Some ladies guarded the entrance. And the plastic synthetic. The shades are sturdy. Off to Bruce Rock next. BRUCE ROCK We didn't get a photo of the Bruce Rock Sports Clubhouse. But we did get one with the sign. President Keith came over to say hi when we arrived. They were playing Club Singles. Keith told us to look inside the Sports Clubhouse. There's a great photo array of all the sports. There's one of the bowling green in the middle. There are some great bowls memories. It's a huge 14-rink plastic synthetic. With lovely, wide, permanent shades. Off to the last stop - Narrembeen. NARREMBEEN We've come East to Narrembeen where we'll stay the night. It's a sports club with a nice bar area. We got a photo with the Recreation Centre sign. There are two plastic synthetic greens. There were a few guys playing 100-Up. They have great permanent shades between the greens. West to East to Narremburn - lots to see!

We did seven clubs today. We weren't going to write a blog - just take a photo - but we unexpectedly ended up staying at Northam Bowling Club and got to watch them play Pennants against Beverley so yes we'll write it! We left Merredin this morning and stopped at six clubs before we got to Northam. We started at Doodlakine, Then Kellerberrin. Next was Tammin. We popped in to Cunderdin And Meckering, Before we drove up to Toodyay. After that we landed down at Northam. We were going to stay at the Northam free RV Camp but when we saw Northam Bowls Club's shady, roomy carpark we asked if we could stay here. They were getting ready to play Pennants. One of the guys said " Well I'm on The Committee and I say yes! ". Good enough for us. Jean sat and chatted with spectator Gail who's here from Beverley. It's a nice old-fashioned clubhouse. They've had some success. There are some great trophies. The clubhouse was opened in 1963. Out the back is a great barbecue area. It was donated by The Scroungers Club. There are two plastic synthetic greens. One out the back And one at the side. The Wally Grafton Green. It seems there used to be four greens. The two grass have gone by the wayside. They started the Pennant game It was against nearby (well 50 minutes!) Beverley. We loved both shirts. Mal was riveted. " I've seen some great bowls at Northam today! " They told him he could start a beer tab so he was very happy. The Northam shirt has Parramatta colours so of course Mal had to buy one! We came inside to join the Pennant players for a drink. Northam - glad we stayed.

Jean's been in touch with Merredin Club via Messenger and they said we could could park our caravan there. We were supposed to arrive Thursday but they said players were coming back from Country Week in Perth on Friday so we'll stay two days.. It's an old-fashioned clubhouse with a long bar. There are some great memories on the wall. The sign says "Home of the 15,000". It's a little out of date. It refers to the ANZAC weekend tournament. Prize money is now $20,000. It's two-bowl Triples - section play. If you want to play you need to get in early. It's already full for 2026. We spoke with President Mick who told us where we could park our caravan. Mick told us there's another club here we didn't know about. Merredin Civic. The club opened at 4:30 on Thursday. We came in for a drink and met Frank (Barbecue - Webber), Muzza, Willow and Fluff. Willow had come to welcome us when we arrived. He went and found two hats for us and he gave us power for our air conditioning. It was 38°! There are two grass greens. The only ones in the region. Because the Greenkeeper has been at Country Week they haven't been mown for a week. FRIDAY The greens still weren't mowed, it was 37° and the players were too tired to roll up so we just came in for drinks with Steve and Muzz. We thought we'd check out Merredin Civic. MERREDIN CIVIC Merredin Civic is part of the Merredin Regional Community and Leisure Centre. It's about 500 metres from Merredin Club. It's a nice modern bar. Plenty of room. Jean said " It's nice here but it doesn't have atmosphere! " We took our photo outside the centre. They have lots of sports here - all proudly displayed. Among all the other sports is some bowls memorabilia. There are two synthetic greens. The back one is carpet. The front green is plastic synthetic. With great sturdy shades. We had a great time in Merredin - mostly at Merredin Club.

Southern Cross is as far East as we go before we go home in May. We've stopped at two clubs on the way to Yilgarn at Southern Cross. The first club we did was Mukinbudin Sports Club. MUKINBUDIN We got our usual photo out the front. We saw the bar inside. There's one plastic synthetic green. WESTONIA Everywhere we've been they said "You've got to go to Westonia. It's a tiny little town with a dome over the bowling green. It's called 'Wanderers Stadium'. Our photo in front of the sign. There's a big outdoor area. It's not really a clubhouse, just a tiny little room. The plastic synthetic green has a huge dome over it. Quite an achievement for a town with a population of 270 people. Our last stop was in Southern Cross. Yilgarn Bowling Club. Yilgarn is the name of the shire. YILGARN (SOUTHERN CROSS) It's a nice modern little clubhouse. It's for bowls and tennis. It was opened in 2012. It's a good sign out front. With a nice-looking green. and lovely permanent shades. Southern Cross in the far east.