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Yesterday when we were at Kingscliff Beach we asked Terry again where we should play Wednesday. He suggested South Tweed and pointed to Dave, in the South Tweed shirt. Dave called the number on his phone for Jean to get our names down. We arrived 8:20 for a 9am start. There were already a few people there. We met Peter in the office. Jean stole his pen then brought it back. He came out and gave her a club pen. They are 'The Sharks'. It's on their Pennants stickers. And the seats. The club has three nice greens that were being rolled as we arrived. Mal thought he could get a beer. Alas, no. Mal played lead for our mate Dave who we met yesterday. Against Jean and Kim. We played on the Jack Bishop Green out the front. It's a nice-looking grass green. Jean's bowls and Kim's grey bowls started out well. Then Mal took over. Jean went crook on Mal for stealing her shot bowl. Jean and Kim were down lots and Jean put in a perfectly positioned bowl. Alas, Kim accidentally took it out. Went down six! Mal threw a long end. Kim asked Jean "Why do you do short ends when you play long ends like that?" It was a tight game. Jean and Kim were ahead for a long time then Dave And Mal got a six. Dave played some very tricky bowls but Jean bowled exceptionally well and Kim was on the money. Kim and Jean got up 23 to 17. We won 13 ends but that's not enough to win. We came inside for drinks and thanked our skips for fantastic bowls. (Dave, Jean, Mal and Kim) The bowls area is nice. There's a nice memorial to a former member. Peter did presentations. He mentioned our trip and wished us well. Jean and Kim were two points off the money. South Tweed - yay! Jean beat Mal.

When we were at Cabarita Beach yesterday Terry told us he's a member at Kingscliff Beach and he rang Jenny to get our names down for 9am pairs. It's a big (long) club and its nice inside. Mal stood and looked out over The Pacific . The club has three beautiful greens that were being rolled as we arrived. There's also a memorial garden. When we arrived we met Jenny in the office who explained the format. We told her about our trip. Then we met Dave from Jean's club Weston Creek. We played together - pairs again (yay!) We played on two different greens We played first game against Bob and Jennifer. Jean was having so much fun she forgot to take photos of our good bowls. Despitethe photo we won 19 to 1. Second game was on the Artie Booth green. We played Barry and Laurel. They were tougher competition. Barry is Games Director at Cabarita who Jean spoke with by phone yesterday. We bowled well but they bowled better. Mal bowled like a champion. To use a Malism, he "Bowled like a man repossessed ". So many times they had several shots. Mal came in and drew beautifully or drove them out. Jean said "You were the star today!" Jean struggled a little with weight, nevertheless she bowled consistently. We lost the game but won on ends 6 to 5. Not enough to win the money! Kingscliff Beach - we tried our best.

We left Jean's niece Melanie's place in Tyalgum this morning. We arrived at Chindera and Jean immediately rang Cabarita Beach Bowls Club to get a game. The guy she spoke to said we were an odd team but that he'd ring back if he could get another team. 5 minutes later he did. We arrived and Ken at the desk took our money. Barry looked after the cards with Terry and Laurie. (Terry, Laurie and Barry) There seems to be a Services relationship The clubhouse is a decent size With a nice outdoor area by the green. There are three lovely grass greens. We played on rink 2 on the Barry Murnane Green Behind the clubhouse. We played together against Terry and Laurie who we met earlier. Laurie wore a shirt from Lismore that they sold to raise money after the floods. Terry and Laurie were good bowlers. We often had shot but they drove it off us. It was fun (though frustrating). Mal did a drive way out wide. Jean lost interest after that. "You can't make a mistake like that when you play bowlers this good!" We dropped a five and lost 17 to 3. Ken asked Jean "Were they nice to you?" Jean replied "No!" He said "No, they never are." Jean said, "They were only not nice for bowling, in every other way they were very nice!" We went in downhearted at half time for tea and bickies. Mal had to ring the wrong bias bell. We started our next game against Tasmanians who were quite unfriendly. We didn't include their photo. We played ok, though the initial score didn't show it. We were down the whole game. President Bob came and introduced himself. We were way behind but won 12 to ten after we threw short ends and won the last five ends.. President Bob called that we weren't actually good enough to win but called Jean up to give her a club badge. Jean also won $20 in the money draw. Cabarita Beach - a new badge for Jean's hat.

Jean contacted Condong Bowls Club yesterday via Messenger to discover they have Saturday afternoon Bowls. She asked if they could put our names down. At the Tyalgum pub last night Jean told everyone we were going to play bowls at 'Condom'. They were easily amused. When we arrived at Condong we met Jim who took our money and informed us it might be pairs today. The sign out the front says "Home of 'The Crushers'". That's from the sugar cane crushing plant next door. It's a small club with paid bar staff. Their Bowls shirts have sugar cane on them - and their names. Ben told us it shows the route to the club. Mal chatted with Ben who had an injury and just got back in to bowls. Ben told us when he was a young bloke he got a world record for a 53 hour game of triples. They raised money for charity. They played on the front green - The JR Sam's green. Apparently he's still with us - in his 90s. They have a tournament named for him. The grass is a bit Patchy in parts. They have an innovative resolution. There's a third green, next to the sugar can pressing mill, that Ben said is "A bit rough ". Norm joined the conversation and pointed out to Jean that South was in the opposite direction to what she thought. Instead we played triples. Just two games. Most of the members were playing Singles on the other green. There were a lot of spectators. It was Leanne (Skinny), Matt (bar staffer) and Ben Against Jean, Norm and Mal. Jean noticed an old emblem on the wall. And the new one on the window. It was tough bowling. We were told it was slow so first end we were all in the ditch. As we went on we all got better - especially Mal. Leanne told Jean the club has no women bowlers. Jean found it hard to find the weight. On the fifteenth end Jean finally worked the weight out. Mal consolidated. End sixteen Jean breathed a sigh of relief. She got it. Norm was having trouble with his bowling arm so he threw it away and changed bowls to good effect. Jean said "Mal played this game all by himself!" The final score was 20 to 12. We won. We sat outside for drinks afterwards. Dave came up and told us about the floods here. He said "I'm the only one who's had a kayak on the green". Ben told us it's a worker's club. He said members did work to renovate the club. They did a good job. Jean liked that. Condong - I guess you can say they got crushed!

Jean's been in touch with Fiona via Messenger about today - triples at Mudgeeraba. (Mudgee-rah-bah). Fiona told us to park the van on the grass. We were 20 metres from the green. We were on our way to visit Jean's niece Melanie at Tyalgum. When we arrived we met Wendy and Chris at the table. We chatted for a while with Verna. They are the Jabirus after a beautiful indigenous bird. Pat showed us her Jabiru shirt with 'M' for Mudgeeraba. We put Jerome in his little house so he could see and hear us. He called us a bit. Jean played lead for Wendy and skip Chris. (Jean, Chris and Wendy) Against Laurie, Anne and Byron. Wednesday is run by the women, though it's mixed. It's three-bowl triples. Four rinks - 24 players - nine men. It's pretty easygoing. If someone bowls into the neighbouring head they get to bowl it again. The club has rwo very nice grass greens. We played on the outside green. There's a film crew parked next door. Green was quick. Jean threw a short end. Big mistake but she got shot. Third end they rolled it long and Jean got three. Jean asked Mal if he was bowling well. He answered short and sharp - "NO!" His team however told Jean he bowled brilliantly. That's how it looked to Jean. Jean checked out Byron's bowls. He bowls wit an arm but even when he didn't he bowled with sevens! We came inside for tea and bickies on end ten. Second half it was clear that Laurie and Jean; and Pat and Wendy were pretty evenly matched but Byron with his scary sevens outbowled Chris. Jean's team lost by heaps, so did Mal's because they dropped a six. Mal loved the characters. Frank his opposing second was very funny. "That bowl is a lawnmower!" (Cutting grass). We came inside for results. No wins but Jean got a new badge for her hat and Mal got a lovely cloth. Jean found a book about the club. Great photos. Tyalgum here we come. Mudgeeraba - a new badge for Jean's hat!

We haven't been to Canungra before. We drove up and down the mountain through beautiful scenery for Wednesday 'Paddle Pop Pairs'. First person we met was Bruce the Greens Manager. (Bruce and Mal) Then we met Wendy the Kitchen Manager who just passed her coaches course. They seem to be 'The Owls'. Ann told Jean Canungra is known by the local indigenous tribe as 'Valley of the Owls' The club had a man from the Show sculpt an owl for them. It's on the shirts. There's a lovely garden in the entryway With a memorial. There's also a nice succulent garden on the wall. The club has one grass green. It's beautiful. It looks and feels like carpet. It's a tiny little clubhouse. The bar has great paintings of bowlers In creams. And couple of old bowlers. Bruce took our $10. Jean played with Barry Against Caius from Dublin (in his 5th game) and David. Mal played with Joseph Against Russell and Ann. Jean worked the green out pretty quickly. As did Mal. Jean and Barry did very well. They won 20 to 3. Mal won 19 to 4. We went inside for a cuppa and to select a new paddle pop stick for a new partner and opponents. Jean got Barry again against Bruce and Russell. 2nd game Mal was right into it. Jean started well also. Jean took the kitty back from one to four. Russell took it back then Barry took him out for six. The opposition threw a long end. Jean drew to the T. Jean and Barry had another win. Mal drew. Ann asked Jean if she had a good time. She said "I always have a good time when I bowl well!' Canungra with the owls - we had a hoot!

We've played at Broadbeach before - for the Services Australia Sports Carnival - but not on this trip. Mal called and got our names down for Tuesday morning. We were looking forward to seeing Andrew Howie who works here but he tells us he's busy today at Helensvale. We've been told it would be tough here because all the big players play here on Tuesday. We arrived and met Tony and Lenny at the table. Mal posed with the Broadbeach Bull. There are four lovely greens. Three out the front And one out the side. Chris from Churchill in Victoria came over and chatted with us. He's playing in the Australian Open. He drew Aaron Sherrif first round. There were lots of people there. It's pairs. We played together. Against Neil and Christine from Queenstown in New Zealand. Christine plays for New Zealand in the over 60's. She once beat Karen Murphy in The Australian Open. They are here for that. There were players on all four greens. We played on the front green. It's the John Greening. It took Jean a few ends to work out the grass. Mal was onto it but she worked it out. We were surprised to be up by 15 to 2 and kept drawing shots. End ten Jean put the kitty in the ditch for one then Neil drew a beauty. We were doing well with the bull looking over us. Then they got a four and Mal started to panic. He played weight and missed instead of drawing (when he was drawing so well) and we went down six ends in a row. We were only one up. Mal pulled it together 2nd last end when we got a six. We ended up 26 to 17. We came inside, Neil and Christine didn't come in. We were early so we watched remaining bowlers for a while. Jean chatted briefly with champion bowler Ryan Bester (who's Canadian - been here 16 years) about Pat Bird who we played with the other day. Broadbeach - we won - lucky it's bowls not Rugby!

Jean's rang Club Musgrave early this morning to check we had our names down. They didn't seem sure. Apparently it's 'Friendship Club'. We told them we'd arrive 5 minutes before start. We arrived just in time to meet Kerry, Trish, Lyn, Gwen and Terry at the table and pay our $10. The club has three very nice grass greens. Mal skipped for Alan and Bill. (Mal, Alan and Bill) Against Sue, Rob and skip Jean. n Mal was on it first end. They have five flags. Australian, Qld, Indigenous, Torres Strait and Club Musgrave. They are mostly old people. Especially Bill who is 98! In whites. They don't measure on Monday so Bill got his bowling arm out. We had a couple of new bowlers in our teams so the pressure was on us. Mal has more skip shots than Jean. He won 17 to 15. We came inside for chips and raffles. Club Musgrave - bowls with the oldies.

We went to Gold Coast Bowls Club when we arrived on Monday. It was closed but we spoke with the greenkeeper. He told us they play on Saturday morning. Mal rang a couple of days later and put our names down. We arrived early - 9am for a ten o'clock start. There was nobody there at first, then we met Peter. Peter explained the club is being extended out to the piers where the outdoor area is currently. Then we met Avo (Peter) and Jacquie who organise the Saturday game. Avo manages the greens. Avo told us the club is not affiliated with Bowls QLD as nobody wants to travel for Pennants. Those that do are also members at Mermaid Beach. Jacquie told us Saturday morning is pretty easygoing. Sometimes people turn up who haven't played before. There's a nice barbecue area with a bar. Today it costs $20 each but we get a barbecue lunch. The club has two greens in use and an old one at the back used by the Croquet Club. We played on the front green. It's the Peter Shaw Snr No.1 Memorial Green. It's a little rough around the edges but looks ok. It's slow. The seats are donated. It's three games of three-bowl pairs and one of triples. Each player draws a card. Black play with each other against the same red (e.g.: Black Jacks play red jacks). They had nice 70's pop music playing on the radio. It was all very relaxed. Mal and Jason played together- red queens. (Jason and Mal) They played black queens Fieldsy (Brett) and John. Jean skipped triples with Jacquie and Merv (Jacquie, Merv and Jean) Against Skip Avo, Charlie and Alan. (Alan, Avo and Charlie) Jean struggled initially but Mal was all over it. Mal was up 15 to 4. Remarkably Jean got up by 3 on the 9th end to get ahead. Jean dropped a few then and lost by eight. We came in for the barbecue. (Charlie) Mal and Jason won the money by one shot. Gold Coast Bowls and Community Club - they say"everyone's a winner at the bowlo".

We arrived at Robina at 12 for a 12:30 start. We were worried we didn't have our names down. Clearly we'd rung because they had Jean as Dean McIntyre. The club is nice. Open plan with no pokies. Jean met a man outside who told her the club was going downhill. Helensvale club came in and took over and breathed new life into it. The club has three nice grass greens. There was a bloke trimming the impressive hedge sign. There were a few people. We played on two greens. There were eleven games. We played triples with skip John. (Mal, Jean and John) We played against Pat, Tom and Wayne. Pat is Pat Bird. He's Canadian and here to play in the World Champion of Champion Singles here at Robina in September. He's the Canadian Singles and Fours Champion. Jean was over the moon that two ends (of twenty) she out-bowled Pat. Mal played brilliantly. He often took out Pat's shot bowls. We dropped two sixes but managed to crawl back to 12-13 at half time. We went inside for drinks and raffles. Wayne looked after the raffles. When we came back out Jean said "I shouldn't have had a glass of wine!" Playing against a national champion got in Mal's head a bit - in a good way. He often took out Pat's shot bowls. We were two shots up on the fifteenth end of 21 Pat got the mat and rolled it really long. "Canadian tactics!" Jean said. It was lovely to watch Pat bowl. Jean gave him a good run for his money. Last end we needed three to win. We got one to go down one shot. Jean said "Bragging rights!" Robina - the Canadian experience!

When we arrived Monday we drove to Nerang Bowls Club (McKenzie Park) and put our names down for Thursday. We arrived nice and early. At the table we met the organiser Paul and John. It's a decent sized club with an outdoor area (for smoking we think (D.O.S.A.)), bistro and pokies. It seems to have a Scottish connection which pleased Jean. Apparently it's a bowls day where they have a piper on the green. They're 'The Highlanders'. There's tartan on the shirts. Jean had a tear 😢 in her eye. Someone did a painting. The club has two greens. One is grass and the other is that flat carpet. We played on the grass. The greens are decorated with nice flower pots. There is a lovely gnome garden. Instructions for rollups are pretty clear. The game is three-bowl triples. Two games of fourteen ends. There were 28 players, four triples and two pairs. We played together with skip Courtney. (Mal, Jean and Courtney) Against Pricey, Gary and skip Craig. Mal had grass and weight worked out. We bowled ok but the boys bowled better. It was 14 to 7 against us on the twelfth end. Jean finally scored two shots. We lost 9 to 16 but had a fun time with the guys. Second game we played skip Ray, Rob and Glynn. (Rob and Glynn) Ray was pretty cranky. He yelled at Jean because she was listening to someone talking and was late to bowl her first bowl. He was especially cross when Rob and Glynn bowled short. But he was over the moon when they came in and stole Jean's two shots. Fourth end Mal was heard to say "I can go home happy now, I finally got the weight!" Theo, who told Jean he's Swiss, came and gave us a present. It's a bowls scorecard holder he invented. It has a clear plastic rain cover and score paddles included. Our skip Courtney was a new bowler so she didn't have many skip shots in her arsenal but she saved the day a few times with nice accurate weighted shots. (Ray and Courtney) On end 7, Courtney drew two shots for a score of four! Rob was bowling really well. If Jean bowled close, he bowled closer. He also entertained us with a bit of singing and dancing on occasion. On end 13 of 14 we had two and they took shot. Courtney came in with a pearler and took four. It was now 14 to 13. We lost. They got three on the last end. We came inside for drinks and raffles. We didn't win anything but were pretty happy with the day we had. McKenzie Park at Nerang - "It's a broad bricht moonlit nicht tonich!"

When we drove around on Monday we got our names down at Benowa. We left Mal's number for them to ring us with information. The lady at the bar wasn't too sure of the time but told us 11am which we thought was odd. We arrived at 11:30. We got there and the club was closed. The sign said it opened at 1pm. Not sure why the bar lady would have told us 11 if she knew that. She reckons she tried to ring but Mal only had spam calls. We rang four times and left a message. Mal rang at 1pm to be told they were already out there. We were cranky but we decided to go for a rollup anyway. We were glad we did in the end. When we arrived there was just one pairs and one triples game. After we were there about 15 minutes one of the guys suggested we join the pairs game. The skips Jim and Tony were OK with it. We jumped in as seconds. Jim, John and Jean against Dot, Mal and Tony (Jean, Mal, Dot and John) And here are the skips. (Jim and Tony) The club has two greens, one is out. The club is quaint. It has a nice outdoor area. They are 'The Benowa Bees'. Jean asked John and Greg about the significance of the bees. They didn't know but said they used to be Wattle and changed to bees about 12 years ago. They said they think there was a beekeeper. Jean told John and Greg about how we gave mourners 🌻 seeds to plant for Dad's funeral and that she loves bees. They said "Then you came to the right place!" They said they are going to get bees painted on the green for The Australian Open. (Greg and John) It was pretty slow which suited Jean. Mal and Jean worked it out quickly. Jean lost the weight half way through but Mal was in there. With four ends to go, and (she thought) loads to catch up, Jean and John finally worked it out. Alas, lots of good bowls went down. In the end Jim accidentally gave it away. Jean got it wrong. She was shocked when she asked Jim the score. "Did we lose by lots?" Jim looked at her quizzically and said "We won 19 to 18!" Benowa - made it by the skin of our teeth!