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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!

We arrived in Gympie yesterday but were too tired to go around the clubs. There's only two here but a few others within 30 minutes. Jean checked out her map and saw that Gympie Bowls Club has bowls Thursday morning with names in by 8:30. We set the alarm for seven. Mal rang and asked Peter to put our names down. We arrived at 8:30 to meet Peter and Robyn in the office. They charged $15 for the game. We thought that was expensive compared with what we've paid at other clubs. We sat and chatted with Heather and Dale who were visiting from Ulverstone in Tasmania. Ross Davies came and introduced himself and wished us a good time. The club has two very nice grass greens. We played on the outside green. There was a cute little trolley with all the green markings. Mal played second with skip Judy and Les against Logan, Heather and Geoff. (Geoff, Heather and Logan) Jean played lead for Jenny with Daphne. (Jenny, Jean and Daphne) against Keith, Dale and Geoff. There were four games of three-bowl triples. Jean handled the grass green pretty well and scored shot most ends (except for a wrong bias). After a rough start Mal started to work it out. Jean's game was close. Only a couple of shots in it the whole game. On end 14 Jenny's team was three down. Dale rolled T-to-T. Jean surprised herself and got shot. Daphne did one better for two. Alas though the end was lost to a lucky wick. They won end after end after end. Last end Jean and Daphne did well but it wasn't enough. Lost by nine. Mal's team got a six, a five and a three but lost by five. The players didn't sit together - they all took off. They are short for The President's Cup on Sunday so Mal volunteered to play. Gympie - not much to report really.

We arrived in Maryborough Sunday morning. We set up the van and drove around to the three clubs. We went first to Doon Villa. A bloke was just locking up. We went then to Maryborough Bowls Club. They had lots of young people playing pool and Barefoot Bowls so we left there. We came to Maryborough Services Memorial Bowls Club. We walked in and Selina from Mundubbera came up to say gidday and invite us to her table. Selina was there for a carnival with Barry two foot. We arrived just in time for presentations. We saw shirts there from about 20 different clubs. We went outside for a rollup on the grass. They have two greens - one grass and one synthetic. We rolled up on the grass. After three ends Jean had Mal 3 to 1. Then he got a full count. Jean gave up after that. We liked the low headroom to the bowls area. Maryborough Services Memorial Bowls Club - good to see some friends.

When we arrived in Hervey Bay last Thursday we drove around all the clubs nearby and put our names down the following week for Burrum Heads. We arrived at the club at 11:30 for 12:30. Max rang us while we were on our way to tell us we had a game. We met him in the office when we arrived. The renovation was opened by a politician. The club is nice and modern. The club has a lovely outdoor area. We sat for a while and chatted with Barry and Dave. Terry came and sold Mal some raffle tickets. There's an interesting sculpture garden at the caretaker's cottage. The club has two oldish synthetic greens. One is closed for maintenance. It has a bit of wear and tear. They have those roll out covers. We played on the far green It's the John & Sylvia Redman Green. It's pairs. Weplayed together against Bill and Frank. There were 5 rinks. It was a tough green. Really fast like Weston Creek. Jean worked out the backhand was best on the wide side and got three. Then she pushed the kitty over. Mal disregarded her good work and got cross. We still had two! Mal called Jean to take out one of their two shots. She took out both for shot then drew another. He was happy then. It was a close game all the way through. We had three with most of the opposition on the bank. Then Frank drew a pearler for shot to make it 12 to seven our way on the tenth end. Bill put a bowl on the kitty and said to Jean "Take a photo of that. It's the best I've done all day. Frank drew one better. Then Mal gave them three. Jackie the Ladies' Secretary came and introduced herself. It was 19 all on the eighteenth end. Mal got three and Jean got one. We won 23 to 21. We came inside for drinks. Frank told us we must go to Bribie Island. We'll do that. Graham introduced us and told everyone about our trip. Burrum Heads - We only just won.

We drove around Hervey Bay when we got here on Thursday and put our names down for Tuesday at Urangan. Urangan has two nice carpet greens under solid cover. It's a nice modern clubhouse. Nice inside. It has a special display of all the sponsors. The bar says it's the friendliest club. We met Brownie who organised the game. Jean then sat and chatted for a while with Joe who came from Perth. Apparently he used to bowl there with Peter Wright who Jean met later. Brownie introduced us and told everyone about our trip. It was pairs so we got to play together. There were quite a few players. It was pairs but they had an extra team so one game of triples. We played on the far green. It's the Memorial Green. We played against Peter (black shirt) and his friend whose name Jean forgot. He wasn't very talkative but Jean thought he was nice. Gave her lots of information about the club. Jean (being obsessive compulsive) liked the fact that all the bowls were blue except her red ones. During the game, Jean met Peter Wright and Ted. Peter kept stopping through the game to tell Jean all about the great clubs they have over in WA. He said he'd bowled at all of them. We had a pretty tight game. Mal and Jean both bowled really well. Jean got shot most ends. She would walk up to the head to see her bowl on the kitty. Mal bowled exceptionally well. So many tines down multiple mal played weight to save the day. One end, Jean went to the bar and we were three down. When she got back we had one up. she queried Mal and he said "I did a pinball bowl". The other lead said "It was a heartbreak bowl!" Mal and Jean won twelve ends but it was all ones. We lost 18 to 12. We went inside afterwards for drinks. We had a nice chat with the boys. Urangan - we nearly won!

We went to visit Jean's cousin John Hamilton who lives across the road from Hervey Bay Bowls Club. He wasn't there so we went to the club for a drink. The clubhouse is nice. It has a whale mural on the wall. There were lots of people with uniforms on. The Hervey Bay shirt has a whale on it. There were players here from other clubs around. George said "Are you looking for a game of bowls? We're missing one." Mal jumped at the chance!. The club has three nice synthetic greens, all under cover. They had 78 people so they were on two greens. They charge for a rollup - we guess to pay off the greens and covers. Mal played on the middle green. George said they pulled the covers over at 6am. The sun slows it down so it's quicker in the shade. They were about to start. Mal had to race back to the car to get his bowls. It was three-bowl triples. Mal played second with lead George and skip Terry (Terry, George and Mal) against Skip Col, Graham and Ernie. (George, Mal, Earnie and Graham) (Skips Col and Terry) Jean sat and watched while she waited for John to come home. It took Mal a few ends to get used to the green. It ran about fifteen seconds. Once he worked it out he bowled well. They were a long way behind after the opposition got a six. Mal finally got shot. Mal's team got a five which put them three behind. Then they got a four and won. They went inside after 13 ends for sandwiches. Col said "When we did have shot, a certain Parramattaite took it off us!"⁸ They have seven club badge holders on the wall with badges from everywhere. Second game Mal played Peter, Peter and Nev. Peter 2 is the President of the club. They were only a couple down after seven ends. Mal gave Terry instructions but he had to change hands. It didn't work. They went down that end. Last end the opposition needed four to win. They got one. Mal's team was a two-game winner. We went inside for results and raffles. No wins there but lovely company and good chats. Hervey Bay - a lucky draw for Mal!

We drove around Hervey Bay region to see when they play. We put our names down at Burrum Heads We couldn't find where to put our names down at Burgowan so had a short rollup instead. The parking area took a bit of navigation. It seems to be a Men's club though does have a Ladies Day. The clubhouse looks ok but we had our noses pressed against the door. Nobody home on a Saturday which seems strange becaus it says they have social. The club has just one nice synthetic green under cover. The Roy Rowston and Tiger Pollard Green. A sign said it was new and state-of-the-art. The surface was carpet but very nice. It has wind barriers to the side. The corners have an Aussie flag in an old bowl. The scoreboards look home made. Jean nailed the grass and weight. She seems to be improving on synthetic. Mal bowled short and narrow mostly. Twice he got shot and Jean took him out. On the second last end Mal had two shots. Jean took her last unsuccessful bowl back and drove. She took out the kitty for three. Mal got two on the last end. Jean won but we didn't keep the score because she cheated. Let's call it a draw! As we left we noticed the owls in the outdoor area. We guessed they have trouble with bird droppings. Let's scare the birds at Burgowan.