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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.

We didn't end up playing in the tournament at Boronia so decided to drive up to Neerim Bowling Club to check it out and roll up. When we got there, Ross, John and Graeme were sitting down after a game of 100-up. They told us they invented the Big Bash format we played at Garfield yesterday. John is the club President. He asked Jean if she wanted to take home a cucumber. We liked the club logo. Jean forgot to take a clubhouse photo when the boys were there so took one through the door. There's a large shade outside. The side garden is pretty. There's one plastic synthetic that's been in since 2017. The boys stayed, watched and chatted with us for a little while. Jean had a go. She was pretty impressed she got shot and that we both had grass worked out. Mal let one go. He just beat Jean. Mal had shot then knocked Jean up. Mal got the last laugh with two. Neerim - just a little rollup and some new friends!

We saw there's a bowling club at Cardinia Waters Retirement. We're a bit uncertain so thought we'd turn up on Pennant day to see if they are playing. On Monday Jean rang John, whose name she found online, to check if it was OK. He said Tuesday is a bit difficult but suggested we come today, Monday, for a rollup before their Thursday Night Triples Final. We got in the car and met John at the green. They use the retirement village clubhouse as their bowls clubhouse. It's very nice. There's a lovely shade structure in front of the green. There's a nice carpet synthetic green. John rolled up with us. He said the club has two Tuesday Pennants teams and one Saturday team. Both the Tuesday teams are in the finals. Given John said most are over 80 that's fantastic! Jean started off. She dis ok. Our heads weren't bad. Mal was eager to show his skills. He was successful. And again. Jean didn't take photos of John's bowls but most often it was John on the kitty, not us! John introduced us to Graeme. He was proud of his club shirt. Everyone started to turn up for the final. We watched for a while. Jean remarked that she'd seen a few retirement villages with a rink or two but none with a beautiful green like this! Cardinia Waters - ah, retirement life!

Jean's been in touch with Damian at Garfield Bowling Club via Messenger. Damian's managed to get us into their Triples Tournament on Sunday. We had time to kill on Saturday so we went to visit the club. We met Richard in the carpark who let us in. He was waiting to be picked up to play Pennants in Neerim. We arrived on Sunday and saw the inside of the clubhouse. We all sat around before the tournament. Gordon organised things. It's a game like Scroungers. Five games of five ends. Here are the rules. We sat and talked with Rick and Peter before The game. Damian came up to say gidday. He's been corresponding with Jean via Messenger and organised us joining the tournament. There's just one synthetic green. Richard said it's been down about seven years. Given that it's in really good nick. Our team was Mal, Jean and Barry. First game was against Des, Gary and Peter. They were from Mordialloc and Boronia. We lost big. There were people here from lots of clubs around The Dandenongs. The bowl gatherers hung nicely at each end. Second game we played Ian, Laughton and Jeffna from Chelsea. Jean finally drew a shot. Mal wasn't doing well. Always narrow. It was a shocker! We lost again. Third game was Cookie, Lexi and Luke from Garfield. Mal finally got the grass! Last bowl. Nobody else within cooee. Barry and Jean had a good end. We won with a seven on the last end, our Power Play which made 14. We won. We came in for lunch and had a pie. Fourth game our opponents were Jan, Malcolm and Ivan from Garfield. Jean did a couple of great bowls with the jack right in the middle until Malcolm moved the kitty back. Barry said "Must've been that pie you had for lunch!" Jean said "It was a really good pie!" We dropped 14 on the last end! Last game it was Steve, Bruce and Adrian from Burden Park. Second time in five games Mal got the grass. But we lost. Zero again on our Power Play. The four teams that played in the finals were all four game winners. Two of them beat us. The guys sat around to watch. We really enjoyed chatting with them about our time in Deniliquin and Deni RSL. We watched the semi. The Burden Park boys won and got to play Des' team which won. Garfield - talk about getting beaten!

We got a message to say that Pakenham has social bowls on Saturday. We booked in to the caravan park on Friday so we could get there bright and early on Saturday. We drove over Friday so that we could put our names down. We came across the little bridge from the carpark. Bowlers Brenda and Julian gave us right of way on the bridge. When we arrived we met Paul who said "No social bowls tomorrow. Pennants are on. " We forgot! It turns out Paul was a plasterer and worked on Parliament House the same time as Mal. Apparently they are The Lions. The clubhouse was closed. We didn't get a very good picture through the window. It's set up nicely for outdoor activity. There are two greens. One outside and one under cover. We rolled up on the under cover green. It's the Jack Banks Green. As usual - named after a man. Jean got going. Jean said "It's not a very good shot but at least I got a shot!" Mal was ready for it. Mal had four then Jean moved the kitty. "Ah, that's better!" Jean said when she drew another. Mal had perfect weight. "I think it's a measure." Cried Mal. "I'm claiming it!" Said Jean adamantly! Mal and Paul then sat around chatting for a while about their fibrosis plastering days at NPH. Under the dome at Pakenham.

After our visit to storm-ravaged Cockatoo we drove over to Yarra Junction to finally get a game of bowls. After all our lonely rollups we really looked forward to it. Jean's been chatting with Elly on Messenger who said she told Bev about us and that we'd be here. We met Bev in the office sorting out Pennants teams. Jean met Ian the President who let us fill up our tank with water. After a while Joy arrived to check in. She can't stay because her power is out until the 17th. We talked about all the downed trees around. The little clubhouse is light and airy. There's a nice photo array of past club functions. Jean bought one of Joy's 'Spicy Plum Sauce' There's a little bird in the garden. It seemed injured. Jerome our cat was very interested in it! There's an old grass green. Left fallow now. The new green is synthetic. The plastic kind. It looks like it's been down a few years. People at Cockatoo told us it's like bowling on concrete. Not so bad we thought. There were plastic snakes on the green. Some looked more snake-like than others. Pete and Alice arrived. Alice will sort out the game we will join today. There were just a few players. We had one game of a triple vs a four. Alice, Bev, Jean and Mal against Reg, Barry and Peter. The green was pretty slick. It took us a few ends to get used to it. We were three down then Mal put one in. End six Jean's first bowl she managed to get shot and kept it. Jean said "Yay! I've remembered how to bowl!" After eight ends we came in for a cuppa. Everyone had had enough so we stopped. We said we'd come back at 3 to play for Pennants practice. We did that. Jean finally met Elly. Mal rolled up with the boys. It was Mal and Adrian one end and Marty (Mal's partner) with Jason on the other. Jean joined in with Howard and Ally against Noel and Ian. Jean did a little better this match. Ron - a life member - came to watch. Elly told Jean Ron is a former President who still does lots for the club. He's a metalworker and made the bowlers on the front of the building. Jean said "I've waited all game for Mal to do a good bowl so I can get a photo!" He did one but the boys decried that. Marty said "He's been all over it. A minute ago he had four on the kitty!" Mal was having a ball! After the game Ian gave Jean a badge for her hat. We went back happy to the caravan. Everyone was so nice to us. Yarra Junction - nice people, good bowls and a great time!

We were staying in a caravan park in Healesville but yesterday afternoon there was a big storm and the power went out across Victoria. We decided to drive the van to Cockatoo Bowling Club while we worked out where to stay. Everything was locked up tight. We're not used to that but guess it's close to the city. We met the greenkeeper Ken who opened the gate and the mat box for us. He said we could park our van out the back. There's just one synthetic green - plastic. With lots of storm debris. We found a clearing spot and got going with our rollup. Initially the green seemed to suit Jean. But then it all went awry. It was Mal's turn. Jean said, "Of course it's Valentines Day so Mal must knock out Jean's shot bowls!" Jean gave up after a few ends but Mal was ages. Jean went to check on him and discovered he'd met a friend. Brian whose Mum lives in Cockatoo is from Alice Springs but has just come from playing bowls in Bungendore near our home in Canberra. The Tennis Club next door shares the facilities. Jean met the President of the Tennis club. He was out with a chainsaw cleaning up the tree that fell on the fence. Cockatoo - no power, no internet but a nice rollup!