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We're in Surat for one night. Mal rang the club from Roma last night and was told they usually have Saturday morning bowls, but not today. Jean walked the 500 metres from the caravan park to the club while she waited for the jug to boil. She met Gail and Barry (Cossy) from Tocumwal who were rolling up. They've been coming to Surat for seven years. They stay about seven months. Gail asked Jean if we were the ones who rang up last night. She asked if we wanted a game. Jean raced back to get Mal. Cossy looks after the greens while they are here. Selwyn the barman was here when we got back. He opened the club for us. It's a little club with a nice bar. It has a lovely, relaxed feel on the green. The surrounds are serene. The Balonne (Condamine) River is just behind. We played together Against Gail and Cossy. Mal and Cossy played some good bowls. We played ten ends. We were up by a bit until the sixth end then they got away from us. We lost by two but had a lovely time. We sat around outside afterwards and chatted about floods, bowls and trucks! Surat - a pleasant game with lovely people.

Narrabri is a much larger town just half an hour from Wee Waa. We stopped at the bowlo before we got to the Showground to see if they have social bowls today. We walked up and the first thing we saw was a fallow green with a guy mowing it. Mal thought he was the greenkeeper and went to chat with him. His name was Scott. He said "No, I'm just the dog's body. Whatever they want, I do." There's a nice shrubbery garden outside with Lavender. When we came back later we went inside to ask for the key to the box. A guy gave us the lock code. We took care to read the green rules. Mal rolled the jack. Jean took first blood with two. Mal got one second end but Jean bowled consistently. Mal had three and Jean bowled smack bang in the middle. We got bored so decided to finish after about eight ends. Mal got the last one and took the kitty back to the plinth. Look how well we bowled! It was all pretty boring although Mal said "You did some pretty bloody good shots!" Mal did a few pearlers as well to take out Jean's shots. Narrabri - we're a bit tired of just rolling up!

Jean's been in touch with Wee Waa Bowls Club via Messenger. They said there's no social bowls on Tuesday but we were welcome to roll up. Jean said we'd be there around midday. The clubhouse was nice inside - pretty big. Mal forgot his bowls shoes so had to go back to the caravan. While he was gone Jean checked things out. First she discovered there were two greens. One was a Synthetic. It was that plastic surface. It was dedicated by Karen Murphy. They are pretty proud to be associated with Australia's Cotton Capital. When we arrived the box was locked. Jean went and got the key but when she came back it was unlocked. She said to Mal "They're expecting us!" Outside we met Steve the greenkeeper. He asked if it was us that contacted on Facebook. Jean said yes. He said he manages Facebook for the club. Steve told us the club now has only about twenty bowling members. When they play, they play social on Sunday mornings. The second green is a grass green. It's the Norman Sweetman Green. It was such a lovely winter day for bowls. Perfect blue sky and no wind. The green was pretty true. We enjoyed rolling on it. Mal wore his nice new Roma shirt. Jean won the first end then kept ahead the whole game. Mal tried to cheat. He knows Jean is forgetful. He kept claiming he had one more shot or Jean had one fewer. After a while Mal finally scored a three to even the score. Just then, Steve came by with some cloths and drink holders to remember them by. Mal made Jean take the photo with his good shots. When it was 14 to 10 Mal said "My radars off!" Jean said "Look at the score. Your radars not off, I'm just bowling exceptionally well!" That was all Mal needed. He scored two multiples and Jean gave up. We came inside to buy a drink to thank the club for the lovely gift. Wee waa - yes we will remember you!

We're in Roma one night, staying at the bowls club. It's a nice little club. Small inside with a friendly feel. There are two grass greens, one out near our caravan And the other out the back. When we arrived Jean stood for a chat with Ian (Macca) the golf greenkeeper, Greg bowls greenkeeper and Greg. We told Greenkeeper Greg about our trip and that we were looking for some people to roll up with. He said "When my mate gets here we'll give you a game!" Mal and Jean played together Against Greg and Kingy. They will play in a Fours tournament tomorrow at Quilpie so we agreed they should play together. Greg plays Third and Kingy Skip. You could tell. Around end five Jean called to Mal "I think we're about 20 down!" We changed front three-bowl to two-bowl to give them better practice to play fours. Right then we started to improve and won a couple. Kingy plays sometimes at Toowoomba with the 'Western Outlaws'. Last two ends we agreed whoever lost bought drinks. We got two, they got one. I guess that's what matters After our shellacking we came inside for drinks. We had a great chat about etiquette and farming! Kingy explained that the club is called 'Roma Roadtrains'. We stayed for dinner. Mal had steak. Jean had seafood basket. We waited for the raffles. Roma - we wish the boys well at Quilpie.

We drove an extra 90 minutes from Taroom today just so we could play Barefoot Bowls at Miles Bowls Club tonight. We came to the bar to put our names down with Sarah⁰. Everyone was sat at the bar. It's a small club. It seems like a workers club - in Nationals territory! Jean liked that. Then we sat down for a chat with Jenelle and Tom. Mal stood under the sign. The green, as Stan in Taroom told us, is a carpet synthetic. It's that green and black one we don't like. It has old-fashioned shades. Mal asked Ash who was who won the 'A' Grade singles so he could make sure he didn't play the winners. There were three games under lights. A nice change. We got six on the first end but Jean forgot to take a photo. We played together Against Ash and Scotty (been here from Scotland just three weeks). (Scotty and Ash) Jean got a photo of her four Before Ash stole them with a fabulous weighted shot! Scotty told Jean there are three Scotts in the club. Big Scott, Medium Scott and Wee Scott. Guess which one he is! They seemed to all be good friends. They ribbed and encouraged each other all game. Bob kept commenting on Jean's red bowls that always had shot. We had four then Mal played weight and knocked Ash up for Shot. We were scoring lots and Ash was taking us out. Still, it wasn't enough. Last end Jean did four perfect weight bowls. Ash then put the kitty in the ditch for one! We won 14 to 7. The first six got in their heads. We came inside for drinks and raffles. Scotty showed Mal a 1984 World Championship that Scotland won. Miles - a win with very friendly people.

We dropped in at Taroom Bowling Club on our way to Miles.. It's an hour's drive from Theodore and 90 minutes from Miles. We were supposed to stay at the pub tonight with no power or water but found out Miles has Barefoot Bowls on tonight so decided to drive through for that but we wanted a rollup at Taroom. We saw a car but couldn't find anyone. Then Stan, who was doing some maintenance inside, came out to say Gidday. It's a pretty little clubhouse with a nice long bar. It reminded us of our favourite Mundubbera which is not far. There's a funny-looking structure made of horse shoes. Jean thought it was a coat rack. Stan bragged that the Taroom grass green is the best in the district. We'd believe that. It was lovely to roll on. About 14 seconds after the rain last night. Stan asked us to be sure to tell Miles that. He doesn't like their synthetic. He said "Like bowling on a pool table!" We'll make up our own minds on that. We decided to just roll four ends because we had a way to go yet and Jean hadn't put sunscreen on. We both got it pretty well. Jean won the first two ends for two. Mal won the next two to even the score. Taroom - if only we'd been there on game day.

We came tp 1770 Bowls Club for two reasons: 1. Because it's the only one in the region we haven't been to and 2. Because we had to fill in time while we waited to pick up our caravan from service. We came back to Gladstone from Rossie's 50th on Heron Island last night. It's 90 minutes drive to 1770. We wouldn't normally drive so far (for a game or a rollup) but we had lots of time to fill in. Jean's been in touch via Messenger. Today's not a game day but Al will unlock so we can roll up. Al got the mats and jacks for us and unlocked the door so we could use the toilet. We took a look inside the tiny clubhouse. The green is synthetic - the pile carpet Jean likes . It has those roll out shades. They like their Barefoot Bowls. Shame we weren't here on Tuesday. There was a bird to scare others away. Jean scored first. She was worried it would be the only one. The green was pretty fast. We just dropped the bowls out of our hands. Not sure the score - think Mal won. Played seven ends 1770 - Al, thanks for looking after us.

We drove out to Boyne / Tannum Bowls Club Monday to put our names down for Thursday. Mal went early to pay our green fees while Jean hung the washing out. He picked her up and we arrived 12:30 for a 1pm start. Mal paid our fees to Bucko and Ken, Games Director. Darren the Bar Director showed us the State of Origin trophy. They have a lot of NSW retirees here. It's Boyne Tannum for Boyne Island and Tannum Sands. Apparently they are the Crabs - being on the coast. It's the emblem. There's one nice grass green. There are nice permanent shades. The club is small with a high ceiling. With a nice outdoor area. We met Fred who's a member here. Apparently he plays seven days a week. Mal played against him yesterday at Yaralla. Mal played skip for Des Against John and Phil. Jean played second in a triples game with Skip Greg and Les. Against Rod, John and Skip Bucko. It took Jean five ends but then Skip took his hat off. There were five rinks in all. At 2:30 the bell rings. The first person to get a toucher wins a 'Beer Card' for two drinks. Jean got one but timing was wrong. Next Jean took kitty off their black to Les' yellow for shot. Jean tried to get over and take photos of Mal's good bowls. She was always at the wrong end. She asked him to take photos. He said "I can't. I'm not doing any good bowls!" Jean found one. They came back from the dead to within four. Greg's team did the same. They were behind all game up to end 13 then they won every end to win by 11. We came inside (outside) Jean's team surprisingly had the highest winning margin but, alas, they spun the wheel and, again, the winners were lowest losing margin. They got a 'Beer Ticket ' The outdoor area is pretty popular. Jean said "I like it here because people laugh at my jokes!" Boyne / Tannum - the people were fun!

Jean's been in touch with the club via Messenger and found out they play on Wednesday. We came early to get our names down. First person we met was Providore Tom. Tom introduced us to President Alex. There are quite nice grounds. And it's all blue - the outdoor area And the shades And the kitty box. Kevin came and asked Jean if she likes the colour scheme. He said he and another bloke painted all the Besa Bricks. The bar's on an honour system. You choose your drinks and put the money in the till. That's lovely. There's just one grass green. Kevin said it used to be a Tennis court. The old green was in the carpark. They seem very proud of it. It has eight rinks. Des and John chatted with Jean about clubs they've visited. Everyone we came across smiled and said gidday. They were very friendly. So everyone picked a card and got matched with the same letter on that rink. Kevin and Jean were 'A' on rink 1. Again Bob and Nino. Mal played lead for President Alex. Against Marion and Fred. Jean couldn't get the grass. She'd put down what she thought was right but as it slowed down the wind would keep it out She worked it out, as usual, on the seventh end. Jean and Kevin were 13 to 4 after 22 ends of 22. We came in for smoko to little boys, baked potatoes, Jatz and dip. Very special. Prepared by Providore Tom. Back out and Mal was doing ok as well. He and Alex were up 12 to 5. Mal and Alex won by ten. Jean and Kevin won by 17. We came inside for drinks and presentations. The jackpot was worth $100 - shared between four. Alas, we didn't win. Everyone wished us safe travels and smiled as they said goodbye. We will miss them. Yaralla - nice people to win with!

When we were at Miriam Vale the other day, the guys told us we must visit Calliope on our way to Gladstone. We decided since we're in Gladstone for a week we'd wait until we got there. They have Tuesday bowls so we went today. Mal rang to put our names down. We arrived around 12 and met Liana and Georgina at the table. It's a nice little club. It seems to have some money. With a nice outdoor area. There's a photo of the old clubhouse. And a photo of a club in flood the club supported. They don't remember which club it was. It's in Victoria. Mal sat and chatted with Baz and Ditmar. Jean talked with Bob an Di. There's just one synthetic green under permanent cover. Ditmar said the cover's been up about four years. The carpet's been down about fourteen years and is due for replacement. Mal played lead with Trevor Against Bob and Mick. Barry skipped Jean Against Chris and Ron They are the Seahorses, which Chris said is the Calliope town emblem. Jean worked it out first end, oddly. Jean struggled for a while to get the weight early on but after about five ends she got it. Even though she doesn't usually like this flat carpet she enjoyed herself. Mal was the same. He said "Up to the fourth end I was all over the place. Once I worked out the weight I was on the kitty all game!" Mal was doing ok. We were both up by four on ten ends. Barry didn't do many skip shots but he was a fantastic draw bowler. Every time Jean got shot he consolidated. After 18 ends Jean and Barry were 26 to 9. Mal was winning 23 to 6. Jean and Barry won 34 to 11. Mal and Trevor won 36 to 14 (Jean won by 1 shot!) On the last end Jean asked Trevor how Mal bowled. He paused a moment then said "Well we're 30!" We came in for drinks and bickies. The guys were pretty funny. They told good stories. Jean was excited because they had such a high winning margin. Alas, Mal spun the wheel and the winner was 'Lowest Losing Margin' They won a round of applause. Calliope - we both won convincingly but more importantly we had lots of fun.

We've been chatting to people in Gladstone who told us Mt Larcom has bowls on Sunday. Mal rang this morning to put our names down. We left just after 11 to arrive 11:30 in plenty of time for a 1pm start. It's a tiny clubhouse. Just right for a population of 300 people. We met Manager Rhonda at the bar. We were the only people there. They said the club has six male and four female members! Rhonda said a few should turn up but hard to say because the Mt Larcom Show is on. We were amazed at how many cars there were at the show for such a small town. Jenny and Ron turned up. Jenny said everyone comes to the show from Gladstone because the Gladstone Show is rubbish. There's one green. It's synthetic - that flat green carpet with black threads. A caterpillar carried some green fluff. They put the cover over. Rhonda showed us the stubby holders and fly stoppers. Mal bought the fly stoppers. We had a rollup in case nobody turned up. Then we had a short game with Jenny and Ron. Ron and Jean against Mal and Jenny. We played three-bowl pairs. Jenny said the carpet is about 16 years old. It was quick. Jean had shot and Mal took her out. He kept doing that! The trains went past every few minutes. Jenny said they were coal trains. Her son is a train driver. Each train has eight million dollars worth of coal. We didn't score - just had some fun. Mal finally opened the package with his Ipswich United Barflies shirt. He had to put it on straight away. Mount Larcom - a little bit of fun on the old carpet.

We arrived yesterday in Gladstone and ran around town to do some business. We found out the Gladstone Bowls Club is just a short walk from the showground where we're staying . We arrived Saturday to meet Brian at the desk. Jean didn't believe him when he told her he turned 90 this year. They had a big party. He's been married for 70 years. They named the top green after him . Brian introduced us to Frank who does the draw. Frank told Jean the club named Brian's green on his birthday. The club is small but nice and modern. When we dropped in last night to put names down it was packed. It's a services Club with a nice photo array on the wall. There are two nice greens. We played on Brian's green. The format is mostly mixed pairs. 2-4-2. Jean played with Brian and Iris (Iris, Jean and Brian) against Ged, Di and Phil Mal played with Tony but doesn't remember who he played against Jim and Terry. He didn't get any photos. Mal did ok. He took shot many times. Jean not so much. She drew shot once. Then again a couple of ends later to double our score. Jean's team was down 6 to 17, and Mal was down 5 to 12. We came inside for smoko with wraps. Jean promised Brian that after smoko she'd bowl well. Phil told Jean the members look after the greens themselves. Given that they are pretty good. Jean couldn't work out the grass though. Every now and then she put one in but it wasn't enough. Brian said to Jean "Three jack high bowls and we're still down! Next end Jean said to Brian "Up and back to go and I start bowling!" Jean asked Mal's skip if he was winning. He said "Yes, first time all game!" Then Mal got two. They won 20 to 13.. Jean's team lost 17 to 30 but it was a good comeback We came inside for presentations. They have a jackpot. Jean picked a card and it was the number two. It went off. $100 between four. Gladstone - Yes, but we had fun!