21st September : Gloucestershire Two Rink Final v Olveston – Lost 26-28
After all those ends and all those woods bowled over the season, we just lost out on the last end, on the last wood!
Our record in this competition recently has been second to none, winning in 2021 and 2023 and we hoped this was to be our year again 🤞
In the morning semi final against Barnwood we avenged our defeat of two weeks ago 👏
It wasn’t looking good at 10 ends but with Josh’s rink pulling 10 shots over 3 ends the game flipped over and with Jim’s rink chipping away at their deficit we won 34-29 and had set up the afternoon final against our perennial adversaries Olveston…..
This was always a close game and both teams bowled some excellent woods 👍
We were always slightly behind and it looked like it was all over at end 17, (of 18) but with Josh’s crew picking up a four it was left to Jim’s rink to retrieve the one shot we needed to draw or two to win.
Our cause was helped greatly when Nigel put the jack into the ditch and it was just now a question of getting another, with Olveston drawing close and much debate as to who had shot it was up to Jim to out draw this wood for either one to level or two to win 🏆
He sent down a near perfect wood and it looked as if it would just get round Olveston’s, but dipped at the very end and just tipped our opponent’s in for shot – desperately unlucky!
We congratulate Olveston on the win and their usual sportsmanship both on and off the game 👏
Rinks : Josh, Roger, Larry and Jake & Jim, Will, Nigel and Andy
Some reflections on the season:
After our great year in 2024 it was always going to be a very hard job matching that.
We finished 3rd in the League.
Glos cup – semi final.
Glos 2 rink – finalists.
On the face of it we are getting close, just not actually getting enough to get our names on the trophies, but as I’ve said before it’s difficult to actually win things at bowls 💪
Individually some of our team mates have had an excellent year, especially Josh, Jim and Andy to name three, but there have, of course, been successes across the club and at varying abilities 👍👏
It’s a short season and most clubs interest would be gone by early August but we again kept our interest right the way to the end of September – it’s nice to be in the “shake up” right to the end.
Our praise and thanks must go to captain Calvin, vice captain Will and Pete Jones in the north east. Selection is not an easy task and they have negotiated holidays, illnesses and players coming in and out of form, with aplomb! 👏
I find it pleasing that many of our ‘newer’ players are now beginning to find their feet and even those times when we may not have been able to pick our strongest team you could still look across the rinks and think “we’ve got every chance”.
I must also thank all of the players who have accepted selection on different rinks and in different positions and have supported their teammates with encouragement and help – if you’re all playing for each other it really does help 👍 We will be launching a third team for the men in 2026 and that means the selection task will become all the harder…….
We probably are all thinking we will be glad of a rest from bowls, ” I’m glad I haven’t got to chuck down any more woods for months” but I bet in only 2 to 3 weeks time we will be looking towards the 2026 season 😁
As always I’ve enjoyed writing these reports (it’s easier if there is good news to report), and hope you’ve enjoyed reading them, and thank you to Andy for his tidying up of my speelling and grammar;:; and also his usefull editors comments!
Editors Comment!: And thank you to Kev for writing the reports which really do, I think, make the club feel that they are all involved…..especially with Pete also writing reports for the NE.
As I write this, due to Finals Day being washed out, we still have the mens Two Wood and Championship to play (I am not sure of the position regarding the Ladies competitions?) and I am sure we wish Mark P, Jim and Josh the best of luck.
That is it for the 2025 season and it is over and out from me (drop microphone 🎤)
15th Sept : NE & CCBBA Finals -2025
With the weather forecast for the weekend looking, to say the least, dire, it seemed up in the air whether the NE and C&C competitions would be played or washed out and then when GBBs pulled out of hosting the C&C comps at the last minute as their green was unplayable confusion reined supreme! But Page Park gallantly stepped into the breach and the weather turned out to be kind.
On Saturday morning the Redland Four of Andy, Larry, Will and Jim faced the same Olveston Four that they played in this Final last year.. At 15 ends (out of 21) Redland were leading by 13-9 but some excellent bowling by the Olveston crew saw them take a narrow lead of 14-15 after end 19. On end 20 we were four down and the match looked in real trouble but with his last bowl Jim stepped onto the mat and drew shot so we went into the last end all square 👍
Olveston were holding shot when Larry bowled his first bowl and unfortunately as with a lot of the match (sorry Larry!) this was short. ☹️
But as Andy and Will have said through the season, “Commeth the Hour, Commeth the Larry!” and with his second wood Larry drew shot which stayed there until the end for Redland to win by one shot 👏🏆
Now Jim has won this competition for the last five years and Andy for the last four so with this win they have decided to “retire” from this competition and the NE Triples – but they have never won the NE Pairs so have decided to compete in that next year 🤞
The next competition that Redland had an interest in was the NE Singles Championship which was played shortly after the Fours. Andy played Mike Haskins from Avonvale. Andy did not start well going 0-7 down but eventually managed to find a line and the pace (which was significantly faster than the fours game) and managed to prevail 21-11 🏆
Then after another short break it was on to the Two Wood and Andy was playing Steve Wharram of Olveston. Now Steve has played Andy a few times over the years and knew that Andy does not favour short jacks, so had been practicing hard on that length, which he played very well going into a 8-12 lead after 15 ends. Andy however managed to win the 16th end and changed the jack length to long and pulled it back to 12-12 after 18 ends. He then picked up a 2 on the 19th end and pulled the jack with his last bowl on the 20th end to secure the win. 🏆
Interestingly Andy was informed by Dave Hall, who runs the NE competitions that this was only the second time in the history of the NE comps that a single player had won the singles and two wood in the same year – the other player being Dave Hall himself 😃
So on to Sunday and Redland had interest in two competitions, the two wood with Roger playing Gareth Hall of GBBs and the pairs where Andy & Jim were playing Geoff Stevens and Neil Berry of GBBs (Ali Binney who was meant to play being away on holiday).
Unfortunately Roger never really got going in the two wood but it was a fantastic achievement to get to the Final – very well done Roger 👏
In the Pairs picking up a 5 in the early stages meant that after 10 ends we were 12-6 up (this was an 18 end match). Unfortunately this seemed to inspire GBBs who moved to a short jack (there is a theme here with Andy) and pulled the game back to just 12-11 up after 14. (Within that on one end Redland were 6 down and Jim delivered a fantastic last wood to get second shot 👏)
On the 17th end we were holding but Neil Berry played a great wood to get shot and we went into the last end all square……..
With another short jack Geoff put two of his woods close but with his last wood Andy closed his eyes, crossed his fingers and sent the wood down the middle with a little pace and it managed to pull the jack back some three yards behind the “pack” and it was really then a question of Jim putting various blockers in to try and stop Neil getting to it. Which Jim did very well and Redland won by 1 shot again! 🏆
A really fantastic weekend and thank you to all those members who came along at various times to support – I can’t name you all but I would especially like to thank Kevin 👏
It is not all over yet for this year with more Club Finals to.be played before the end of the season so please monitor WhatsApp and the Club Diary for details of those and go along and support if you can. 👌
For the Club we have one more major competition to play being the Gloucestershire Two Rink atBishop’s Cleeve next Sunday 🤞Good luck to all involved in that.
6th Sept: GBA County Cup Semi Final v Barnwood @ Frampton-on-Severn (Lost 46-52)
We just couldn’t get over the line today and the head line 6 shot deficit doesn’t tell the story of how close this game was……
This morning, as I wasn’t playing I intended to “swan” up to Frampton, having stopped for a coffee and bun, then sit down and relax in the smoking area, not having to worry about my bowls, just watching our boys bowls theirs 👍
This all changed at end 14 when it was so close I ended up pacing the ends of the rinks like a caged tiger! 🐅
At 5 ends we were 2 down.
At 10 ends 7 up – beginning to get the upper hand….
But this all changed on end 13 when we dropped 9 across the board 🥺 (hence the stress from end 14 on!)
Winning a batch of ends on all 3 rinks including a 5 on Roger’s we went into end 17 just one down overall 🤞
This is when the wheels came off with Jim’s opposition pulling the jack back to a bunch of their woods and we conceded a 6 😳 (very unusual for this crew, but we can’t expect them to do it every game) the other 2 rinks just couldn’t get the extra shots we needed, much to everyone’s disappointment 😢
Jim, Will, Larry and Andy 14-21
Josh, Keith, Nick and Vince 11-15
Roger, Jake, Mike and Jon 21-16
Everybody who played can be pleased and proud of their performance – we were almost there!
Thanks to Keith Williams, Gerry and Karen for their support 👏
Thanks also to Frampton for hosting the games, having been called on at the last minute 👏
And it’s not all over yet we still have Glos 2 rink semis and finals coming up on Sunday 21st at Bishp’s Cleeve BC – with our first opposition being Barnwood again, so a great chance to take a win from this strong club and progress to a Gloucestershire Final 🤞🏆
It is our internal Finals Day tomorrow so good luck to all those participating and in any “delayed” upcoming finals.
We also have good representation in the City & County and NE Finals next weekend so keep an eye on WhatsApp for timings/location and good luck to all finalists in those competitions.
28th Aug B&D : Home v Bristol (Won 54-47) – 6pts
With an air of last day of term about this game, everybody relaxed and happy we recorded our final win of the season to end our League campaign in 3rd place in the First Division.
After a faltering start we “got with the programme” and whilst we couldn’t replicate our last season’s success when we were Champions I think that to finish in third place to Olveston and GB Britton’s ,is very creditable 👏
We only won one less game than Olveston, but the difference this year was that we had a number of 6-4 wins and not so many10 – nils and all of those extra points add up….
On “Captain James T” Russell’s rink with Will, Larry and Andy, rather than in the last couple of games going significantly behind at the beginning, they were in “warp drive” mode and went “boldly” ahead. They sought out distant jacks (Andy always bowls best on long jacks) and with “enterprising” bowls powered to a 31-5 win 👍
On Keith’s rink with Mark, Mike and Jon having gone 13 – 9 up at 10 ends but conceding 6 ends on the trot ended 14 – 23 (we’ve all played in those games where your opponents get on a roll and you just need to win an end or two to throw them off and then get back into it- unfortunately last night it was not to be). 😔
On Josh’s rink with Roger, Charlie and Mark D never seemed to get going and whilst only losing one less end than the opposition finished 9 – 19.
Our season is still going strong with 2 Glos comps still to be decided and when those are over I will reflect on and give my thoughts on the year – that’s something to look forward to?? 😃
Meanwhile I’m sure that all players would thank Calvin, Will and Pete Jones for their work in selecting teams (not always in easy circumstances) over the course of the season 👏👏👏
Next “big” game, Glos Cup at Frampton on Severn, Saturday 5th September 🏆
28th Aug NE : Away Page Park (Won 62-32) – 8pts
This was a fantastic way to end our season, after we had been fearing relegation for so long. To have secured safety last week, 8-2, and then gained an emphatic victory over a close rival tonight, 8-2 again, demonstrates that we can hold our own in this league. 6th place is definitely an achievement after the disappointment of 2 years ago.
On Pete’s rink, with Phil, Bruce and Dave S, we raced away very early and never looked like losing. 31-6.
The other 2 rinks, Wendy, Nina, Bob, Mike W, and Rick, Alan, David M and Marek, were much closer, and an unfortunate 5 against on the final end deprived us of the full 10 points. 14-16; 17-10.
Congratulations and many thanks to all who have played for and/or supported the NE team this year. Thanks also to everyone who has provided us with food and drink after some draining evenings.
Let’s look forward to 2026…
21st Aug NE : Home v Bradley Stoke (Won 53-39) – 8pts
This was a very successful evening, and, with Olveston playing GBB next week, our 1st division status is secured. 🥳
All three rinks played really well, Phil, Kev, Vince and Pete winning 20-13, Mike W, Dave S, Jon and Keith C 18-10, and Nina, David M, Wendy and Rick just conceding at the end 15-16.
At the risk of repeating myself, I would like to thank everyone who has played for or supported us over the last 2 years. 👏
Looking forward to 2026…💪
21st Aug GBA Two-Rink Q/F : Home v GBB’s (Won 37-27)
On a really good night for the club, we secured our place in the North East First Division and also progressed to the semi finals of the Gloucestershire Two rink 👏👍💪🥳
It didn’t look good to start with, as we got off to a faltering start but on Josh’s rink with Roger, Larry and Jake it was kept tight and we were only one behind at the 10th end, but winning a batch of six ends running we pulled into the lead to finish 19 12 👏
On Jim’s rink with Will, Nigel and Andy it was a different story going 11 down after 4 ends!
Editor’s Note: We went 9-0 down against the same rink last week, we really must stop doing that…….back to Kevin’s report.
It seems to be a recurring theme this season, with this crew going behind early on then going into “warp drive”, bowling wise (Editor’s Note: winning an end and changing from short to long jacks), we entered end ten 8 shots down overall and as mentioned in previous reports this is where a game can be won or lost, drop a couple of 4′ s or 5″s and game over, but tonight this wasn’t the case and with captain James ‘T” Russell steering his rink to eight consecutive winning ends we “boldly went” into the semi finals 💪
Josh, Roger, Larry, Jake 19-12
Jim, Will, Nigel, Andy 18 -15
A pleasing night for the whole club 🏆🏅
The Semi Finals of this competition and Final will be played at 10am and 13.30pm at Bishop’s Cleeve Bowls Club on Sunday 21st September
Thanks to mikes Tarr and Roth, Charlie and Jim Greg for their support and it’s great to see Jim back on his feet and back at the club
14th Aug NE : Away @ GB Britton (Lost 51-59) – 2pts
This was an extremely frustrating evening to say the very least. 2 points keeps us in 7th at the moment, but still two crucial matches to play!
On Pete’s rink, with Phil, Dave H and Vince, we plummeted to a 0-16 deficit after 4!!! 2-24 after 9 seemed irretrievable, but a 6 on 10 gave us some hope. We did make it more respectable towards the end, but 17-29 was disappointing.
On Nick’s rink, with Nina, Mike W and Dave S, we seemed to be reasonably in control throughout, but a 3 and a 6 on the penultimate 2 ends (not sure if you can have penultimate in the plural?), but 15 and 16 anyway, took the game away, 17-19.
Editor’s Note: “….not sure if you can have penultimate in the plural?” Well I am not sure if that comment was meant just for me, but I have left it in the report and will ask those reporters for other games (Kevin) to please note the quality of the match reporting from the NE! 😂
On Rick’s rink, with Marek, Bob and Wendy, it was very hard to follow! 4-0 after 4, 4-10 after 8, 10-10 after 12!! But then some excellent bowling took us to a much needed 17-11 victory.
Looking ahead to our final 2 matches, 2 wins should see us stay up?
14th Aug B&D : Home v GBBs (Won 53-45) – 8pts
Firstly the important part of the evening – I don’t think many realise the difficulty there can be with selection and availability issues….
Yes I am talking about the catering after the game!! Last night it was should we select more ham or more cheese and is it available at Morrisons? With some debate and lack of communication from someone “poking their big nose in” we almost ended up with 4 people making the rolls, but disaster was adverted and we put out a normal team of ham and cheese (thanks to Wendy, Will and Calvin). 👍
Editor’s Note: No thanks to Kev as it was his big nose being poked in! 😂
Onto the less important part of the night – the game…
We started with all three rinks going behind and it looked like we may have let it slip away, before we’d even began, but don’t underestimate the quality of our players and we “knuckled down” and started to pull the scores back round in our favour 💪
On Josh’s rink with Will, Larry and Kev came back to be 7 5 at 8 ends but then dropping 2 consecutive 4’s didn’t help and we could not get back into it and ended 12-18
On RKJ’s rink with Jake, Mike and Mark D (who once again had an excellent game – following on from Tuesday and I’ve also been asked to mention Vince for his performance on Tuesday 👏👏 ) tonight it was always close early on but only conceding only three of the last 9 ends and with some great woods from the whole team we gained a very useful 4 shot advantage to finish 18-14 👍
On Jim’s rink with Mark P, Nigel and Andy, I don’t know how this rink manages to do it* but from being 9 nil down then winning 12 out of the last 14 ends, we pulled enough shots in front to end 23-13 and secure an overall game win 🏅
* I do know how they do it – they are excellent bowlers.
Editor’s Note: It was also a case of winning an end and changing the jack length from very short to long. 😁
Thanks to Charlie for being on standby and to Mike Tarr and Keith for their support in all our games 👍
Only one League game left against Bristol at home in two weeks and next Thursday GBBs again in County Two Rink Quarter Final 🤞
Finally congratulations to Josh on reaching the last 16 of National Two Wood competition and so nearly making the last 8 👏