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We're staying the WA February long weekend in Gingin. We couldn't get any accommodation on the coast so we're headed East to the country. We've come to Gingin bowls club for a game of Friday Scroungers. It's a little clubhouse up high above the green. There are lots of Pennant memories. We got a number from the board out front. We rang Colin (Bandit) who invited us to come for Friday Scroungers. There's a great garden with old bowls. There are two plastic synthetic greens. We played on Green A out the front. There are sturdy permanent shades. Jean, Karen, Julian and George were on rink 3. Julie, Mal and Bandit played on the other rink. Jean was having fun so forgot to take photos until she scored a good one. We played twelve ends. Jean and Bandit both got 30 so shared the prize money. We stayed for a drink even though it was getting dark. One of the members - a farmer - brought fresh grapes. We snaffled them up. We raced off to the pub before the kitchen closed for Friday dinner. Gingin - surprising fun at Scroungers.

Today we're doing four clubs close to Perth before we head out East to do the many clubs out there. We managed to get in Wanneroo, Joondalup, Quinn's Rocks and Merriwa.. At Wanneroo Jean met Clive who gave her the lowdown on the club and greens. Initially we saw three greens. One synthetic and two grass. The grass was being prepared for Thursday Pennants. One is called Fred Jennings Green. Clive told Jean there's another synthetic up top. Nearby are some nice outdoor areas. The clubhouse wasn't open but the door was so Jean asked if she could take a photo. Then off we went to Joondalup. JOONDALUP Joondalup (pronounced 'June-dal-up') Sports Club was our second stop. It's a Sports Club. Not just bowls. Inside the clubhouse is nice and modern with a big bar. We spied Brett, the Greens Manager and Green keeper Craig who were working on the greens. We had a great chat with them . As we walked towards the clubhouse we met another Clive (CJ) There are four here. Not usually a common name. The club has four greens. One is synthetic. The others are grass.. They are beautiful. Craig has done a great job. We said our goodbyes and went away to Quinn's Rocks. QUINN'S ROCKS We didn't know what to expect at Quinn's Rocks. We were pleasantly surprised. We instantly felt welcome. It's a light, airy, modern clubhouse. With a tribute to bowls legend Steve Glasson. 20 years ago it was the best There are two plastic synthetic greens. It looks good in WA sunlight . The D&A Hackett Green. With awesome blue shades. John was preparing the Pennants scoreboards. He shared lots of information about the club and Pennants. Next we headed to our last stop for the day - Merriwa. MERRIWA A.F.A Merriwa A.F.A is a bowling club within an Airforce (Airforce Association) retirement village estate. All members have to be members of A.F.A but don't have to be an ex-Airforce member. Merriwa is pronounced a little differently to the one in NSW. It's 'Merry-wah'. The bowlers have a good-sized clubhouse area amongst many other nice amenities. They have a few Pennants. We met Pennant Manager Ian. Lady Vice-president Lynette arrived. There are two plastic synthetic greens. They look to be a few years old. A.F.A flags adorn the greens. Ian told us that about five years ago the A.F.A. asked the club to give up Green C so they could put in an alfresco area. They put in two synthetics as a thank you. Five years later it still sits fallow. Four clubs is a big job so we headed back to our caravan in Yanchep.

The Yanchep people said we could park our caravan at the club so we looked forward to coming very much.. The Sports club is a pleasant clubhouse. We parked our caravan right by the green. There are two greens - one grass and a plastic synthetic. The synthetic is being re-done. When we arrived we peeked into the clubhouse which was closed. Carissa came out to say hello. Brett knocked on the caravan door to say hi. They were expecting us. Someone had told Jean a few people play on Wednesday. We came for that. There were eight of us so Brett decided we'd play Fours. It was Mal, Brett, (novice bowler) Sandra and Dionne. Against Jean, Linda. Dicky and Melita We played on the grass green. Aussie flags mark the Green. Jean's team was down six-zip then finally took shot - until Mal played weight and stole it! After the usual six-end warm-up Jean finally got a shot. Mal put in a beauty for three. Dionne put it on the T which threw everyone out. Except Jean. Melita took a photo of us in front of the bar. Jean's team won unexpectedly by one shot - after a slow start. The club opened at 4pm so we came in for drinks. Yanchep - we felt very welcome.

Still headed south in the WA coast, we're stopping tonight in Ledge Point. On our way we visited Cervantes and Lancelin. CERVANTES Our first stop was Cervantes. A little bit to see here. We peeked through the window. It's a nice-looking clubhouse. The outdoor under cover area is massive. We got the obligatory shot with the sign. The seats are donated. There's a nice memorial on the path. It's a synthetic green. With impressive shades. Off to Lancelin now. LANCELIN The clubhouse is far above the green. Lancelin makes Jean think of King Arthur's court! Jean took the scary path down to the Green. We couldn't get in because it was all locked up. It's synthetic we think. The shades are sturdy. There's an old green next door. Joe made a garden. LEDGE POINT We're staying at Ledge Point overnight so popped in to the Country Club where the bowling greens are located. We found the sign. We peeked into the window to see the clubhouse. Quite modern. Again, we couldn't get to the green. Cervantes, Lancelin and Ledge Point - a nice bowls trip down the WA coast.

We took a 40 minute drive from Jurien Bay to Badgingarra for a look. When we got there they were playing round one of the club Singles. They call it 'Badgy'. It's a community Sporting Club so the clubhouse has trophies from Golf, Tennis, Bowls and some other sports. The community quilters have a nice display. They've had a couple of wins. Few and far between but proud. Doug was inside the clubhouse. He told us about their lack of Pennant success and we showed him the Eildon song and told their similar story. He was managing the scoreboard. There's one plastic synthetic green. It's their second synthetic. It has a pull over cover. There's a nice mosaic. They came on for lunch after the first game. Doug asked Jean to give a talk to the members about our trip. They were very friendly and had lots of questions for us. Doug suggested we have a two-end roll-up with him before they came back out. Mal started. He did well going away from the clubhouse. Jean had her go. She did much better going the other way. The boys went into the ditch. Everyone watched us. We said goodbye to everyone and drove back to Jurien. Lovely people at Badgy!

We decided a while back to stay 3 nights at Jurien Bay and do all the clubs there. But when we got there we found out the caravan park is always booked out on the weekend so stayed at the sports grounds next to Jurien Bowls Club. We did some other clubs on the way there. LEEMAN We started at Leeman because Jean had a parcel to collect there We found the sign. The tank nearby is beautifully decorated. Through the window the bar looks welcoming. That's the only thing because everything was locked up. We couldn't get to the synthetic green. GREEN HEAD A similar thing at Green Head - all locked up. The sign wasn't. We got a glimpse of the bar through the window. We leaned over to photograph the green. It's for John and Jennie Read. JURIEN We felt a little unwelcome - even at the caravan park - until we got to Jurien Bowling Club. The tank outside is beautifully painted. Alfie fill-in Captain turned up while Jean was peering through the window. She asked if there's anything on at the club Friday night. He excitedly said "Yes!". There's a Scroungers game, bar open at 4:30 and burgers for dinner. Alfie let Jean in to take a photo of the clubhouse. He proudly told Jean they are currently 1st and 2nd on the ladders. They've won lots. There are two plastic synthetic greens. The front green looks inviting. The local pollies made a liar out of Jean when she said she'd only ever seen Labor politicians sponsor bowling clubs. Fair's fair! We came back in the afternoon so excited to get a game after so long. Alfie introduced us to Trevor the President. Jean's been chatting on Messenger with Carla. She said she'd look forward to meeting us tonight. We all sat around and ate our yummy $8 burgers. The darts players came tonight as well for their social night. The shirts are similar. The bowls club has a crayfish. We actually played on Green B - the Bill Sudholz Green. Ivan, Jean and Mick played on Rink 2. Wayne, Carla and Mal were on 4. Jean picked one up early. There weren't many more. She told her opponents every time she's played Scroungers around the country she's come last. Mal had to measure for second. They wanted to play Twilight so they could use the lights. They came on just on dusk. Jean came last - of course! She came inside. The darts players were in full swing. Mal came second by one shot. Wayne - the winner - told him he could play in the three-end semi-final. He played against Mick, Luis and Garry. Mick, Garry, Mal and Luis. Jean was all ready to go home but Mal won so had to play in the final against Darren. Mal put down some pearlers. Very surprisingly Mal won! He drew out the lucky loser - it was Jean. Jean wanted to give $2 to The Flying Doctors for her wrong bias. Trevor helped. It was a long day for us. Mal got a six-pack for his win. We went back to the caravan tired but happy. We did promise we'd come back Saturday to watch the Singles. Jurien - a game at last!

Headed down south now - we stopped in to three clubs on our way to the WA coast. Three Springs, Carnamah and Coorow (where we stayed overnight). THREE SPRINGS We found the sign for our map. Through the window the bar looks good in the clubhouse. It was established in 1969. There's one plastic synthetic green. And some good permanent shades. CARNAMAH Again the sign for our map. A nice long bar in the clubhouse. 1961 - a pretty good year. Again a plastic synthetic green. COOROW We pictured ourselves there. The clubhouse looks inviting. It was opened in 1983. It has a plastic synthetic green. The guarding magpie shows wind direction. It seems they are the Magpies. There are magpies all over Coorow. Three Springs, Carnamah and Coorow - nice to see little clubs doing well.

We're staying overnight in Mingenew so checked out the two clubs at Denison and Mingenew DENISON We arrived to find them playing Tuesday social. It's a nice, airy clubhouse. They have lots of great memories displayed With Life Members honoured. They've had some help from the Shire. We met Anne who's been reading our blog. There are three greens all together. They MINGENEW Mingenew is a tiny little town but it has a bowling club. We checked it out. We saw the big bar through the window. And the old sign over the bar. There's an old grass green. They seem to have a problem with black beetles. We saw the Willy John Stand. We assume this is it. The seats are donated. It's a Sports Club so golf is also important here. Denison and Mingenew - glad we dropped in.

We drove as far north as we're going this leg - to Northampton from Geraldton.. We weren't going to write a blog but we met one of the members. When we arrived there was music playing. Darryl was doing some cleaning. It's a cosy little clubhouse. With lots of memories displayed. There's one plastic synthetic green. There used to be three but the others have been let go. She shades are different. The flag was at half mast as a member had passed. We didn't stay long because we had to buy a new washing machine for the caravan. Northampton - glad we stopped.

We're staying at Drummond Cove near Geraldton so we can visit all the clubs round here. Today it's the two Geraldton clubs. Wonthella and Geraldton. WONTHELLA We arrived at Wonthella to see a game in progress. President Steve came to say hi. The clubhouse is interesting. With lots of success on display. The donations are recorded on the wall There are unusually four greens. Synthetic. The Club Singles were on. The synthetic greens are memorialized. The old fifth green now hosts soccer. The shades are nice. Green and Gold. Mal stood and chatted with Wog and Johnno. He said " Now you'll have a wog on your blog ". Wog told us to check out their sign. 'Friendliest club in the West'! GERALDTON After some long-awaited shopping we got to Geraldton Bowling Club. There's a nice, long bar in the clubhouse. Benjo and Des welcomed us. President Shane came to introduce himself. The club's been around a long time . It was hard to decide what to photograph. There are very old memories. There are three grass greens unusually. There used to be four but one's been let go. The succulent garden is nice. Shane invited us to roll up on Green C. The old permanent shades are cute. The seats have nice donations. The boys were playing Club Triples on Green A. The weather was much cooler than yesterday. Jean stepped out. Our bowls were pathetic. It's been a while since we've played on grass. Jean got an almost decent shot with her last bowl. She got better for a three. Mal tried it. He had to out-do Jean. Jean was pleased to be improving. But Mal got the last word. We sat to watch the Triples. Mal got a beer. The bartender said Shane had shouted on the proviso our write-up is good. No worries Shane! As were about to leave we met Gary who was a copper at Bega in NSW where Jean's Dad was stationed there. We'd met Geraldton member Glenn when we were in Cooktown so we phoned him and went to visit him. He have Jean an Irish Whiskey tasting. It was a pleasant day with nice people. We had a good time. What fun we had at Wonthella and Geraldton!

We're on our way to Geraldton where we left off on our Winter WA trip last year. Heading North there are four clubs on the way. We'll visit them all! LATHAM Latham was our first stop. We were lucky enough to meet a member there. We took a photo for our map. It's a Golf/Bowls. It has a nice little clubhouse with golf Pennants everywhere! Roz was the person we met. She showed us all around the place. Roz pointed out some proud photos. It's a Tiger Turf green. PERENJORI Second stop was Perenjori The obligatory map photo. We peeked through the window. It was opened in 1970. There's a nice Tiger Turf green as well. The permanent shades are really good. They had some good help. MOROWA We were told by the guys at Dalwallinu that there are finals on today at Morowa but when we arrived there was nobody around. Another map photo. Kevin the Publican drove by to check we weren't lost. We saw the clubhouse through the window. Again a Tiger Turf. MULLEWA Our last stop for the day was Mullewa. We were lucky enough to see some Pennants. We found the sign. Terry the Club Captain came to say gidday. It was Pennants against Wonthella. It was 38° - the usual heat cut-off - but they said " We're tough in WA! " They'd driven from Geraldton so didn't want to miss out on bowls. They are The Saints. Our cat Jerome was in the caravan. It was too hot to leave him there so we didn't stay long. Latham, Perenjori, Morawa and Mullewa - I nice little trip.

We were supposed to go to Mullewa but the road got closed due to flooding so we came south to Dalwallinu for a couple of days. We've visited three clubs while we've been here. It's a fairly modern clubhouse. It's actually a Sports Club. We came on Wednesday and a lady told us there's practice on Friday night. We came for that. It was opened in 1970. The Legends Wall of Fame is great. And the bell. The ladies won Pennants. There's a few trophies. The green got flooded. Charlie, Stevo, Noel, Rob and Shane came in for a drink before practice. They warned us not to stay at Mullewa. Great advice. Stevo is the President. Mal got his obligatory photo. It's a big, plastic synthetic green with ten rinks. The owls protect. The shades are nice. Unusual. The seats are donated. Mal went out. He drew first blood. Our grass was ok. Jean was a bit rusty. She managed one. Noel came to roll up with us. Jean improved a bit. Mal had the last laugh. EARLIER We drove half an hour to Kalannie on Thursday for a sticky-beak. Dalwallinu people told us it's a tiny club. Friday we drove to Ballidu and checked it out. Dalwallinu - we had a nice time!