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We've been having a rest for a month while we visited our daughter Laura, Dwi and Zeke in Canberra then to Jean's sister Ros in Shellharbour. We arrived on the Central Coast yesterday and came for Men's bowls Monday morning at Davistown. It's a big clubhouse. There's an impressive Pennant display. With the beautiful Brisbane Waters next door. We arrived and met Gordon and Kevin in the office. They were one short so put Jean in. Mal chatted with Geoff, Michael and Ken before the game. Ken's best man was Gary Goodman from Mal's club. There are two lovely grass greens. We played on the left-hand green. There were Plovers having a lovely time on the green. It's three-bowl triples. We played each other. Michael, Jean and Warren. Against Geoff, Mal and Ken. There were six rinks of players. Jean and 35 blokes! We saw they've won some recognition. Jean was a bit rusty after such a long break. Third end though she took kitty for shot. Teammate Warren put in another two. They are 'The Mudcrabs'. It's Mudcrab region. Mal was having fun on grass. Jean was getting despondent until she finally got shot. Warren then scored a Resting toucher before Mal took kitty out to the boundary. Tit for tat, Warren had shot then Mal knocked Jean up before Warren consolidated for three. We went in for a break and refreshments at 11. Mal had a blast when we came back out. Jean was having trouble with her stick. Mal watched and said as she released she flicked it out. He suggested she release a little earlier. She tried. It worked. Mal's team won by 7. We both won though because they presented us with club badges for our hats. Davistown - treated us to a game on grass!

We've played at Queanbeyan RSL many times but not on this trip. We're home for a couple of weeks so decided to lob in on a Saturday for our last hoorah in Canberra for a while. It's a nice clubhouse. It has a friendly feel. It's a decent size with pokies and a brasserie. Bill looked after things in the office. There are three nice grass greens. Everyone in Canberra loves playing on them. There are two out the front. We put our names down last Saturday as a Nominated Pair but then Jean organised a Thermomix event which clashed. Mal rang his brother Michael who came to partner him. They played against Pat and Bill. They played on the back green. It's the Arthur 'Tas' Blyth Green. There were only six pairs playing but they all seemed content. Jean arrived on end 14 to witness some great bowls from both teams Mal and Michael were doing well but Pat kept taking them out. Mal asked "Why do I always get the club champion!?" Then they had five when Pat came in and took third shot. With his next bowl he then took shot. Mal was dejected but very impressed. They were down seven. Then Michael and Mal got a three and a six to put them two in front. In the end Bill and Pat won by a measure - one shot! Mal was happy. "We were getting hammered!" We came inside and Mal told John how impressed he was with the green. Mal said "How good was it to play with my brother! "

We've been on a little holiday at home in Canberra for a while. We haven't done much bowls together though Mal has played alot at Tuggeranong. We went to Yass for our very first club visit on our trip way back in 2022. We had a rough time of it so we're re-writing the blog for Yass around Mal's Pennant match there on a Sunday. Out the front is a picture of a bowler. It's a nice little clubhouse. When we arrived we saw Wade, Helen and Patrick (the Tuggies Pennant Manager) have a chat about the rain. After having been asked recently in some clubs for $10 for a rollup Jean was pleased to see a sign that asked for a gold coin donation. The club has two attractive grass greens. Mal played on the top green. Jean was over the moon it's named after a woman. It's the Mary Wellisch Green. There are three grades in Yass today - Sixes, Seven A's and Seven B's. Crookwell was 7 A's. Queanbeyan was Sixes. There was a speaker that played country and 70's music. Mal subbed in as skip of a Seven B's side. His team was Mal, Jack, Rhonda and Ray. They played Yass Bowlo. The opposing team was Jodie, Paul, Shane and Wade. Jean surmised that since Mal has played in the Ones and Twos before, and that he told her he "Played like a man repossessed!" his last two social games - Mal would do well in the Sevens today. "That remains to be seen!" Jean remarked. It took end eighteen end for some brilliance. They were down 19 to 8. They had two but the blue bowl in front held them out for four. Mal put in two pearlers for four shots! Next end Tuggies was three down when Mal drew shot with his last bowl. The whole Tuggies team unfortunately lost by more than 30 shots! They were hoping for a win to put them in the Four. Everyone came inside for drinks And nice make-your-own sambos. Helen told Jean that a local Cancer charity 'Can Assist' caters for Pennants. Donations please! Rink nine scoffed them down. Was a tough match! Lots of Yass people were interested in our blog. Jean promised to send it to them. Yass - see you on the blog!

After our great game at Drouin we found out Longwarry has Barefoot Bowls on a Friday night. We don't usually like Barefoot but thought we would give it a go. We were pleasantly surprised! We stopped in Thursday arvo to check it out. We were very impressed with how close it is to the train station The ladies has some funny cartoons. We met Jason who Jean's been chatting with via Messenger Jean chatted with another couple about our trip. (Apologies, forgot their names). Jason told us the club was in trouble a couple of years ago. Warragul came in to help. They bought the land and agreed to put in a synthetic with a cover. It saved the club. There's still more work to do with a wall on the road and an updated clubhouse. The sign out the front is cute. We met one of the players (forgot his name). We had a rollup. Mal got shot but Jean was happy with her grass. Mal was pretty determined. There were some young blokes - non-bowlers -who came for a game. We had to explain lots! Mal's team was Against Jean's team was Against Jean was doing ok though most of them weren't bowlers so it's a little hollow. Jean was happy. We had such a good time with the new bowlers. We really enjoyed ourselves. Longwarry - such a blast!

We (particularly Mal) have played at Belconnen Bowling Club (Belco) many times but not yet on our trip. Because we're staying at Mal's daughter Laura's (in Holt) we decided to play Saturday bowls there. We dropped in Friday night to put our names down and met our mate Pete, the President. Pete's a good player. He's playing in the Fours semi-final today so not playing social. Mal reckons he's beaten Pete a few times but Pete is a number One Pennants winner. Jean reckons it's the other way around. Mal chatted with the guys inside. (Terry and Mal) Jean chatted with the boys outside. David is the unofficial 'Meet and Greet Officer'. One of the blokes gave us a Belco badge for Jean's hat. There are three grass greens. We played on the middle green. It's nominated pairs so we played together. Against Tom and Joan. A couple of ends in they had the mat. We were three down and Mal came in and drew two lovely shots. End six we were a couple ahead and Jean put two on it. We kept one. We were nine shots up on end 13. We put in three beauties. Then Tom came in with a pearler and cut us back to one. It was the third time he did that! Next end though, we got a six! On end 19 we were five down and Jean drew shot. In the end we won 26 to 10. They had lots of bad luck and Mal bowled exceptionally well. We came inside for drinks and celebrations/ commiserations. They spun the wheel. It was highest winning margin. We didn't get it. But we did find out Pete won his semi. Belconnen - a good win for us! POST SCRIPT: We came back in March and played with our daughter Rachel who's a new bowler.

Cooma Bowling Club is our last stop on our way from Victoria to Queensland via home. We thought we'd come for Friday night bowls. We came on Thursday after our unsatisfactory visits to Jindabyne and Adaminaby. The club was open but it was all dark inside. We walked in. There were a couple of blokes working on the poker machines. Mal chatted to them to ask about Friday night bowls. They said we were out of luck as both their greens were out. One was being top-dressed. The other was resting for a few weeks. We told them we'd come back! Cooma - our luck isn't with us at the moment!

Jean got in touch with Adaminaby via Messenger and found out there is no social bowls. The person who got back said they charge $10 per person to roll up. We went to Jindabyne and found out the same thing applies there. We agreed we would not pay $40 to roll up. Jean said "We'll just take some photos!" JINDABYNE We drove over from Bombala on Thursday to Jindabyne Sports Club. We asked about social bowls and they said it was on Wednesday. The bar person told us it costs $10 a head to roll up. We saw a notice that said members have to pay $2 to roll up. No way as registered bowlers we will pay! The other thing was that we wondered if we could park our caravan there. No such luck. All around the carpark were signs to say strictly no camping. It's a decent sized clubhouse. It's a Sports Club - not a bowling club - hence payment for rollups. Nevertheless there's a good photo of old Jindabyne. The synthetic green looks new. I guess they want the bowlers to pay for it. ADAMINABY We went from Jindabyne to put our caravan in at Cooma. From there we drove to Adaminaby. What a shock. The club was closed. Jean asked "How will they charge us for a rollup if there's nobody there?" Mal remembers a couple of years ago he went for a drive to Adaminaby with his brother Michael. He says they went to the bowls club and the greens were pristine. Now they have been let go. One has a Marquee skeleton on it. The other one is overgrown with weeds. Jean said "Surely they were pulling my leg when they said it's $20 for a rollup!" We do not recommend bowlers visit these clubs. Jindabyne and Adaminaby - we did not feel welcome!

We drove three hours on Tuesday from Bairnsdale to Bombala. Last night I sent my last post for a while to BowlsTalk Vic. Now we're in NSW and ready for a game at Club Bombala. TUESDAY We stopped in at Club Bombala to check things out. We found out there's bowls on Wednesday so will stay an extra night. It's a nice little RSL Club. Bombala is famous for Platypuses and has them on the carpet. The ladies had a 40th and 50th celebrations. It would have been 60 in 2022 but for amalgamation. We met Pete and found out he's a bowler. He told us he'd see us tomorrow. There are two nice grass greens. The bottom one looks quite long. It needs some work. Specs the Assistant Greenkeeper was doing just that. Karen looked after the money. The guys sat around to discuss horse-racing before the game. Jean had a UTI so said if they had an odd number she'd sit out. There were seven. Mal played a game of three-bowl triples - eighteen ends. We're back in NSW now so only one game - not two or three! They swap positions after six ends. Mal, Peter and Don played Tony, Karen and Athol. Don told Jean Athol was Club Champion eighteen times! Apparently they call him ANZAC - for a minutes silence - because he takes his time on the mat. They played on the top green. Noel and Barry were playing a singles championship at the same time. Peter said if his son wins his game he plays the winner. There was just one game of social bowls. It was 31 degrees so a few didn't turn up. Karen said they usually get ten or so players on a Wednesday. It was a fast green - the opposite of Howitt Park. Jean waited patiently for Mal to do a photo-worthy bowl. Mal got his grass ok but struggled a bit with weight. The boys said "He did great bowls while you were shopping at IGA!" "Typical!" Jean said. Barry won the Singles. In the end it was a close game. It didn't start out that way! Mal's team was two shots down with a toucher in the ditch. Don said "This kitty's begging to be put in the ditch!" Mal nailed it. They were doing well. Don in particular who took shot from Mal! The score was 12 to 11 then they got a five! Mal's team won 19 to 13. Everyone came in for a drink afterwards. Mal had a great time. Mal told Jean that Athol coached Jamie Reynolds early in his career. Jamie played in Canberra. Even though Jean sat out - we both had a nice time. Bombala - Mal really connected with them.

We skipped the rest of West Gippsland on Saturday and drove over to Bairnsdale. We're hankering to get back to Canberra for a while. Saturday we went to Howitt Park Bowling Club. It was all locked up but we rang a number and spoke to Treasurer Chris. He tried to get us into a tournament on Sunday. If he can't we'll play social on Monday. MONDAY We didn't get into the tournament so came Monday and met Chris who looked after the money. Chris introduced us to President Nugget. Nugget gave us a club book. It's a nice little clubhouse. There's an impressive photo array. With a painting of the clubhouse. And an outdoor area There's one grass green. We're so happy to play on it. There are good permanent shades all around. Apparently one is 'Howard's Lounge '. Then there's the 'Seat of Contemplation' in memorium. It's three-bowl triples - two games of twelve ends. It was Gail, Jean and Noel (Nugget) Against Keith, Jennifer and Chris Mal's team was Tony, Neil and Mal. Against Elaine, Tony and Susan. Even though we were desperate to play on grass we both struggled with weight after last night's rain. After about ten ends Mal finally worked it out! Then he got a Resting Toucher! Jean cried out "Yay! I finally did a photo-worthy bowl!" Nugget's team was even going into the last end but dropped a two. Mal won 16 to 3. Second game Mal played against Chris. Jean played Gerry, Kevin and Yvonne. Jean had second shot then knocked her bowl in for shot. Mal did much better! Mal won two games. That's 16 ends and the money. He decided to buy a club shirt. It's the last club we play in our beloved Victoria until Spring. Back to NSW/ACT/Qld now. Howitt Park - bye for now Victoria, we love you!

We drove unexpectedly to Bairnsdale on Saturday. We went to the Bairnsdale Bowls Club to check it out. It was full of Pennants finals. We decided to come back another day. We came back the next day - Sunday. It's a biggish club with pokies and a bistro. There's a separate area for the bowlers. When we arrived we met Bruce who rolled up with us. Bruce said there used to be four greens. One is left fallow. One green was named after T Sim and A.S. Winter in appreciation. The green out the back was nice. It was great to see grass again after so many synthetics. There's a nice little Croquet clubhouse. The old green was turned into Croquet Lawns. Bruce's Mum Audrey popped down to say hello. Jean put down the first bowl. She did OK - despite two wrong biases. She said "I've done more wrong biases since I started using this bowling arm than I ever did before!" Mal went next. Jean said "You're just showing off!" Then Mal wanted Jean to go first, out of turn, so he could take out her bowls. He just missed. But Mal had the last word. Mal stopped to watch Stephen and Brad who'd come down for a rollup. "These guys are bloody good bowlers!" Mal remarked. Bairnsdale - thanks for the grass!

Jean's been in touch with Jeanette at Warragul Bowls Club. Bowls is on Thursday at 12. However Jeanette messaged Jean while we were at Drouin yesterday to say they will start at 10 due to expected 38 degrees. We caught an early train from Bunyip. We met Jeanette, Ian, Gary at the table. It's a nice little clubhouse. There are three greens with a lovely backdrop. It's a carpet synthetic. The Neil Spencer Green. There are plaques about green installation. We played together. Against Margaret and Bernie. There were six rinks of pairs. Mal started out well. Jean and Margaret got three touchers in a row one end. Eventually we won 16 to 4 even though Mal gave it away four times. Mal and Bill had a talk about crocodiles because Jean was wearing her Weipa shirt. It was getting hot. Already 31 degrees. Our second game was against Brian and David. We only played ten ends. Jean managed to get one close but we got a shellacking 17 to 3. Warragul - too hot for bowls!

Jean's been in touch with Mary at Drouin Bowls club and found out there's social bowls on Wednesday. We rearranged our trip so we could make it for a game. We were going to catch the train from Bunyip but it was 33 degrees and we didn't fancy two 12 minute walks each end. We met Peter who is today's organiser. Margie looked after the money. They already had our names down the bottom. The clubhouse is a nice size. They have a club newsletter. There's a funny trophy for the Indoor Bowls Ladies vs Men Grudge Match. We sat around for a cuppa beforehand. Everyone was so friendly. They all asked about our trip. We played on a nice carpet synthetic. It's been down around three years. It's quick. There's another green out the back that's a little older. The club has a plaque to commemorate the synthetics being installed. There are a mixture of shades. Some nice permanent ones. It was two games of fifteen ends two-bowl triples. Our team was Andy, Jean and Mal. Terry, Richard and Don were first opponents. We were down three and Mal took the kitty to Jean for two. Then Jean drew a pearler and Andy consolidated. They changed it to twelve ends due to heat. We were four up on the last end. Andy and Jean did well. We had five shots then Terry came in and took third. He bowled very well. We won by six. Our second opponents were Neil, Wayne and Dave. Jean said "I'm not doing as well this game!" Then she got shot. It wasn't enough. We went down 23 to 7. Last end we were nine down. We scored four shots. Mal said to Dave "We have four and we're playing our PowerPlay! I've glued all those bowls down!" Dave replied "Yes but you haven't glued down the kitty!" He came down and took the kitty for three. Clean as a whistle! It was hot. We came inside for drinks. Mal had a great chat about fishing in Bermagui. Jean scored some produce. Our last opponents (Dave's team) won the money. We asked for commission. Drouin - bowls with fishermen.