Search Results

When we were In Maleny yesterday Joseph told us we could get a Saturday game at Mapleton. Jean got on Messenger and talked with Mark. Mal rang and spoke to Ed to get our names down for 12:30. We met Ed at the bar. Then Mark came and introduced himself. Jean sat and chatted with Ros. She's from Canberra. She lived in Farrer. The club has one grass green. When we arrived the paid greenkeeper was rolling it. They have fixed scoreboards. The clubhouse is nice and cosy. There were six teams, four pairs and two triples. Pairs played each other and swapped after one game. Triples played each other both games. Jean played with Jeff. Against Martin and Ray. Mal played with Sandra. Against Martin and Graham. We loved Martins moustache! Jean liked the Pennants the club has won. Even though it rained the whole time we played, Jean and Jeff played well. Jean wasn't that close but often it was enough. Jeff and Mal both won so we played each other. It was spouses against spouses. Jeff and Jean kept getting shot and Mal kept taking it from us. Mal and Sandra were going up by ones. Jeff and Jean got zip. Jean thought they'd have to do a nudie run. Then Jeff and Jean got a shot then a multiple and got a bit of confidence. Mal said "The turning point was when you got that 3-bowl wick shot!" Jean was shocked when she asked Jeff the result. Jean and Jeff won 12 to 5. We came inside for drinks and results. (Mal, Jeff, Sandra and Jean) The winners had 30 shots. We didn't care - we had a lovely time. To top it off, one of the ladies gave Jean some chocolates for being a visitor. Mapleton - rain, rain, rain but fun!

We arrived at Maleny Friday morning from Maroochydore. Mal had rung Thursday to discover they play bowls today. When we arrived Joseph welcomed us and told us about other clubs we can play at in the area. We're told he's having heart surgery next week so we wish him well. Mal paid the money to Brett at the bar. Mal bought two badges. Brett told him they had 70 of them. They had a group of American tourists come and the bought the lot. They ordered 200 so they have heaps now. Brett said the local Publican in the 30s had a rink in the yard. He owned all the land and eventually built a couple of greens next door. The bowls club grew and the Publican gave them a 100-year lease. They ended up owning the land in 1955 for very little money. The publican's descendants are still involved with the club. The club has one synthetic green. It's the WHR Burnett Green - named after the Publican. The green is kind of plastic. We haven't played on that surface before. There's a nice memorial in the garden. Then Jean met Alan the Games Director. He said the club just spent $6,000 to refurbish the green. The game is Scroungers. Three games with three people who play with four bowls and Jean's group of four played with thrèe bowls. We score closest 3 then 2 and 1. Brett told Jean if anyone scores a full count they get a chocolate. Mal played against Ben and Les. (Les, Ben and Mal) Jean had Kay, Rob and Brett. (Brett, Kay, Rob and Jean) The radio station played 70's music in the background. It was great. Jean couldn't work out the weight. She said "It feels weird!" Mal did a little better. He scored three many times. The game was very relaxed and friendly. Jean got excited because she thought she had shot and a 3. Alas it was Brett. Mal got second and third. He said he loved playing with his new XGs. He said "A few times I had muscle memory of my Aero Optimas and missed the shot." Jean finally got shot. She rolled her short end. She got shot but, as usual Brett took it. She said if he did it again she'd swear at him. Jean got the mat again she thought she was going to get a chocolate but Rob snuck in. Gay stepped out because her knee was bothering her. Jean came third! Mal won. He said to Jean " I can bowl you know!" Brett told Jean the club celebrated its 85th birthday last year. They got out some old photos. They came inside for drinks. They have a draw. Everyone who plays gets a ticket. Jean got asked to draw. She said she gets asked everywhere she goes. She suggested Mal do it. He tried to pull his number '5'but pulled Jeans. Jean won $50 at the local brewery and restaurant. Dinner sorted! Mal won the day with 47. He got a bottle of wine. We went to Brouhaha to spend our winnings. We met some bowlers who were there to run the raffle for the club. (Don, Ben, Margaret and Mal) They were such lovely, friendly people. We will miss them! Maleny - We Scrounged out a win.

Someone from the club told Jean Nambour Bowls Club plays Bowls Wednesday afternoon. We couldn't get anyone to answer the phone on Monday and Tuesday. Mal rang at 11 but was told they have already done the draw so we couldn't get a game. John said he'd look after us for a rollup. It was Lara and Ararat all over. There's no way to contact the club beforehand to get our names down because nobody is home! Jean was told one could leave a message but the phone just rang out. We arrive early but can't get a game. We suspect no visitors ever come here. We arrived at 11:30 for our rollup to meet John. (John and Mal) John told us they were going to roll the green first for their game so we went inside for a drink. Jean bought a badge for $2. We sat and chatted with Slatts. He and Mal told each other their golf stories. The club has two nice-looking grass greens. The Croquet Club is next door. Jean loved the display of Pennants. There were no roses (too hot) but nice yellow flowers. They were playing a social game - we couldn't join them - but we rolled up next door. Mal got his new XGs out. First rollup with them. Jean took first blood with three Then Mal got a one. Then he remembered how to bowl with XGs. It was quicker than we thought, then Jean worked it out - "Less backswing!" Jean practised driving without much success. Jean gave up - Mal went up and back. Nambour Bowls Club - no visitors welcome here!

We popped in to Mooloolaba the other day, when we went to visit Erin Redfern, to put our names down For Friday. Mal got a call to say they were full. We put out names down for Tuesday 8:30. We arrived at 8am to meet Errol and Trevor at the table. There were already lots of people there. The club has two nice-looking synthetic greens under cover. And an old grass green out the front. We played on the right hand green. It's that flat carpet a bit like Weston Creek (only better quality). It's just as quick - 21 seconds! There are nice memorials on the seats. The game was pairs - 2-4-2. We played together against Grahame and Rick. (Mal, Grahame and Rick) It was tough to start with but we worked it out. Jean then bowled out a metre past the next rink number, just missed the neighbouring head, and took kitty off the T for shot. It was 7 all on the 9th end (of 12). Mal bowled a sticky first bowl to give us one. Then he put another on it. Next end Jean got two then Rick took second then Mal took it back for two. Last end Mal put down two beauties. We won by one. We went inside for tea and bickies. Jean had to put money in the wrong bias tin. These places with expensive green covers have to grab their money back somehow we guess. Gail came and introduced herself. She lived in Canberra 38 years and played hockey with bowler Lois Walters. Our second game we played Peter and Mark. They are good bowlers here to get a feel for the green for a championship. We got three. Jean had to take a photo before we lost them! We got a seven then they got a five. Jean and Mark had a great chat about the downfalls of the new rules and bad behaviour like that of the Tuggeranong Women's Bowling Club. We were five down and Jean drew shot. Mal said "Have to get a photo of that!" Three drives later we went down two. The final score was 30 to ten - not us! But we had a ball! We came inside to commiserate and talk about the lack of a narrow hand. While we were playing Jean told Grahame about when we got our bowls stolen and how much Mal misses his XGs. He said "Why don't you trade them in?" Jean asked where he'd do that Grahame said "Here. See Paul at Bowlers Paradise!" Jean went in and did a big sell job about size 5 with Parramatta logo. We got a set of XGs for $335 with trade in. (Paul Bowlers Paradise) Mal cried with sadness over the loss of his Eels logo then cried with happiness that he now has XGs. Mooloolaba- they tested us, we came to the party but they were too good for us.

When we were at Club Maroochy the other day we put our names down for Monday 2pm. We arrived nice and early. The other day we were impressed with their three nice grass greens that the State Fours were played on. In the office we met Col, Carolyn and Dan. (Carolyn, Dan and Col) We played on the front green By the deck but there were people playing on all three greens. The club is smallish but has pokies so doesn't have that nice little bowling club feel. The game was 2-4-2 pairs. We played together. It was purple day. Clubs around here seem to like uniforms so Jean wore Mal's Geelong City shirt for the right colour. Glenn, who is visiting from Brisbane took our photo so we took his with his dog Ralph. We sat on the deck for a drink while we waited. Mal read Ian Smith's email which said all Tuggeranong Pennant grades bar the Ones got into the semis. He was happy. He really misses playing with them. Brian and Jo came and sat with us and we talked about our pussy-cats. We played against Peter and Anne. We just couldn't get the weight. Jean took to driving all she did was cut them down. After six ends it was 1 to 15. Jean finally got two but they didn't last. Suddenly Mal got two and we were off. We'd worked out the weight. And again. We lost by fifteen but we thought we were going to get a nice, thick coat of clear paint! We didn't embarrass ourselves. They were good bowlers and we took too long to work it out. We came inside for drinks. Col welcomed us. We had a good chat. Club Maroochy - we almost got shellacked!

We're trying to get a game every day while on the Sunshine Coast. We saw that Nambour Heights has Barefoot Bowls on Sunday arvo. We don't really like that but a game is better than a rollup! The club, (known as 'The Heights ') has one nice-looking, unnamed grass green. We arrived at 2:30 for 3pm. There were only a few people there. We met Brett at the table. There was a nice outdoor area adjacent to the clubhouse. Someone from the club told Jean on Messenger Sunday afternoon is known as 'Mikey's Chook Run'. Brett asked Jean about our trip. He said "You'll like Nambour Heights!" Mal sat and chatted with Peter for a while. It was all pretty relaxed. They all seemed like friends The scoreboards are donated. There were two games. One triples and Mal and I played each other as skips in a game of fours. It was just twelve ends. Jean's team was Garry, Pete and Kev. (Jean, Pete, Garry and Kev) Mal's was Sheryl, Geordie and Gayle. Brett replaced Gayle later in the game. (Sheryl, Geordie, Mal and Gayle) The music was fantastic. 70s rock! They allow drinks on the green which is unusual. There seemed to be more onlookers than players. Lots of heckling. Jean and her team played particularly well. If the team was down Jean would come in and take shot. She enjoyed playing skip for a change. Mal on the other hand couldn't work out the green. A nice change for Jean. Jean's team won by thirteen. We came inside for drinks and raffles. Jean's team had a plus 13 which would usually be enough to win a chook but were pipped by the triples at 16. Brett introduced us. They gave us some stubby holders to remember our visit to Nambour Heights. Lucky, because the skip had to wear the Cock Hat (for the top cock). Nambour Heights - hugs and kisses all around!

Jean chatted on Messenger with Darren, President of Buderim Bowls Club. He told her to go online and book. She went to the website and got Mal's name down to play with the boys on Saturday. Even though she misses out, Jean likes it when Mal gets bloke time. He misses his Tuggeranong boys. We arrived nice and early. There was a bit of a line-up. We met Bill Connor who took the money. Mal's name was down (whew). The club is nice with a good atmosphere - no pokies! There's a relaxing outdoor area by the green. We sat down for a chat with Jock and the boys about the pros and cons of the new rules - especially stopping a bowl going in the ditch. We met President Darren. He told us about what happened in The Sides recently. A team was 80 shots up and on top of the ladder.. Their player stopped a bowl going in the ditch. The opposition appealed and the team defaulted. They dropped to third. Darren told us the club is going through amalgamation with the women's club. (Darren and Mal) The club has two synthetic greens - the good carpet kind with fabric covers. Mal was to play on the front green - the Ted Field Green. They then pulled the cover over. Mal played lead for skip Jock with Cameron. (Jock, Mal and Cameron) against Oggy, Dennis and Richard. They have a nice maroon and white shirt. It was two-bowl triples. Just one game. There were six of the seven rinks. It took Mal a few ends to get the weight but then he was back to his usual form with a toucher and shot. Jean knows well that when you lead, shots don't last long. Jean was watching and listening to the great 70s country and rock music while she waited for her sister Alison to arrive. (Alison and daughter Joelle) Jean went in to get Mal a beer and saw the great bowls clock. Mal's team bowled well. A shot each on the kitty. Finally Mal got to keep shot bowl! Mal's teammate Cameron put down two beauties. Mal said to Jean "Take a photo of that. It'll go viral!" They came in for drinks, bickies and announcements at half time. The bell rang and they went back out. The opposition skip said. "Come on boys, last end and it's 26-25. One in it!" The opposition had three. Mal's team went down four and lost the game. After the game Mal was excited. "You were inside with your sister and you didn't see me take the kitty seven ends in a row!" At the end we came in for drinks and raffles. Mal won nothing but he said he had a great day. Nice male company. Buderim - a good day for Mal with the men!

We drove yesterday to Headland and to Club Maroochy to watch the state Women's Fours. While we were at Headland we put our names down. We arrived and met Ken and Alvin in the office. The members were immediately friendly and asked us about our trip. Jean sat and chatted with some ladies. (Jan life member, Carol (President), Jan ( Jack-of-all-trades) Julie and Georgina) Then she had a lovely talk with Norma. We struck up a conversation with Marie and Ray. Marie used to live in Weston so loved Jean's club shirt. The club has an interesting history. It was opened in 1985 by founding President Syd Lingard who the road outside is named after. Apparently there was another club 'Pacific Paradise. That club has some financial anomalies and was about to go under. The two clubs joined but they still do many things separately. It's now the Headland Pacific Club. It was three-bowl triples. Two games of twelve ends. We played on the MacDonald/Turnbull green. They have unusual rink markers. We played together. Jean was lead and Mal with skip Alvin Against Margaret (lead), Marie and skip Ray. (Margaret, Mal and Marie) There were five rinks. Jean thought the skips were similar. (Alvin and Ray) Jean and Mal bowled well and often got shots. Very often it didn't last. Several times we went from 5 or 6 up to one down. This time we got four. Jean got in trouble because she was working on this blog post on her phone and was nine seconds late to bowl. Shame on Jean! Jean thought we were losing. She was shocked to find we won 16 to 8. We came inside for drinks and bickies. Second game we played against lead Georgina, skip Ken and Mabelle. (Georgina, Ken and Mabelle) We bowled really well but it didn't matter.. On the last end we had five second shots. All our skip had to do is play backhand to take out shot. He played forehand. We lost by three. Anyway, it was a fun game. We came inside for presentations. They draw runner-up Lead, second and skip then Winners from a barrel. We didn't win but Alvin welcomed us. Headland Pacific - a win and a close loss for us.

When we were at Gympie for Mal's Fours tournament on Sunday we met John who said he'd put out names down at Pomona for Wednesday morning. We took off from Gympie early with the caravan. We met Pat. Mal chatted with him about bowls and being an Air Force brat. It's ladies day. Pat said he's usually the only bloke. The club has one lovely grass green. When we arrived it was being rolled. They have a paid greenkeeper. The green looks lovely. It's the R (Bob) Tompkins Green. The green has a pull-over cover. Unusual for a grass green. With a nice memorial seat. Jean went and chatted with the ladies. She met Gaye, Jocelyn and Linda. John turned up a little later. He showed us the new club shirt in Parramatta colours. Mal will definitely want one. We came inside to "The Table of Wisdom" to pay our green fees. It's usually $15 with lunch but the Providore is at a carnival in Maroochydore today so only $10 and no lunch for us.. Wednesday is organised by the ladies. Desley sorted us out. It's a cute little club. It was two-bowl triples. There were 12 of us so two games plus a singles championship. They pulled the cover over. Jean played second for Linda with Debbie Against skip Jennie, lead Cubbie and Elizabeth. (Elizabeth, Jennie and Cubbie) Mal played skip for Lead Desley and Denise (Desley, Mal and Denise) Against skip Gaye, Pat and Yvonne. (Yvonee, Gaye and Pat) Cubbie said her partner's ashes are buried by the green. Elizabeth said the green was fast. Jean didn't think so. She found it hard to get the weight but got it eventually. Mal was having a good game. Except he said "I have to stop hitting their bowls up!" Linda's team was down by a lot. Jean said "We have to get some multiples." The team finally got a four but Jennie took second shot. Linda came in and saved the day for three. Towards the end Jean started to improve but Jennie was just too good. Jean said "I can't leave any space between the bowl and jack!" On his last bowl of the game Mal did a perfect draw for shot. We both lost though. Doesn't matter, the weather was lovely. Pomona - beautiful weather and nice company.

Jean's been corresponding via Messenger with someone from Kilkivan Bowls Club. She got her name down for Sunday while Mal played in the Gympie President's Day. She dropped Mal off at Gympie Bowls Club at 8:45. There were lots of players there from many clubs. Mal found out he was to play with the Kilkivan team. Jean met a bloke from Pomona who will put our names down for Wednesday . In the carpark she spied her first Cane Toad. She was worried because she thought the Kilkivan game started at 1pm and it took longer to get there than she thought. She arrived at 12:40 to meet Warren who said it's 1:30. She was relieved . Then Anne and Errol arrived. The guys told Jean the town name is pronounced "Kilk-ivan" like the name. Jean thought the club was nice. Small but inviting. The outside seemed friendly. The club has one ten year old synthetic which has good speed. The carpet is pretty worn but ok. It has a bird guarding it. They have one of those cute little trolley with the mats, jack and markers. There were only a few people there. We had one game of triples. Ashley and Warren skipped. Paul and Jean played with Ashley and Helena and Errol played with Warren. Helena didn't want her photo taken. We respect that. Paul and Helena are new bowlers. (Paul and Jean) Ashley's team won the first end. Paul and Jean had two until Warren stole it with a great draw bowl. It happened again the same way. Even so, we got a five which put us up 12 to 3. We bowled ok but our skip Ashley just kept putting bowls in the head. What a bowler! Jean thought she bowled well. It was only Paul's third game. He played really well but got annoyed (with a smile) when Jean (his teammate) got closer. Mal rang about4 to say he was finished. Jean told Ashley and the skips agreed to finish at 15. We won by a lot - 28 to 5. Jean didn't have time to stay for drinks. Ashley gave her a badge to remember them by. Pride of place next to Malden on her hat! Kilkivan - a little game with lots of fun.

So Jean's been communicating via Messenger with Tina from Imbil Community and Sports Club (who's overseas at the moment) trying to arrange a rollup for us on the one grass green. Tina said if we turn up Thursday, Friday or Saturday there'd be people there and we could even get food. We came at 3:30. The sign said they were open from 11 on a Saturday. Nobody was home. The club is situated with Yabba Creek (in The Mary Valley) at the back. Quite nice. It has a pleasant verandah which overlooks the creek. We couldn't get in (didn't try) but took a photo from outside. The club is quite quaint. The shades seem to be up all the time. It has a little weather shed off to the side. Jean took a walk round the back and found a mat and jacks. Now for the green...it looked like it hasn't been mown for days. We threw down the jack - it took some muscle. All our bowls were short. After a while we got the hang of it. On the fourth end Jean asked Mal "Had enough?" Mal said "Yes! This is doing my head in!" Mal put the mat and jacks back. It's a pretty little town with a nice little clubhouse. We figured they were all volunteers - hence the state of the green. Imbil - it's a shame, we'd like to have seen more.

After we played at Gympie on Thursday we dropped in to The Albert to see if we could get our names down. The club was closed but we met Steve the Greenkeeper who opened the club for us to put our names on the list. Steve has done a good job. The club has two nice grass greens. It's been around a long time. At the bar we met Mark and Rick - who organises the day. Rick told us about the format which is four-bowl pairs - two games of twelve ends. Jean wore her uniform because a lot of clubs around here seem to like it. Steve came and introduced himself. He asked "Where is Weston Creek Wildcats?" Jean explained. We played on the far green. It has one of those pull-over shades. Inside we met Pam who is the Mum of Canberra Bowling Club champ Jamie Reynolds. She was with Lorraine who told Jean about a few clubs that have camping. The club is small but cosy. It has a friendly feel. The members wear two shirts - the old blue and maroon one and the new white one. Mal and Jean played together. First game was against Lorraine and Bruce. We found it a bit tough at first. Our bowls went wide. Mal struggled with his on-shots and we needed them. We were even to begin with then they got a few fours on us. We caught up with a five on the second last end to put us two behind. We had two then Bruce drew a perfect shot for the end and the game. We came inside for afternoon tea. It was damper, jam and cream; and chocolate cake - made by the ladies. Second game was against Pam and Mike. Pam told us she got her bowls from Mark Casey who's a friend of Jamie's. We weren't hopeful! (Mike, Pam and Mal) Towards the end, Pam drew a close one then Jean drew closer. Jean felt she bowled pretty well in the game. Mal has had better days - though he did do a few good draw bowls. We lost by a lot then came inside for drinks and raffles. Mike showed us a calendar with shots of the 2022 flood. The club is the grey building - completely under water. This is the sports pavillion next door - how it looks when not in flood. Percy at the bar thanked us for coming and wished us well in our travels. The Albert - it's OK to lose if you have fun!