ANOTHER WIN THE HARD WAY

TIM ROBINSON AUTUMN DOUBLES
Thursday 18th September 2025
Group 2
With ANN DERBYSHIRE
v MICK BIBBY & FRANK BROWN W 31-25 (off 3-0)

Ann and I topped the group with a third successive win and go forth in to the semi-finals, but once again it was a scrap to get there.
One hour and forty five minutes was exceeded before this game drew to a close and although Mick and Frank never quite got their noses in front, they were a tough pairing to shake off.
Mick had a habit of pulling off a super shot on some of the trickier marks, whilst the outcome of an end is never certain until the vastly experienced Frank has sent both his woods.
After another spritely start, true to form we lost our way and the match ran close. In to the twenties we slowly pulled away again and found ourselves 29-21 up, but it didn't feel like it, such was the tightness of so many ends.
Requiring just two now, Mick played a blinding last bowl from the back to turn a single in to four and get them right back in it. But having been let off by Mick with two shy bowls the next end, I got my second one up there before Ann landed a lovely second counter and we were once again relieved to get over the line as Frank couldn't find a way through the cluster.

WITH ANN PERHAPS WE CAN

EAGLE & CHILD TIM ROBINSON AUTUMN DOUBLES

Monday 8th September 2025

GROUP 2

Paired with ANN DERBYSHIRE

v HENRY HOYLES & RONNIE ROBERTS W 31-29 (off 3-0)

Now behind organising such club competitions I decided I'm just going to enjoy the games and not really care too much about the score... yeah, right.

Once this match hit the business end, that pre-match blasé was all forgotten and suddenly it's eyes on the prize mode. I am ridiculous and just can't help myself.

Henry and Ronnie are certainly a fancied pairing on paper but Ann and I were holding our own. With three on the card to help us along, we led 13-8, seemed to be going along nicely and also getting a few knocks our way. But our opponents struck back and upped their game, started getting those telling little knocks themselves and we were right up against it at 24-29.

Ronnie leads out but short and I'm livid to send mine even shorter. His second barely passes his first and so a second chance to get one in there. Good pace this time but not quite wide enough and it's hands on head time as I run in to the back of Ronnie's second. The game looks gone as Henry puts two reachers up, our opponents holding three when they only need two for the game.

Step up Mrs Ann Derbyshire. She didn't reach up with her first, but her second one did, clunked one of mine up hard and saved the match with the last bowl of that end.

Definitely one of those moments that makes you think you might be charmed to go a little further in the competition.

I risked a tricky jack deep in to the bottom right corner and made it pay off with a good lead bowl that survived despite Henry's two intended spoilers whistling by closely. This set up a chance across the pavillion end were I have an assured feel of what I am doing. As it turned out, so did my partner. Four ends later we had turned the deficit around and got off to a winning start.

This was the first of three round-robin group games and only the winners of the three groups are guaranteed a place in the main competition semi-finals.

Wednesday 10th September

GROUP 2

Paired with ANN DERBYSHIRE

v GEOFF BIBBY & SYLVIA DEACON W 31-22 (off 3-3)

Once again Ann and I muddled through much of the match and woke up when the chips were on the table.

We also let another good start fade away. 19-10 up, a little later there was very little in it and if anything, Geoff and Sylvia were starting to play like the likely winners. Left handed Sylvia putting up some good leads and Geoff coming up with some world beaters from the back.

The turning point at 22-22 took one hell of a turn indeed. Just as our opponents looked set to take the lead for the first time, Ann brilliantly knocked Geoff out with the final bowl of the end - leaving us positioned in the bottom right of the green and the scene was set for a chance to play across the pavillion again.

I hadn't played particularly well until his point, struggling to find a length on a freshly cut green that was deceptively zippy in places despite having taken a good afternoon's worth of downpours.

It was a different matter again though across the pavillion section of green known as the "cabbage patch". Once again, four ends later we were out of a hole and over the winning line. Good woods put up, difficult to beat and Ann backing them up to include a three and a four in there. 

It's club bowls and so I couldn't help sympathise for Geoff and Sylvia because the way they played didn't deserve such a cut-throat finish, but this game can be brutal at times and especially in doubles.

ONE STEP BEYOND

Tuesday 2nd September2025

SABDEN FLOODLIT SINGLES

At Sabden Bowling Club

Reading back at my previous visits to Sabden Bowling Club for the Floodlit Singles, I have at least rekindled my running relationship with Pendle Hill. In fact I was up there only the day before the bowling competition. The Pendle mass shadows this smart and very friendly crown green club and this is somewhere I enjoy coming every year.

Last September I branched out to make the third round only to get a lesson in class. I suppose the same thing happened again this year, but there was more confidence and belief this time. Reasons for my eventual demise were very obvious and yet not so unattainable either. I went home stewing on a few things but generally pleased with how the evening panned out. Although a finals night still remains one step beyond.

FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND

v OLIVER McCULLOUGH (Sabden) W 21-14

I had good reason to grow in fear as I took to the mat and exchanged a few words with my first opponent. He's sixteen, he's a home bowler and then his first wood was bang on.

Young Oliver is a fine bowler and will surely prosper in this game if he takes it in to adulthood. A confident stroke out of a delivery, a competitive edge and yet lovely temperament. One to watch in the future I would say.

Despite facing what seemed a daunting task for me, Olly did mention that he hadn't played that much recently. Thank goodness for that, because if this was his rusty mode I'm glad he didn't turn up well oiled.

The match had a feeling of going close. Anything less than a fairly good bowl was likely mopped up by Olly and his lead bowling was excellent at times. Occasionally though I managed to tap his out to ease the pressure and then found a patch over the middle of the green that I seemed to play well and stuck with it. Going in to the teens I began to pull away and reached 19-11. My opponent rallied back for a few ends until uncharacteristically sending a couple of short ones. My second counter was a little lucky to flick in off one of Oliver's, rather than hit it thick and knock him in. It was enough to make round two and tuck in to my second tea of pie, peas and gravy. Pies from Cissy Green's bakery in Haslingden I was informed, and bloody good too.

It turned out afterwards I had beaten one of the organiser's grandsons. But thankfully Maggie said I can still come back next year. The lad is one of the club's rising stars for sure.

SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND

v KEVAN LINGARD (Sabden) W 21-14

It was a sloppy start against another home bowler but with a few more years under his belt than my first round opponent. Left-hander Kev quickly showed his intentions sending me long to the corners and it took a few ends to adapt. Two of those three early doubles conceded were a bit cheap really and encouraged him to carry on, thinking I couldn't reach. At 1-6 I knew the rot had to stop quickly and finally I reached up and woke up early enough to get back in to the game. Nudging level, when Kevan broke he was still trying the long game but sending a bit tight which was a good guide for my own woods and I started to put the squeeze on. He was a tough nut to eventually crack though. Three ends in a row he delivered superb bowls that got around my own that was hiding the jack. But on that third end, it was payback as my second bowl rested fat at a perfect length to nick back in. The calipers were out, but I'd got it and that seemed to finally break Kevan's resistance and I had got down to the night's last four for a second successive year.

THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND

v PAUL BRETT (Burnley) L 12-21

"You were too long and too good", I said to my opponent as we shook hands and departed from the green. Paul Brett had stretched me out to the corners and with unfathomable accuracy most of the time. Damage was done early doors, sinking to unstoppable twos and not even getting near, the match started sliding away at 1-8.

When I did collide with his woods hugging the block, he still ended up with two. It started to feel like I wasn't going to get a sniff.

But I did manage to break him a few times and find a few limited ends of joy inside the middle section. My leads just weren't as tight as I would have liked though and they really had to be against this chap.

It was purely a lack of consistent long bowl technique and not really taking more time to measure things up before I went for the sling. It's something to work on over Winter. The potential is there. I can see what I have to do and the odd time I can do it, but I need to find a technique for playing corners and particularly in conditions when greens are stiffer. It was a fair old chuck on Sabden this evening, that's for sure and particularly as the green dampened later on despite holding a pleasant temperature.

It turns out Paul, who I recognise and knew damn well to be a very good player for New Longton, is actually from these East Lancashire parts and knows the green very well. A Sabden Doubles champion too no less. So no disgrace. I didn't play as well as my previous two matches, but even so didn't get altogether tonked out of sight either. I think Paul will be difficult to beat in the last sixteen and could well be a contender for the latter stages.

OTHER STUFF

My next door neighbour and Leyland League team captain was also present at Sabden (we hadn't conferred and so rather pointlessly travelled separately) After his tip-off, I managed to avoid Aaron's half of the draw though and he also made it to the third round, only to bow out to Kevin Hodgkinson. 4-16 down after a cold restart against an opponent more or less back on the green pretty quickly, Aaron battled back gamely but just lost out to 17.

A spectating Jon Metters asks me afterwards how long I've been playing, saying I do well and should keep going which was kind of him to say so. But Jon was quickly distracted by latching on to a nearby conversation that revealed my earlier opponent Kevin Lingard was keyboard player for Herman's Hermits.

Before my time, but I've heard of Pete Noone at least! Kev, who also tickled the electronic ivories for The Osmonds, wasn't an original Hermit but has had a long spell with the band on their tours in the 21st century.

Metters was over there in a flash and he can talk, so Kev was in for the long haul I suspect. It was to be hoped he still enjoys the attention!

Another spectator I am familiar with was Gentleman John, John Hanson. I'll be bowling at John's Longridge Floodlit Singles in a few week's time. He was also complimentary of my game, although John only has kind things to say. Having also made the third round twice at Longridge, I said to John that maybe a finals night is "one step beyond" and then suggested I might listen to a bit of Madness on the way to his club comp for inspiration.

Incredibly, that got lost on Mr Hanson. John seems very well read and exhumes intelligence with an old fashioned charm, yet I don't know where he was in the late seventies and early eighties when two tone ska music clearly passed him by.

John said he had been enlightened by this and also by my earlier advice to get a tablet instead of straining his eyes to text on a less than state of the art phone to engage in his bowling administrations. When it's me dishing out technological advice, the recipient really must be in the dark ages! He's ace is John.

A long evening was about to get longer when I opted for the M65 rather than the A59 to get home. The '65 route should be a bit quicker in the evening, but little did I know after getting on the motorway that is was closed just a couple of miles ahead at Blackburn North.

Geographical knowledge gained by years of Wednesday night training runs with Blackburn Harriers gave me a good idea where to go to pick up the next junction at Shadsworth, only to find the main road to that checkpoint also closed!

Google maps navigation time and a convoluted diverted route it was too, stuck behind a huge articulated dpd wagon down narrow streets of suburbia with exactly the same intentions. Nearly eleven o'clock when I got in. 🙄. 

GREAT TEAM WIN GLOSSES OVER ANOTHER TOUGH AWAY LESSON

Thursday 28th August 2025

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-1: St George's Institute (172) 3-10 Eagle Blues (188)

v MICK HADDON L 14-21

St George's Institute was a second new green to deal with in the space of four days. Unfortunately it resulted in signing out of the Leyland League with a defeat too, all be it at the hands of vastly experienced Mick Haddon.

I think I could really enjoy playing here - a proper crown green expanse of peaks, troughs and ridges - but it might take a few more trips to get to grips with it and certainly enough to have any chance against the likes of Mick on his home turf.

We've had some rain at last which slowed things up. Apparently it's been tricky keeping bowls out of the gutter here lately and even after a bit of damp you could see why.

I started encouragingly but my opponent always seemed to pick out an even better one in some tight early exchanges before I had a spell losing my way to lag behind at 3-10. With a bit of luck on a few ends and capitalising on the odd mistake from Mick, despite being on the back foot I stuck the match out a fair while longer than any of the other first four matches and had supressed the early flurry of conceding twos to just singles. There were opportunities to do better. Marks I thought I could play, but repeatedly put too much pace behind or just not enough. I think I was a tactical numpty at times and when a mark was working for me I should have waited for it's availability again and my brave world of playing round peg as much as possible should have been reigned in here. The green showing me it deserved more respect for a first timer.

Fourteen wasn't a bad effort in the end and was proof that I could make a game of it to some extent. At least I'll get another chance to come here next season, although our team's great performance on the night could quite possibly have relegated our opponents who only started the evening with a one point cushion from the drop zone. We tried our best to save New Longton, but they couldn't muster more than a couple of winners as St George's survived. They've some very good players here and you wonder why they struggle. But maybe their own tricky green can also be their enemy at times. Eagle Blues picked up seven winners and the aggregate with no greater performance on our team than that of Steve Wilson who smashed Terry McMullan 21-8. A hell of a win.

Back to me then - which ultimately is what this blog, diary, cathartic exercise, complete waste of time or whatever it could be interpreted as - is about. It's been my best league season overall and I shouldn't let the last two games tarnish that. Two patchy performances to end it felt a bit flat but getting stressed on greens I haven't played before when it's not working out for me is daft really. The odd time it can work out for you, but generally you can't expect to turn someone over in those circumstances and especially in this league. I've just got be a bit more calm and patient, to somehow detract myself from the scoreboard, even my opponent too and just literally blinker myself in to playing the green.

The competitive season isn't entirely over for me yet. There's two singles competitions to come on greens I have adapted to and so hopefully still a chance to close the season out on a higher note. 

DIN'T KNOW WHAT F'OR DO WI' T'BLOCK

Monday 25th August 2025

CHORLEY & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-2: Bellingham BC (159) 9-1 Eagle & Child 'A' (115)v 

MARK PARTINGTON L 17-21

The drive to Wigan evoked some memories; A good few belting nights out in the 1990's, playing for a decent five-a-side team at the then newly opened Soccer Dome in the early noughties and then a little later during that decade, racing at the Haigh Hall Four Mile Series many a time in my formative competitive running years as a Chorley Harrier. What ever happened to the good old imperial four miler anyway?*

From my residings, it's nowt of a run to Wigan early evening - twenty minutes or so - just one junction down the M6 and then the A49 is a good road in. What never ceases to amaze me in this direction is how profoundly the Lancashire accent changes. Even just a few miles away in Chorley, vowels are pronounced very differently. But Wigan, like fairly nearby Bolton, still hangs on to some distinctive dialect in these parts.

Some of the younger generation from my central Lancs location try to emulate the testosterone induced tones of the Gallagher brothers, but do it badly and their attempts at street Manc sound like the inconceivable angst of primitive meatheads. In some cases, that's exactly what it is too!

In Wigan though, whilst Greater Manchester by administration, there remains a stoic vocal identity about the people there. Suburban Mancunian on paper, but still deeply Lancastrian at heart.

This time I'm there for the Crown Green and to Bellingham, on the cusp of Haigh Hall's parklands in fact. The Chorley & District League stretches out far and wide and this was a first time bowling here for everyone in our team.

On the back green of a nice two green set up, lush turf was available in some areas, but great islands of the parched brown stuff dominated this sizeable playing area.

The trouble for me, and everyone else I suspect, was getting to grips with the altering pace in different areas. I tried on the green stuff but still just wasn't getting as near as I would like, I tried on the brown stuff too but on a first visit here you could never be sure whether you'd sent a good bowl or a bad bowl until the bloody thing had finally stopped.

Throughout the whole match, I didn't really know what to do or where to go with the block when I had it. (Refer to heading for Wigan (Wiggin) translation)

I got off to a reasonable start and stayed ahead through the first half, but neither myself or Mark could keep hold of that jack for more than an end and we were both getting frustrated with our less than satisfactory leads.

It was a game where I just had to hang in there, keep the concentration and keep scrapping. But instead I got a little wound up at myself and this cost me when Mark started to step up his game. The home bowler finding some cracking second bowls when I was holding fairly decent ones that had every chance and he nudged ahead as we got in to the teens.

It was taking real good bowls now to stay with him, but I had the jack in hand at 17-18 so I can't say I didn't have an opportunity. Yet once again my lead bowl let me down - sometimes you just haven't got the faith as you send them and this was one of those nights. Mark punished me with a good bowl, sent two close ones on the next end and whilst I suppose seventeen wasn't a bad effort, it just felt like a bad defeat. Mark played well though on the back end and squeezed me out of contention.

Eleven wins from sixteen is nevertheless my best season in this division and felt it could have been one or two more looking back, but that's always easy to say. 

It was a night to forget for the team as Nigel Tomlinson saved a little grace as our only winner. But with survival already assured, we weren't that bothered and at least have the heads up for our next visit here in 2026.

WHY HAS THE FOUR BEEN FORSAKEN?* 

So whatever did happen to the four mile road race?

There seems to be an obsession with metric distances these days. 5K, 10K and not a lot in between or around them. In the late noughties there were two local four milers, plenty of five milers, the Lostock Six, even a Trawden Seven when the imperial mile was still embraced as a distance benchmark. At least the good old ten miler has managed to prevail on the calendar. 

Marathons and Half Marathons remain imperial distances on paper, but are strangely measured in metric around the course. This was even prevalent in the last few Yorkshire Three Peaks races I entered. Well known to be around 23 miles but posted with kilometre signs every five or ten when it was selected as a World Mountain Running Championship race.

One thing is certain, the four mile race is now certainly hard to come by. It's gone out of fashion.

Any distance has it's particulars required to race it well and I thought a four miler had a certain charm about it. If I wanted a decent time I had to invest more earlier on than say a five miler, but not be so respectful as to stray much below a good 5K pace. (3.1 miles!) For me, the four was a real test of speed and endurance, learning to really hang on at a hurtful pace for longer than I wanted to. This helped build strength over the latter stages of longer distances. 

There were quite a few four mile races around when I started out on the local race scene in 2006. Nearest to me were the aforementioned Haigh Hall series and also a Summer series four miler at Astley Village, near Chorley. That race always produced a strong field. You could just rock up and pay on the night - none of this online, password required, additional admin fee malarkey. 

In 2007 I got my four mile time down to 21:44 and in 2008 pipped that time with a personal best that I could never surpass of 21:42. 

Sadly, disgruntled neighbours tired of having to wait an extra minute or two at the junctions of their cul-de-sacs four evenings a year, played their overzealous moaning cards right to the powers that be and went about making the race impossible to continue for the organisers. A 4.4 mile trail race on Astley Park was never going to be an adequate replacement for such a great race. Haigh Hall went to five miles around the same time and I don't know why.

I often wonder how decent a runner I could have been had I not let football come first until I turned 32 and had I not strayed in to periods of pot smoking. But the most important thing is that I snapped out of it, stopped getting stoned and stopped playing football in good enough time. I got there!

I've done many incredible races and met some incredible athletes and wonderful people and particularly in the fell running circles.

Still running now and still dreaming, but in a different way enjoying it perhaps even more than I did when chasing down the clock or the next runner in front of me.

Probably an above average runner in my time, but can I become more than an above average bowler?