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We're in Hamilton for a week. Yesterday we rolled up at Grangeburn. When we were at Dartmoor the Hamilton boys told us to come Thursday for social. We turned up and they didn't have our names but President John fitted us in. We met Ron and Gavin in the office. The club has an upstairs And a downstairs where the bowlers gather. On the wall there's an article about the club's 125th birthday in 2009. That would make it 140 this year! There's a beautiful old building that we're told is the old Men's clubhouse. It's over 100 years old. It's now the Men's locker room. There are two synthetic greens. One out the back. Everyone was hanging out to play. The top green has only been in a couple of months. It's the Syd Barnes Green. Syd is the workhorse of the club. Jean met Syd on the green. We played together. For us it was pairs against triples. Three games of eight ends. We had four bowls each, they had 3/2. Against Rob Jenny and Gerard, who we met at Dartmoor. Mal did well until skip Jenny drove him out. Then Jean did a Resting Toucher. We drew five all. Then we played Graeme, Dennis and Diane. Jean was on the money again. Mal did very good shots but he gave Jean the shot every time so no photos of his bowls. We lost by two though. Third game we played Rex, Ray and Alan. We won by six. We came inside for presentations. We enjoyed their humour. Hamiltons are all Jean's family! (Jean's Grandma was a Hamilton).

Friday when we were at Heywood, Paul suggested we ring Rose at Macarthur as he thought they were short of Pennant players. Mal rang her to find out that apparently they can't use subs in the last two games. Rose invited him to come on Monday morning for a practice game. First person we met was Libby Outside on the footpath Mal found Ken to ask him about an ATM. He said he lives 15 minutes out. He used to come into town to do stuff but there's nothing left here now except bowls. No ATM. Rose (who Mal spoke with) Carol and Libby look after everything. It's a little clubhouse. Small but functional with a long table down the middle. We saw the club got a big grant of $300k. They built new toilets. They used to have a competition 'The Throne of Power' - last played in 1995. There's one old synthetic green. We played three-bowl triples. Two games of eight ends. It was Ken, Peter and Jean. Against Libby, Bob and Nan. Rose, Mal and Maureen Played Carol, Mary and Fran. There were just twelve players. Four blokes and eight women. Jean couldn't quite get the grass though she was close. Mal liked the long ends. Ken's team won 11 to 3. Mal went down 7 to 8. Next game Jean played Carol, Mary and Fran andal played Libby Bob and Nan. Ken loved Jean's bowl where she drew in in front of Mary's shot. Mal was bowling spot on. Jean's rink did a great caterpillar. Mal called "Jean, Jean, get a shot of this!" Ken's team went down two on the last end. Mal won 10 to 3. Mal came second. There was no bar so Mal didn't want to hang around. Macarthur - a small game with nice people.

Mal rang Dartmoor yesterday to see if they needed Pennant players. They don't so we're driving out to watch the Pennant game. They've had six weeks off over Christmas so everyone should be happy to be there. Hopefully we'll get a rollup. The club is part of the memorial hall. They pay $500 a year to rent 'The Dungeon' down the back. As we drove in we saw a town sign that said "Dartmoor - Home of the memorial trees". They are out the front of the club. Sculptures of service people made with a chainsaw. When we arrived Anthony the club Secretary was preparing for Pennants. He was very friendly and talkative. He told us lots of stories about the club. The one green is plastic synthetic. Anthony told us it's been down since 2011. For a thirteen year old green it's pretty good, though a little sandy. There's a really pretty rose garden. We started our rollup. Jean was a bit all over the place but she managed shot. Mal was doing a little bit better. He got three, though not close. The Pennant players came out so we went up and back. Mal had the last word. Today Dartmoor plays Hamilton Bowling Club. In this division (Three) they are teams of eight players. Jean had a little chat with Gerard and Jack from Hamilton. Jean told them she was looking forward to our visit there because she comes from a family of Hamiltons. We promised we'd be at their club on Thursday for Triples. We watched the game for a while. We had a little banter with Ray (Hamilton) and Ross (Dartmoor) the skips on Rink Two. We watched Ross put down a pearler of a draw bowl to go from five down to one up. When we left on end eight it was Dartmoor 13 to Hamilton one. Go Dartmoor! Dartmoor - nice to watch good bowls again.

We're staying in Heywood for a week. We've done Portland Memorial and Portland Bowling Club. Now we only have Dartmoor, Macarthur and Heywood to do. We turned up at Heywood for Friday night practice. We were a bit shocked when we turned up to see the front green marked out as a carpark. Mal said "Surely there's another green! They can't roll on that!" When we arrived we met Darryl and Paul (who we met at Portland yesterday). It's a nice little clubhouse. There's nice little gardens. One out the side And one out the back. Paul introduced us to Mick who we rolled up with. Mick is a club champion. There is a proper green out the back. Mick told us the Green old 17 years old. All the people rolling up were very friendly and interested in our trip. One man said he'd read about us on Facebook. Mick also said the colorbond fence had a top put on it. Various people put in for the cost. Their names are on the fence. Jean had a go. She managed to get one. Mal did better He and Mick had a good tussle. Mal did pretty well. Jean put a couple in but wasn't that happy with her results. We came inside for the club badge draw. Paul helped us out with phone numbers for Dartmoor and Macarthur. We're going to Macarthur on Monday morning. Heywood - nice rollup with nice people.

On our way back from Portland Memorial we stopped in to Portland Bowling Club to put our names down for Thursday Twilight bowls. While we were there on Wednesday arvo we met Andy, Lionel and Mick. When we arrived on Thursday the ladies were in the office. Joan, Coral and Shirley. Everyone we met introduced themselves enthusiastically and welcomed us. It's a nice, light airy clubhouse. With an impressive photo array. John Pye the club President came and introduced himself. The club has two good plastic synthetic greens overlooking the ocean. One is about six years old. We played on the new one that is a couple of years old and a bit slower. There were 16 players. It was two games, each with two sets of four ends. Jenny and Jean Played Marie and Rod. Mal and Kerryn Played Joan and Gary. Jean did only one good bowl with the first game. She looked over and didn't see any of Mal's good bowls but he assured her he did some. It was reeeaaally windy. 2nd game we played each other. Mal was having a ball! Everyone on the green remarked to Jean what a good bowler Mal is. Jean finally got another shot then got a Resting Toucher. That was it though for Jean. Jean and Jenny had a bad game - lost all four sets. Mal and Kerryn on the other hand won all four. They won some vouchers. We came inside and had lovely chats with the bowlers. Lovely, friendly people who all wished us safe and happy travels. Portland - what a lovely time we had!

We arrived in Heywood this morning after our week of rest in Penshurst. Mal rang Portland Memorial and spoke with Trevor who put our names down. We took the 25 minute drive for a game. It's a pretty big club. But the bowlers have their own little spot out the back. There's a lovely big verandah which overlooks the greens. In the office we met Norm and Phil. Then Mal stopped for a chat with Les. There are two synthetic greens. Les told us they will pull up the bottom green, put a cover over the top green and build a new synthetic green where the carpark is. The greens are the plastic type. We are to play three games of eight ends - three-bowl pairs. There were twenty-six people. There's a laser which keeps the birds away. The original ride-on lawn mower was interesting. Norm and Jean. Played Joffa, Vicky, Graham Mal and Brian Against Robyn, Norm and Peter. First end Jean worked out the grass in big wind. Second end Mal got it. Mal was on fire. So was Jean with a Resting Toucher. We both won. 2nd game Mal played Colin and Ian. He did a Raspberry (wrong bias) and hit the next kitty. They lost. Jean played Martin and Lorraine. Jean and Norm won by one shot then played Ron and Les. Mal played Bernie and Wayne and lost again. We came inside for drinks and had friendly banter with lots of people. Portland Memorial - a great place for chats.

We're in Penshurst for a week but have done all the clubs around. We decided to drive an hour to go to Lake Bolac which is the only one we've missed. Mal was pretty cranky from all the narrow little roads we had to drive on to get here. We peeked inside as usual. There's an information picture. And rules. The club is by the Lake. There's one newish synthetic green. Installed four years ago. There's a nice little garden. With permanent shades. Jean was pretty pleased with how she was bowling with her bowling arm. Jean kept getting shot. She said "Look, I did a caterpillar! I must have my grass right!" Mal had a go. Mal said "Three perfect f......g bowls and not one of them close!" He nearly did it. He blamed the back pain. Lake Bolac - was it worth the drive? Not for Mal!

Today we're driving from Dunkeld to Terang. When we were in Dunkeld the boys told us we must visit Penshurst which is on our way. It had been raining all night in Dunkeld and was raining here so we couldn't roll up. We met John the Social Director who was preparing for Pennants. Jean peeked through the glass to see the clubhouse. There's a nice verandah out the front. And cute little permanent shades. The club is situated in the middle of a lovely park. John said the synthetic green had been down about 17 years. Alas it was too wet for a rollup. We were impressed with how good it looked. Penshurst - a nice visit but too wet for a rollup 11-1-2-24 - We came back! Jean's not sure why but way back in September she booked and paid for us to stay a week in Penshurst. We've pretty much done all the clubs around here but decided to try to get a Thursday afternoon game here on. Training night. Jean went down and met John and Chris (Cricket). It was 2-4-2. Jean played with Neville Mal was with John. We played each other. We just played four ends. John and Mal won 3 to 2. Next Jean played Ian (China) and Cam - the butcher and the baker. Mal was against Cricket and Kegs. It was so nice to be back on the green with people! We both lost. Third game we swapped opponents. Jean finally got shot! Mal got one but took it out with his second bowl. His pain was still affecting him (well that's his excuse!). We both lost again. Even though Cam and China won three and Cricket and Kegs won two the boys decided they had to play a final. Playing to the spectators. Penshurst - so glad we came back!

Our last stop in the caravan on our little South-west Victoria road trip is Casterton Bowling Club on our way back to Penshurst. We might divert to Dartmoor while we're here. We'd never heard of Casterton before so are looking forward to seeing it. The caravan park and our van are just a few steps away. We looked in the clubhouse. We liked the red chairs. Apparently the bar is open Monday and Tuesday with a barbecue. We'll be there! They are trying to raise money to save the club. People buy a brick. The red chairs inside match the seats on the verandah. They are all donated in memorium. There seems to be some kind of court next door - perhaps Croquet. And there's the old grass green. It's overgrown but looks cared for. The main green is a synthetic. It looks about ten years old. We liked the old roller outside the shed. There's a community garden next door. Jean chatted with Marjory who said it's hard to keep it going. There were lots of people interested initially but they've all left and she's too old. Jean got going - bowling left-handed with her new bowling arm. She did OK. Mal went next. He did OK but he said he was in pain. Mal said "My back is f*@^ed." His bowls went everywhere! He nearly got a shot but not quite. Jean said "I haven't been keeping score. Did I win?" Mal said "Yes!" We went back to the caravan. Mal said "There's a lady rolling up with a bowling arm." Jean went over to meet her. Her name is Anne. She told Jean that the local pubs aren't good at hospitality and were closed Monday and Tuesday. The locals had nowhere to drink. The bowlers got together and decided to open the club and put on a barbecue Monday and Tuesday nights. Anne said "You should take a photo of my husband Mick. He's the workhorse!" We came back around 5pm to find things humming. We met Margie who asked us what we thought of the green. Peter Ligaya, Eddie and Colin were sitting at the table. Peter is the barman. He and Colin are bowlers. Teresa cooked the barbecue. We enjoyed our sausages. Casterton - great hospitality!

The furthest north we get on our little south-west Victoria road trip is Edenhope Bowling Club near the South Australian Border. It's a little bit exciting! It's a tiny little clubhouse. Again we were all alone so we just got a peek in through the window. Like other clubs there's a nice little verandah out the front to watch the action. Mal looked at the Pennant information. With a town of just under 1,000 it's impressive they have four Pennant teams. Mal was pretty impressed with the stand-up drink stands. There used to be a grass green but it's now been left to the maggies. The club has a beautiful lakeside outlook. It's also next door to the caravan park. The green is synthetic. A little better than some we've seen lately. A pussy cat stands guard and an owl looks out from the shed! Jean started out with her bowling arm - left-handed as usual these days. She was impressed to pick up a shot first end. Then it was Mal's turn. He did the same but Jean was happy to be in there learning her new skill. Jean called it "Three to one!" but (as usual when we roll up) Mal had to measure. He said "Lucky I did!" It was two all. That was all Mal needed - he was off and away! Edenhope - we bowled better than the Magpies!

Our second stop on our little south-west Victoria road trip is Balmoral Bowling Club. We're just here overnight so hope to make the best of it. We were all by ourselves again. We thought there'd be someone there on a Saturday. The clubhouse looks interesting. The sign out front says it's the old 'Balmoral Mechanics Institute' It looks like an old hall - it even has a stage! Jean's been watching 'The Crown' so had visions of Balmoral Castle. Like other clubs we've visited recently there's a nice verandah. In this case - with fans! There's really nice hand-made tables/drink stands. The front gate welcomes bowlers. The synthetic green is pretty old. Thirteen years in fact. It's very, very sandy. Jean stepped out with her new bowling arm - left-handed. Mal started with three - hard to beat! Mal was on fire. Jean was happy to be close by. We only did a few ends because it was muggy. Jean got two in the end but not enough. Balmoral - no castles on the bowling green!

We're on a short road trip around the south-west of Victoria. We were supposed to stay at Lake Bolac but have done all the clubs around there but one. We decide this morning to drive up to Edenhope. Our first stop is Coleraine Bowling Club. We were all alone for our rollup. We're getting a bit tired of our own company. As usual when there's nobody home, Jean peeked in through the window. There's a nice verandah out front. We don't know who Jim is but he has his own hut! It's a nice looking synthetic green - a little old but ok. According to the sign it's thirteen years old. Jean started out with her new bowling arm. She got two shots. Then Mal took his turn. He kept scoring shots. Jean didn't want to take any more photos. It was pretty hot so we only did a few ends. Not enough for Jean to catch up though even with shots on the last end. Coleraine - hope we get a game soon!