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• The Vets were involved in a thriller at home to St Marie’s ‘A’, with tea and cakes enjoyed during a match ending with four wins apiece but our team claiming the aggregate by a single point ! Petr S, Bruce, Pam and Buck were the winners but good scores for Pat(15), Bob (17), and Dorothy (16) helped us over the finish line.
• Chorley ‘A’’s rained off match at Walton-le-Dale had to be rearranged over two nights, so the first four turned up on Friday to find not a waterlogged green but one which hadn’t been cut for a week. It wasn’t to Ken’s liking but Joy (21-18) and Steven Hayes (21-17) were happy enough, although Steve was made to sweat after looking home and dry at 18-11. Even more so for Peter S, who lead 18-12 only for his engine to stall at that point. A few days later only Peter G added to the total of wins. Bob lead at 6-1 and 12-8 but only added a single. Bruce slipped from 8-3 to 10-18 in face of some good bowling and Ronnie never recovered from his 0-7 start.
• Chorley ‘B’ and St Mary’s ‘B’ shared the spoils with four wins each at School Lane. Ian won comfortably enough, 21-10, but Andy (21-20), Brian (21-20) and Bert (21-18 after a 1-7 slow start) had to fight all the way. Brian led 15-8 but then found himself 19-20 before the old battling spirit saw him through. Karl’s game slipped away from 7-4 up to defeat on 14. Dot came back from 3-11 to reach 19. The aggregate went to the visitors.
• The first club competition of the year, the Mick Woods Trophy, was carried off by the pairing of the previous competitions secretary, Bruce Thorne and his successor, Steve Bolton – surely giving rise to demands for a steward’s enquiry ! The first round highlight was Gerald and Ian’s win over Bob Carr and Julie Harling, who led 10-6 and 15-13 before a 3 then 4 to dash their hopes. In the semi’s Ian and Gerald were neck-and-neck with Don Whittaker and Lee Russon at 17 across before coming through. Steve and Bruce came through their semi without much trouble 21-6. In the final Steve and Bruce looked safe at 14-4 before a 4 and 3 for Gerald and Ian hauled them back into contention but the gap stayed at six points from then.
• The green was running as fast as glass for the Vets away to Coppull A and only Buck Rogers was up to speed, recording a 21-17 win. Peter S was nearest of the rest on 17.
• Bruce let an 18-13 lead slip for Chorley ‘A’ at Coppull but managed to recover his poise to defeat Brian Jordan 21-19. Dave Birch continues his good form from last year and claimed a 21-3 win this time but Joy’s 16 was next best with Don performing creditably to reach 15.
• Chorley ‘B’ away to Astley Park. Andy McGinnigle was bets winner, 21-8, Julie won to 16 and Ian won in a photo finish 21-20. Brian (19) and Gerald (18) came close but we had to settle for the three points.
• Darwen ‘A’ performed well enough to come away with four wins away to East Lancs S.  Well done Jaffa on getting the scoreboard ticking over at last with a 21-19 win ! Ronnie (21-8), Joy (21-11) and Bruce (21-3) joined Ian on the podium. Steve Bolton came close on 18 and Steve Hutchings claimed a creditable 13, having been drummed into service.
• Darwen ‘B’ had a comfortable aggregate win over Olive Park after wins by Ian (21-8), Pat (21-10, Don (21-6), Julie and Peter S (to 16) as well as Derek, who fought off back-ache and a 5-11 deficit to win 21-17. Andy lead 12-9 and 15-13 before going down to 18. Brian worked himself into 1 12-10 lead but couldn’t hold on to it, losing to 15.
• Peter G had to struggle to claim a 21-20 win for Chorley ‘A’ at home to St Marie’s as did Don, who hung in there after his 17-11 lead evaporated. Lee Russon had a great start with us, winning 21-7 and wins for Peter S, Ken , Joy and Dave Birch gave us our best result so far this year. It might have been a full house but Bob’s gallant fight back from 9-17 to 19-20 wasn’t quite enough.
• Well, we certainly didn’t leave our mark on the Darwen League Moorfield cup this year ! Not a single win between the two teams. The ‘A’ team were outclassed by Roe Lee, with Bert’s 18 our best score and Ronnie next on 14.
• At home to Edgworth was a real struggle for Darwen ‘A’ and only Bruce (21-20) and Dot Snape (21-14) prevented a clean sweep for the visitors. Stevie B was next best on 16.
• The Vets recorded a good win at home to St Chad’s in the local derby and our former bowlers had no joy on their return, with Peter Storry overcoming Marjory Rothwell 21-6, Dot Snape victorious against Jimmy Hardman (21-14) and Bruce home 21-11 against Neil Murgatroyd. A good job Neil didn’t come up against Pam, who recorded a 21-8 win herself. Pat was our fifth winner, with David and Bob reaching 18.
• Darwen ‘A’ put the Edgworth nightmare behind them with six wins against old rivals Feniscowles ‘C’. Joy’s opponent came back from11-3 to 11-8 and then from 16-8 to lead at 16-17 before Joy got over the line. Bert was 1-6 at the start but ran out 21-14. Bob won tho the same score, having been nip and tuck to 13-13. The monsoon conditions seemed to suit Stevie B, who raced away to a 10-0 lead and coasted in 21-6. Bruce was always comfortable for 21-7 but Ronnie waited until 10 across before surging to 19-10 and an eventual 21-14 win. Jonathan put in his best performance yet, trailing by just 11-12 at one stage before sticking on 14.
• Chorley ‘A’ away to Leyland Motors came away with just the wins for Peter G (21-11), David Birch (21-17) and Ronnie (21-15). Peter Storry’s 14-7 lead proved to be the last time he would trouble the scorers. Joy, on the other hand, was staring oblivion in the face at 12-0 down but recovered to a respectable total of 13.  
• Chorley ‘B’ took the aggregate at home to Lostock by 143 to 135 thanks to wins for Pat, Brian, Derek, Andy (21-9) and Ian, who scraped home by the narrowest margin.

• The weather cleared up just in time for us to welcome Hilda Jones and her team of BCGBA coaches to our green, where a large group of youngsters from Withnell Fold Primary school had what was for most of them their first taste of the beautiful game ! The young people were a credit to their school and seemed to really enjoy the experience. Some remarkable progress was observed in a short space of time

                    Hilda Jones and her team of coaches                     Our green is alive with youngsters

• The highlight of Chorley ‘A’s 6-2 home win against Farington Con was undoubtedly the performance of Jonathan Hutchings, who trailed 0-6 and 6-13 but then won 11 ends out of 13, including eight on the trot, to lead momentarily 17-16 before succumbing to an experienced bowler. Brilliant show Johnny ! Bruce, Peter S and Peter G,  Ken (21-6), Ronnie and Steve put the points on the board.
• Chorley ‘B’ away to Fox Lane ‘D’; in-form Brian Carroll, (21-15) notched up another win in Leyland, as did Miles Cadman (21-14) and Pat Rossall (21-20). Tommy Warburton just missed out on 20. Karl battled his way to 12-13 at which point the wheels came off !

Can anybody stop Bruce in club comps on our green ? The latest to go his way was the Dick Carlisle doubles and this time it was Pat carrying him to victory after a good afternoon’s bowling with a reasonable entry for the round robin. Group 1 finished: Bruce and Pat 60, Andy McG and Miles 38, Karl and John Steed 27, Steve Hutchings and David Rogers 23, Bert and Lesley 17. Group 2 saw a debut for Keith Huddart – welcome to the section Keith !  Keith helped Steve B to respectable scores of 7, 9 and 10 in 15-end matches. Jonathan and Ian scored 12, 10 and 16 but the group ended Pam Murgatroyd and Betty Walker 49, Dot Snape and Jaffa 41, Jonathan and Ian 38, Keith and Steve 26. In the final Pam and Betty’s last hopes probably went when conceding 4 on the 13^th end,Pat and Bruce running out 21-10.

• The Vets continued their recovery at the higher level with a 5-3 away win over St Mary’s and the aggregate bonus points. On a sunny day and a fairly fast green with plenty of interesting marks there were no runaway victories but steady performances by the captain (21-13), Bruce to the same score, Bob and Pam (21-14), and Buck Rogers (21-17), with good scores from Dot (19) and Pat (17) saw us home.

APRIL

• Chorley A owed their aggregate win home against Victoria largely to big wins for Ken (21-2) and Steve Hayes (21-3). Dave Birch got off to a winning start too, 21-19. Those were our only successes but the losers were close enough to give us the aggregate by 4 points and tie the match at 5 points each.
• Chorley ’B’, again under Doreen’s steadying hand, opened with a creditable four wins at Euxton WMI and so nearly added the aggregate points, just failing by 135-133. Pat’s 21-8 win set us on the way, followed by Dot Snape, Ian Waterson and Andy McGinnigle. Great stuff Andy – a stirring fight back  from 10-16 down !Gerald made 18 and Miles 16 on his return. Miles, in fact, got himself 10-0 up but then woke up to find himself 10-14 down !Mr Bee was too busy for Cleggie, who got left behind after a good run to 7-8.
• The Vets team met up with last year’s promotion rivals, Lostock, in their first match and were on the end of a heavy defeat by 7 games to one. Bruce was the one success by 21-10 on a warm, dry day with a fairly fast green. The fact that Bob was next best score on 14 tells the story !
• Bob Carr and Dot Snape did us proud in the Darwen League merit competition on 21st April. Bob won his first round match 21-8 to set up a second-round ‘derby’ against our own Dot, who had overcome an old rival, Kath Roberts, 21-8 in the first.  Bob was victorious by 21-14 but then went under by 14-21 to Geoff Fielding, no disgrace. Our thanks to both for representing the club so splendidly.
• Darwen ‘A’ began their campaign following relegation with a tricky home game against Akzo Nobel and, with only four winners, lost the aggregate by just 3. Joy’s 21-8 win was our best score and Bob (21-15), Bert 21-19 and Bruce 21-19 added some points. Peter hung in at 19-10 down to get to 17 before succumbing. Stevie Bolton so nearly claimed his first win but couldn’t quite get over the line having reached 20.
• Darwen’B’ were at home to Crown Wall on a clear but chilly evening when the visitors were  reduced to the bare bones by  the irresistible attractions of Rovers v Watford to some of their players.  Andy, Brian Carroll, Ian, Gerald and Julie did the business for us on the smaller pitch ! Don didn’t find the pace of the green to his liking but was also the unlucky one in coming up against a tough opponent.

·        The Vets second game saw a comfortable home victory against Wymott by 6 wins, Bruce, Pat, Bob, Bert, Betty and David,  to 2 and an aggregate victory by 157 to 106.  David was merciless, not conceding a single point to his opponent. Peter S nearly added another win with his new woods but fell on 19.

·        Chorley ‘A’ were at home for the second game running, this time against Eccleston ‘B’ and again failed to take advantage, with four winners and losing the aggregate by just one point. Dave Birch continued his good form and Ken and Steve Hayes weighed in with wins yet again, as did Ronnie Bielski.. Joy made 19 and Ian McVittie and Steve Bolton performed creditably on their debut. Ian fought hard from 0-7 to lead 12-11 at one stage before running out of steam.

·        Chorley ‘B’’s second away match produced four winners again and once more a narrow aggregate defeat, this time by 8 points to Walton-le-Dale ‘B’. Don’t mention 15 to Gerald. Having led 15-13 against Euxton and finishing on 16, Gerald was 15-12 ahead here with the same result ! Julie Harling won 21-10, Andy again 21-9. Ian just staggered over the line 21-20 and there was a great win for the ‘old contemptible’, (Eileen’s description ?), Brian Carroll.

·        Our best wishes go to Doug Rossall for a speedy recovery from his unfortunate accident suffered during his golfing trip. Stick to the bowls Doug – we hope to see you on the green before long !

·        Does Walton-le-Dale have its own micro-climate ? For the third year running and, this year after such a prolonged dry spell, we encountered a soaking green. This time it was too bad to play on despite the gallant efforts of men and brooms and the Chorley ‘A’ game had to be rearranged.

·        This allowed our players to return to base and watch  Chorley ‘B’ do battle with East Ward. On our green which had stood up well to the steady rain of the last 24 hours, thanks again to Bruce ! The conditions seemed to suit the visitors as they notched up 5 wins. Ian, Miles and Julie were our winners. Ian conceded 2 on the opening end then scored 17 without reply to make the game safe . Miles won 21-10 and Julie came back brilliantly from 2-11 to win to 17. Gerald and Andy were both unlucky in the gathering gloom, going down 21-20, Andy having recovered from 0-8. Pat reached 19 as well and the aggregate was claimed by three.

·         Darwen ‘A’ found a heavy green waiting for them at Feniscowles but Bob Carr, Steve Bolton and Joy Storry managed to come away with a win. Bruce so nearly made it after a titanic battle with Alison Brindle but slipped up when leading with the block on 20-19. Jonathan battled bravely for his points on a difficult green.

·        Congratulations to our treasurer, Bert, on his 80th birthday which he generously celebrated with us at the club and showed us a thing or two as he danced the night away !

More  pics in the Gallery