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We stayed in Gulgong nearly a week so Jean could reminisce about her youth there. We only got two games though so are champing at the bit for a game today in the little town of Portland NSW. It's a cute little club with just one grass green. The EA Ted Corlis Green. The seats are donated which is nice. Our van was parked 20 steps from the green. They gave us power and water. There's a permanent Pennant scoreboard. We met Marie (who Jean's been corresponding with via Messenger). and Darryl who seems to be in charge. Then we met Dave who organised things. People started to arrive 15 minutes before 1pm. There was one game of Triples and one of pairs. It was Jean and nine blokes. Jean played lead for skip Dave with Barry. (Barry, Jean and Dave) Against Greg, John and Peter. Mal played lead for Kenny Against Brayden and Brendan. We were both down when we learnt how to play. Mal first Then Jean. Jean was doing ok. Mal did a beauty but knocked up Brayden's bowl. Jean and Barry kept getting five. They didn't usually last too long. But then Dave came and made it eight for twelve up. Poor Mal got paid back for his massive win at Gulgong. Dave's team on the other hand won 24 to 13. We came inside for drinks and post-mortem. Jean was happy with how she bowled, Mal was not. Brayden said "He bowled really well!" Mal replied "But someone kept taking my shots out!" Portland - the boys treated us very well!

We're in Gulgong for five days. Today is our last day. Jean went on Messenger to find out Mudgee Ladies play Tuesday morning. We got up bright and early. The club is part of 'Club Mudgee' but has its own identity. The clubhouse is really just an office And some lockers. But it has a nice outdoor area. With a bar. There's a funny little sculpture made from horse shoes. Jean met Helen and Leila from Match Committee. The club has two nice-looking grass greens. The bottom green was closed. We played on the top. Old bowls decorate the outdoor seating area. Leila looked at all the badges on Jean's hat. One of the ladies Bonnie asked "Do you have one of ours?" She got one. Jean put it next to Mudgeeraba. They were short again so Mal played second with skip (Mal forgot her name) Judy and Beverley. Against Pam, Lyndall and Helen And skip Sandra. Jean played lead for skip Bonnie with Kay (Bonnie, Jean and Kay) Against skip Rhonda, Margaret and Gail. The green was super quick. We started with a Spider and our bowls were way up the back. Good thing was that Leila said 2nd prize would be closest to Mal's bowl. Jean got that and won a torch. Jean found it hard to get the weight. When she did the opposition took it off. Finally on end 5 she got it. Mal towered over all the ladies. Jean waited for eleven ends to take a photo of Mal's good bowls. He said "I haven't done any!" He finally got two on end 16 - including a toucher. Then he did it again the next end! Jean took Kitty but it didn't last long. The skips said of Mal "The last few ends he's done beautiful bowls!" They won 26 to 12. Jean's team needed seven to win. It ended up 17 to 12. We came in for lunch and drinks. Mudgee Bowling Club - thanks ladies!

Gulgong is Jean's home town (high school years). We arrived here on Friday and Jean spent a couple of days reminiscing about her old home at the cop shop. We've been wandering around, rather than playing bowls so really looking forward to a game today. (Police Station Gulgong) This morning Mal overheard our neighbour in the Showground camping area talking on the phone about playing bowls. He went over to talk with him. His name's Michael and he's doing the same as us. He's in Gulgong today. (Michael and Mal) We arrived for bowls on Sunday and met Paul and Nick (not a bowler). Jean told Paul she was on a search for someone who remembered her Dad who was Police Sergeant in the 70's. He was a man on a mission - asking everyone how long they've lived here. It's a pretty little club. We had dinner here on Friday. First person Paul found was Neil Ryan who remembered Jean's Dad Roy "Kicking me up the butt!" He mentioned how Roy started basketball in the town and his team was 'Copp and Co' "We used to love playing the cops to get our own back!" The club has two greens. They look a bit iffy but roll well. Line is true. We played on the one in front of the clubhouse. There were 14 players so two games of pairs and one triples. We both played the pairs. Skip Debbie and Jean. Against Kel and Graham. Mal played with skip Tim Against Lesley (old chook) and Mary (old boiler). Tim is Debbie's son. It took Jean a couple of ends to work it out then she took out Graham's bowl for shot. Mal was doing ok as well. The kitty was near the ditch. Jean put one in the ditch first then drew to it. Mal next door was nailing it. It was evident in the final score 35 to 4! Jean and Debbie won too - 17 to 10. We came in for drinks. Mal and Tim won the money. Jean and Debbie talked away about all the people Jean went to school with, who Debbie knew, and where they were now. Greg was very interested in Jean's friend Debbie because he and his ex-services mates have found a grave from her family that needs fixing up. Jean gave him her number. Gulgong Bowling Club - a huge win for Mal and a little win for Jean

So Macquarie Club in Dubbo only has men on Thursday so Mal rang at 8:45 for a 9:30 game. The club is the old Dubbo Railway Club. At the table we met Bob, Turbo and Adam. (Bob, Adam and Turbo) The club has two grass greens But they are painted. They look nice. There are owls guarding. Apparently they are 'The River Rats'. So players had to choose a paddle pop stick according to the position they were to play. Mal selected Lead 12. It was skip Bob (though they played 2-4-2) and Mal Against Glenn and skip Vitt (Vittorio). Mal's first bowl was 4 metres heavy. 2nd end he almost worked it out. Jean had to walk back to the caravan to make Grandma Sadie's Tomato Relish. When she got back she asked Glenn if Mal had done any good bowls since she left. He said "Look at the score!" I guess the answer's Yes! First thing he did though was put two on the bank. She didn't believe it! Mal said "Gee I played some pearlers!" In the end Bob and Mal won 17 to 7. Bob gave us each a 'River Rats' cap. Macquarie Club Dubbo - Mal said "This is a club where I'd fit in really well!"

We came to Club Dubbo on Monday to put our names down. We arrived ten minutes before the 10am start. When we arrived the bowlers were all assembled. We met Bruce the vice chairman and Anthony the bowls coordinator at the table. It must be a Men's day because they put all the women together in a triples game while the men all played three-bowl pairs. Three other women played together. It was 11° and Jean was the only player in short sleeves. Jean played second in a two-bowl triples game with skip Gai and June. Against Liane, Pam and June. Mal played with opposing lead Ray. (Ray and Mal) For skip Bill against skip Glenn. (Glenn and Bill) Mal got the line and weight quickly they scored up early. After about eight ends Jean finally worked it out. The opposition had two purple and Jean took shot. In the end Mal lost by one, Jean lost by two. We came inside and Jean chatted to some of the women about her friend April who used to be a junior here. Brian and Judy remembered April. Club Dubbo - we both lost but we had fun and enjoyed the company.

We're only in Coonabarabran one night and, ordinarily would miss out on a game by one day. But we decided to play tomorrow arvo and arrive late in Dubbo. We initially came for a rollup (Jean won). Then Jean spoke to Donna on the bar who said she could take our names for a game tomorrow. We're so desperate for a game we agreed. Jean's sister Alison told her that her sister-in-law Karen works at the club. Donna told Jean she'd be in at 1pm so we stayed to meet her. Jean did her usual walk around to take photos and spied a thank you for Barry Wilkinson for his service. You wouldn't believe it but a few minutes later, who should walk over but Barry Wilkinson! He told us about his 46 years as greenkeeper and how when he retired the three greens were the best in the district. He enjoyed his time there. He said there are not many bowling members left. Barry introduced us to Justin the new greenkeeper who was mowing when we arrived. One green is fallow. There are three in total. We rolled up then played on the back green - number 3. We came back Sunday arvo for our game. Tony organised things. We played on different rinks. Jean played with Levi and Dean (Jean, Dean and Levi) Against Matthew, Paul and Sam, (who plays for NSW Under 18's). Mal played skip for Liz and Vince. Against Steph, Glenn and skip Tony. (Glen, Vince and Steph) Mal and Tony enjoyed skipping together. We loved the 80s music in the background. The rollups helped. Jean nailed the weight. The club shirts are reminiscent of nearby Siding Springs Observatory. Mal's rollups worked well for him as well. Jean was happy with how she played. Then Mal came in for three for his team. Mal got hat off from his second for shot and three for the team. The whole game we had hecklers Rachel and Carol to entertain us. Mal's team won 19 to 6. Jean didn't pay attention to her team's score but it was also a win, something like 17 to 8. Dean said he'd try to send Jean a club badge Coonabarabran - so grateful for the game and great company!

We didn't have this club on our list. It was only when we went to Dubbo City and found it permanently closed that Jean did some research and found it. We drove over to find there's ladies bowls on Tuesday morning. Jean met Beryl and Judy and put her name down. They introduced her to Carmen the bowls coordinator. We arrived on Tuesday and met Vicki and Julie in the office. They are stand ins today because most of the women are playing at Narromine. (Julie and Vicky) They introduced Jean to all the women. There were two games of three-bowl triples with one short. They decided Jean would be skip so she drew a skip stick. The club has two synthetic greens The plastic kind.! It's super quick. There's a nice outdoor area. The men are known as 'The Rhinos' Jean played with Sue and Vicky (Sue, Nicki and Jean) Against Di, Ruby and Veronica The green was soooooo fast. It took Jean eight ends to get the weight. She put in a pearler then Ruby came in and took it off her. We had a mix up with our caravan park. We'd booked and paid but stayed two nights at the wrong park. Mal had to hang around to move if the Dubbo Discovery Park gave us our money back. They rang and said they won't. We decided to stay where we are. All we got was a credit for our unused three nights. When we told Joy the caretaker what happened, she didn't charge us for our first two nights. We gave her rave reviews on Wikicamps. They were one short so after we sorted out the caravan park Mal came and played with the ladies. Mal played with skip Julie with Chris against Mary, Helen and skip Cheryl. (Chris, Mary, Helen and Mal) (Skips Julie and Cheryl) Cheryl asked Jean if Mal had played on this surface before. Jean said yes and Cheryl replied "He's very heavy. I thought he wasn't used to it." Then Mal suddenly worked out the weight. Mal's team lost 27 to 13. Jean's team won 22 to 13. While we were there Sue's husband Ron told us about yet another club we didn't have on our list - Macquarie Club. We decided to go there for Mal to get a game on Thursday instead of Narromine. RSL Sporties - Jean won and Mal got half a game!

Mal rang Gunnedah Services and Bowling Club last night to find out if they have bowls Thursday or Friday. He was told that the public are not allowed to bowl on the green. We didn't believe that so dropped in today. We saw a sheet that said they had a game on Wednesday. We saw a lady setting up tables outside. She said the Bowls Club only opens when they play bowls. She suggested we go in to the main club and get the name of Scott the Bowls Coordinator. Mal rang Scott who said he's away and there are no bowls today and tomorrow. We can come for a rollup. Jean's been a bit sad because her Dad Roy, who passed away in December, spent much of his childhood in Gunnedah. Jean went to visit her Dad's cousin Vicki to learn more about her Great Grandfather Jock Hamilton. The club has a sign to encourage us to come back. We saw the club has two synthetic greens. We came back on Friday and got a mat and Jacks. We played four ends but are a bit bored with rollups and desperate for a game. We're going to stay an extra day in Coonabarabran for just that. Gunnedah - oh we wish we got a game!

We were told by a bloke at the Showground caravan park that Walgett Sports Club is closed down but the greens are still maintained for rollups. The club has a nice entry way. We got there to find the club, the greens and the box locked. Jean pressed her nose against the glass of the door and a woman came out to apologise they were closed. Jean told her about our trip and asked if we could have a rollup. She unlocked everything for us. She told us even though it's not well-maintained, they do play social on Sunday. She also said the club has requested a grant to get a synthetic green. There are two grass greens. One is left fallow. The other is in bad shape with dirt all over it. The bowls run over it and wobble all over the place. Mal put a bowl down and said "I don't think we'll be playing too many ends!" It took all our strength to just get a bowl 21 metres. Mal reckoned it was about nine seconds. We played two ends. Jean got two on the first and Mal got one on the second. Walgett - not much of a green or a rollup.

We drove four hours this morning from Surat to Lightning Ridge. Mal had rung last night to get our names down for a 2pm Sunday start. The club is just seven minutes' walk from the caravan park so we got our bowls and set off up the road. We arrived and were surprised by such a large club in a little town. We walked inside and saw how large it was. Several areas. We went outside to see there are two greens. One is grass. It's the 'Bert Cooper Green'. The second green is synthetic - flat carpet under permanent cover. It's called the 'Ben Kennedy Green'. It's the first green we've seen that has fans inside the cover. Apparently the green and the cover resulted from a Government grant. We sat down for a chat with John. He's on an off-road trek from Adelaide. There he's a member of Henley club. Around 1:45, Adam, who was filling in for the Bowls Coordinator, got the list and collected our money. There were only twelve bowlers - they all sat around outside to wait for the start. There were three games of pairs. We played fourteen ends of three-bowl. Jean and Vicki played together. They played against Mal and Gordon. Mal and Jean skipped because Gordon was a bit uncertain and Vicki has only been playing a year. Jean worked out line and weight pretty quickly But Mal said his radar was off again. He was often narrow and short. Mal wasn't happy when he scored his first shot on end five. He exclaimed "Seven start!" Jean kept taking their shots out. Jean was tickled by a little bird that was running across the top of the cover. Jean and Vicki were ahead the whole game, The highest margin was seven. In the end we both won seven ends. Mal and Gordon caught up and only lost by two. Jean said to Mal "If you'd had 21 ends you'd have got it!" Lightning Ridge - poor Mal had a little loss after a big comeback.

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!