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Jean got onto the Lockington Bowls Club Facebook page and had a chat about social bowls and our trip. We couldn't play social there but they organised a couple of folks to give us a game. That was so nice. It took just under half an hour to drive from Echuca. We couldn't believe it when we saw their greens. One is normal size, the other had 11 rinks! Greenkeeper Les reckons that's the way they built them in 1950 when it was made. It was a pretty little club house. Comfy and inviting. For a town of only 800 people the greens are beautiful. They have two greenkeepers old Les, who does rolling and watering. Our two playing mates were Ken (apparently club champion) and Dave the barman. Ken and Jean played Dave and Mal. We also briefly met Brian the whiskey maker. (Dave, Ken, Mal and Jean) It was 11 - zip to Ken and Jean after 6 ends then Dave and Mal scored one. We had pretty tight heads mostly. Mal and Jean nailed the grass, though it was a bit of a mystery exactly what grass to take. Met Brian briefly. We liked the boys' pennant stickers. They have a sponsor. The boys called it when it was 13 to two. Ken and Jean scored one last shot. The boys shouted us a drink after the game. We had a lovely chat about all things bowls. Locky, great green to play on!

We stayed at Jean's (Dad's) cousin's farm just outside Deni. We drove into town for some Christmas Eve shopping and a rollup at the Deni Bowlo. One green was full of dead hoppergrasses. We decided to do just first to 10 because it was hot and the club was closed for the Christmas break. The box with the mats and jacks was locked so we used Jean's yellow jack and a bowls polishing sleeve for our mat. The green was a reasonable pace but very, very narrow. Our weight was fine but we took one third the usual grass. The bowls left a track on the grass so after a few ends we just followed our previous lines. (BTW: If it's close in a rollup - we ALWAYS measure!) Jean bowled Ok but Mal bowled better and won 10 to 2. Deni - poor old grasshoppers!

We arrived early at Jerilderie in case bowls started at 10am. We were told by the caravan park lady it's on at 6pm so we could relax. The Jerilderie Sports Club was so close to the caravan park we could still get our wifi signal. We got there to find out it's done for the year. We wouldn't have enjoyed it though as it's Barefoot Bowls. We decided to have a rollup instead. There's only one green and it's synthetic. It was much slower than expected. After her blinder yesterday at Narrandera Jean thought she could do Mal today but the surface suited Mal's bowl marginally better than Jean's. Even taking half the usual grass on both hands she just couldn't find the line. Jean didn't feel like taking photos. Mal fared better but swore every second end. It wasn't fun. It was muggy - even at 5pm - and Jean wanted to go home and cook pizza. It was 6-5 Mal's way then Jean scored a resting toucher. Mal then drew a shot that nudged Jean's out 3cm. Mal's was 2cm. Mal won 7-5 and Jean gave up. Pizza time!

We rang on Tuesday to get our names down for Wednesday at 1pm in Narrandera - The Redbacks. Mal's been looking forward to visiting Narrandera because he has their spider shirt. We got up at 7:30, were ready to leave at 8:40 then the wheels fell off. We got the caravan stuck on the power and water poles. When we started out we were two foot off but the van was going to hit the power pole as Mal drove forward so Jean told Mal to back back and straighten up. Did that a few times then got stuck. Mal's pretty good at driving and reversing the van but hasn't quite learnt exactly where to put the wheel. Anyway a lovely fellow named Phil came along and helped. We unhooked the car, moved it and hooked back up and drove out. Phil. What a legend! By 9:30 we were on the road to Narrandera. We stayed at the showground because it was just a 10 minute walk to the club. Around 12 we met Pete, who Mal spoke to yesterday on the phone. It's supposed to be mixed but again Jean was the only girl. There were three games in all. One triples and two pairs. Mal played skip in a triples game with lead Ken and Fred against Geoff (who got out of hospital that morning), Kevin and Skip John. Mal discovered John was a state player and he said the other two couldn't put a bowl wrong. However Mal's team, though they started out ordinary they came good. Mal said "I took my hat off to Fred 5 times he bowled that well." In the end Mal's team won by five shots. Their rink made lots of noise and he really enjoyed their company. (John, Geoff, Ken, Mal, Kevin and Fred [we think]) The pairs game was 2-4-2 with Duncan & Louie against Pete and Jean. Most of the bowls were red, which is unusual. Jean felt she bowled really well. One side was very wide and her bowls handled it beautifully. Pete was a talented skip (most of the time) 😁. (Louie and Pete watch Pete get a perfect shot) Every time Pete asked her to draw a bowl out on that side she did it. Pete started to say "This is your favourite shot!" (Louie, Jean, Duncan and Pete) Mal was very proud when the girl behind the bar asked if Jean was his wife then said "She's a really good bowler!" Jean was proud too. The trip is improving her talent. Both Mal and Jean had a great conversation with the boys after the game. Narrandera- a great bunch of blokes.

Just one night in West Wyalong. Enough time for a little rollup. It took us a nearly 2 hours to drive from Cowra to West Wyalong. Jean remembered the town as having no trees. It does but they are sparse. We set up the van, hung out the washing then walked 10 minutes to West Wyalong Bowling Club. There are three greens. One is out - a bit overgrown. The other two looked a bit rough but were nicely mown. The one with the sprinkler on it looked the best. The box was locked. We found an old stained mat and used Jean's yellow jack. We decided when we got there to only do six ends. The club was closed and we were both really thirsty. The green had some kind of chemical on it. We made sure to wash our hands. It was quite slow (not as slow as Woodstock) but the line was pretty true, though Jean had to bowl forehand from far right of mat. Jean's Almark Edge Plus won the day. Mal's Aeros found it hard to find the line. He just drove and got six shots to Jean's eight by taking out her shots. We did our six and then walked back to the van. Another little win for Jean at West Wyalong.

We drove the 20km out of Cowra for a rollup at Woodstock. The Cowra people warned us it was really slow. We weren't prepared. Club was closed but we peeked in the window. Looks inviting. The green was pretty dodgy. Weedy patches everywhere and the grass pretty long (for a bowling green). First bowl sent down was way short. We threw barely legal kitties and still struggled. Jean's Almark Edge Plus have more turn so she was able to get them in - taking half the usual grass. Mal's Aeros had no chance. He scored three shots while Jean scored two fours, a three, two twos and a one. After end four Mal said "This is doing my head in. Up and back!" At 16 to one Jean felt it was a rare but uninspiring win. Soooo slow at Woodstock!

We drove just under an hour from Boorowa to Cowra for a Sunday morning game. Left at 7:15 to park the van and get there by 9. We saw some people go through a gate so we followed them. Went into the club and there was not a soul to be found so we sat down outside and waited. Mal remarked "There's nowhere to put our names down". The cleaner heard him and said "In the office!". We followed him to a room where all the bowlers were and introduced ourselves. There were three games, one triples and two pairs. Mal played skip with Bob against Sandra and Steve. (Mal and Steve. Sandra and Bob were off at the pokies.) Jean was lead for Dennis against Wendy and Lisa. (Mal couldn't work the camera. Dennis and Jean top, Jean and Wendy below. Lisa left early) The sunday game is free. That's a nice change. It was a really fast green. Jean bowled pretty well but Wendy was on fire! So many times Dennis and Jean had three or four then Lisa came in with an arsey bowl and took shot. Coming into last end it was 11 all. Jean had two shots then Lisa drew 3 narrow shots inside Jean's. Jean pouted then remembered she had fun. Mal said Bob and Sandra played really well. Steve had a bit of bad luck with his bowling arm and didn't get his line and length. Mal and Bob jumped ahead but then the opposition made a comeback. They got a 1 then a 3 then a 2. Mal said to Bob "We need to step up a gear!" They did and they won 22-10. Last end Mal put the kitty in the ditch. The Cowra group told us we should check out Woodstock - 40 minutes away.. We have an extra day up our sleeves so will do that. The green is very slow apparently - will take some adjustment. A win for Mal and a loss at for Jean at Cowra.

We were determined to come back to Boorowa to check out the green we missed on our last trip - at the ex-services club. It took longer than we thought to get there because Waze sent us towards Goulburn. We had to turn around. Then we followed a sign to Boorowa and ended up on a dodgy gravel road. Caravan got very dirty. We didn't get a game so had a game of singles on the 'John Crowe Green'. What a close game! There was a max of 3 in it all game and we kept swapping the lead. We're both bowling really well. We had really tight heads. Jean took the opportunity to try a few 'skip shots' and took out Mal's shots several times. On the last end it was 24-20. Mal had 3 shots. Jean took the kitty and killed the end. Mal decided that the rule was the kitty goes on the T. He got 2 to win 26-20. We thrilled ourselves at Boorowa Ex-Services club.

We drove half an hour from Crookwell to Taralga for another twilight game on a Friday. Mal rang the club to put our names down but they said "Just turn up." The drive out was good. They'd repaired a lot of the potholes but there were a few spots where half the road was missing. We were worried about coming back in the dark. We were unimpressed that when we got there there were boys in Christmas shirts kicking footys on the green. Apparently they were there for a Christmas party. They turned out to be nice young blokes and became our cheer squad. The folks at Crookwell told us we'd have a good time at Taralga. We got there at 5 and waited for the bowlers to arrive. We chatted with Bill, a former bowler who gave us all the stories. It seems all the bowlers had been to a punter's club do and weren't up to a game. Bill recommended we have a rollup. We did. The green was patchy and super-slow Jean didn't have the muscle for long ends. Still, we put down some good bowls and were soon noticed by the party boys who let out a huge cheer for every good one. It started out annoying but got to be fun. Mal was called "Dad" and Jean "Mum". In the end "Dad" won by one shot (of course!). One of the boys came over and congratulated us on our great bowling. We didn't reaĺly like the music they played. A bit loud for us oldies. We had a talk with Ken Croker (who was also impressed) about our trip. He seemed to like our idea. Taralga - what a hoot!

So two days after Jean's Dad's funeral we took off to Crookwell. We skipped lots of places we'd planned to visit because we'd spent so much time at Shellharbour. When we got there we met the lovely Cheryl, who was looking after twilights for her hubby. We sat and chatted with her and Janet, who explained to Jean the job of a rouseabout. (Cheryl) The bowling club was next door to the Services Club which bought it out. So there is still the old bowling club building at the back of the green. Apparently they have a grant to refurbish it. (Bowlers in front of the old bowling club) We read on the website they had twilight bowls. We found out from the bar staff it was a prearranged triples competition. They staff told us if we turned up at 5:30 and a player didn't turn up we might get a game. Mal clearly smiled sweetly at the right lady and he got a game. Jean watched and chatted with other players. There were 5 games. Crookwell has one green out so they play half on Thursday and the other on Friday. Cheryl told us Twilight used to be only men. Tonight there were 9 women (30%) so that's progress. (Mal, Marion, Rooster and Buckets) It was Marion, Mal and Sam (skip - Marion's son) against Buckets (Darren), Rooster (Chris) and Ellis (skip). Buckets kept talking about what a bad bowler he is then kept on putting down pearlers. Apparently they don't put up the score for twilights so it was a bit hard to follow. Sam's team (Marion) rolled the jack lots. Jean figured they were winning until Ellis' team scored a four. Jean asked how many ends they play. Marion said "Until 7:30 when they ring the bell". That's fun! (Rooster, Mal, Ellis and Buckets. Marion and Sam left early) Ellis told Jean he's been bowling a while but he's still learning. Sam was giving him lots of tips on how to bowl which was really nice to see. Sam's team wasn't so impressed when he put down a good bowl though. It was a low-scoring game. 8 all on what they thought was the last end. Mal did a super-narrow bowl that went out, then put down a beauty that took shot. He sent his third to the back but it didn't matter. Second shot was the one that won the game. 9-8. Cheryl rang the bell at 7:30 and they all finished the end they were on. Mal said to Sam "I should have told you I'm an aggressive player". Sam replied "So am I, if I lose I hit people!". Cheryl told Jean that one girl who is a bowler has a serious cancer-related illness. The whole community got behind her and raised money to send her on the trip of a lifetime that lifted her spirits. That's very sad but is the beautiful side of country towns that we love. Crookwell - you can feel the community spirit.

Jean spent the day with her sisters to arrange her Dad's funeral. Mal chose Corrimal Bowling Club for a game of triples. 22 minutes from Shellharbour. He said the blokes at Corrimal were a great bunch. The green was really good. It was fast and bowls rolled on very well. Apparently Corrimal Bowling Club is owned by Warilla Bowling Club and Warilla's greenkeepers manage the green. They also have a two-rink mini green like Shoalhaven Heads. They played a handicap game of triples. Mal skipped with lead Terry and Greg, against lead Troy, Geoff (who knows Ian Whybrow) and skip Greg Burke. Because Mal had played in the Twos they were given a handicap of 18 against a team with 21 handicap - so they had three start. Mal said "The game started and we got the jump on them then all of a sudden they just caught up." The rest of the game, it seems was neck and neck "Only one or two points in it all the way through. They were very tight heads." According to Mal "Then we dropped a six. We pegged it back and almost caught up. On one end their skip Greg put down a shot - I thought he dragged it back for four and we were so dejected. We couldn't see the bowls properly for the sunlight. Then my Second called it and we had one!" Mal says that was the turning point of the game. His team got back their confidence and came back to win 22 to 18. (Geoff, Greg [skip], Terry and Greg. Troy had to leave early) Mal really enjoyed himself. He said there was a bloke there "He was just like Dave Croker - same size and he laughed a lot". Corrimal, a really good bunch of blokes.

Jean's Dad passed away at home yesterday, 6th December so we're a bit sad. We thought we'd play bowls at Oak Flats Bowling Club today to keep us occupied. Before the game we had a lovely chat with Vicki, Val, Brian, George (who organised the game) and Ellen. (Mal, Brian behind, Val, Vicki, George and Ellen on the right) The green was very quick. We had to take grass but there was zero wind. A nice change. It was very quiet. Eerily so at times. The club had lots of interesting things we hadn't seen before.: An emergency shower Beautiful green dedications And unusual rink and Jack markers. There were four games. Three of pairs and Mal played triples. Jean played lead with Val against Ellen and skip ( and husband) Richard. First six ends Jean had a toucher on the kitty but Richard had lots of tricks up his sleeve to take shot. End 8 the wind came up and changed everything. Jean said later I haven't had so many touchers in, like forever!" (Jean gets two touchers) But Richard just kept taking shot. After the game Jean said "Richard, even though you made me cry it was a pleasure playing with you." (Jean, Val, Ellen and Richard) Mal played second in triples with Harry and skip Paul against Faye, Vicky and skip George. Mal started out with a blinder. At one point his opposition skip was heard to yell "Get in that caravan and go!" After the game George said "Halfway through the girls came into their own. They came up and won. (Faye, Paul, Harry George and Vicki) After the game Jean got to share lots of stories about her Dad which everyone listened to intently. That made her feel much better. Oak Flats - thanks for your kind support.