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When we drove around all the Horsham clubs last Friday we were told about the bowling green at Horsham Golf. We didn't have that one. We visited and they said we can come for social on Tuesday. on Friday we met Ken, Dennis and Harry who were hanging around. They are the Blue Wrens. The green is named for Jeff Sprunt who was a former Secretary who passed away and left the club $170 thousand. It saved the club. They were able to put in a synthetic, new seats and upgraded the clubhouse. The green isn't named but the shelters are. TUESDAY We came back for our game on Tuesday. We arrived super early so decided to roll up. Mal was all over it as usual. Every time Jean got shot he took it off. What a mean husband!😒. It was pretty hot so we just did a couple After a while Harry came and opened up. There are ten players today Jean and nine blokes. We have pairs against triples. 3 bowls and skip two for triples and four with 2-4-2 for pairs. Two games of ten and one of six. The leads don't roll the jack the skips place it to save time. It's a bit complex but it works. First game Trevor and Mal Played Peter, Ian and Jean. First end Jean had three but Mal took two out. She said "I'm glad we did that rollup!" The final score was one up for Jean's team. Second game Mal played Mike, Neville and Wayne. Mal and Trevor were doing superbly. Jean's team played Graeme, Rink (Ian) and Frank. They won the first two ends then Jean put one on it. In the end Jean's team got killed. Mal won game two 23 to 16. We swapped opponents for the six-end game. Jean thought she bowled brilliantly but as lead her opponents bowled better. Like this! The guys remarked how well Mal was bowling. They want us to play Pennants for them on Saturday but we've committed to Mortlake and will be too far away. We came inside for drinks. Mal and Trevor won the money with 35. Jean went outside and met Selector Magaret. Horsham Golf - we would have loved to play Pennants

We came to check out Sunnyside Bowling Club when we arrived in Horsham on Friday. They told us there's social bowls on Wednesday so we got our names down. We were over the moon. We met Chris who was working in the clubhouse. He took our names. Outside we met John who was there for a rollup. The club used to have four greens. Two grass are out of action. There are two newish synthetics. WEDNESDAY We arrived for our game and met John and Geoff in the office. The clubhouse is nice. Bowlers show the wind direction. The cats looked after the greens. We played on A Green. It's fours today. Three games of eight ends. First game Stan, Lorraine, Dick and Jean played Lorraine, Barry, Trevor and Col. Mal played a triples game. It was Debbie, Mal and Chris who we met on Friday played against Bob, Hedi and Roger. Hedi is from Germany. She's written a book about her story meeting her birth family and husband in Australia. Jean asked Mal to call out when he did a good bowl so she could take a photo. He said "I don't think that will happen today". Last end he bowled a beauty. Jean was bowling well but her teammate Lorraine kept getting shot inside her bowl. "No complaints!" Jean said! Like Mal she got shot last end. Mal lost by a point. Jean won by about eight. 2nd game Jean played Mal's first opposition Bob, Hedi and Roger. It took her a couple of ends but she bowled a good one. Last end of Jean's game Hedi said "We're playing for the wurst!" It was six all and Jean had shot and kept it for a narrow win. Mal lost again. We came inside for a cuppa. Chris found Jean a badge. Jean gave a talk about our trip. Jean told them about our They presented us with a pair of champagne glasses to commemorate our visit. Last game Jean played John, Ron, Murray and Garry who beat Mal in his second game. Mal played his last against Carol, Barry and Roger and finally got a win! Sunnyside - perhaps number three!

Natimuk Bowling Club is just 22 minutes from Horsham. Jean tried to contact them on Facebook but got no response. We drove out on Sunday for a rollup. They have an impressive sign above the bowls office. Jean took a photo of the clubhouse through the glass. It was decked out lovely for Christmas. Natimuk is a tiny town of 500 people. It's great they have a bowling club. There's just one quite old synthetic green. It was funded through drought relief. We saw a licence map that shows the old green. There's not much left of that but we think you could park a caravan there. There's power and water to plug in. Mats and jacks were locked up so we used Jean's yellow jack and a cloth. It was Sunday so Jean wore her yellow Gulgong shirt - her favourite. The old green made our bowls dirty. Jean was cranky. She couldn't control her bowls on the old green. Mal was all over it. A wrong bias was the last straw. Jean gave up. Natimuk -a short rollup on a difficult green.

We contacted Murtoa Bowling Club about social bowls but got no response. We decided to drive out on Pennants day to try for a rollup. They were playing Pennants when we arrived - against Rainbow. We met Michelle and Doug. It's a nice clubhouse. We loved the bowlers on the tank. They have old seats. A lady called Shea came down and asked the club to pay the cost for materials and restored them. They put on a great spread of sandwiches, scones and cake for Pennants. Like all the others in this region it's a synthetic. We had a rollup. Mal got 11 to zip. Every time Jean got shot he took the kitty! Michelle and Kieran said they'd roll up with us. They are new to Murtoa having moved here from Melton earlier this year. They'd never played bowls before they came here now they're in Division Two. They are folk musicians. We loved that. When Kieran found out we were from Canberra he and Jean had a good talk about politics. Mal of course showed off. He took shot first bowl. Jean got one. We think we won but we didn't really keep score. Even so, it was close. We came inside for a drink. We saw they have Pennants made from wood. Murtoa - we had fun

We arrived in Horsham Friday morning and set up the van and annexe at the Showground. Then we went to all the clubs in town to get our names down for social. All that was left was to drive to Dimboola for a rollup. Dimboola Bowling Club has had a lot of work done in recent years. The little clubhouse is nice. When we arrived Peter (a selector) was cleaning his bowls. We told him about our trip. President Robert then came to meet us. The club has two synthetic greens. They have wires above them. Peter said it's to discourage Corellas. The Corellas have wrecked the front green. There's an interesting sign commemorating the installation of the lights. There are good permanent shades. Seats were paid for by the council. There's a great outdoor area by the green. We played on the side green. We loved their rink markers. Jean bowled first. She remarked the line was very true. And got shot. Then Mal Who scored two. Jean then got two to put her ahead. We were three all going in to the last end. Mal couldn't help himself! Pete saw all Jean's badges and went to find one for her And a DBC pen! Dimboola - they wished us well.

Jean's been in touch with Carmel from Beaufort for a few weeks. Carmel told her about Thursday night Barefoot Bowls. Mal doesn't like Barefoot but we are desperate for a game after all our rollups. As we arrived Carmel came up and welcomed us. We met Graeme in the outdoor bar. We all stood around for drinks while we waited for the President to arrive. Including Stuart and Ken. They used to have two greens but Green B is now the carpark. They now have a nice, big synthetic green with ten rinks. The shelters are named for old bowlers. Rohan the President turned up. Edmund the Treasurer took our money. There were two games - a game of fours and a game with seven. They were all very sociable and welcoming. The fours were Mal, Ron, Viv and Les against Carmel, Jean, Rohan and Ken. Jean's team won the first end then second end Mal put in a great bowl. Bowling South the wind was fierce. We had to practically bowl at the jack. Jean nearly got it then Ken came in and knocked out shot to bring her in for two. Jean rolled a really short end which suited her to the ground and nobody else. It was a draw until Ron pushed Rohan's bowl up for two and a win for Rohan's team. We went up the path for a nice barbie cooked by Carmel's hubby Pete. Beaufort - we're glad we came for Barefoot.

We're in Ararat for a few days. We're catching up on the clubs we missed when we were here earlier in the year. Today it's Landsborough. We tried to get here while they were playing Tuesday Pennants (assuming they had a home game) but Mal wasted too much time on the phone with his Brother trying to sort out his Tanks game. Jean got a picture of the inside of the club through the glass. Small but nice. We saw this newspaper picture of a bowler. There was no information about the story attached. There's just one synthetic green. It looks quite old and a bit ragged. As we bowled our bowls it sounded like we were bowling on gravel. Mal didn't want to do more than a couple of ends. Despite all this we are really impressed that the town has a bowling green. It has a population of 180 people according to ABS. We saw that they can field a whole 12-person Pennant team. That's very impressive! Jean tried it out. She struggled to get the weight. It was quite fast. Mal took his turn. He did much better. We remarked that if they ever get a new green we'd like to come back when there are people here. Landsborough - the green's had its day but we liked the club.

We were in Ararat earlier in the year. We did two clubs but weren't welcome at Ararat Bowling Club. We missed Ararat Victorian Railway Institute club so came today for a rollup. It's a tiny clubhouse. Jean saw it through the glass. The environs are quite sterile with fake grass everywhere. There's just one little garden and tiny hedge. Like other clubs we've seen lately there's a good permanent shade. It has one synthetic green. Jean's bowling arm hurt a lot so she went left-handed again. Her first bowl was a beauty but that form didn't last. Mal stayed right-handed. It was a little lopsided. Jean got a couple close but it wasn't good enough! Ararat VRI - quite a sterile rollup!

We drove around all the clubs in Horsham when we arrived on Friday. We came to Coughlin Park which is just near the Showground where we are staying. It was all locked up. We were told they have midweek Pennants on Monday so thought we'd drop in to maybe get a rollup. The club facilities are quite stark with all the synthetic surfaces. When we arrived we saw there were two divisions playing. Once against Kaniva the other against Edenhope (recently amalgamated with another club - we didn't catch the name). All the seats are donated or are a memorial. There's a little outdoor area by the back green. and a Coughlin Park clock. The club isn't a bowling club per se. It's a community hub with a number of sports. They have St Kilda colours and they are all The Saints - except the bowls club which is just Coughlin Park. They share the club rooms. We met bowler Tony who was there to watch his wife play Pennants. Jean spoke with Linda and Judy about getting a rollup on the unused green. They got us mats and jacks. Jean started our rollup. She was happier today because the synthetic was newer and she had more control. She got shot. Mal wasn't far behind. He wasn't on target but he got two. Jean kept getting shot. Mal had two on the jack. Jean played weight and took them both out. We didn't really keep score but Jean reckons she won by one! Coughlin Park - it's a little austere but has nice people.

We're staying two nights at Skipton Bowling Club. Linton is close by so we're going for a Sunday Rollup. We think, like Lowood in Queensland, they are the Plovers. Jock, the greenkeeper (bar Manager and general all-rounder) was there checking out the green after it flooded in last nights downpour. We experienced a bit of it as we drove through Linton last night on our way back from Pennants in Ballarat. Like other clubs the seats are donated. It's a nice long clubhouse. There's a nice garden And good permanent shades. The green is synthetic. With a bird hovering over. There's a lot of mud for Jock to clean up. He told us he'll be here a few hours. Mal started And got a four It was Jean's turn. She got a two. It was a bit muddy. Our bowls were getting grubby so we said goodbye to Jock and left. Linton - we didn't really mind the dirt!

Invermay Sports Club was the only Ballarat club we didn't do when we were there in February. We went to Ballarat from Learmonth for some shopping today and decided to drop in. There are cats on the front grass. And a bird watches over the green. The clubhouse seemed to be closed for cleaning. We met Neil, David and James who were rolling up. We chatted about all the bowling clubs they knew - including the tiny town of Serviceton. The green is synthetic. The same plastic type we've seen around here. It was also slow. Jean wanted to challenge Mal to a left-handed rollup. He started out right-handed but Jean still got him. Mal worked out left-handed bowling pretty quickly. Jean had three then he wicked off for shot. Jean said it was a fluke. He decided to go back to right-handed and finished with a resting toucher Invermay - Jean's getting better with her left hand.

We drove a couple of hours from Gladstone to Theodore on the edge of The Outback. We set up at the showground and drove to the Theodore Bowls Club. When we arrived at the front of the club a bloke ran over from the free-camping area to find out if we were members. He'd rung the club to be told he couldn't bowl until tomorrow due to the rain they'd had. We decided to give our rollup a miss. The one grass green is a little rough around the edges. Not surprising for a tiny town. It's amazing they have a bowling club at all! The shades are quaint and old-fashioned. The river - we think Castle Creek - sits just out the back. Theodore - would have been nice to meet some members.