Club Gossip

UK Report

Roving club member Roy Parker has been inpecting and trialling bowling greens in the UK. His report follows:

On our trip to the UK and Europe we came across these two lawn bowls clubs.

The Kingsclere bowling club is situated in the heart of Hampshire and is surrounded by 16th century homes. While I was there they were playing a semi final of a mens singles tournament played with two bowls over 16 ends. Made for a lot of walking I had a roll up which did not last long, with a two metre jack and two metre mat the speed was 12 seconds and that was being generous, they seemed to think it was running well. Hard case characters in this club who all loved a beer and a war story.

The second club Motcombe is in Eastbourne down on the south coast, a club with a lot of character and in a terrific setting with the Norman church in the background. This club was a bit toffee nosed and saw me as a bit of an intrusion into their game, so did not hang around too long. The green however looked very nice but was also quite heavy.

(Editor's Comment:- Two bowl singles? That's different. Clearly the "Parker Drive" will have assisted Roy to get to the jack at Kingsclere.)

New York Lawn Bowling Club

Shane Gibson took these photos of the greens at the New York Lawn Bowling Club during his recent holiday on the East Coast of the USA. He says the setting is very nice, being in the middle of Central Park, Manhatten. As you can see no play on Fridays but scheduled for Sunday.

Taranaki Open Fours 2009

The Taranaki Open Fours is an annual event that has been running for over 100 years. A traditional venue for many North Harbour sides over the past years, the week away is regarded by many as the epitome of traditional lawn bowls. Teams are put into sections of 14 and play eight games of qualifying over four days. Two games a day of 25 ends. Yep 25 ends. Now that is real bowls.

This year saw two sides travel down from Birkenhead. The Lionel Drew skipped four of Bruce Cochrane, Keith Burgess and Shane Gibson and the Rod Mahon skipped side of Ollie Bouzaid, Gary Stevens and Roy Parker. For Lionel and Bruce it was their first experience of Taranaki, but surely not their last. As well, a composite Northcote/Birkenhead team went down consisting of Shaun Bayne, Terry Moverley, Harry Keane and Ken Woolams.

With nothing scheduled at Birkenhead on the Sunday the 18th January, both Birkenhead teams set off about 10ish for the 5 hour trip. The well driven Holden of Shane had no issues on the way down, with a comfortable rest stop at Te Kuiti for lunch. However the Ollie driven crew had a few troubles. Let's just say that you don't want to mention milk tankers and overtaking to any of the four in the car. It may result in a ghost like appearance and extreme stuttering from any of the four.

Both sides had rented houses for the week rather than staying in motels. Congratulations to Mr. Burgess who did a fantastic job in sourcing an architecturally designed 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home complete with LCD television, spa pool and BBQ for a very acceptable price. Ollie was the architect in arranging the other side's accommodation, and other than having to feed the cat, sharing the house with the three adult daughters, and a very 'lived-in' home, he did quite well.

Monday the 19th dawned drizzly and a bit blustery. Lionel's team's mood was not improved when picking up the morning paper they discovered they were in the 'Section of Death'. Of the 14 teams, nine were specifically mentioned as being potential winners or perennial qualifiers. Lionel's team was NOT one of those mentioned. That's okay we said to ourselves – we will sneak under the radar. So off we headed to the West End club for the first day of competition, whilst Rodney and the boys headed to Inglewood.

The Drew skipped side had a comfortable victory over a Paritutu side 29-9 in their first game, whilst Rod had a tougher 24-18 victory over a side from West End. For Lionel and Bruce it was an interesting experience hearing the bell go after 11 or so ends, with everyone trooping in for a marvellous morning tea, then going back out and finishing the 25 ends. Both morning and afternoon tea breaks can be crucial in Taranaki, and this was proved in disastrous circumstances for Lionel's boys that afternoon. Playing one of the favoured teams skipped by Ian Mahoney of Alton, things were looking good at afternoon tea. The Alton lead, a young Maori lad by the name of Baz, had been playing very poorly, and didn't come in. When asked where he was the Alton skip replied he was probably outside smoking a joint! Whatever he had it worked, with young Baz being on fire for the rest of the game, whilst Lionel's lads had a wee afternoon kip I think, with Mahoney going on to win 26-18. For Rod and his lads it was another successful outing, this time a 30-14 victory over I. Wellington of Inglewood. A comfortable evening was had with both teams heading to the New Plymouth club for a few quiet drinks and a very nice and reasonably priced meal.

We awoke on Tuesday morning with the sun shining and our first view of the mountain. An interesting note from the morning's paper mentioned 'Among the leading skips with perfect two-win records were... Neil McMaster, of Browns Bay. Leading Skips???? I'm not sure the writer had done his homework there. In fact I'm sure he hadn't because Mr McMaster of Browns Bay failed to win another game all week. A fact we keep reminding him off.

Lionel and the boys headed out to Waitara whilst Rod's mob headed to New Plymouth. A win for Lionel over a Lyall Bay team from Wellington was a good start to the day, although a certain member of the team seemed to pick up some nasty habits from the Wellington lads. Let's just say that for the rest of the week, Taranaki's Kupe Gas Project was not the only thing producing natural gas in the area. In their 4th game, Shane Gibson damaged his knee in some way which affected his delivery, and this partly resulted in a disappointing loss to a team from Otorohanga. This team was very happy at the end of the week when they told us they enjoyed their match against us immensely, as it was their only win in the tournament! That evening the two teams headed back to our house for a BBQ. A thoroughly enjoyable night was held by all. Ollie very willingly offered to cook and did in most ways a very good job. However, a warning to anyone allowing Ollie to use their BBQ. Make him clean up afterwards! The rest of us spent an hour cleaning up his mess on Friday morning. I am still trying to work out how one man can make so much mess with a few sausages, hash browns and patties. Indescribable.

Day 3 dawned bright and sunny again, with Lionel's boys now knowing they needed to win the rest of their matches to qualify, whilst Rodney still had a life after losing just one of their first four games. Playing out at Lepperton, unfortunately for Lionel's team they played disappointingly to be beaten by an Oakura team 26-14. After his knee problems the day before, Shane played off a fixed stance for the remainder of the tournament, being unable to put any weight on his back knee. This was the cause for some hilarity, with the nickname of spastic stick insect being mentioned at one point. Rodney completed a 26-25 victory over a George Weller skipped side from Blockhouse Bay at his venue of Vogeltown. George in his hey day was a very good player, representing Auckland and winning numerous Auckland centre titles. This kept Rod well in the hunt for qualifying, and with another victory in the afternoon, this time a 32-30 victory over a Johnstone Park side, giving him five wins out of six. A very good friend of Rod's, a certain Rob Ashton from Johnsonville, played alongside Rod all week, being in the same section. Rod had knocked Ashton out of the National singles several weeks earlier, and a testy relationship ensued then. Apparently some words were exchanged at one point during the week, with Mr Aston apparently doing a very good impression of Rod calling a bowl home. However he was less than impressed when Rod mentioned something about a f*%@$*# parrot on the next rink. Apparently a stunned mullet impression followed. With Lionel's team now out of contention, all they could really do was spoil someone else's party, and this they did in spectacular fashion that afternoon against Northland representative Steve Smith from the Kensington club in Whangarei. Smith had won his first three games, but lost his last game on Day 2 and his first game on Day 3 to well performed Taranaki representative Dean Elgar 28-22. But things were looking good for him against Lionel when he was leading 17 – 4 just before afternoon tea. Funny game that bowls is though, 5 ends later Lionel was leading 20-17, and went onto to record a comfortable victory 32-22. This of course left Smith with no chance of qualifying either.

Day 4 was another stunning day. At this point I must describe the breakfast shenanigans at the house. The majority of us all had a usual breakfast, you know cereal, toast, tea etc. One of the team continued a tradition from the first day that was somewhat unusual to say the least. This person would toast his bread, then spread it with raspberry jam. No dramas there. He would then proceed to smother the jam with generous helpings of... blue vein cheese??? Yep that is not a spelling error. Needless to say the rest of us tended to sit at another table whilst bucket hands consumed his. On to the bowls, and with Lionel's boys playing just for pride at the Oakura club, they had the opportunity of spoiling the tournament for another side. This time they were from the Wilton club in Wellington and skipped by a Mr. Ferrari. A strong all around performance saw them overcome Wilton 28-18, thus ending their tournament. Ours was over as well, with the team we were due to play unable to qualify either. Rod had a 26-18 victory over a Fitzroy team out at Lepperton to qualify for post-section. The eight lads went for a meal that night, heading to 'the steakhouse' on Mr Bouzaid's recommendation. Although my meal was very good, many of the others were not all that impressed, and with prices ranging from $36 upwards, it will not be on the dining list for next year.

Rodney and the lads began post-section the next morning with some good support from Lionel's team for the first 10 or so ends. Rod went on to win that match over a grumpy man skipping a team from Palmerston North, but unfortunately lost their next game in the round of 32 to a team from West End. It was a great effort from Rod and the boys.

More than the bowls though, everyone had a great time, with new friends made, and old acquaintances renewed. It really is a superbly run tournament, and testament to this is that 228 teams entered this year, which is actually down a little bit on previous years. For those who have never been, try and get down there. We have already booked the same house for next year. We will be there, and I hope many more Birkenhead guys head down for what is an amazing week of bowls and entertainment.

Roy Visit to Newport

On the 2 October Roy and Lorraine Parker went per Air New Zealand to see their son Bradley and his wife Missy who live in Huntington Beach, Orange County, Southern California. Two years ago Brad, who initially went to the States 9 years ago to play rugby, joined the Newport Bowling Club. Missy joined a couple of months ago, and as a result Roy has liaised with the Newport Club and both Executive's have agreed to become sister clubs. The main benefit in having a sister club having a contact point for members of both clubs should they visit each others country. Also it is extremely interesting to read the web page's of other clubs and Centres. To find out more about the Newport Club you can go to the Links page on this website, where you will find a link to the Newport Bowling Club's website.

At the time of Roy's visit the Newport and Laguna Beach clubs were hosting the Michael Ashton-Phillips International Bowls Challenge, a competition with men's pairs from all over the world competing. The field included Ali Forsyth and Richard Girvan, two international representatives from New Zealand.

Roy met with the President of Newport, John Groothius, and they exchanged club badges.

Newport is a mixed club with over 200 members. Bowls in the States is in the infant stage but from what I could gather Newport are a progressive club intent on being the number 1 club in California, if not the USA. Speaking about the men only, they have five members who have been selected for the United States team. This is quite some achievement for any club anywhere in the World. I also believe that a number of the woman have been selected for the National Team.

The greens are of a different texture to ours being more like Australian greens. They are somewhat slower with the tournament running at about 14 to 15 seconds. The clubhouse does not have a bar but they operate a large fridge with canned beer at $1.00. The clubhouse and surrounds are kept in immaculate condition which is a credit to whoever does all the work. The photos show the club with both greens and the clubhouse. The third photo shows Roy and John exchanging club badges.

Finally I can say that Newport is a very hospitable club that will make you most welcome. The standard of bowling is very high for their conditions although I do wonder how they would go on our greens running at 18 to 20 seconds. Still all good bowlers adapt. A place I would recommend to anybody who is in that part of the world and I thank John for his hospitality.

Opening Day

Under glorious blue skies and some much welcomed sunshine, Birkenhead Bowling Club officially opened for the 2008/2009 season on Saturday 20th September. A change to the traditional opening day format proved very popular to both old and new members alike, with a turnout of around 50 bowlers arriving at 9am for a drawn 'haggle'. Three games of one hour and ten minutes were played, with lunch between the second and third games.

President Rod Mahon welcomed everybody at 9:30am, and then competition began with twelve teams of 4's competing. Most teams had a 1st year bowler amongst their ranks, and games were completed in a fantastic spirit. In fact, the banter got so spirited at one point that one first year player asked some of his more experienced team-mates, "Does everyone speak to each other like that here?" with mock confusion and terror written on his features.

At the conclusion of the on-green competition, prizes were awarded to the successful combatants, and then the more formal part of the days proceedings began. First to speak was National Party MP Jonathon Coleman, who warned the Birkenhead members of the Labour Party's 'Bowls policy' as listed under section 356 (b) in their party manifesto. This was met with raucous laughter, and a big thank you to Jonathon who has been, and we hope, will continue to be a great supporter of the club. We look forward to seeing you on Waitangi Day Jonathon, where once again you can illustrate your skills on the bowling green.

Next up was Mr. Len Lanigan. As a life member and club patron, Len is held in high regard by all of those members who know him, and everybody looks forward to his 'stories', as he calls them. This time he regaled us with some words on the large passenger ship known as the Atlantic, the ship's magician and a somewhat cheeky ship's parrot. Needless to say this went down very well, and it was an absolute pleasure to see Len at the club once again. We look forward to the next time.

Finally, Bowls North Harbour Centre President Mr. Ian Poland spoke some very kind words about the Club and its members. He congratulated Birkenhead for both its on and off green performances last season, and wished us even more success this year. The day was concluded with some light finger food prepared by Stuey and his crew, and as usual it was superb.

The new format seemed to go down with well with members, and it was fantastic to get out and play on natural greens. The fact that we were able to do this is a credit to Greenkeeper Dennis Matthews. The amount of wet weather has seriously cut into greens maintenance time, but they ran very smoothly despite this. Welcome to all of the new members, and a 'good to see you back' to all of those returning. Everything is looking good for another great season at Birkenhead.

Clubhouse

Plans and specifications have been drawn up for the balcony on the front of the club. These will be posted in the club by the executive. Any comments appreciated. It will make a huge difference to the floor space in the club plus a great observation point for the greens. Rod has done a great job organising it all and it is over to Shaun Bayne to get the finance.

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