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New Year cliffhanger win for Moonfleet in National Yetton Plate
Last weekend Moonfleet ladies began 2020 with a superb win against a strong Torquay United team in the National Yetton Plate Competition. Away in Torquay Margaret Hooper, Mairi Mathie, Chris Thompson and skip Jennie Brown took control from the start against the Torquay rink with skip S Pook, but by end fifteen the hosts had levelled the scores at 12 – 12. The Moonfleet foursome then went up a gear and, only allowing the hosts to have one more shot, finished with a convincing 21 – 13 victory.
On the other away rink with Jill Poulter, Di Carteur, Mary Irvine and skip Mary Richards the picture was the reverse as they found themselves trailing for the first half of the game. By end thirteen though, they had drawn even at 12 -12, and a game of cat and mouse unfolded. 17 – 17 on end eighteen with three ends to go and Torquay with skip J Barnes went ahead, but the Fleet four held their nerve to secure the final two ends and a 22 – 18 win.
At home Karen Hofen, Eileen Devonald-Batt, Shirley Bowley and skip Anne Chislett had a really close first half against stiff opposition with the scores 8 – 7 in the visitors’ favour by end eleven. From then on though the Torquay rink with skip B Bellamy gradually pulled away to finish with a 22 – 14 win.
On the other home rink Val Griffin, Gill Lock, Judy Why and skip Jill Gwilliam found themselves trailing 4 – 14 by end ten against another experienced Torquay rink with skip L Lock. Six ends later, the Torquay ladies were still ahead 18 – 12, but the Moonfleet quartet stuck to their guns and, scoring 8 shots on the last three ends, they accelerated to achieve an admirable 20 – 20 draw.
The final three ends on all four rinks proved crucial as, on end 18, the total combined score put Torquay 14 shots ahead at 69 – 55. By keeping up the pressure right to the very end, each Moonfleet rink contributed towards pulling off an amazing 77 – 73 victory, and to the sound of thunderous applause and cheers, the ladies now move into the quarter finals against Cotswold club in Stroud later in the month.
Mens 60+ Moonfleet B v Wellworthy
Played on rinks 3 and 4 this was a good game for both Moonfleet trios. On rink 3 was Dave Blackmore, Terry Huggins and skip Richard Caseley who had a great start, winning both opening ends and a 6 on end 3 to lead 8-0 early doors. Four straight ends were then won by Wellworthy but only with singles, then ‘Fleet upped there game and put the match beyond Wellworthy to come out winners 22-7.
On rink 4 Andy Short, Dave Grantham and Mal Smith had a shaky start and were 3-3 after 5 ends. It then seemed that Moonfleet found a second gear with all three playing better and some steady scoring shutting out Wellworthy to 4 more single scores to run out 29-7. That adds up to a 51-14 win and all 6 points.
Mens 60+ Moonfleet C v Dorchester B
On rink 1 Ian Marshall, Colin Chatburn and Roger Bolton made a good start against the Dorchester trio led by T Webb. After 6 ends they were ahead by 9-3 then a poor end let the Dorchester team in with a 5. Some steady scoring after that shut the opposition out to leave a score of 22-14.
On rink 2 David Bishop, Tim Munro and Derek Devenold-Batt found themselves in a close encounter in the early ends with the score at 4-4 after 8 ends, there was obviously a boost of some kind after that because the Moonfleet group started then shut out the Dorchester trio to a single point on end 13 to run out 24-15 winners.
Final total was 46-19 and a 6-0 win for Moonfleet C.
Mens 60+ – Dorchester ‘B’ v Moonfleet ‘B’
What a classic encounter this was, great game, good company and fun to play. On rink 1 was the awesome trio of Richard Casely, Terry Huggins and Terry Errington, they started well and kept ahead of Dorchester for most of the match, not high scoring, just steady but a revival towards the end brought the score to 14-14 after 17 ends…..
On the other rink Andy Short, Dave Grantham and Mal Smith made a poor start and were 7-2 down after 4 ends but they picked up a 7! to improve the Moonfleet tally, the score then went back to Dorchester but a 4 from Moonfleet restored the balance, some tooing and froing left the score after 17 ends at 18-18… This is going to be close.
Terry’s rink was ahead of Mals Rink so they were first to 18 ends, the Dorchester Lead and second left them holding 4 with the skips to play, first bowl from Terry E’ took the jack and followed it into the ditch, what a shot! Impossible to beat, just a matter of how many. Moonfleet had 3 back bowls and Terry put another one in to give a 14-19 victory.
Mal’s rink wasn’t as successful, Dorch’ were holding two and Mal managed to take one out but failed to take the other, down by 1 to give a score of 19-18 to Dorchester and a final points tally of 2-4.
Moonfleet end the year on a high after thrilling win in the Top Club Competition
Moonfleet men and ladies again enjoyed success in the multi- format mixed Top Club competition. This time the opponents travelled to Weymouth from Ilminster to compete in singles, mixed pairs, mixed triples and mixed fours with 16 match points to be won.
In the men’s two wood singles, Keith Wyman had a very close tussle against B Short with Wyman just keeping his nose in front then moving up a gear to reach the winning 21 shots ahead of Short who finished with 12. In the ladies singles, Karen Hofen faced stiff opposition from D Hawker who dominated from the start and played out with a convincing 21 – 8 victory. The two teams now had 2 match points each
In the mixed fours Chris Rod, Mary Richards, Ryan Nash and skip Barry Patterson were outplayed by the Ilminster rink with skip J Lightfoot and had to settle for a 35 – 8 defeat giving Ilminster 4 more match points to lie 6 – 2 ahead.
All eyes were now on the two remaining games which Moonfleet had to win to stand any chance of an overall victory. In the mixed triples Warwick Brown, Anne Chislett and skip Jamie Lockwood were fairly evenly matched over the first half against the visitors with skip B Anderson. A small lead to Moonfleet from end eight at 9 -7 continued to grow as the Lockwood three pulled away to finish with a 19 -12 win giving Moonfleet 4 match points and leveling the scores at 6 each.
As Eileen Devonald-Batt and Jamie Watkiss played out an extraordinarily exciting contest in the mixed pairs against brother and sister Levi and Kirsty Hembrow, the tension mounted. There were some amazing shots from both sides as this truly became the ‘clash of the Titans’. Shouts of encouragement to both sides and applause as ends were won and defended were almost deafening as the last ends unfolded. On the last end, silence fell as Moonfleet ahead by 17 – 15 set out to keep the advantage as the Hembrow pair battled to take control. In the end, it was Moonfleet who won the day only dropping one shot to finish 17 – 16 up and taking the last 4 match points to claim a 10 – 6 overall victory and a place in the next round early in the New Year.
Dorset Mens 60 + Dolphin ‘C’ v Moonfleet ‘B’
This was a very dissapointing result for one set of triples but a much better result for the other, the rink of Andy Short, Dave Grantham and Mal Smith started of well and were 6 points to the good after the first three ends but it all went downhill after that. The Dolphin 3 got there eye in and their skip, Terry Buck, started to improve, the ‘fleet trio couldn’t buy an end if Mal Smith hit the jack at all it shipped it to the other side. Big loss in in the end of 38-7.
On the other rink however, Richard Casely, John Warner and Terry Errington faired much better, being consistent leaders throughout, not by many but enough to keep their noses in front, the Dolphin trio managed to bring the scores close by end 16 but Moonfleet held their nerve and came out 11-14 winners. Overall 49-21 to Dolphin and a 4-2 win in league points.
Final win of the year for Moonfleet Ladies in National Competitions
Last weekend saw the two home and two away rinks facing Taunton in the latest contest in the Yetton Plate. At home Val Griffin, Gill Lock, Di Edwards and skip Judy Why had a close contest against the Taunton rink with skip J Young. Moonfleet had the lion’s share of success over the first thirteen ends and had just edged into a 10 – 6 lead when the Young rink went up a gear and pipped the local quartet at the post to win 16 – 14.
The other home rink of Karen Hofen, Eileen Devonald-Batt, Shirley Bowley and skip Anne Chislett stormed into an 18 – 3 lead over the first ten ends with the help of two four shot takes. The Taunton rink with skip F Hunt then came to life taking the next five ends and narrowing the gap to 18 – 13. By end nineteen the tension rose as the visitors were only one shot behind. The Fleet four though held their nerve to win the last two ends to take the game 23 – 19.
Away in Taunton Jill Poulter, Chris Rod, Mary Irvine and skip Mary Richards kept ahead all the way against the local rink with skip S Matravers. By the halfway stage the Richards rink had opened up a 17 – 11 lead and they remained in control until the final end claiming a 27 – 20 victory.
The other away rink of Margaret Hooper, Mairi Mathie, Chris Thompson and skip Jennie Brown had a superb game dominating from the start against the Taunton rink and skip M Wallinger. By end nine the Moonfleet quartet had built up a substantial 17 – 3 lead and, although the hosts began to score, the visitors went from strength to strength to finish with a resounding 29 – 11 win.
The combined total of 93 shots to 66 put Moonfleet into the next round against Torquay at the beginning of January.
Moonfleet Ladies into next round of the Mason Trophy
Moonfleet A 40 Ilminster 34
Moonfleet Ladies A with one home and one away rink had a close tussle against Ilminster in their latest game in the Mason Trophy. In Ilminster Val Griffin, Gill Lock, Mary Irvine and skip Mary Richards found themselves evenly matched against the Ilminster ladies with skip C Parsons. It was nip and tuck all the way with scores level 7 – 7 after seven ends and 14 – 14 after thirteen ends. Although the Moonfleet foursome pulled away over the next two ends to lie 19 – 14 up, there was a certain inevitability about the game as Ilminster took the final three ends to level the score at 19 – 19.
At home Jill Poulter, Helen Monelle, Judy Why and skip Jill Gwilliam edged ahead to take an 11 – 5 lead after eight ends only to see the Ilminster rink with skip M Woodland notch up nine shots over the next four ends to overtake the Fleet four. The Gwilliam rink though then took the reins only allowing the visitors one more shot for the remainder of the game and, with the help of a splendid 5 shot haul, triumphed with a 21 – 15 final win. This gave the Moonfleet ladies an overall 40 – 34 total to take them into the next round where they meet Taunton Deane in the New Year.
MOONFLEET B 36 DORCHESTER ELM 24
Moonfleet Ladies B team had a successful afternoon all round when they entertained Dorchester Elm in their latest game in the Ladies County inter-club league. On the first rink Ann Jones, Ruby Spavins, Madge Churches and skip Ruth Neary had a close first six ends against the Dorchester foursome with skip Janine Scola with Moonfleet just ahead 6 – 5. The Neary rink then took control over the middle part of the game and, helped by a splendid five shot haul, the hosts had moved into a 17 – 7 lead by end fourteen. Although Dorchester put on a late spurt, it was not enough to prevent the Fleet four finishing 18 – 13 ahead.
On the other rink Sue Board, Mary Curran, Kerry Wilson and skip Heather Gillingham faced an experienced Dorchester side with skip Kay Johns. Here Moonfleet applied pressure from the start and, going up a gear, they had built up a comfortable 14 – 5 lead by end eleven. Although the Dorchester ladies took the next four ends and began to close the gap, the Gillingham quartet held their nerve to end with an 18 – 11 victory, an overall 36 – 24 total and all 8 league points.
MOONFLEET B 36 EAST DORSET A 31
Moonfleet Ladies B team headed over to Christchurch in this latest game in the Ladies County inter-club league. Sue Board, Penny Dewey, Kerry Wilson and skip Mary Irvine had a tough contest against the East Dorset rink with skip R Stanger and, by the halfway stage were 5 – 14 down. The pressure from the hosts eased off during the second half as Moonfleet more than doubled their score, but it was not enough to prevent the hosts finishing with a 21 – 14 win.
On the other rink the story was very different where Mary Corben, Ruby Spavins, Jo Taylor and skip Judy Why took on the Christchurch rink with skip J Emerson. The Moonfleet ladies moved into an early lead, but by end nine, the hosts had narrowed the gap to lie just one shot behind 6 – 7. From then on though, the game belonged to the Fleet foursome who, only allowing the East Dorset rink to win two more ends, truly piled on the pressure to play out with a 22 – 10 victory, an overall 36 – 31 total and 6 out of the 8 league points for the match.
In the National Mens Wessex League
Moonfleet A comprehensively beat Bridport on all four rinks. Great performances from all four rinks, Moonfleets “ young “ rink playing together away from home, for the first time, extend their winning run to four. Ryan Nash, Brandon King, Austin Nash and Dean Ballard average age 19 winning 24-16 Also away, at Bridport a rink skipped by Mike Gale with Keith Wyman, Andy Clark and Harry Hovenden completed the away clean sweep 22-16. At Moonfleet, Barry Patterson, Warren Smith, Derek Devonald- Batt and Derrick Taylor swept away the challengers 37-11. Jamie Watkiss, Harry Nash, Jim Hamilton and Brian Martindill all in great form, with a comprehensive 27- 13 win. Moonfleet currently top the league, unbeaten, aiming for a top two finish, to qualify for the knockout stages.
Double Delight for Moonfleet Ladies
Moonfleet A 41 Dorchester B 20
Moonfleet Ladies entered two teams in the National Mason Trophy. Having had a needle match the day before against Dorchester ending in a draw in the Ladies County inter-club league, Moonfleet with one rink at home and one away, took on their local rivals again in their latest National Team Competition. At home Val Griffin, Gill Lock, Mary Irvine and skip Mary Richards had a close contest against the Dorchester rink with skip B Lacey and, by the halfway point, the Moonfleet ladies were ahead by just two shots at 8 – 6. A spurt by the Richards rink widened the gap to 15 – 9 by end fifteen which the Dorchester rink were unable to close and the Moonfleet foursome played out with a 17 – 13 win.
Away Jill Poulter, Di Edwards, Judy Why and skip Jill Gwilliam stormed into an early lead against the Dorchester rink with skip Kay Johns and by end ten were 13 – 7 ahead. The Fleet foursome then took complete control keeping the Dorchester rink out of the remainder of the game. With a further 11 shots added to their score, the Moonfleet ladies finished with a superb 24 – 7 victory and a combined 41 – 20 total to put them into the next round against Ilminster.
Moonfleet B 44 Taunton 26
At the same time Moonfleet B faced Taunton with an away rink of Karen Hofen, Margaret Hooper, Eileen Devonald-Batt and skip Anne Chislett who had a game of cat and mouse against Taunton’s rink with skip J Young. After six ends the scores were level at 5 -5 then again at end twelve there was a tie 10 – 10. Although the Young rink moved ahead over three ends, the Moonfleet quartet held their nerve and pulled back five vital shots to finish with a 15 – 15 draw.
At Moonfleet Chris Rod, Mairi Mathie, Chris Thompson and skip Jennie Brown had a similar start against the Taunton Ladies with skip J Barlow with the scores 6 – 6 after five ends. That was where the similarity ended as the home rink took command to open up a 14 – 7 lead four ends later. With the visitors only managing to add four more shots to their total, the Moonfleet quartet went from strength to strength more than doubling their score during the remainder of the game to finish with a convincing 29 – 11 total meaning they face Taunton Deane in the next round.
Mens 60 + League ‘B’ – Dolphin B v Moonfleet B
This was definitely a game of two halves, the rink of Richard Casely, John warner and Terry Huggins won the first two ends and things were looking promising then they didn’t score again until end 15! shipping 29 shots in the process with their skip Len Eady playing well when Moonfleet were holding. By then the match was effectively over and a mini revival in the last 3 ends gave a final score of 4-31.
On the other rink, Andy Short, Dave Grantham and Mal Smith had a hard fought match against the team of skip Dennis Cutler, no big scores in this one. After a slow start Moonfleet pulled ahead to lead 5-9 after the ninth end. Dolphin then pulled back to lead by one 12-11 on end 15. Three more ends to go and with the other rink down by so many we needed to make sure of 2 points. A single on end 15, 12-12. Next end, ‘fleet holding when their skip moved the jack away to give them a single but 2 good bowls from Mal Smith gave us 2, 12-14. Can we hold on??? Yes, another 2 on the last end gave Moonfleet a 12-16 victory.
Final score 43-20 and a 4-2 points win for Dolphin B.
MOONFLEET C 33 BRIDPORT C 25
Moonfleet Ladies C team travelled to Bridport in their latest game in the County Inter-Club league. Rosemary Sinclair, Lyn Wellman, Erika Fry and skip Jacquie Rayner had a tough game against the Bridport rink with skip J Willcox and by the halfway stage the Moonfleet rink were trailing 4 – 10. The hosts remained in control for the remainder of the game and, although the visitors increased their score, they had to settle for a 19 – 10 defeat.
On the other rink, the story was very different where Marion Batterbee, Sandra Errington, Wendy Mayo and skip Sheila Chilvers took on the four Bridport players with skip S Nichols. The Moonfleet quartet moved into an early lead and, by end twelve were sitting comfortably 9 – 2 ahead. The final six ends saw the Bridport rink unable to make any real impression and, with a massive six shot haul on the penultimate end, the Moonfleet ladies played out with an impressive 23 – 6 win, an overall 33 to 25 total and six out of the eight league points on offer.
Moonfleet continue run of success in the Top Club Competition
Moonfleet men and ladies again enjoyed success in the multi- format mixed Top Club competition. This time the opponents travelled to Weymouth from Torquay to compete in singles, mixed pairs, mixed triples and mixed fours with 16 match points to be won.
Karen Hofen had a superbly exciting singles game winning by just 3 shots 21 – 18, whilst Keith Wyman romped home in the men’s singles with a massive 22 – 4 win. These two successes gave Moonfleet an early 4 point lead.
In the pairs Eileen Devonald-Batt and Jamie Watkiss had an incredibly close game and were just one shot ahead 15 – 14 with three ends to go. As ever, the cool couple kept their nerve and, adding 7 more shots, finished with a confident 22 – 15 victory adding another 4 points to bring the match point total up to 8 out of 16.
In the event of a draw on points, the overall shot difference decides the outcome so now all eyes were on the two remaining games. In the mixed triples Warwick Brown, Anne Chislett and skip Jamie Lockwood kept ahead for the first eleven ends, but were overtaken to finish 11 – 15 down giving Torquay 4 points.
In the mixed fours Chris Rod, Mairi Mathie, Warren Smith and skip Barry Patterson had a game of mixed fortunes against strong opposition with first one side then the other taking control. With scores level 14 – 14 with two ends to go it was Torquay who triumphed 18 – 14 and picked up another 4 match points.
The point score was finally tied 8 points each, showing what a close contest it had been, but Moonfleet had picked up sufficient shots throughout to win the day 89 – 70 and move into the next round to be played against Ilminster in December.
Another win for Moonfleet in National Competitions
Moonfleet Ladies who were beaten by just one shot by Ilminster in the Yetton Trophy a few weeks ago now play in the Yetton Plate. This weekend saw the two home and two away rinks up against Bridport.
At home Margaret Hooper, Di Carteur, Chris Thompson and skip Jennie Brown had a close tussle with the scores 8 – 8 by the halfway stage against the Bridport rink with skip Sue Walsh. The second half saw the visitors pull away to win just 3 shots ahead 16 – 13. On the other home rink Karen Hofen, Gill Lock, Mary Irvine and skip Jill Gwilliam were in control throughout and had a superb 24 – 11 win against the Bridport foursome with skip A Turtell.
In Bridport Val Griffin, Eileen Devonald-Batt, Shirley Bowley and skip Anne Chislett found themselves 4 – 10 down by the halfway stage against the home rink with skip M Clapp. The second half of the game saw the Fleet foursome get firmly in the driving seat and, with Bridport only able to add 3 more shots to their score, Moonfleet played out with a magnificent 20 – 13 win. On the other rink Chris Rod, Mairi Mathie, Di Edwards and skip Mary Richards surged into a 15 – 1 lead against the Bridport foursome with skip A Legg after ten ends. The second half belonged to Bridport who piled on the pressure only allowing the visitors 2 more shots for the rest of the game. The Moonfleet lead, though, was enough to secure a 17 – 13 win, an overall 74 – 53 total score and a place in the next round against Taunton in a fortnight
MOONFLEET A 34 DORCHESTER ELM 24
Moonfleet Ladies A team entertained Dorchester Elm in their latest game in the Ladies County inter-club league. Monique Gandy, Chris Rod, Di Edwards and skip Jennie Brown had a close tussle against the Dorchester rink with skip K Johns who were just one shot ahead 6 – 5 after seven ends. Moonfleet kept into the game and, by end twelve, had levelled the score 8 – 8. The game of cat and mouse continued with the hosts one shot ahead with two ends to go. The visitors then took control and, adding seven shots, Moonfleet had to settle for a 13 – 19 defeat.
On the other rink Margaret Hooper, Eileen Devonald-Batt, Jill Gwilliam and skip Mary Richards got off to a flying start over the first eight ends picking up a superb six shot haul along the way to lie 13 – 2 ahead against the Elm rink with skip V Cornick. The Moonfleet quartet stayed well and truly in control and, with the Dorchester rink only adding a further three shots to their total, the home rink played out with a splendid 21 – 5 victory, a combined overall 34 – 24 score and six out of the eight league points for the match.
Moonfleet men progress in Denny Cup
3rd round winners against Isle of Wedmore bowling club. Two away rinks returning excellent results, Jamie Watkiss, Keith Wyman, Harry Nash and Derek Taylor winning by 17 shots, Jamie Lockwood, Warren Smith, Derek D-Batt, tying a tough game. At Moonfleet our home rinks restricted the two opposing rinks to only scoring 9 shots on the last 22 ends. Barry Patterson, Ron McCarthy, Andy Clark and Warwick Smith winning by 18, the other rink of Ryan Nash, Brandon King, Austin Nash and Dean Ballard winning by 9, average age of this rink being 18 one of the countries youngest rinks at this level of bowls.
Report from Tim Munro
Summer Presentation
For Summer Presentation Pictures please go to the Galleries heading under The Chronicle…..
MOONFLEET C 38 DOLPHIN C 17
Moonfleet Ladies C team travelled to Poole where they recorded their first success of the season against Dolphin C in the Ladies County Inter-Club league. Gwen Rees, Sylvie Coucher, Pam Jones and skip Sheila Chilvers took off to a flying start and, by end five were 11 – 0 up against the Dolphin rink with skip H Coldridge. Although the hosts started to notch up a score, the Fleet foursome kept up the pressure and never lost the advantage finishing with a 19 – 9 victory.
On the other rink Chrystelle Jones, Edwina Toone, Glynis Thorne and skip Liz Williams had a really close first half against the Dolphin rink with skip D Saxby with the scores 5 – 6 in Dolphin’s favour after nine ends. From that point on, though, the visiting ladies took complete control and, allowing the Dolphin rink to score only once more for the remainder of the game, the Moonfleet quartet stormed to a splendid 19 – 8 finish giving them an overall 38 – 17 total and all eight of the league points on offer.
MOONFLEET B 34 DORCHESTER OAK 29
Moonfleet Ladies B team had an exciting cliffhanger contest against Dorchester Oak played at home in this latest game in the Ladies County inter-club league. The Dorchester rink with skip Sue Jennings got off to a confident start and, after five ends, were 5 – 1 up against Val Griffin, Di Carteur, Denise Duce and skip Ruthie Neary. The Moonfleet rink then started to fight back and gradually closed the gap to lie just one shot behind at 9 – 10 by end fourteen. Seven more shots to the visitors over the last four ends, though, decided the outcome and Moonfleet had to settle for a 17 – 10 defeat.
On the other rink Kerry Wilson, Jo Taylor, Madge Churches and skip Judy Why took control from the outset against the Oak rink with skip Barbara Lacey and after seven ends were 9 – 1 ahead. Seven shots to Dorchester over the next two ends brought the scores almost level and the close tussle continued for a further six ends with just two shots in it 14 – 12 in Moonfleet’s favour. The home rink then struck gold, picking up a splendid 5, then a 4 and a single over the final three ends to add 10 shots to their score to finish with a convincing 24 – 12 victory, an overall 34 – 29 total and six of the eight league points available for the match.
Mens 60+ League B – Moonfleet B v Moonfleet C
On rink 5 was Andy Short, Dave Grantham and Mal Smith for the B Team v Ian, Tim Munro and Colin Poulter for the C Team. A comprehensive victory for the C Team with all three players bowling consistently well, the lead and second for Mal’s team were also on form but unfortunately Mal couldn’t better Colin and the result was 6-21 to Moonfleet C.
On rink 6 however, it was the complete opposite with the B Team of Richard Casely, Terry Huggins and Terry Errington overwhelming the C team of Mike Legge, Maurice Zollo and skip Colin Chatburn. The B team were up right from the start and apart from one or two good ends by the C team it finished 26-11 to Moonfleet B.
Final result, 32-32 and 3 league points each.
MOONFLEET A 45 EAST DORSET A 17
Moonfleet Ladies A had a resounding victory when they entertained East Dorset A in their latest game in the County inter-club league. Karen Hofen, Mairi Mathie, Di Edwards and skip Anne Chislett had a close tussle over the first seven ends against the East Dorset rink with skip N Mapes with Moonfleet just one shot ahead at 5 – 4. The hosts then nudged in front and, by end twelve, were 10 – 6 up. With the visitors only managing to pick up single shots on three more ends, the Moonfleet foursome, with the help of a splendid 5 shot haul, finished with a 17 – 9 win.
On the other rink Margaret Hooper, Gill Lock, Eileen Devonald-Batt and skip Jennie Brown stormed into an early lead 13 – 6 after nine ends against the visiting rink with skip B Dowling. The Moonfleet ladies moved from strength to strength adding 15 shots and keeping the opposition almost completely out of the remainder of the game they finished with an impressive 28 – 8 victory. The overall win on both rinks gave Moonfleet an overall 45 – 17 total and all 8 league points.
Mens 60+ League Wellworthy v Moonfleet B
Played last Friday this was a close encounter on one rink and a runaway victory on the other. On rink 1 were Richard Casely and Derek Peach skipped by Terry Errington against Roger Cox for Wellworthy. It looked like Terry could do no wrong for the entire match and with Richard and Derek bowling consistently they only allowed Wellworthy to win 5 ends in total and ran out victors by 9-23.
On the other rink were Andy Short, Terry Huggins with skip Mal Smith against a Wellworthy team led by Mike Irvine. After a slow start the momentum swung towards Moonfleet and by end 11 we were winning 3-11. Moonfleet were then shut out for 5 ends by some inspired play by the Wellworthy skip but they could only pick up 1’s and 2’s. At end 13 the score was 10-11 to Moonfleet. Don’t panic, we were playing the more consistent bowls so with a 1 on the next end and winning the last 3 ends it was a squeaky yet deserved victory for the Moonfleet trio by 11-16.
Overall a good win and onother 6 points in the bag.
Moonfleet continue to triumph in National Competition
With two mixed rinks at home and two away, Moonfleet had a thrilling contest against Taunton Vivary in the latest round of the National Egham knockout competition.
In Taunton Eileen Devonald-Batt, Anne Chislett, Ryan Nash and skip Jamie Watkiss moved into an early lead and, by end ten, were 14 – 6 ahead against the Taunton rink with skip J Amery. With Moonfleet continuing to dominate for the remainder of the game, there was little the home rink could do as the Watkiss rink piled on the pressure to finish with a 23 – 12 win.
The other Moonfleet away rink of Chris Rod, Mairi Mathie, Keith Wyman and skip Ron McCarthy had a tougher time against the home rink with skip P Shaw and by end ten the visitors were 4 – 16 down. The Taunton rink continued to keep control and by end fourteen the gap had widened to see Moonfleet 5 – 20 behind. They were not to be put off though as the last seven ends saw Moonfleet up their game and add 10 shots to their total to narrow the gap and finish 15 – 23 down.
At home Karen Hofen, Jennie Brown, Mike Gale and skip Barry Patterson had a very close first seven ends against the Taunton rink with skip A Affleck with Moonfleet just one shot ahead 6 – 5. The Patterson foursome then went up a gear and by end twelve they had moved into a 15 – 5 lead. With the Affleck rink only managing to add 5 more shots, the Moonfleet quartet went from strength to strength finishing with a resounding 25 – 10 win.
On the other rink after ten ends the Taunton rink with skip T Hemburrow had moved into a commanding lead of 14 – 1 against Gill Lock, Warwick Brown, Carole Venton and skip Jamie Lockwood. From that point on, though, the Moonfleet rink took control and, by end seventeen, excitement mounted as the scores were tied at 15 – 15. The nail-biting final four ends saw the Lockwood rink edge ahead and lie 18 – 16 up on the penultimate end and, with just one shot to Taunton on the final end, Moonfleet pulled off a splendid 18 – 17 win.
The overall total of 81 shots to 62 puts Moonfleet into the next round to be played against Victoria club of Street on 10th November.
Moonfleet continue their run of success in National Competitions
Moonfleet 14 points Dorchester 2 points
Moonfleet 2000 IBC bowlers again enjoyed success in a National Competition. This time it was in the Top Club Competition played against Dorchester at home over the weekend. This competition sees players compete in four formats of the game: a Men’s and Ladies two wood Singles (first player to score 21 shots), a Mixed Pairs, a Mixed Triples and a Mixed Fours all played over 18 ends. The winners of the Singles pick up 2 points and the other formats are worth 4 points respectively.
In the Ladies Singles, Moonfleet’s Karen Hofen found herself trailing 2 – 7 against Sue Jennings, but then went up a gear to overtake into a 10 – 9 lead. Only losing one more shot for the rest of the game and finishing 21 – 10, Moonfleet notched up their first 2 points.
In the Men’s Singles, Keith Wyman of Moonfleet moved into an early lead and was soon sitting in a comfortable 10 – 4 lead. Dorchester’s Kevin Holbrook, however, gradually started to build a score and had soon narrowed the gap to lie just one shot behind at 14 – 15. With Wyman later 18 – 14 ahead and victory in his sight, Holbrook held his nerve and, adding 7 shots over four ends, pipped the Moonfleet player at the post to claim a 21 – 18 win and 2 points for Dorchester.
In the Mixed Pairs Eileen Devonald-Batt and Jamie Watkiss had a convincing win over Arthur and Barbara Lacey. At the halfway stage the Moonfleet pair were 11 – 5 ahead and they then went from strength to strength finishing with a splendid 24 – 6 victory to earn them a further 4 points to bring the overall total to 6.
The Mixed Triples game was a much tighter contest with Colin Poulter, Anne Chislett and skip Mike Gale facing the Dorchester rink with skip Ged Costello. Although Moonfleet seemed to be in control at 9 – 5 after eight ends, Dorchester gradually closed the gap and, by end fifteen, the scores were level at 11 – 11. The tension rose as Dorchester went ahead by one shot, but with the final two ends going to the Gale side, Moonfleet ended 14 – 12 ahead adding another 4 points to increase the overall total.
In the Mixed Four game, Moonfleet’s rink of Chris Rod, Mairi Mathie, Warren Smith and skip Barry Patterson had a flying start picking up 5 shots on the first end against the Dorchester rink with skip George Spracklen. The remainder of the first half of the game was extremely close with the scores level at 12 -12 by end eleven. The Patterson rink though then took complete control and, keeping the Dorchester rink out of the game from that point on, added 15 shots to their score to finish with a splendid 27 – 12 victory giving Moonfleet another 4 points to bring the overall final total to 14. Moonfleet now go on to meet Torquay United in the next round.
Moonfleet B v Dorchester B – Mens 60+ League ‘B’
This was a very enjoyable encounter with both rinks playing well. The trio of Terry Huggins, Derek Peach and Terry Errington kept up a steady pace, only allowing Dorch to win 2 ends in the first 7 ends. Dorchester then made a comeback to be 11-9 down after 11 endsbut a back to back 4 and 3 put Moonfleet back in control to come out worthy winners at 20-15.
The other rink of Andy Short, Dave Grantham and Mal Smith played with consistency, only allowing Dorchester to win 7 of the 18 ends, nothing spectacular but some good play from lead and second and the skip making some good shots when needed. Moonfleet coming out on top with an 18-9 win. The total was 38-24 and 6-0 to Moonfleet B.
Moonfleet C v Dolphin Mens 60 + League ‘B’
This was a match of two halves, the triples of Ian Marshall, Colin Chatburn and Colin Poulter streaked ahead and never lost the lead to come out with an impressive 26-16 scoreline. However, the other match with Howard King, Tim Munro and Derek Devonald Batt as skip was allmost the opposite. They made a good start and were ahead for half the match but the Dolphin three caught them up to lead by 11-21 going in to the final end. This meant that whoever won the final end would take the extra 2 points. Moonfleet managed to nick it by 1 making the final score 12-21 to Dolphin. Totalled up it was a win for Moonfleet 38-37 and 4-2 in league points.
MOONFLEET A 47 DOLPHIN B 20
Moonfleet Ladies A team got off to a flying start in their first game of the season playing against Dolphin B at home. Eileen Devonald-Batt, Chris Rod, Jennie Brown and skip Mary Richards had a very close first half against the Dolphin rink with skip R Valentine and, by end nine the scores were tied at five shots apiece. From that point onwards, the hosts moved ahead and added five shots to their score over the next two ends. Although the visitors stayed in the running over a further five ends, nine shots to Moonfleet over the final two ends sealed the outcome putting the hosts 20 – 9 ahead.
On the other rink Karen Hofen, Monique Gandy, Carole Venton and skip Anne Chislett again had a very tight game over the first seven ends against the Dolphin rink with skip V Miller. With scores 7 – 7 at this stage, the Moonfleet foursome started to pull away and, by end fourteen, they had moved into a commanding 21 – 10 lead. With only one more shot lost to Dolphin, the Moonfleet rink finally claimed a 27 – 11 victory, an overall 47 – 20 total and all 8 of the league points for the game.
Mens Denny Cup
The first round of the Denny cup was played against Bridport with a format of two home rinks and two away rinks played simultaneously.
Moonfleet men won all four rinks, both home and away, with an impressive 99-44 victory after 18 ends.
This was a positive start to the Denny cup campaign, the premier National Club competition. having reached the semi-final a couple of years ago Moon fleet are looking to put another run of wins together. The next opponents are North Petherton to be played on 2nd November at 10am.
Your support is welcome so come and cheer us on.
Tim Munro
First Win of the Season for Moonfleet in National Competition
Egham Trophy v Dorchester
With two mixed rinks at home and two away in the first round of the National Egham knockout competition, Monfleet bowlers enjoyed a superb win against Dorchester who conceded on all four rinks before the final ends were played.
At home, Karen Hofen, Jennie Brown, Derek Devonald-Batt and skip Barry Patterson had a game of two halves with the Dorchester rink well in control and 15 – 7 ahead by end ten. From that point on though, the Patterson rink went up a gear and, only losing one end for the rest of the game, overtook the Dorchester foursome to claim a 21 – 16 win.
The other home rink of Gill Lock, Warwick Brown, Margaret Crawford and skip Mike Gale dominated from the start and, keeping the Dorchester rink right out of the game, notched up an amazing 23 – 1 lead by end thirteen. The three more ends won by the visitors made little impact on the home side who finished with a superb 28 – 5 victory.
In Dorchester Chris Rod, Mairi Mathie, Keith Wyman and skip Jamie Lockwood had a close first nine ends to lie just one shot ahead 9 – 8. The Lockwood rink then took complete control and, with Dorchester only managing to pick up single shots on two more ends, the Moonfleet foursome ended with a resounding 26 – 10 triumph.
The other away rink of Eileen Devonald-Batt, Anne Chislett, Ryan Nash and skip Jamie Watkiss had a closer contest ahead by 10 – 8 after nine ends. Again Moonfleet proved to be the dominant side as they widened their lead to finish 21 – 13 ahead at the point where all four Dorchester rinks conceded.
Moonfleet’s impressive 96 – 44 combined winning total means they now move forward to meet Taunton in the next round.
Dorset County Indoor Bowls Association
Having recently attended a meeting of the DCIBA they have announced the creation of a new website which looks very good and is for both the Men and Ladies, all the results for the County and Local competitions will be published and for those that affect Moonfleet there will be a link from the Dorset Results page under the League table heading.
You can find it at dciba.org.uk
Pay a visit and have a look.
The Dorset Committee (Men) have also appealed for more members to enter the County Knockout competitions, your chances of doing well are quite good owing to the small number of entries received. Look out for the notices coming up on your notice board. I am sure this applies to the Ladies competitions too.
Summer Open Mixed Triples League
The competition has now ended and Moonfleet Greens came a close second to Bournemouth – again – with Moonfleet Whites coming a creditable 6th. Our thanks go to Phil Lock, Steve Wilson and Richard Caseley for picking the teams and ensuring that every fixture was fulfilled.
The final table is below and can also be found under the League results header at the top of the page.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Shots For | Shots Against | Difference | Points |
| 1 | Bournemouth | 14 | 10 | 1 | 500 | 386 | 114 | 58 |
| 2 | Moonfleet Greens | 14 | 10 | 1 | 493 | 393 | 100 | 56 |
| 3 | Bridport Blues | 14 | 9 | 0 | 501 | 387 | 114 | 51 |
| 4 | Dolphin Blues | 13 | 8 | 1 | 410 | 411 | -1 | 42 |
| 5 | Dolphin Reds | 14 | 4 | 1 | 433 | 450 | -17 | 37 |
| 6 | Moonfleet Whites | 14 | 4 | 1 | 401 | 457 | -56 | 32 |
| 7 | Dorchester Falcons | 14 | 4 | 0 | 421 | 501 | -80 | 29 |
| 8 | Dorset Resort | 13 | 3 | 1 | 340 | 514 | -174 | 25 |
Moonfleet Whites v Dorchester Falcons 1 July 19
What a close match this was, rink 3 had Julie Watts, Gill Gwilliam and Mal Smith up against Jim and Pauline Trim and their skip Pat Garrett, whilst on rink 4 Richard Caseley, Marty Groves and Eddie Rees were playing M Bickell, H Ryan and Steve Gamlin.
Mal and his team got off to a slow start only scoring 1 in the first 5 ends to Dorch’s 8, then they got stuck on 8 as Fleet reeled them in to be 9-8 up after 10 ends. Then it was nip and tuck as the lead went back and forth to be 13 all with 2 ends to go. A super shot from the Dorchester lead had them holding one which was knocked off to give us 2, then a fine bowl from their skip pushed one of theirs in for one to them. Mal stepped up, knocked another of theirs in to give them 2, Oh no… 13-15 to Dorch. Final end and another good start for Dorch had them holding one and the jack surrounded with one bowl to come from Mal Smith. It looked impossible but there were some back bowls. How does it go, ‘an extra yard of pace a little off the green’, ah well, here goes. Crack, into the pack, 2 to us and an honourable draw!
Meanwhile, on rink 4, Eddies team were looking ok until end 6 when they dropped a 7! That’s going to take some getting back as Dorch were now 3-10 up. A couple of good ends for the Fleet made the score 8-12 after ten ends but disaster, another 4 to Dorch. A spirited final few ends saw the gap closing but Fleet eventually ran out of ends to lose by 15-18. A final tally of 30-33 and 1-5 in points.
Moonfleet Whites v Bridport Blues
Played on 3 June, doesn’t time go quickly, the team of Pat Holmes, Marty Groves and skip Malcolm Smith, Kerry Wilson, Eddie Rees and skip Helen Monelle played Bridport Blues skipped by Phil Hedges and John Burwood in the Summer Mixed Open League.
On rink 3 Mal’s team got off to a very slow start losing the first 3 ends before scoring a single, and after 6 ends were 3-6 down. End 8 and Moonfleet were looking at 4 down with 2 bowls left, a controlled drive put the jack in the ditch to hold 2 and a measure, Phil didn’t get in with his final bowl and a draw from Mal made it 4, the next end saw a 5 for Moonfleet making the score 12-6, that’s better. Steady scoring from then on shut out the Bridport recovery giving a final score of 18-13 to Moonfleet.
Rink 4 was a much more one sided contest with Helen’s team scoring consistently throughout, a 4-1 lead after 4 ends was never relinquished and with all three players keeping their concentration it was a good victory of 20-10 for Moonfleet.
Overall a 38-23 and 6-0 to Moonfleet! Come on you Whites…
Winter Presentation
All the pictures are on the Gallery Page of the Chronicle
BRUCE TAYLOR’S CHARITY RIDE TO BAYEUX
You’ll never get there at this rate Bruce!
The club has been kind enough to allow me a little space on the website and also to email everyone about the charity bike ride I shall be taking part in on the weekend of June 21st. I am hoping that this publicity will enable me to raise a few extra pounds for the charities that have been nominated by the organisers, Dorchester Rotary. The main beneficiary being Dorset and Somerset air ambulance.
After crossing from Poole to Cherbourg we will be cycling just over 20 miles to St Mere Eglise for an overnight rest. On Saturday we will complete a further 45 or so miles to reach our destination of Bayeux. The return journey on Sunday of 67 miles will, I know, cause me great suffering as I usually start to seize up at around half that distance, so wish me luck.
Blooming hard work this is
Dorchester Rotary do not make use of any of the excellent online charity donation websites so the easiest way for me to keep track of how much I have raised is to send any donations to me. The account to use is sort code 11-08-38, account number 10933662, reference Bayeux. I will then forward the aggregated amount to Dorchester Rotary. If you see me around the club it would obviously be easier to approach me directly.
In the unlikely event that anyone should want to track my suffering (see photo on the left) I will try to remember to log my journey on the well known cycling app – Strava.
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Bruce Taylor (Chorans, Tryers, and Thursday Rollers)
FINALS’ RESULTS
|
COMPETITION |
WINNERS |
RUNNERS-UP |
|
Two-wood Drawn Pairs |
Trixie Dempsey & Colin Chatburn |
Brian Kibbey & Pat Rod |
|
Mixed Triples |
Warren Smith, Anne Chislett, Mike Chislett |
Ryan Nash, Kath Desmond, Barry Patterson |
|
Men’s Veterans |
Tim Munro |
Eddie Rees |
|
Women’s Veterans |
Eileen Devonald-Batt |
Ruth Neary |
|
Gwen Rees, Di Carteur, Eileen Devonald-Batt |
Val Spicer, Mairi Mathie, Carol Venton |
|
|
Men’s Triples |
Mike Day, Micky Durrant, Jamie Watkiss |
Derek Spicer, Andy Clark, Mick Moxham |
|
Novices’ Drawn Triples |
Erika Fry, Di Carteur, Marty Groves |
Steve Sparnon, Andy Boatswain, Martin White |
|
Women’s Singles |
Anne Chislett |
Linda Bryson |
|
Men’s Singles |
Jamie Watkiss |
Andy Clark |
|
Novices’ Singles |
Andy Boatswain |
Bob Bullin |
|
Women’s Pairs |
Karen Hofen & Margaret Crawford |
Gwen Rees & Val Spicer |
|
Men’s Pairs |
Ryan Nash & Barry Patterson |
Dave Clegg & Malcolm Smith |
|
Drawn Handicap Pairs |
Di Carteur & Colin Chatburn |
Carol Venton & Eddie Rees |
|
Mixed Pairs |
Mairi Mathie & Jack Mathie |
Mary Bull & Ashley Welsh |
|
Aussie Pairs |
Linda Bryson & Gill Lock |
Val Spicer & Derek Spicer |
There was a record number of entries for the 2018/19 winter knockout competitions so congratulations to all the winners and indeed to all the finalists.
We would also like to thank the umpire, markers and competent persons for their contributions to the smooth running of the 15 events.
Trophies and prizes will be given to league and competition winners & runners-up at the Winter Presentation Night on 11 May; tickets will go on sale shortly and will be available to all club members. We strongly encourage the attendance of all league and competition winners & runners-up to collect their prizes or to get a representative to do so or their behalf. The ticket price will include food and the bar will be open.
And finally a reminder: the closing date for entries for the Summer Knockout Competitions is 26 April. Entry forms can be found in the blue box on the table by Reception.
Jennifer Browne & Steve Wilson
Competition Secretaries