PRESIDENTS DAY
Beryl's President's Day - 11th August 2024
Saturday afternoon at the Vale was one of the Club highlights of the year, the annual Presidents Day match, this year’s President is long serving member, Beryl Birch. The afternoon started with everyone meeting in the Clubhouse for a Pimms which put those about to play in a very good mood! The traditional Spider was then played and believe it or not President Beryl won it! The bowlers were divided into two teams, the Presidents Team and the Saturday Captains team. Six rinks were in action with the match played over eighteen ends. There were some very close games and some not quite so close but it was a very enjoyable afternoon’s bowling with the match ending in a draw, both teams finishing on 93 shots. A fitting end to a great afternoon on the green.
A delicious tea was enjoyed followed by speeches and presentations of gifts. Saturday Captain Janet Horwood presented President Beryl with a bouquet at the conclusion of a memorable Presidents day.
The Presidents team on rink one had Liz Naylor as lead, Peter Harrison at two and the Skip was Sean Biollio. Playing for the Saturday Captains team were Mary Smith as lead, Paul Jenkinson at two and Adrian Wilkinson was the Skip. It was the sixth end before the Presidents registered a score to get within 3 shots of the Saturday Captains team. 4 shots on the seventh end followed by 5 on the next gave the Saturdays a substantial lead which despite their best efforts the Presidents team the couldn’t close. Presidents team finished with 14 shots, Sat. Captains team on 20 shots.
President Beryl Birch led on rink two with Reg Wadsworth at two and Denis Smith as Skip. Opposing them were Pat Harrison as lead, Lyn Scott at two and Eddie Owen as the Skip. This was a close game for the first six ends with both teams level on 3 shots each. At this juncture the Presidents team moved into top gear and with three ends to play they held a 6 shot lead. They won all three adding a further 8 shots to win the game holding 21 shots to the Saturday Captains 7 shots.
Julie Healey was the lead for the Presidents on rink three with Brian Rolfe at two and Ian Maclean as Skip. Peter Craig led for the Sat. team with Charlotte Pennington at two and Derek Harper as Skip. After the fifth end it looked as thought the Sat. Team was going to romp home as they already had a 10 shot lead. They held it for another five ends but then the Presidents staged a comeback and began to close the gap. With one end to play the Presidents were still 4 shots behind but an excellent 5 shots on the last end gave them a 1 shot lead and the game with 18 shots to the Saturday Captains 17 shots.
Colin Wagstaffe skipped the Presidents team on rink four with Fiona Munro as lead and Geoff Tyler at two. The Saturday team had their Captain, Janet Horwood as Skip with Barrie Payne as lead and Graham Cole at two. Although the Presidents took the lead on the first end and never relinquished it the game ended as a close one. After twelve ends had been played there was only 1 shot in it. The remaining ends were equally shared, three each, but the Presidents team finished with a winning 18 shots to the Saturday teams 16.
The Presidents lead on rink five was Barry Drain with Ros Carter at two and the Skip was Chris Wallis. Representing the Saturdays were Lesley Webster at two, David Tomlinson at two and Alan Jones as Skip. After three ends the Saturdays held a 5 shot lead. This sparked the Presidents into action who won the next six ends and took a 7 shot lead. After the fourteenth they were sitting comfortably, with a 6 shot lead. Unfortunately for them they were soon discomforted as the Captains team won the last four ends and took the game holding 18 shots to the Presidents 15.
Rink six had Stuart Primarolo as Skip for the Presidents team with Mike Crefffield as lead and Sylvia Shalders at two Opposite them for the Saturdays were Jenny Owen as lead, Graham Scothern at two and Mike Shalders as Skip. A steady start by both teams saw them both holding 2 shots after four ends had been played. The fifth end saw the Saturdays take a firm grip on the game, restricting the Presidents team to only winning another four ends. The Saturday Captains team won the game with 15 shots to the Presidents team’s 7.