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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!

We haven't heard back from Yarra Glen about social bowls. We left Healesville bright and early this morning and drove here to check it out. There was nobody around. There are two greens. We were excited to see a grass green. But it was all locked up. There's a synthetic out the back. It's the Peter Nelson Memorial Green. It was very windy and there were leaves all over it. Bill the Treasurer arrived after a while and showed us the mats and Jacks. Al, Chris, Wayne, Ash and Beth came. They are playing away today for mid-week Pennants. It's the second-last game of the season and they are third on the ladder so they'll likely make the Finals. Jean was annoyed she seemed to be getting worse with the stick. Then she scored a shot and Mal took it out. Jean gave Mal a serve about taking the enjoyment out of her game so he stopped trying. He' a thoughtful husband really but that made her even crankier! We'd started our rollup before 9am. By 9:30 it was already 28° with a fierce wind so we packed it in. Jean had the last word though suspected not really. Yarra Glen - cranky Jean questionably bests Mal.

This morning we rolled up at Whittlesea, then took the hour-long drive over to Healesville for a very warm rollup. Jean had been chatting with Ian on Messenger. She'd found out social bowls was on Thursday so we decided to come for a Monday rollup. We asked him if we could park our van at the club (gate was locked). He said he'd have to check with Chairperson Rob about that. We were sweltering in our van up the road when he rang back. We met him at the gate. He opened the clubhouse so we could take a peek inside. There's a plaque about when the Mayor opened the new synthetic green ten years ago. After a while Rob arrived to open the gate for us. We parked the van near the old green. We were so grateful to find a cool spot for our van. Ian told us they only use the old grass green once a year for their big Fours tournament. It's full of leaves at the moment. Rob had been out of contact this morning as he was helping his Mum out in her nursing home. Ian told us about her. Her name is Beryl Ayers and she's 97. They named the original clubhouse after her as she had won over 50 competitions in her time - including state championships. She was still a force to be reckoned with at age 92. The most amazing thing about her is that, in the 1950's, she pulled on a guernsey and played footy for Healesville - unheard of for a woman. It would have been a privilege to meet her. There are a couple of old machines around. An aerator and a roller. The new green is a carpet synthetic. Even though it was 32⸰ crazy Mal and Jean rolled up on it. Jean was glad she had her bowling arm because the sweaty bowls would have been very slippery. She did OK despite the heat. In typical Mal style, he didn't complain. He managed good bowls in the heat. The boys told us the big tree over the green is more than 100 years old! They also told us there's a family of platypus in the creek below the green. We thought we'd go back at dusk and see if we could see them. Healesville - so friendly and accommodating in the heat!

We've been hearing about Whittlesea at a number of clubs so we look forward to coming here. Social bowls day is Thursday so we'll miss that. We'll have a Monday rollup. Google Maps showed green areas all around the club. Must be 20 years old because now it's in the middle of suburbia. We parked our van a street away. It's quite a big club. The outdoor area is great. It seems the club is The Whittlesea Eagles. The scoreboards were nice. In memoriam. There are two greens. One is grass. It was closed unfortunately. The other is carpet synthetic. We asked the bar lady inside about bowls. She said "Go outside and look for Jordan!" We found him. He's the greenkeeper. He got nice, new mat and jacks for us. Jean started our rollup. It was only 10:30 and it was already nearly 30°. Her bad luck followed her. She wasn't doing well (in her view). Mal tried next. He did somewhat better. Jean finally did a bowl she was happy with then Mal knocked it up. Later bowler Clint arrived and he and Jordan sat down for smoko. It was hot. We thought that a good idea. Whittlesea - nah, too hot for bowls.

Wallan is the next bowling club on our trip back home via Gippsland. There's no social bowls on a Sunday so we'll stop for a rollup. We were told by a bloke we met at Digger's Rest It's pronounced 'Wollen'. We came and met President Peter. Who said we could park our van here overnight . We also met Carol who Jean's been corresponding with Jean via Messenger. They were playing a mixed three-bowl pairs championship when we arrived. The clubhouse is nice with a high ceiling. The smoking area doubles as an outdoor area. There's a lovely old wishing well. There are two greens. One is a lovely grass green. There's a plaque about the green. The other is a carpet synthetic. We rolled up on that. It's the R Stockdale Green. Jean had a go. She managed one with Mal in the ditch. As usual when Mal bowled He was on it. Jean said "We bowl everyday but I'm sick of my bowls not being near the kitty!" She drove at Mal's shot bowl but missed by a whisker. Peter won the match. We sat down for a drink and a chat afterwards. A quiet rollup and a nice chat at Wallan.

We came to Diggers Rest on our way to Qld via Canberra. It's saturday Pennants day so we hoped we could get a rollup before the matches. We came about 10am and it was all locked up. We went and set up the van and came back after 12 for Pennants. We met club President David. The club is comparatively new having been first founded in 1987. It's a nice little clubhouse. There are some great trophies, including one for Pennant eight counts! We saw they had a lovely spread set up for Pennants. Addam told us he's been following our adventures on Facebook. He gave us a Diggers Rest shirt to remember them by. The weather they put on was absolutely beautiful! It was 12:30 and Pennants was to start at one. We needed to get out quickly. There's just one carpet green. It's the Ernie Nolan Green. It's an unusual surface we haven't seen much. We started our rollup. Jean did ok. Mal had a go. He really liked this carpet. Jean worked it out towards the end. They started the matches. Digger's Rest played Woodend and Lancefield, both of which we've visited. We met Derek who recalled when we played Pennants for Woodend at Gisborne. There was a fellow from Lancefield who also remembered us. Jean mentioned the blokes we'd met from Lancefield. He said "Gordon's over there!" Jean went over to say gidday. Good memories of Woodend, Lancefield and now Digger's Rest!

We're on our way back to Queensland via Canberra . We stopped in at Hoppers Bowls Club for a Friday morning rollup. We stopped for a quick chat about social bowls with the first person we met, Howard. We met Eddie Alphabet (very long name!) who runs all the social bowls and does maintenance for the club. Eddie's just finished painting. He's done the Hoppers Hawks sign. There are two greens. One is grass. We were keen to roll on it (been so long) but it was being rested. We rolled on the other green. It's an old flat carpet. Jean started out. She got kind of close but still wasn't happy. Mal was winning as usual! Mark the Coach and Bowls Coordinator came over to introduce himself. He's seen our posts on Facebook. He works for Bowls Australia. He tells us he's a Bowls tragic. He named his daughter Kelsey after Kelsey Cotteril. Mal was all over it. Jean was just happy she got her grass right! After about eight ends Mal asked "Is that it?" Jean said "No! I haven't done any good bowls yet!" We went up and back and Jean finally nailed it. Eddie had shown Mal the design for their new shirts. Jean told him how Mal always has to buy shirts in Parramatta colours. He and Mark had a confab and said they'd give us each one of their old shirts. We were very happy. Hoppers Crossing - we definitely didn't lose our shirts!

Birregurra is a little town just east of Simpson where we were staying on our way to Geelong. We missed it about three times when we were in the region so kept it in our plans for our way back to Canberra from Lorne. When we arrived we met Chris, Brian and Gary who confirmed for us there's training this arvo. They said we could park our van there so it suits us perfectly. It's a nice little clubhouse. There's just one plastic synthetic green. It's about 18 months old. Chris told us they sold the block of land next door, the old parking area, to cover the cost. And a little verandah area under cover where you can view the action. There was a game of 100-Up going on when we arrived. We loved the little cow plant stand! The boys told us the club's been here since 1958. We're not sure what was erected but it's a nice memorial. Mal stood and chatted with Graham (who won the match) for about half an hour about all things bowls and caravanning. We went into the van for a little rest. Later in the arvo some more people turned up for another 100-Up. Pahulu and Fran rolled up with us. Mal put the kitty in the ditch right on the boundary and Jean drew to it. Mal tried to claim her bowl was out but she checked. It was in! It took us a while to get the line and weight. Jean had a go. She managed a shot. Mal bowled next. Of course he had to out-do Jean! Graham came up and told us his wife Janet is Editor of The Birregurra Mail and would like to do a story about us. She took a nice photo of us and Jean sent her background information about our trip, and the blog. Fran finished and Gary came and joined our rollup. We played a game of 2-4-2 up to ten. Lots of people turned up for practice. They opened the bar and Marshall served our drinks. We only had one good shot in the whole game! Pahulu and Gary were practising for their last two Pennants games so we were happy for them to take us 12 zip. We sat down for a few drinks and watched the practice. Marshall wanted a photo with our cat Jerome. Birregurra - we're so glad we left it to last!

On our long drive back up to Canberra from Victoria, we're stopping for a day in Lorne on the Great Southern Ocean. We decided not to stop in Apollo Bay. Had a rollup and came straight here. When we arrived we met Marilyn who found us a mat. Marilyn was here to set up for a big corporate bowls event. She'd seen Jean's hat so went inside and found her a Lorne badge. Jean was busting for the loo so we just did a couple of ends. We got the grass fine but had trouble with the weight. Mal was impatient and bowled Jean's bowl and took shot. Jean claimed it! Jean tried one of Mal's bowls and got close. Then he bowled hers. She ended up with two. One each! Lorne - I'll race you to the loo!

So we're starting our month-long journey back to Canberra before we head to Queensland. Our first stop is Apollo Bay - on the coast, East of Warrnambool. We are only here for a day but Bernie gave us his number so he could get someone to play with us. Bernie's apparently not involved any more but told us there's a number on the door we can ring when we get there. We parked our van out the front and decided on a quick rollup then off to Lorne so we didn't bother calling. We couldn't get a good shot of the clubhouse from the window. We saw the sign out the front to say "Bowlers wanted". We wondered how they'd go with $10 for a rollup. On an old carpet. There's a nice outdoor area though. And good permanent shades. There's just one old synthetic green. It's the 'Albert W. King Green '. Mal went first. We thought it was quick. It wasn't! Jean went next. We only did a couple of ends. Mal had a go with Jean's stick and nearly took shot! Jean managed a couple of shots in the end. Apollo Bay - we liked the little bit we did!