LOVING IT UNDER THE LONGRIDGE FLOODLIGHTS

Wednesday 17th March 2025

LONGRIDGE SPRING FLOODLIT SINGLES

At Longridge Cons

Coming very close to finals night in this competition last Autumn, the memory of that bowling happy place has since been dimmed by a less than encouraging Winter and even though practice has been going really well since gearing up for the Spring restart, there was a niggling doubt that I could rekindle any sort of form from that evening in October.
Oh me of little faith in myself.
Longridge Cons has become the unlikely venue where some true bowling potential comes to fruition.
Autumn's effort was equalled in that I reached round three again, perhaps eclipsed in that I felt I played even better.
There were a few blips and a few tactical errors to pick out, but generally speaking I bowled tight and finally felt naturally at ease when mixing it in the singles competition environment. 
Something has clicked.

FIRST ROUND QUALIFIER
v SIMON PEARSON (Accrington) W 21-12 (off 3-3)

Simon won the toss but his first bowl was wayward, I got in there straight away and seemed to take control of proceedings from there to win the first ten points and was giving my opponent very little slack. I was bowling with confidence and although at 13-3 my occupation of the block was finally broken, I didn't give Simon much room for a comeback, limiting him to mainly singles and breaking him often enough to maintain that early lead and feeling unusually comfortable enough on the way to round two.

SECOND ROUND QUALIFIER
v JOHN BARNES W 21-15 (off 3-3)

This game started out with little in it but after the early jousting of working each other out, I once again found myself building a healthy lead and was playing even better, which I needed to against John with most ends tightly contested.
My opponent did get himself a good spell with the block and started putting up excellent leads, but the key to holding on to supremacy in the match was limiting him to single pointers and keeping a bit of pressure on rather than feeling it myself.
A couple of breaks during this period was enough to see out the match. I felt I could take my chances when the opportunities came and that's what I did. This was easily a game that would have got away from me in a not too distant past. But things seem to be on the up. Bowls are leaving my hand in a particular way and there is a confidence growing in what I am doing.

THIRD ROUND QUALIFIER 

v JONATHAN LACEY (East Lancs) L 13-21 (off 3-3)
Just before going on for round three, Sam Patterson rather strangely mistakes me for his second round opponent Andy Lund and offers me a consolidatory pint. 

"Oh cheers", I said "But you haven't beat me..." and then my mate Mr Lee who came to watch, chips in with me at the same time... "YET!!". It was funny.

(OK, so you probably had to be there)

I could have been playing Patterson in the next match, but instead I got perhaps the toughest draw left in home bowler Jonathan Lacey, who I came across in doubles last month.
The handicap system is no longer a thing at the Longridge comp with homesters starting equally off three and the only forfeit being that their opponents start with the block.
I think it's fair enough.
Besides, I started well and kept hold of the jack for the first few ends which helped me settle down up against the deft left hand of this county player. 

At 7-7, on Jonathan's round peg mark in to the merciless tricky corner that was running quite fast for the time of year, I'm holding one with a perfectly weighted first bowl, my opponent attacks but misses and I mop up two with a replica second. 9-7 and absolutely in the game, but I blew it next end with my lead a few feet short, running through a couple of feet with my second and Mr Lacey instantly levelling the match putting two well placed winners in between.
It was a key end in the match as Jonathan edged in to the lead but at 11-14 I was still being a nuisance and once again limiting an opponent to mainly singles.
I just couldn't get back in much after that though as Jonathan kept picking up singles and many by some very slight margins. Maybe half a dozen measures proved unfavourable overall, including the last end when I just missed his holding bowl with a bit of umph behind it and instead took out the jack which sailed towards the far corner and stayed in for an unusually long distance measure that required long tapes, but which didn't go my way again.

A couple of two's conceded did do the damage and Jonathan was just too good, which I knew full well before we started, but he had to put very good bowls up to get rid of me and I thoroughly enjoyed the game, every second of it in fact as I did every second of the whole evening.

It's put me in a good place for the start of the league season in a couple of weeks. 
John Hanson's biennial floodlit competitions have become an enjoyable ritual. I love the green and the very friendly set up there. As I have probably gushed before, Gentleman John is a great host, the greenkeepers do an amazing job with the playing surface in impeccable condition and running absolutely beautifully.
I was pleased John & Co. got the weather too. Dry and settled is as good as you can ask for and from all four qualifying nights through to Finals Night on Friday, the elements behaved themselves. 

WINTER OF DISCONTENT

As Autumn descended in to Winter I suprisingly found myself experiencing a growing sense of disillusionment with bowling during those dark, damp and cold months.

This is a total moan fest coming up, although the fact could be that I'm simply not good enough to adapt to cold season bowls. 

I remember thinking when I first started out in this game that Winter bowling sounded like a bad idea. I tried it and actually enjoyed it for a couple of years, but now my worm has turned again. Generally and so far as the greens at Fox Lane are concerned, I can't play as well as I feel I ought to be doing and have got a bit fed up with it.

In terms of logistics, team changes resulted in a squeeze on consistent game time. Meanwhile, not enough light in the day or unsuitable weather prevented enough practice time and particularly since the turn of the New Year.

Those two ingredients have been a recipe for inconsistency, lack of confidence and a feeling I've regressed from a high point reached at the tail end of last Summer.
As such, the all-important enjoyment factor has waned.
To an extent, Winter bowls has felt like a waste of time that could be spent with more valuable intent. The very fact my game hasn't progressed, combined with all the standing around in muscle seizing low temperatures doing nothing for my running fitness has put lots of stuff in perspective.
It's not helped that our Wednesday night team have had a poor season and been relegated. Our captain Steve had increased the team to seven fully commited players to contest just four places each week and so increased rotation means less of a run playing, add to that the disruption of postponements due to the weather and it's just been a total hotchpotch. Not knowing if you're playing and often right up to the start time if our skipper hasn't made his mind up which four to select has also become a niggle with me. Regardless, if the opportunity to play does arise, I'm rusty and if I land a toucher one minute, two clangers are likely to follow.

Playing in additional doubles leagues would probably keep me keener. I would be on a green more regularly and quite possibly playing better, but this seemingly obvious solution comes unstuck by the fact Winter League opportunities are few and far between and the reality is that I'm hardly a sought-after name to be on any captain's wishlist.
One thing I've noted about my game is that practice is essential to play well. There was a glimmer of hope very recently when I got a couple of sessions in during the week at St Paul's and it cannot be coincidence that I then played well in our last game of the season. Although only four days later but without a roll in between, I felt I'd lost the plot again in a knockout competition.
In a nutshell, Winter bowls 2025-26 doesn't appeal.
Two attempts at double competitions didn't go too great either. At Frenchwood in December, I partnered Aaron and we should have grasped a first round victory having led well, gone behind and then led again only to go down 20-21. A pity really, I felt if we could scrap through that match we might pick up a notch for round two.
More recently Nigel and I entered the familiar fray of Fox Lane for the annual doubles competition and whilst getting away with a less than potential fulfilling performance to ease through round one, a similar display of inconsistency saw county player Jonathan Lacey and Paul Howarth make reasonable mincemeat of us in round two.
I've not played at all since then. The best part of a month without a roll. St Paul's has closed until the new season and to be honest I've just needed a break from it all to refresh my enthusiasm.
I have to get practicing again very soon though. My home green at the Eagle will be a good few weeks until reopened, so back to the old needs-must of Astley Park. A roll is a roll.
It is hoped my Winter whinge here proves to have cathartic qualities. A fresh start begins at Longridge Floodlit Singles shortly and where last season finished well, an encouraging start to the new one is required to get my bowling back on track. 

GLIMMER OF HOPE STALLS GRIM OUTLOOK FOR NOW

Rounding up a couple of months in which the weather has not been kind to the Fox Lane Wednesday league fixture list, matches have stuttered along on heavy greens.

Paired with Harry Derbyshire, we were by no means pushovers against one of the league's strongest double acts of Dave Charlesworth and Josh Iddon.
Dave's lead bowls were excellent throughout the match and Josh is dangerous from the back mixing finesse with quality striking. We had restricted their progress to a slow burn until conceding a hurtful four which looked set to see out the match for the Expendabowls pair at 11-19. 

But Harry and I came back well with a good spell clawing back to 17-19 and holding two to draw level before Josh's weighty last bowl picked up the jack perfectly to finally get rid of us. We didn't really expect to get much out of this match overall, but came close to a point there.
Next match I hooked up with Matt Hoyles for the first time against an Olive Park Greens team having a great season. It was one to forget as we were beaten up 6-21 without doing a great deal wrong really. Their lead bowler was on fire, whilst their second shooter swung some serious points around with his last bowl on quite a few occasions to make it one of those nights.
Points have been few and far between since and our team Misfits were deep in relegation trouble before last Wednesday night's defeat on a stinking wet night.
Rested again and although grateful in one respect given the conditions, for me, perhaps we've one or two too many in our squad for any of us to get a consistent run in the team. Some nights our captain Steve doesn't make his mind up who is playing until the very last minute. That sort of suspense isn't the exciting kind and doesn't do owt for me.
In addition to those minor frustrations, our captain has spelled out his long term strategy which is to bin this struggling season off and accept relegation, then bounce back, win some (very modest) prize money, be relegated again and effectively become a yo-yo team.
Not only do I think it's optimistic to assume we would get promoted back at the first attempt, but unfortunately I find myself at odds with Steve's outlook for the team and I'm wondering whether I want to buy in to it. I think we can be better than that.

I would prefer us to be committed to staying up and fighting for the opportunity to continue playing against the top players in that league.
It's Steve's team and I respect that, but just now I'm starting to question whether I'm going to feel like it's worth rushing out and giving up my Wednesday nights for this team again next Winter.
It would be difficult finding another team. Windows of opportunity are scarce and I'm certainly not sought after. I have to say though that I'd rather not play at all than play doubles league without aspiration and ambition to improve and be as good as we can.
On a brighter note, despite being unable to attend a catch-up match on the Eve of Christmas Eve due to the absolute ridiculousness of my working days at this time of year, the other lads scored a 2-1 win to actually keep our hopes alive of avoiding the drop. We now have the top three sides to play, but also a six-pointer up for grabs against a relegation rival, so there's still a sniff of a chance and I for one will not be giving up on eradicating the scent of relegation until it becomes a mathematically assured stench.

A SHAW OF RESPECT
A minute's silence was observed a few weeks ago at Fox Lane after the sad news that Ken Shaw had passed away. Father of top player Kevan Shaw, he was still playing the odd game for the Westhoughton team until last year and was a regular spectator on a Wednesday night. Only a couple of weeks earlier I spotted him in the warmth of the middle shed watching proceedings.
A couple of years ago in my first Winter season I recall playing against Ken in a father and son partnership with Kev. Doubling with Banksy that evening, we were doing alright until Ken had us on two round peg marks that he played brilliantly. I was in awe of playing against Kevan Shaw that night, but by his own standards he was less than outstanding and it was his Dad Ken who made the difference.

ST PAUL'S THE PERFECT PRACTICE PATCH
Bowling nobody I may be, but certainly from a local perspective I'm picking up some good contacts and meeting good people in this game. On both counts, the chairman of Farington St Paul's no less. 

Peter Suart offered his club's green to practice during the Winter months for a very reasonable fee and already I've had four or five good sessions on there.
This was a green which I didn't enjoy playing on my first three visits from 2021 to 2023, but Peter and his club members have worked hard to improve the surface - which I noticed on my fourth encounter there this year - and have done a cracking job. I remember mentioning once that it was one of my least favourite away greens, but certainly no longer. The club is a hidden gem with very good facilities and I'm truly grateful to utilise this quiet corner of Farington Moss during these Winter months. 

There's no such thing as bad practice in this game and it can only help put me in a stronger place going in to Spring.

THE ENDLESS FRUSTRATIONS OF RUNNING, BUT STILL LOVING IT

If Benjamin Franklin had been a runner, the certainty of death and taxes might well have extended to picking up an injury when on the threshold of some good form.

It bloody well always seems to happen.
Feeling good about my training going in to Autumn, I had earmarked Shepherd's Skyline. This is an early November middle distance classic and a fell race which had somehow slipped my agenda back in the days of racing most weeks and I reckoned it would be a good one to tick off and test me out.
An approach of less mileage with emphasis on more shorter effort runs appears to be the key to feeling sharp both physically and mentally about my running again.
I even felt in good enough shape to take on an Ian Dandy cross country fartlek session with a view to making it a weekly must, until the following week the inevitable happened.
Many athletes would agree that when feeling on top is when you can be most vulnerable to injuries. Sure enough, one day comfortably zipping around the roads on a four miler in just over twenty eight minutes. The next day, when seeking to pile on some steady mileage and break back on to the fells, half an hour in I foolishly chose not to listen properly to a touch of tightness in my calf - a background niggle which I thought I had shaken off a week earlier. I continued plodding towards Winter Hill as planned and then thinking I was still thirty-five, tried to run out the whole steep side climb from the crossing on Belmont Road.
As usual, stupid stubborn will had overpowered sensibility and experience. Earlier, I told myself I needed to turn around and head back after half an hour, but the other side of my brain was telling me, "Just carry on owd lad, it'll be reet".
A couple of bouts of very mean cramp prompted the acknowledgement that I'd overcooked it and done some damage to two sections of my right calf. Still four miles to hobble back made matters worse, though thankfully it was good weather and reasonable temperature for the time of year or I could have been in bother.
Nearly two weeks ensued resting up from running or biking until a break on the Lyn Peninsula in North Wales. Rude not to tenderly try out some gentle running, but it was literally either up or down from the door of where we stayed and not ideal rehabilitation for unruly calf muscles. Mrs S, the two dogs and I were cooking up the miles walking however and fortunately that didn't seem to irritate it at least.
I survived a couple of gentle trots along the headland and back and then set out for the dominant peak of Garn Ganol, the highest of the three peaks of Yr Eifl thàt impressively rise steeply out of the Irish Sea. It's classical volcanic shape had been teasing me all week with the tip of it's peak just about visible behind the steep coastal foregrounds of our base. I got as far as the foot of the main climb when it became clear I was doing more harm than good - at least I managed to draw myself away from temptation this time and limit the damage. The day after, we walked it up there which was more than sufficient consolation. Garn Ganol's modest height of around 1850ft doesn't quite entitle it to the mountain classification that it's geographical might quite deserves. From the summit, immense views to the West of Snowdonia and to the East above the rest of the peninsula were soaked up and probably more appreciated walking than running, as it would turn out.
But back to the running and another runless two weeks required after those cautious jogs in Wales.
Calf mended and now strengthening up again, a couple of weeks back training revealed a surprisingly very good base fitness level had remained intact despite a disrupted six weeks or so.
There's no particular goal or race in mind. For years now, even the slightest ambition seems to be scuppered by an untimely setback.
The aim is merely to get feeling sharpish again and then, perhaps, off the cuff could pick something out from the racing calendars.
Sometimes there would seem a complete pointlessness of including my running endeavours in this journal, for no doubt bowls is where the competitive drive is now mainly focused upon. But running is where the heart is at and after all, this is my journal, these are my ramblings and I'll damn well mention what I want to thank you very much. 
Someone touring South America seems to be the only reader in recent times and what type of content I provide for their occasional attention is also absolutely none of their business either. 😉

WINTER DOUBLES RETURNS...

Fresh from closing the Summer season out by flexing some newly found muscle at Longridge Flooflit Singles, Winter league doubles started the following evening and I was well and truly brought crashing down to harsh reality. Harry Derbyshire and I were haplessly crushed to the long corners at Leyland's Fox Lane by a score of 2-21. 

I was looking forward to this first game of the Winter League, fixed up against the champions and all-stars of Westhoughton, but Kevan Shaw led out a masterclass of long range bowling backed up not so shoddily by former Isle of Man winner Dave Phillips.

On a big stiff and sodden green it was just a massive chuck to me, I don't have the technique to get up there with any consistency. Kev's about 5ft 10" and slim build, so it's not about brawn. It was just sheer class and experience.
After Nigel and Matt had a brilliant 21-8 win against Ben Phillips and a new fella on the Westhoughton team, Kevin and Dave were chasing hard to win the aggregate score and the tactical corner slinging was brilliantly effective to take the extra point.
Against a strong newly promoted Rivington the week after on the back green, another loss and this time with Steve Banks. Banksy by his own admission didn't have a good one and you need two to tango in the doubles game.
The team picked up another point when I was away the following week, before rekindling last season's successful partnership with Nigel Tomlinson against another newly promoted side Crown Paints from Darwen. Matt and Henry recovered well after a bad spell to take fourteen before Nige and I then won by the same score for a drawn match which takes one and a half points each.
Catching up with the present, last night a proverbial six pointer against bottom of the table and the third newly promoted team Diamond Dogs. An alright set of chaps, but strangely three of the four players fielded in this team were very much partial to a sort of bowler's text book of posturing. It made for interesting observations, as these guys were certainly no better than us individually or collectively. 

Collectively was what mattered most with

Harry and Matt getting us off the mark with a good win, then it was myself and Mr Tomlinson again winning 21-15 after a poor start going four down. It was a scrappy affair, neither side getting to grips with how the green was running in places, but an important match win and invaluable three points. Nige came up trumps from the back with some big points when it really mattered.
It's always tricky on that back green and just not running as nicely as the front one at the moment. That said, I looked across at one of the nearby ends between top teams Westhoughton and Expendabowls a couple of times and their bowls were much tighter than ours!
Engineered by practice sessions in which I rarely play simpler straight peg marks, I have become an habitual round pegger when in charge of the jack, which on that second green at Fox Lane is a little ambitious for my own calibre. Reverting to simpler straight pegging on there may be a good idea in future and hopefully bring more consistency from my lead bowl.
Now fifth in the table of eight, the outlook for our Misfits team this season can't be much more optimistic than the accomplishment of avoiding relegation again, but it's a means to an end to keep on rolling through the Winter with a team that's a good bunch of lads and we have a laugh.
We lost two experienced players from last season, but gained two potential hot shots in Matt Hoyles and his son Henry. Harry Derbyshire is also back to full health thankfully and back to full-on swearing mode to keep us all amused and on our toes. 

SEASON REVIEW

A disjointed start to season four of my crown green education was epitomised by the candid assessment of my Thursday night captain Harry Glynn back in April. Most deflating was it to hear Harry identify that I was playing better than this in my very first year. 

I seemed to have gone backwards when forwards had looked the more perfectly natural direction for my game.
There was a strange couple of weeks when I knew what I was meant to do but just couldn't find a way. I couldn't find a rythym, started over-thinking every micro-movement of my delivery and lost confidence. I did manage to get back on track though and then started to play better than ever at times.
One step back and two steps forward seemed to be the general pattern as form dipped again a little bit at times, but overall I played much better bowls and feel significant improvements have been made.
One measure of progress was away form in the leagues, winning as many on the road this year as I've managed in the whole of my previous three seasons. Ten from fifteen matches this year and those five losses could, or should have gone the other way. Something clicked away from home in particular and it built up a higher level of belief, confidence and also more resilience. 
In contrast, our home green felt less of a familiar friend. After initially getting my kecks in a twist and falling out with it, this season became more of a "getting to know you again" relationship on the Eagle & Child.
Work done to the surface during last Autumn and Winter had changed its character in places and whilst slowly starting to find my way on it again, I was vulnerable if an opponent turned up with a very good game. Too frequently goetting myself off to an horrendous start that couldn't be fixed and this season's most difficult and bruising defeats were experienced on home turf.
Generally though and despite no shortage of tough games, my stats stood up much better in the leagues
Another measure of progress was the way I played in the two late season singles competitions. There was that brief sign of potential in Spring at the Hugh Hornby Merit, but then reverting to a series of poor showings and first round thrashings began to question my stubborn perseverance of entering such things again.

But it all came good at Sabden and Longridge recently, making third round status for the first time and almost making a finals night.
Strangely, having struggled to find form on the day in most singles competitions this year and feeling like I'm just not going to make the basic grade to provide a competitive opposition, I've finished the season having found myself not only putting up some of my best woods in that environment, but also discovering a much better temperament to go with it.
Naturally, I still call myself a knobhead when I send a bad one, but I get over it quickly and make sure my next one is better. No kicking woods off or chucking them in the bush at this level. In singles, if it goes wrong I'm only letting myself down, which I've probably done most of my life so I'm well rehearsed in that!
I think in a team or doubles partnership I can get lost in the fear of letting the team or partner down and for that, simply put too much pressure on myself.
In singles, it's much more simple. Defeat is almost expected, victory a beautiful bonus and lately I've discovered just aiming to go out there to play well and enjoy it can reap results.
No longer any lingering doubts about entering competitions then and whilst still an underdog of course, ever so slightly less the black sheep.
Many elements of my game remain to be worked hard on, but I can see and even feel what I have to do now to get there.
Being entirely honest, deep down there is a ridiculousness that aspires to become a very good crown green bowler indeed. I think this has been the case since I started! A most unlikely success story that's highly unlikely to come to fruition, but without that dubious aspiration in the first place, even less chance that it could actually happen.
One or two bowlers who have maybe played longer than I have and resigned themselves to a certain standard or comfort zone may smirk at my flighty desire to achieve things, but whilst still on the up and my game is developing, I don't see the point in looking down or sideways.
This year there have been ever increasing moments and periods during matches when I have even surprised myself by playing some really good stuff.
So the main season ended just as promise began to shine brightest. Now it's important I don't allow the drawn out darkness of Winter to snuff out that promise and start where I left off next Spring. 

SAVING THE BEST UNTIL LAST

Tuesday 1st October 2024

LONGRIDGE AUTUMN FLOODLIT SINGLES

At Longridge Cons

Trying not to get too excited and carried away, but this evening was the best session of bowling that I have produced so far.
A qualifying night full of very good bowlers and competition regulars who play in Lancashire's top divisions, I managed another third round appearance and even came very close to making finals night.

FIRST ROUND QUALIFIER

v TERRY WOOD (St Anne's) W 21-18 (off 3-3)

My geekish purusery of Bowlsnet.uk had pre-identified my first round opponent's name as a member of the very strong Parkfield club's first team, later discovering my stat revision proved correct. 

This game didn't start particularly greatly for me despite feeling I was playing well enough. Terry was a good player who wanted to get on with it and whilst I didn't see much of the block early on, I did manage to limit him to single pointers on the whole and this would be an important factor as the match progressed.

When I did begin to impose myself on the points board, a good spell along the far wall gained some belief and got myself right back in to the match. I think we were all square at 14-14 and then nudged ahead with a good winner across the middle, but this was turning in to a really tight game, Terry going one ahead again before I sneak back to 18-18. I'm back on the patch where I had some joy earlier though, and despite one good hit from Terry when he nulled the end, I continued to put up good leads and got myself over the threshold, surviving a couple more weighty efforts to spoil from Terry.


SECOND ROUND QUALIFIER
v JOHN COUPE (Preston) W 21-20 (off 3-1)

Drawn against John, who I played earlier in the season at Frenchwood for a Hugh Hornby Merit qualifier, part of me consoled, "Oh well, I've got to the second round again, not a bad night", whilst another part was quietly fired up to be a pain in the backside and give him a good game again.
John, who has more clubs than Rory McIlroy, plays for competition hosts Longridge in the Preston Prem. Home bowlers play off one in this competition against the rest of us on three. Even prior to us being drawn each other, John mentioned how the two chalks handicap for home bowlers has repeatedly cost him progress here in tight games that would otherwise have just gone his way.
On the flip side, he should have put the likes of me to bed long before he rued the cost of it once again.
Despite a terrible start, with two chronic shorties followed by two in the gutter, I settled down and as in our previous encounter earlier in the season, didn't let John get too far ahead.
I put some crackers up to break him at times and when John did go astray, I made it pay.
I'd reeled the score back to 13-13 when John started to pull away again. But once more, not by more than three or four before I hit back and started to have the audacity to fancy my chances.
At possibly 16-18 I just remember feeling so relaxed and simply enjoying making a game of it. We shuffled along to 18-20 when I put up the first of two big match savers after John had put up close ones.
We go all-but across and with jack in hand, decide to choose a different mark and round peg to the main cabin and send my lead perhaps a foot and half short, yet blocking visibility of the target bowl. John shoots through a touch and my next bowl is spot on to really put him under the cosh and I can't quite believe it as he goes underneath with his second one.
A big deep breath followed by a puff of the cheeks as I very slowly exhale. I've just got past John Coupe and in to the final qualifier... bloody hell!
John was obviously disappointed and grumbles that the handicap system cost him yet again. Whilst the maths don't lie and a two point start did aid my victory in the end, in fairness I did gift him four on the first two ends with absolutely atrocious woods. From my perspective, that kind of levelled things out and didn't lessen the integrity of what for me, was an incredible result.


THIRD ROUND QUALIFIER
v DAVE HARGREAVES (Blackburn) L 19-21 (off 3-3)

So hang on a minute now, Gary Cochrane, Sam Patterson, Jonathan Lacey, Terry McMullan... John Coupe of course... these guys were out and I was still in?!
Next up Dave Hargreaves, a previous winner of the Longridge Floodlit I was later informed. Although I won the first end tamely, Dave then began to assert authority and play a long game that got him off in to a decent lead. When I pinched in with a perfect bowl at the wall corner, Dave tapped me out with his second and that affirmed my concerns that this chap was going to be very difficult to break.
Bowling towards the tricky corner opposite though, he wasn't so accurate and I felt he got away with a few sloppy scores when I just couldn't get the length right. The green slopes down and your bowl has got to fall off the crown at just the right speed. A short bowl ends up drifting off the land, too much juice ends up running away and most likely to the gutter.
Eventually I got out of the hole I was in though, finally sending a length bowl down there and got round pegging along the stone wall again with good effect. I was leading well but too often didn't make it pay with a close enough second.
Dave has another spell with the block and looks to have done enough at 14-20, but a cracking two saves the game and leaves me in position to get back to the far corner and I win the next few ends to make nineteen with jack in hand. Suddenly the momentum was with we to win the match.
Rather than feeling pressure of the situation - just one good end from qualifying for finals night - it was rather a more blasé approach that might have cost me. I just got on with it as if it was a practice game and maybe let the other match influence my choice of where to send the jack, flinging it further than I wanted to near the far edge and so just switched off at the wrong time.
My first bowl is short, Dave beats it with a good one, difficult to beat and this time I couldn't pull one out of the hat.
Only slightly annoyed with myself but not for long, I've punched above my weight over three games and was happy getting as close as I did to Friday evening's last eight.
Tonight was a breakthrough. A chap called Mick, who I recognise as a referee and familiar face helping score and measure at local comps observed that I've competed at a high level of bowling there, played well and yet still could have been more ruthless with my second wood on many occasions. I really appreciated his feedback as we chatted at the end. I don't think I need validation, but it's nice to be noticed and have someone be interested and talk about your game. 
All things considered, a fine evening to finish off a good season.

STILL ONLY SECOND BEST BOWLER ON THE AVENUE
Pretty satisfied and encouraged with how things panned out at Longridge, it was only a couple of evenings after that I really rued not going that one step further.
That was when I discovered young Aaron next door had made it to finals night and that potentially there could have been two Eagle & Child players in the last eight. Two from the same avenue as well. But it wasn't quite to be.
Aaron proved once again though that he is going to be some player, making it to the final after beating Andy Fleming and then my third round opponent Dave Hargreaves in the semi-final.
In the final tie he faced top player Josh Mordue for a second time in a month after running him close in the last sixteen of the Brownedge Classic recently. Once again Aaron wasn't far off Mordue's silky coat tails with the latter's fearsome striking bridging what seems an otherwise narrowing gap between the young Eagle and some of the top guys.

LUCK RUNS OUT AFTER ANOTHER LONG SLOG

Tuesday 24th September 2024

TIM ROBINSON AUTUMN FLOODLIT DOUBLES

SEMI-FINALS
Paired with PETER BYLINSKI
v MALCOLM JONES & STEVE MARGINSON
L 28-31 (off 5-6)

Another slog that touched the two hour mark, but this time Peter and I couldn't quite get over the winning line.
We were drawn against probably the toughest pairing in the last four based on all round experience in Malc and Steve.
Mr Jones not the top class force he once was, but still crafty and still capable. Steve plays in all three of our club's 'A' teams, so not really any weak links to pick at. 
After a promising start, our opponents came back and it became clear Malc was having a steady game up front and got stronger as the game went on. He worked out what Peter and I weren't best at coping with, which were staight, short marks over the top of the crown and often landed a good lead to put the pressure on.
After sending some poor ends earlier on, I got myself all grumpy and tensed up which is not condusive to either thinking or playing the game rationally. I should know by now.
But Peter was also driving me slightly up the wall at times, poor hearing or not, there seemed to be no interest in hearing my advice or instructions and rather a haste to just send his bowl up regardless of the situation. Mr Bylinski's maverick side was difficult to tame this evening!
Perhaps I should have swapped around with him, but we were just about holding in there as the scores pushed beyond twenty so I figured we should stay as we are and try and somehow scrap our way to thirty-one first.
Staying as we were was then solidified by a moment of Peter's maverick magnificence. After going four chalks down and recovering to 23-25, I sent two exceedingly frustrating shorties. Malc and Steve made two before Peter steamrollered in to knock mine up and with a kiss here and a knick there he found us a three.
We then continued this good spell to go 28-25 after I sent two nice ones in front of the clubhouse. Perhaps I should have gone back across - I'll never know - but instead went long towards the opposite corner and in fairness I put two good ones up so can't have any regrets. Steve's first bowl from the back was splendid though, taking a little bit of assistance off my first one and rolling up against the jack. A game changer with Malc on the block again and a few ends later we were all square.
Peter somehow saving the match glancing one of my wide bowls in to play to reduce a four down to a two, but the two cooler heads of our opponents were back in charge.
On the last end to save the match, I tapped the jack up with my second bowl but with just a bit too much on it, opening up a couple of feet behind it in which Steve perfectly sat his first bowl in to. Peter didn't get so lucky this time with his last bowl and we were done.
There was that little window of opportunity where this match could have gone our way, but I think Malc and Steve deserved to win it overall. Peter and I had run out of luck by the last few ends. 
Peter apologises profusely for letting me down, when really, aside from his unwillingness to bloody well listen to me, it was ultimately my fault we lost. I didn't play well enough and allowed frustration to lose my concentration at various points of the match. We did well to make it to the last four. 

In the final, Malcolm and Steve made another tight match of it against Geoff Bibby and Ronnie Roberts, but it was the latter who prevailed by a 31-28 margin. 

PETER PICKS THEM OUT FROM THE BACK

Monday 23rd September 2024

TIM ROBINSON AUTUMN FLOODLIT DOUBLES

QUARTER FINALS

Paired with PETER BYLINSKI
v TERRY GRAYSTON & HENRY HOYLES W 31-21 (off 6-5)

As expected, this was another tight doubles match in which neither pair could shake off the other for the first twenty ends with the scores standing at 17-17.
Just prior to that, I felt the threat of young Henry getting too comfortable with the block, which I remember him doing against Barry and I with great effect in last year's final. This prompted our decision to swap around and whilst it took me a few ends to settle up front, Peter's performance instantly stepped up another notch from the back and he delivered probably half a dozen absolutely perfect winners that undoubtedly made the difference.
Whilst still at a stalemate, it was a bowl from Peter that completely turned the game on it's head. Terry and Henry were holding a well weighted foursome as our first three bowls had all shot through by a yard or more. Instructions to Peter for his second bowl, "Four down. Take a bit of umph out and get amongst them, see what you can save..."
I nip over to my bag for a more waterproof top as the rain came back and look across to see Peter's bowl flying. "Holy shit", I mutter.
Then I hear that beautifully pitched "clack" of a bowl hitting the jack full on and sure enough he's only gone and knocked the target bowl and followed through for an incredible four to us! An eight point swing in one end. A real game changer.
It was rebellious genius from Peter.
Momentum then carried us to 28-21 and lying two when further bad fortune for our opponents saw Tez sending a perfectly aimed weighty bowl to smash things up, which he did, only for everything to settle and now counting three for us. That suddenly tipped us over the line to win.
We're in the semi-finals tomorrow night.
Can we do it? Anything can happen with Mr Bylinski. 

GOOD NIGHT AT SABDEN CASTS DOUBTS ASIDE FOR NOW

Tuesday 17th September 2024

SABDEN FLOODLIT SINGLES

At Sabden Bowling Club
FIRST ROUND QUALIFIER
v PAUL CULLEY (St Helens) W 21-20

After what seemed a longer than usual day at work - a particularly arduous affair sucking the very life out of me - I had a fifty minute drive to the back shadows of Pendle to rid myself of low esteem and convince myself I was actually a worthwhile living creature who could also play a good game of bowls.
Playing well was the absolute priority here. To give someone a game and not leave another singles competition having not played as well as I can.
Thankfully, I settled down quickly and was playing well enough to give myself a chance. A close opening against my first round draw suggested a tight game could be on the cards, which it was in the end, but not before I had a couple of good breaks on shortish round pegs and looked to have put myself on the way to victory at 18-11.
Literally though, when the sun dipped down behind the dark silhouette of the ridge upon Wiswell Moor, I sent a couple of short ones as the green seemed to stiffen up in an instant. I broke back straight away to hit nineteen, but sent yet another short lead to give my opponent another chance.
Paul came back really well, he was dangerous with the block all match and put up good leads and he continued to do so on long marks which are that bit harder to better. I kept knocking on the door, but Paul kept putting the lead up and we ended up 19-20 with one bowl left in my hand to save the match.
The St Helens man left a gap of about a yard for once and with the help of a little nick off his counter, I levelled the match with a big, big bowl.
From there, a round peg down the side of the green towards the scoreboards was just the tonic and I put two good ones up, leaving Paul to strike that thankfully didn't hit anything.
I did it the hard way but I kept my cool and thought I just about deserved the win really over the course of the game.


SECOND ROUND QUALIFIER
v SARAH EDMONDSON (Clitheroe) W 21-14

Next up Sarah Edmundson. I'd already heard of Sarah and even saw her playing recently at the Brownedge Classic where she made the quarter-finals. I was in awe and got myself nervous.
This made for an edgy start with Sarah taking the first four ends but at least I was keeping her down to singles. Once I got in and won an end though, the nerves subsided, I started gaining confidence and rattling up the scores too.
There was a diagonal mark where I got myself in to a good lead, until, unhappy at not getting a correct length at one end (although still picking the points up) I unwisely changed tact and allowed Sarah to show her round pegging quality. A move which she rightly questioned me about after the match.
Despite breaking my own winning streak and Sarah making a concerted effort to close the scores in, I managed to break back and then matched her bowls for the remainder of the match to sustain a decent lead.
There was a point where I remember glancing across at the scoreboard which read something like 16-9 and I couldn't quite believe it. But, having let a very healthy position slip in the first match I was adamant on keeping a firm grip in this one.
Sarah took the same measures as my previous opponent and decided to stretch me out to long marks. Again though, I managed to keep her to singles or steal in. My long game is improving, I think this evening as a whole proved that.
Key moments proved to be an end where I was lucky (or just brilliant?) to stay on and accompany the jack clinging on to greenside when all I had to do was pass Sarah's bowl. The penultimate end was also satisfying when Sarah didn't quite hit the mark she set from corner to corner and I stuck two very good ones up with great timing to solder my intentions of seeing out the match.
This win against Sarah was probably my biggest scalp to date. Another green, another day and it might have gone the other way but I think I was good again for the win and managed to pass the second round stage of a competition for the first time.
Coupe, Ditchfield and Wraight won't be quaking in their boots at that statistic, but it's a little landmark for me and more importantly a reinstated belief that I'm not completely out of place in this environment and should, as I have stubbornly pursued in spite of continuous doubts, carry on entering these things from time to time.


THIRD ROUND QUALIFIER
v COLIN CRAWFORD (Darwen) L 7-21

Note to self if I do manage to get to a third round qualifier again, that even having just left the green after winning your second match doesn't automatically mean one is going to carry on playing well.
In hindsight maybe I should've asked for five minutes, fetched Sarah a cup of tea and gathered my thoughts. But I was happy to get on with it and didn't want to hold up the organisers either. So I handed Sarah a quid for the tea and got back on the green as Colin's trademark quick strides and long rag dangling from his saggy trousered waistline approached.
I've played against Colin in Winter League doubles, but he's an even more savage beast in singles it would seem and particularly on this green at Sabden.
Having won the toss, I put two good ones up straight away and fancied them. But Colin drew a brilliant dead length bowl right between them and that sort of set the tone for the rest of the match.
That said, I was sloppy for the next few ends. Short, narrow, over the top, all the things you can't be and this is where the game began to get away from me quite early on. A few cheap points conceded and 0-8 down before Mr Crawford even reached top gear.
I had at least started to get amongst Colin's bowls a bit more, but by then his gears were shifting and he was sending belter after belter on an inconspicuous mark across the middle of the green that caught me out. This also forced mistakes, wrong shot choices and Colin's class saw the score roll out to a merciless 1-19. I've never been 1-19 before. It's scary.
When I finally broke the rot with what had to be a perfect bowl, Colin finally left me room for a straightforward two after that and I relaxed a bit and put a few more points together, but even then, like when sending a pearler under the inside of his holding blocker to tap the jack up to my back bowl, he landed another dead lengther to limit me to a tight single.
That said, I still dared delusions of double-figures grandeur, but I missed a good opportunity on the next end round pegging to a corner, unable to better my first by enough and leaving Colin with a couple of feet to ease in to and confirm the inevitable win.
The plan was to then throw a long corner to corner bowl and see what happened. I suspect that wouldn't have caught him out either. Colin played very well, shut me down and put me in my place after an otherwise enjoyable and encouraging evening.
My opponent was absolute full value for his place in Finals Day and on this form will be a tough nut to crack. When I asked Colin about his mastery of the green - sometimes looking narrow or wide but still getting there - he said he's played Sabden a good few times and even beaten the mighty Callum Wraight on here. No bigger feather in any bowlers cap.
If I didn't know much about Colin Crawford on cold and dark nights at Fox Lane when he's bowling for the Olive Park Greens team, I certainly do now.
This was my third year at the Sabden singles and I have to give chief organiser Maggie a mention, and her team of helpers, for an always fantastic night's bowling. Pie and peas on in the clubhouse too for hungry buggers like me, straight from work who missed their tea. Perfect.

BURNLEY FAN CLUB
My purely coincidental attire of sky blue tee and claret shorts in the Burnley district seemed to attract the attention of a couple spectating.
I got chatting to them before practice and then sent two perfect woods up straight away, "My money's on you!", they said. It was a laugh. I'd just been playing myself down to them, or should I say, being wholly realistic about my chances.
They stuck around to the finish and kept an eye on my progress. Little did I know I would actually make progress and still be there at the finish.
Barry and Susan Hunter have taken the game up in the last couple of years at the Queen's Park club in Burnley. A big thank you to them for their interest and support. It was very nice to have acquired a small fan club for the evening!

ONE WOOD WONDERS

Thursday 12th September 2024

TIM ROBINSON AUTUMN FLOODLIT DOUBLES

FIRST ROUND
Partnered with PETER BYLINSKI
v PHIL DONNELLY & JACK DICKINSON W 31-29 (off 6-5)

Drawn with a doubles partner I thought I'd never met, it suddenly and randomly dawned on me during a run the night before our game who Peter Bylinski might actually be. I think I met him at the green when practicing a couple of times last year. 
With a surname like Bylinski, I couldn't resist re-introducing myself to Peter with a premeditated dialogue in New York cop drawl, which went a bit like this...
"Heey! ByLINski! Dey tell me yaw my noo pawatner?"
His reaction was difficult to assess, I think confusion with a graceful sympathy might sum it up. Having processed what I was actually saying though, Peter seemed pleased enough we were paired up together.
This match turned out to be a slow scoring, churned out affair with neither pair getting more than a few ahead at any one time.
Our scorer Colin Proctor had given up free time to mark a card and got the short straw with us lot. Colin rightfully dishing out some grief, pointing out only ten chalks scored between us off the first forty woods sent, then regularly updating us with similarly dire statistics.
With nights drawing in and getting a bit chilly, I mentioned to Col it was a good job he brought his jacket and the reply was prompt, "Jacket? I should've brought my f*ckin' sleepin' bag!"
As a Blackburn Rovers supporter though, Colin will have endured many a grim ninety minutes, but this match ended up breaking the two hour mark before it's conclusion - even with both pairs starting off five and six.
For a long period, the beautiful evening sky of luminous blue and burning ambers reflecting off multiple cloud levels with contrasting tones and hues was easily more of a spectacle than what was before us at ground level and absorbed much more of my attention for a while. But when the sun set and the floodlights came on, this game had continued to nip and tuck it's way to 23-21 in our favour. It was time to find a way to win.
Prior to this deciding phase, Peter and I couldn't put two good ones together and when Peter did, I really should've made it a three but was short, as I was too many times which had me apologising to the spectating Hoyles family once again for some blue language. 
Phil and Jack scored a proper three around this time, by far the best played end of the match.
It was difficult to get in to a rythym, but to my own credit I did send maybe half a dozen crackers when we really needed them which in accumulation kept us in the match. 

Not particularly a point winner, but a saver sticks out in my mind when they had a close cluster of four and had blocked the way in on a long straight mark, but I found a length bowl on the outside to save three.
Peter's bowling can be a touch unpredictable, but he can send some good ones up when he gets his delivery right. He's a lively and chatty character and had a spell loudly counting our woods in like the countdown of a wrestling match. He didn't mean harm but it's not exactly green etiquette and was actually putting me off my shots, never mind anyone else on the green!
That, and his continuous commentary seemed to get under Phil's skin a bit. Phil Donnelly is very much a gentleman, but losing patience with my partner, he let rip, "Just f*ck off Peter and send your f*ckin' bowl!"
Jack and I were cackling away behind and it still makes me laugh out loud now when I recall it.
Despite our opponents nudging ahead towards the finish, Peter and I kept in touch. I went up front for a bit but didn't make much difference and then Peter put some good lead bowls out just when we needed them.
At 29-29, Jack's bowls are lying game but again I found one when I absolutely needed it, full length down the nearside of the green. I then asked Peter if I could swap again and take responsibility to put a decent lead up and give us a chance to see the game out. Fortunately I delivered with two decent efforts to the far corner. Peter put another up close for good measure. Not unbeatable though as I had to hold my breathe as Jack just missed interference by a whisker with both his woods and we survived to sneak the win. 
Phil led out very well and showed his knowledge of the green with some great turning over of peg, whilst Jack, who has been struggling for form of late, didn't have a bad game by any stretch and was dangerous at the back. That said, Peter and I stuck with them and somehow got over the winning threshold first. It felt to me like our opponents had both played much better overall, but if bowls is a funny old game, doubles is even funnier.
Having been lucky enough to win this club competition with Barry Wright last year, it's going to be a challenging task to get in to a potentially similar position this time around. Barry was the experienced steady head in our partnership last year, whilst Peter and I are less seasoned in the game and both far less emotionally introvert, shall we say.
I feel we can both play better than we did tonight though and if we do, there's always a chance of progressing further. 

DISMANTLED BY DEDRIE

Thursday 29th August 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3: Eagle Reds 145-203 Hoole Village Hall 'B'

v JOHN DEDRIE L 13-21

John Dedrie belied a patchy season in this division by his standards and dismantled everything I chucked at him in this final match of the season. The Hoole bowler seemed to save the best until last.
I didn't start the game well mind you, John's steady bowls were consistently good but beatable in my view, however length, land or both were frustratingly evasive as I suffered towards a 1-10 deficit.  Despite a much better season all round this year, on the occasion I've got off to a bad start, I haven't done it by half measures and particularly on home soil.
I did start to get my game together and went about finding a way back in to the contest, but John found another level and three ends in particular made the difference with incredible, perfect bowls put up as my best efforts weren't enough.
A lovely two, with one guarding the other looked at least a single no matter what, but John found a way in somehow, tapping my closest and stealing in. Even my scorer Jimmy Sloan gasped in disbelief.
Regardless, having still recovered to trail by just four, I had a round pegged toucher up in front of the clubhouse, should have made it two but overran and yet again, John tapped them up and rolled over nearest the target. A real sucker punch at that stage.
A few ends later, having tried to chuck John long, a decent lead bowl a couple of feet behind looked good enough. Regretfully, I should've gone in again but was fearful of knocking John's first one up so I turned over peg but didn't quite make the distance. John has to land something inch perfect to take the end and by now there was an air of inevitability that he would do, resting on the jack in front of his purring teammates in the visitors end.
I didn't help myself next end, possibly being greedy going for two in a close cluster but trying desperately to ignite some momentum. I was barely an inch over and glanced the wrong side of the jack to knock my opponent in.
At this point, the most remarkable thing to leave my right hand all night was the mat, which I flicked high in to the air in utter disbelief at that previous end. Amazingly, it cut in to the greenside and landed upright! A rubber disc making a two inch incision in to turf is surely an extremely rare event. For starters, not many plonkers whizz the mat like that. I'm just grateful it landed far from any tender human tissue in attendance. 
John played very well and thoroughly deserved the win. He pointed out afterwards at being keen to make a good start having thrown a few games this season by giving silly leads away. Me and him both, but John's way certainly prevailed this evening.

TERRY-BLE PIES JUST TIP OF THE ICEBERG 
A couple of beers had in the pub across the road to mark the league season's end, our team with only two winners at home finishing the season with a bump. The rawness of my own defeat soothed by sips of chilled San Miguel.
Season ticket holder Terry Grayston begins to discuss all things Preston North End as I find myself sat in on an unofficial Lilywhites fan club discussion.
Terry ridicules the terrible £3.75 pies at Deepdale. But as the second pint went down, bold claims that North End could finish top six in the championship were muted.

Hmmm?

Then again, what do I know? I've lost football, or at least professional football has lost me over the last couple of decades with the exception of following Dunfermline Athletic. 

The evolution of legitimised cheating by means of players feigning injury and diving has mainly ruined it for me. Players are even being trained how to "go down" these days. It's actually quite pathetic.
When you compare how both professional rugby codes still go about their business on the pitch, football has lost much of it's integrity.
I've heard a quote from various sources, that "Footballers spend ninety minutes pretending they are hurt, whilst rugby players spend eighty minutes pretending that they're not." That pretty much sums it up.
I was barely investing much interest in the game anyway, when there was a final straw moment earlier this year. The ridiculous VAR decision that denied Coventry City a place in the FA Cup Final was absolutely it. If being 'level' is ONside, how in the name of sanity can a player be judged a mere toenail OFFside over the horizontal expanse of fifty-odd yards and from a frame frozen by one hundredth of a highly dubiously selected second??
What an absolute pile of utter nonsense. It's not even sport anymore.
It costs a load of money to watch (even in your armchair at home) club owners are self-interested and unaccountable, governing bodies make incomprehensible decisions and even the pies are crap as verified by Tez... I could go on all day. Even modern stadiums are generally a soulless clone of each other and why the hell have we got generic box nets at every ground? What ever happened to a good old hooked stanchion in the top corner? (Or should that be "top bins?" - Don't get me started on that either!)

I understand what being a football supporter is about and the loyalty and love felt for a club, I was a proper supporter once and yes, the pies were still rubbish, but the game was more affordable and fairytales could happen - fairytales were allowed to happen.

I digress somewhat.
I only popped in for a pint!

UP THE WALL BUT DID WELL TO WIN

Monday 26th August 2024

CHORLEY & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-2:

Hilltops 'B' 157-137 Eagle & Child 'A'
v HAROLD DYSON W 21-18

Up at Blackrod for the last Chorley league match just like last year, less at stake for the team this time and a slightly more successful evening all round on the tricky green of Hilltops Social Club.
I seemed to have a better feel for it on this second visit and Harold wasn't posing too much of a threat. I think I heard something like 11-3 called between the scorers after ten ends and whilst chickens weren't being counted, I seemed in control of the game and playing well enough to see it out.
That was, until Harold had me up against the wall. The long stretch along the wall at the far side of the green where the marks are tricky, playing against peg in an area of the green where you wouldn't expect it.
The first visit there proved costly. If Harold was something of a one-trick pony along the wall end, it was a trick he was very good at. Eight points were conceded in five ends and we were level. My escape from there was shortlived, one down next end and back we went to the corner, conceding another single and I was up the wall again. I found a couple of savers but the match was getting critically beyond me down there as I now trailed 14-18, until I finally sent a cracker when Harold left me just enough room for once.
Then I picked up a double on the next end and was back in the game and starting to play as well as I had all match, claiming a couple of close singles to level the score.
With the green to ourselves now, I risked the far corner again and heard one of their lot mutter, "That's brave", as the jack rested up. But I played it really well with a perfect lead and one a few inches behind for back up. Harold, who had struck with effect earlier in the game, was only inches off hitting my back bowl but it stood and I'd reversed the scores to 20-18.
I go somewhere different, a bit longer and just run over by a yard as the green slopes off the crown. Harold was a bit narrow but looks on, due to better length.
I take a bit out of my second and find the right road again. As it approaches, I hear our own Keith Anderton say, "This is a cracking bowl, this..." and I rested assured, Keith knows these things and sure enough I gently tap the jack up.
Harold had to have a go and splatted bowls everywhere. I'm not sure what happened exactly, he was perhaps a shade unlucky but I was still on and that's all that mattered to me.
Chuffed with the way I saw out the game and didn't get myself too flustered after squandering a good lead.
It's been a season of consolidation for this team in Chorley & District's second tier. Almost promoted to the top flight last year, the loss of key players and some nights down to the bare bone availability of eight players, managing to stay in the division was a suitable outcome all things considered. On the plus side, the squad strengthened now by the acquisitions of Matt and Henry Hoyles.  

A LESSON FROM THE GENTLEMAN

Friday 23rd August 2024

FARINGTON OPEN SINGLES

At Farington Bowling Club (Formerly Farington Cons)
First Round Qualifier
v JOHN HANSON L 12-21

It wasn't actually a cunning preconceived plan, but as it turned out I thought it might work perfectly that a league match on the Farington green preceded the following night for the Farington Open. But, as already once stated somewhere in this mass of diarist dribble, "thought followed a mud cart and thought it was a wedding".
Same green only twenty-four hours later, but nowhere near the same level of performance.
I was drawn a familiar name to me, the grand gentleman of Lancashire crown green bowling that is John Hanson. As a regular entrant to his floodlit competitions at Longridge Cons, he very politely recruited me for the Autumn one as we were shaking hands to play.
I've never seen John bowl and I couldn't see him around the green either which I found strange given we were in the first half of the draw. It turned out John had been delayed and so our game was played an hour later. Whilst he had the misfortune of missing practice, I missed the opportunity to keep momentum from not only the practice rolls, but momentum from what had been a crazy full-on day at work. It did me no favours having to hang around to go on and the yawns set in.
I remember moaning about rushing home from a busy Friday at work here last year and it not being ideal. Perhaps I should take heed of my own written notes from time to time. It didn't work rushing around for a second night in succession, that's for sure. 
I'm not convinced that's a valid excuse as such, for the reality is that I'm the black sheep in the draw at these events. Not yet ready, not yet good enough.
I can raise my game sometimes and but the concentration levels need to be razor sharp and that requires the perfect storm of feeling mentally fresh and generally relaxed.
I played the first couple of ends out well but then became a shadow of the previous evening. John progressed in to a healthy lead, down to his own good woods of course, but a few cheap twos from my point of view where I really ought to have bowled a saver.
I couldn't keep the block for more than an end, my lead bowling was mainly poor and it wasn't so much the score or the result that left me flat after this match - for John is a bowler of much better calibre - but it was the manner of defeat and the way I played. Just very disappointing.
John played very well and a measure of his game on the night was that he then progressed to finals night, qualifying with a close victory over Dave Worthington. That said, there were some opportunities in the game to run my opponent closer but I blew up at a singles competition yet again and came away with tail between the legs. I know I can play much better in this environment, but despite early season promise, I've just not been able to put in a solid game of bowls that I'm satisfied with and one that tests the level of opponents that I face at these sort of contests. 

NO COMPLAINTS

Thursday 22nd August 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3: Farington BC 'A' 206-145 Eagle Reds

v JOHN FRODSHAM L 16-21

I was expecting to get Farington's regular number ten of this season and sure enough that was the case. I've seen John play before and knew he would a very difficult match, especially on his home green.
John seemed to carry on from where Nigel left me last Sunday with great leads putting me under the cosh, but unlike Sunday I was getting stuck in and making sure Mr Frodsham didn't have it all his own way.
An early attempt to reel the deficit in with two lovely bowls towards the scoreboard corner was smashed out by the home bowler who made two for himself. It was a quality strike and I had started to think it was one of those nights. I was playing alright but not looking likely to get double figures with John in this sort of form.
I don't suffer too many long periods unable to get the jack back these days and it's about making it count when I do. In this match I tried some shorter marks away from the green edges and with some success as I battled back in to the game at 13-14.
A couple of careless ends on my part followed though, pegged back again to 13-17 with momentum handed to my opponent.
I clinged on some ends longer but just didn't have the extra bit of class required to close him in again.
John was a handful with the block all night with cracking leads and I can't complain to myself, it was a good game, probably the
best I've played on this green in my seven or eight appearances here and I took satisfaction from at least making John work for his win.
Farington took nine winners on the night, but as John pointed out the night after when I saw him again, his team's promotion rivals Victoria and Ashton also bagged nine so nothing gained going in to the last game of the season. 

SMASHED IN THE SEMIS BY THE SMILING ASSASSIN

Sunday 18th August 2024

EAGLE & CHILD PRESIDENT'S DAY

A perfect English Summer's day, of which there have been very few this year, graced our club's President's Day and contributed to a thoroughly pleasant afternoon enjoyed by all.

This year I was to be spared a qualifying game and drawn a bye to the last sixteen for finals day.
Whilst one could favour some players' chances to others, there were no clear favourites in the hat. Literally whoever played best on the day had every chance of winning it in my opinion. Maybe that includes me.
Would-be favourites and notable absentees from this 2024 competition included 2022 champion Chris Miller, last year's winner Matt Brown (sadly no longer an Eagle) and the distinguished young talent of Aaron Hayhurst. 2019 winner Phil Bradshaw has not been playing this season and I suppose I should mention Trevor Bibby too. One of the best and most experienced players at the club until resigning his membership recently after getting in a bit of hot water with local league authorities.
Despite Trevor's popularity in some bowling circles, it's already been documented that I've never taken to the fella. He can be unnecessarily rude, very cliquey and disruptive in a team environment and I suppose basically, I for one am sort of relieved he's left the club.
With those aforementioned big guns not in the frame, a quiet confidence grew within, but fearful of Nigel Tomlinson and Michelle Anderton as players I didn't particularly want to get first round... sure enough the loaning of my vintage pool ball set from childhood to make the draws put me up against Shell...

SECOND ROUND (Last Sixteen)

v MICHELLE ANDERTON W 21-12 (off 0-2)
A tough task ahead to get through a round, Michelle is a vastly experienced bowler but also a teammate in the Chorley League and it seemed a bit strange coming up against her.
Shell was one of the players who had every chance of winning it and completing a President's Day trilogy for the Anderton family, with husband Keith and daughter Julie both previous winners.
Playing off scratch myself this year, I did think Shell's +2 handicap was on the generous side and made it even more important to get off to a good start, which fortunately I did.
Most ends were close calls but I had managed to get myself in to a decent lead and was playing well enough to sustain it. It felt like a very close game and it was really, the score somewhat deceptive and only representing an accumulation of getting the better of very fine margins. Essentially though, that's exactly what this game is about. I was pleased, but mainly relieved to get past Michelle and stay in it.

QUARTER-FINALS
v MATT HOYLES W 21-13 (off 0-1)
I've not seen much of Matt playing but knew full well this was another game that could go either way.
Matt says, "Go easy on me", during the first end, but I wasn't having any of that. If Matt was implying that he was the underdog, I felt we were very much equals and that's how I treated every roll.
This game was another one of tightly contested ends, but I got my nose in front and gradually pushed in to a good lead.
I wasn't quite landing woods with the sort of consistency as the first round, in that I couldn't put two good ones together and had to slog it out getting singles.
Matt fought back though and had a run of solid leads that I couldn't break. But when I did get back in, a fist pump after pulling off a cracker to knock Matt's second counter to get two probably wasn't the best move right in front of the Hoyles family, who filled the Alan Marginson Town End seatery. But it was what it was, I can't pretend to be someone else. Just me and my idiotic desire to win. Hopefully the Hoyles contingent realised it was nothing personal!
I'm trying to keep my emotions in check on the green, but at the same time I need to be expressive. I talk to myself, pull faces, gesticulate... I even got caught flapping my arms after two wide bowls and Ann Derbyshire shouted, "Are you trying to fly?".
A risky round peg on to the lower far corner where the green (not me) was flying paid off as the winning line closed in. I joke to nearby Banksy about not rolling the jack to the edge of the green at all-but - a Banksy multiple cardinal sin - and of course, what do I do? Adrenaline charged down my right arm and I roll less than two feet short of the ditch to the opposite corner.
Somehow I got away with it though, landing a perfect lead bowl before relieved to see Matt's pacey efforts to void the end miss the target.

SEMI-FINALS
v NIGEL TOMLINSON L 7-21 (off 0/-1)
Nigel and I know more than enough about each other's game. Chorley league teammates, recent practice matches this Summer and regular pairings in the Winter League doubles.
One of my favourite guys, and probably one of everybody's favourite at the club, Nige is ever the modest, consummate gentleman on and off the green.
I'm not sure if I didn't get enough time from the previous match, not to conjure excuses, but I started this match feeling a bit rushed after barely having chance to nip for a pee and began by bowling a bit all over the place.
The green was running quicker as the afternoon progressed, but I wasn't even hitting the land I aimed for. I lost a few twos but didn't get too distressed in those early stages, until I realised I wasn't getting much better and Nige was absolutely on fire and not giving anything.
With unassuming relentless brilliance, Nige put the squeeze on me. There haven't been many games I've played where I've sensed such an early inevitability of my fate and particularly on the Eagle green, but I just wasn't playing anywhere near as well as the previous two rounds and Nigel was playing as good as I've seen him play and getting better as the day went on. A combination that concocted a heavy defeat.
There were a few opportunities, but when I did get in, my leads were nowhere near good enough and I was otherwise slave to the Tomlinson rythym.
Scrapping around for every point I could as Nige neared twenty-one, an end that defined my exit from the competition was an effort to make two that instead tapped myself out. As I approached, Nigel is smiling, partly in sympathy for me, partly in anticipation of laughing about what I'm about to say and partly because he knew he was on his way to the final. Literally, a smiling assassin.
Nige played very well all afternoon and not only deserved to despatch of myself in style, but then thoroughly deserved to go on and win the final.
Steve Loynd was also a form player on the day and managed to keep Nigel close in the early stages of this end of the afternoon showpiece. But the quality of Mr Tomlinson, runner-up two years ago, shone through to finally get his name on the shield, beating Steve 21-14 

CONCENTRATION IS THE KEY

Thursday 15th August 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3: Hoole Village Hall 'A' 167-174 Eagle Reds

v JANICE CUMBERLIDGE W 21-10

I'd been getting myself prepared to play Chris Coxhead again. We've both been playing at number ten and a third encounter against him looked likely. In the last of our two meetings, on his home turf I suffered a bit with his accurate long game to the corners, but I was ready to give him a better game tonight... until - scratch those plans - Chris has been tweaked to number nine and Janice to ten.
No change in the pre-match mindset, for still a tough game on the cards. Just a different one.
Janice has been playing perhaps a year or so less than myself, but I'd already clocked her as a good player in our fixtures against Hoole the last few years. I also knew she was having a good season and anything less than playing well just wouldn't be good enough.
During practice, the green was deceptively running despite it's grassy complexion and soaking up light rain all day. Getting the right length was a tricky task.
By the time our game was on, the rain had ceased and, as my Grandma used to say on such days, "That sun's got a nerve...".  Indeed the sheer cheek of our solar mother to break through and shine for the first time all day at around 7:30pm.
An hour or so of dryness had took that bit of skiddy zip off the surface and I started the match better than my practice rolls.
An early lead was pulled back and we were about 7-7 with a long hard game looking likely. But I then got a good break together, taking some twos and generally getting my lead bowl up to put a bit of pressure on Janice. As has been the case in many an away game this season, I grew in confidence and pushed towards the finish line despite the game still feeling very tight.
There was a bit of luck too, and in particularly when the laws of physics were strongly challenged by Janice's round pegging wood that cleanly found an impossible looking gap when damage looked a certainty. It's either going for you or it's not sometimes and elements of luck seemed to favour myself on the night. Another two on that end was a bit of a sucker punch for my opponent at that time.
The Eagle's own local bowling legend Keith Anderton has told me on frequent occasions, "It's a game of concentration, John", but for me, that is the biggest challenge if I want to continue to improve. Signs have been promising lately and once again my concentration levels were much better again this evening and I didn't get too disconcerted at playing the odd clanger or bad end.

I stretched the score out to 18-10 when I then successfully turned over peg to deny Janice two and steal in for a single. A good lead won the next before sending two gems on the last end, possibly too good as a target was made, but Janice whistled her striking wood wide by a few inches.
Good form to take in to the club President's Day this Sunday. With three or four of the best players unable to make the date this year, there are no clear favourites by any means and I've got as much chance as anyone else if I can play well on the day.
A long overdue win for Eagle Reds too, with five winners and the superior aggregate score to finally stop the rot.  

ME AND MR JONES

Thursday 9th August 2024

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-3: Eagle Reds 167-181 Farington St Paul's
v MALCOLM JONES W 21-10

Farington St Paul's like to juggle the order of players and it's fair to say I wasn't expecting to get Malcolm at number ten.
Still a playing member at the Eagle in the veterans leagues, he nevertheless changed allegiances in the Leyland league this season. As a former teammate then, Malc often took an interest in my games and did his best to keep me calm when things weren't going my way. Bless him!
In his day, the tall frame of Malc was a player. Reaching the last eight of the Waterloo in the halcyon crown green days of the eighties amongst his accolades.
These days I get the feeling he's grateful just to be playing the game he loves and if he can win a few, it's a bonus.
It's fair to say Malcolm wasn't the toughest name on the St Paul's card by any stretch, but being drawn against Mr Jones didn't come without it's challenges.
Malcolm has a reputation for long drawn out matches, up to one hour forty minutes I seem to remember him once saying was his record for a singles game of 21-up. The slower player will always be able dictate the pace and I knew it was going to be difficult to get in to a rhythm against him.
It was close for a while and we got to 7-7 with neither of us keeping the block for more than an end.

Malc obviously knows the Eagle green well and turned over three or four times with good effect if my round pegging wasn't spot on. When leading out, Malc was having some joy sending straight peg marks of around twenty-two metres.
Stretching him out just three or four yards further on straight pegs seemed to be the key in running out to win. My opponent could reach up but his accuracy waned and some twos started to rack up on the scorecard.
Me and Mr Jones, well I would have preferred to play anyone else really. I wouldn't say we've got a thing going on, but I've got a soft spot for him.
Teamwise, Eagle Reds can't seem to get a win. Despite a narrow success at St Paul's earlier in the season, four winners on the night in the home return was never going to be enough.