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Our last club in Strzelecki Region for a while is Corinella. We took a forty minute drive to Bass Strait to get there. Jean's corresponded via Messenger and they said the green is open and we're welcome to roll up. There's a lovely bowls mural out front. We got to see inside the clubhouse. We liked all the past Presidents underneath the honour board. It's an impressive trophy case. Outside is a nice verandah. We joined Phil and Robyn for a rollup. We played with two bowls each. Phil proudly told us he's been in six winning Pennants teams. Mal was excited. He showed his talent early. Jean got her bowling arm ready. It was an ordinary head. She got shot. Jean reckoned she had shot. Mal did the finger thing and said he had it by a bowl. " Rubbish!" Jean cried! Jean had a Resting Toucher but pushed it out with her second bowl. She kept two though. Terry and Cheryl arrived with some supplies. They are club work horses. Phil showed us the anniversary glasses. 1973. Phil had to go. We said goodbye and set off back to Korumburra. Corinella - impressive achievements. POST SCRIPT: Corinella's President Steve Bray contacted Jean on Messenger last night while we were at tea in Korumburra to ask if she left her being arm there. Jean was dismayed. She had no idea! We didn't want to drive 80 minutes to retrieve it and were headed to Warburton. Steve suggested one of their Pennant players Jacquie could take it to Lang Lang which is on the way. Bowling Arm retrieved thanks Steve!

When we arrived in Korumburra on Sunday we went to check out the bowling club which is just up the road. Unfortunately it was all locked up with high fences. A couple of days later we drove past and there was a guy doing some work. He said we could take some photos. There are two carpet synthetic greens. This is the bottom green. It's named for Norman Alp who it seems helped lay the original greens. The scoreboards are donated. The bell is precious. WEDNESDAY They have Barefoot Bowls on Wednesday night. We thought about joining them but we're too hot and tired after our game at Leongatha today . We came to say hello. The Pennants trophies are impressive. Johnny, Mick, Joanna and Tracey were sitting watching Division One practice. They are on top of the ladder. The club is always locked up. Mick gave us the code so we can roll up tomorrow morning. We met Tracey's husband, President Brian. They played Barefoot on the top green. We had dinner cooking in the caravan so had to leave. They invited us to come back Friday for $20 dinner. We put our names down. Korumburra - top bowlers there! POST SCRIPT: We came back for tea on Friday as invited. There were loads of people there. They had raffles. Jean won a prize. $20 gave us two courses. Lasagne And dessert.

We tried to roll at San Remo but had no luck so we drove on to Phillip Island for a roll and met some very interesting people. We were greeted by the penguin out front. And the bowls mural. We walked in to the little clubhouse. With Pennant flags . We could see how they did in Pennant. It has a nice verandah. With a good outdoor area. We met Greg when we arrived. He showed us where to find the mats and jacks. Ken is a new bowler. He was rolling up and came over to say gidday. We met Titan and Kevin Booker from Deer Park. Kevin plays with Mark Casey as his Skip. He treats all the Australian bowlers with his Niagara massage devices. There are two Tiger Turf synthetic greens. We rolled on the near green. It's the E&R Booth Green. Mal was eager to get out. Jean had shot but knocked her own bowl out with her last to give Mal two. It was Jean's turn. Grass was OK. Jean got one. Mal had one on the kitty and two in the ditch. Jean finished with a beauty. After our rollup Kevin gave us a proper demo of his devices. We bought one! Jean was all packed up and ready to go but Mal decided to have another rollup and a chat with Lindsay. Phillip Island - you never know who you'll meet! SAN REMO A guy we met a couple of weeks ago raved about San Remo Club. We dropped in on our way to Phillip Island but it was all locked up with high fences. We couldn't get photos. Mal rang the number on the sign and left a message. Nobody got back to us.

Ten years ago Jean and Mal drove from Canberra to Leongatha for Jean's coaching course. We came for a Wednesday game. We dropped in Tuesday on our way to Korumburra. One of the ladies gave us a Leongatha glass. They had Mid-week Pennants against the San Remo club. WEDNESDAY We arrived early and Sue the 2012 Ladies champion let us in. Jean remembered the clubhouse. There's a plaque to commemorate donations . Lots of Pennants successes. We know who won Pennants this week! Alan organised today's game. Phil talked caravans with Mal. There are two carpet synthetic greens. When Jean came ten years ago they were grass. The front green was protected by an owl. It has good Permanent shades. No money paid or won today. It's two rinks. Of Two-bowl triples - two games of eight ends. First game Beau, Alan and Mal Played Jeanette, Jean and Natalie. Jean skipped so was happy to get a draw shot. Jean won. Next game she played against Phil and Bruce. Mal played Col, Jo and William. Jean was skip so had to race over and get a photo of Mal's shot bowl. Mal won his second game. Jean won both and won the day. We came inside for drinks. While Jean went outside to upload her photos Dell topped up her win. She was a bit woosy! Everyone left and we said goodbye. Leongatha - a nice, familiar win for Jean!

We drove down south to the ocean to visit Inverloch Bowling Club for mid-week Pennants. It's a nice, cosy clubhouse. With nicely presented achievements. It has an upstairs area. That's being fixed up at present. There's a great deck up there. Graham and Keith were watching the Pennants and had a bit to say :-) . Playing at Inverloch were Divisions two vs Lang Lang and three vs Tarwin Lower. Kat and Elaine from Lang Lang chatted with Jean for a while. Jean asked Chris to show her their shirt with the Seagull. Dennis from Inverloch and Helen and Helen from Tarwin were interested in our story. The club has two carpet synthetic greens One of the ladies suggested a green photo from the deck would be better from up top. She's right! On the wall below are tiles for all the people who helped out with the new greens. We said goodbye and left them to their game. We drove on to Wonthaggi. Inverloch - nice view from the deck!

After our visit to Inverloch for Mid-week Pennants we drove on to see what's happening at Wonthaggi. We came inside the little clubhouse and the barman gave a wave. The club started in 1911. These are the original members. There are lots of Pennants successes displayed proudly on the wall. The "new" clubhouse was opened in 1968. We met a lady who told us her name is Wendy from Wonthaggi! They had played Tarwin Lower and Foster. Most of them were in for refreshments. We met Synden from Tarwin with whom Jean had spoken on Messenger. She told us when we come back next year we can call her and park our van at the club. Today was Wonthaggi Division One against Tarwin and Division Three against Foster . There was just one rink left playing. The Rob Schooner Ken Webb Shelter provides a nice spot outside. There are two carpet synthetic greens. They are Tiger Turf. Jean got onto the mat. The wind made weight difficult. Jean had three in the ditch but one took kitty. Mal wanted to score today. " Typical! You know you'll win! " cried Jean. Our heads were pretty ordinary with the wind. Mal scored three dodgy shots. Jean got a little better but only had one. Grass was getting better for Mal's two shots. Jean had had enough of Mal taking shot off her so we stopped. Mal grinned. Wonthaggi - Mal wins - again!

Our first club while we're staying at Korumburra is Loch. We thought there was bowls on here today. We found Sue's number online. Mal rang her and she said there's no bowls here today but she'd come and open up the club for us to have a rollup. Sue was waiting with a smile when we arrived. Sue let us inside the clubhouse for a look. There's lots of nice Memorabilia on the walls. The land was donated by the Morphets. The club started in 1973 Sue told us in 2018 Club was almost dead. She took over as Secretary and set about to save it. They did all sorts of fund-raising and started Barefoot Bowls. They wanted to get a grant to put in a synthetic green but they only had 38 members. She went around and drummed up 120 members to improve their bid. Most were non-bowling. They saved the club! This is the new synthetic green. It's carpet. Sue and the team made good use of the grant money with new shades, New lights And a new fence all around. We forgot to take photos of us on the Loch green. Here we're pretending. Mal decided we would score this rollup - first to five. Of course he started well with two. Jean was determined to better him. She only managed one. Mal nearly got all five. In the end Jean scored four all up. Mal won :-( . After our rollup we came in and met Alana and Dell. Sue told us Alana runs Tai Chi in the club. The agreement is that she doesn't charge for it but all participants must be members of the club. Come for free Monday Tai Chi at Loch! POST SCRIPT: Sue knocked on our caravan door in Korumburra and presented Jean with a club badge.

After our little visit to Loch we drove 20 minutes on to Lang Lang to check it out. It's a nice little country clubhouse with loads of stuff on the walls. They have a bunch of Pennants flags and other great and moving memorabilia. They've been here over 60 years. There was a nice memorial painting in the ladies toilet of a fund-raising dance. Jean remembers her parents' stories of 'The Younger Set'! We were surprised to see people here on a Monday. We met Jenny and Marianne. They were watching Colin and Don play a competition of 100-Up. David marked. Don won. The memorial seat is a lovely touch. It's an old plastic synthetic green. After his success at Loch Mal was keen. It was a bad head but Mal got shot. Jean wasn't deterred. Mal said " You're lucky you got that one. I had two!. " Jean scoffed. Mal really struggled with his grass. It was very, very gusty. Both hands were wide. The slower green suited Jean a bit better. Dave and Jenny kindly hung around so we could finish our rollup before they locked up. Lang Lang - very friendly and helpful people!

We came to Toora on Saturday for their last Pennant match of the season (before finals). We arrived at 11 so we could have a rollup. TUESDAY We came first on Tuesday on our way to Port Welshpool. The club was closed. We met Joe as he rolled up. There's a nice little memorial garden for Florence Vines. Their story is interesting. Started 1960. SATURDAY We came back on Saturday for their last Pennants game of the season. It's a nice light clubhouse. Bowls memorabilia adorns the walls. President Ian said we were welcome to roll up. He said he read our post on Foster yesterday. Bart and Pam were organising things. Beth and Wil were making sandwiches for the Pennants players. Bart called Ken over. He used to live near our Wanniassa home. He lived in Kambah. Toora will play Phillip Island today in Division One. We met Russ and Lois. She's been following our blog. There's just one flat carpet synthetic green. Mal was resolute. We both did ok. Mal got shot. Jean took her turn. She got shot - just! Mal got a full count! Jean did a couple of heavy bowls then she worked it out. We came inside. Norm said something about barflies so mal had to show him The Ipswich United Barflies shirt. We bought a couple of club pins. They all sat around for drinks ( tea and beer) before the game. The San Remo players arrived for Division Six. San Remo James and his assistance dog Jack were ready for Pennants. There was a light drizzle so we weren't sure they'd play. Russ told us neither of the Ones are in the top Four so it doesn't matter. We left to see if we could make Port Welshpool. Toora - a cup of tea, Pennants players and drizzle.

None of the clubs around here have social bowls while Pennants is on so we have to do a rollup at Foster. We popped in on Tuesday on our way to Port Welshpool hoping they had Pennants on to find out about social bowls. There are none. Pennants was on though. They played two divisions against Meeniyan and Toora. FRIDAY We arrived for our rollup early Friday arvo. There are two carpet synthetic greens. We rolled on the older green. It's Green 1. The permanent shades are two-sided. Jean took her turn. First end she scored two. Mal went out. He knows how to bowl! Good grass Mal. Not a great head for Mal's shot bowl. Jean did it too. Mal finished with style. We had to go shopping so we just made it a quick one. Fostering good bowls in our rollup.

We met Vice-president Nick on Tuesday at Pennants in Foster. He told us they have a tournament here Thursday and he might be able to squeeze us in. It's another little country clubhouse. We caught up with Nick again. He'd told us we can play in the Thursday tournament. Secretary Dawn looked after the money. Dawn introduced us to oldest member Barbie who can only play one game. She'll play with us, do first game then Jean will step up. They were a noisy bunch but very friendly. We loved the clock. Apparently. Meeniyan means " Moon rising over water." There's just one carpet synthetic green. It's been down eight years. With great permanent shades. Named after Keith Pocklington. It was three games of two-bowl triples with lunch in between. Our team was Spocka, Jean and Mal - Barbie played our first game. First game was against Charlie, Dave and Ian. It took Mal nearly the whole first game to get the weight. He just snuck in. They drew first game. Jean played next. Our second opponents were Marg, Bob and Les. Jean couldn't work the grass out. It was like 1 1/4 greens on the forehand and a full green backhand coming back. It was a pretty ordinary head. Mal took an ordinary shot. Jean had had shot before but they got taken out. She ran down to get a photo of her shot bowl before more bowls came down. Last game was against Roger, Robyn and Robert. First end Mal did a spectacular shot. Dawn came around to cool us off. It was 30°. A 90 year old man collapsed so they rang the bell end seven. We won 7 to 4. They gave us some Meeniyan pens. They called the results. We didn't win! Meeniyan - use the pens for a good write-up.

On our way down to Welshpool from Boolara today we visited all four bowling clubs on the way. We wanted to find out about their social bowls and take a peek at mid-week Pennants. After we settled in at the caravan park we took a little drive to Fish Creek. It's funny. As you drive through the town to the bowling club all the shop names have something to do with fish. Despite all the cars in the carpark the clubhouse was shut and nobody was around. We saw a piece of paper on the window that said Pennants was at Lang Lang today. That's 90 minutes away. We thought if we had a rollup someone might turn up. It's a nice little clubhouse upstairs. The Memorial Wall was impressive. There is one plastic green. With great permanent shades. A bird watches over the green. Jean had her go. She did ok. We were both happy with weight. Mal concentrated. Jean said " Good grouping! " It was surprisingly slow. Jean was happy with her bowls though. Mal's was pretty consistent as well. It was 37° so our rollup was short. As we were about to leave the first carload of Pennant players arrived back. 30 seconds beforehand though the bird fell down. Mal said " The Eagle has landed! " Above where we rolled up - we think it was keeping an eye on us. Colin, Bronwyn and Peter came inside. Colin said they started really well in Pennant but ended up losing by five shots. We said goodbye and left them to commiserate with each other. Goodbye and thanks for all the Fish!