The sun’s out and with it plenty of bowls to look forward to. In the Club Competitions, congratulations go to Richard who is our first finalist in either the Men’s or Women’s draws. He sneaked past Simon by one shot to take his place in the final of the Men’s 2-woods. Most draws are now at semi-final stage with a few exceptions .. I have a handle on those that are behind schedule but ultimately may have to take a proactive step if holidays and other things get in the way. Finals weekend is just over 3 weeks away!

On a balmy Wednesday evening at Ashford we played the latest of our SML games. Like at the weekend against Stanwell, we shared the wins 2-2 on rinks and just fell short of an overall win losing on total shots by 3 for a 6-4 loss. It just goes to show that even when losing on a rink and you feel there’s no way back, every shot can count towards the overall result! The result maintains our 6th place in the league between Ashford and Stanwell, with two games left to play.

Fri 11th 10:30am – Friday Morning League .. final round of matches

Sat 12th 10:30am – Presidents Plate (series of short games played in triples)

Sun 13th 11am – Presidents Cup semi-finals (75pts and 4-3-2-1 scoring)

Sun 13th 2:30pm – Sunbury v Chertsey (friendly match) .. 3 triples

Tues 15th 6pm – Club Night

Thurs 17th 6pm – Sunbury v Staines (SML match) .. 4 triples

The rain put paid to this week’s Club Night and a few games in the club competitions but the sun is now doing it’s best to dry all those worm casts so that we can get back on the green. Club Night will resume next week at 6pm.

Today is the last day for entry into Saturday’s Presidents Plate. There have been a few changes to the playlist so please get in touch asap if you want to play. The start time is 10:30am with refreshments (& lunch) available. Further details will be sent to competitors in due course.

Playlist – Alex; Alison; Bindley; Charlie; Chris; Colin; David; Dennis; Eileen; Gary; Jen; Jenny; John; Keith; Liam; Nathan; Neil; Nikki; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Tarun; TonyH; Tracy

Before that we have the last round of matches in the Friday Morning League. Diane’s team took a big stride towards taking top honours after a 2-shot win over Alan’s team last week, but both Alan’s and Karen’s teams could finish top if results go their way.

12pts – Diane; 10pts – Alan; 8pts – Alison; Eileen; Karen*; 6pts – Nikki*

* Karen & Nikki have a game in hand

Last weekend’s SML match against Stanwell finished with both teams winning on two rinks but Stanwell had the better shot count and took the match 6-4. This keeps Sunbury just above fast-improving Stanwell in the league table with 3 games left to play. Next up is a mid-week match at Ashford on Wednesday 6pm.

In the county competitions, at least one of our pairs progressed into the last-16 of the Middlesex Mixed Pairs .. Alan & Karen enjoyed success at Ashford, but unfortunately Bob & Anita had less joy at Hampton. In the more local South Middlesex Mixed Pairs competition, Nikki & Dennis joined Alan & Karen into the semi-finals with a good win at a rather damp Ashford on Tuesday.

August is here and our club competitions are edging towards the semi-finals in quite a few of them. All the finals take place over the weekend of 2-3Sep but before that we have the last of the season’s day-long competitions, the Presidents Plate on Saturday 12th. It’s the only competition we play in triples and is played as a series of short games with the best two teams going through to Finals weekend. Below is the list of players so please get in touch if I’ve got it wrong or you’d like to enter.

Alex; Alison; Bindley, Charlie, Chris; David; Dennis; Eileen; Gary; Jen; Jenny; John; Keith; Liam; Nathan; Nikki; Richard; Roger, Sandy; Tarun; TonyH; TonyL; Tracy

Following the Presidents Plate we are completing the unfinished Presidents Cup semi-finals on Sunday 13th from 11am .. Eileen vs Dennis and Alan vs Tracy.

This coming weekend we have two team matches – a friendly at Byfleet on Saturday and an SML game with Stanwell on Sunday. There is a shortage of players so please sign up on the sheets in the clubhouse or contact captain Di if you’d like to play.

A little further ahead is the Bluewood Shield hosted by Fordbridge Park on Saturday 19th August. This is competed between Hampton, Sunbury and the hosts over a series of games – Mixed Pairs, Men’s Pairs, Women’s Pairs and two Triples. Sunbury has traditionally come third so it’d be nice to improve on that this time. Please see the sign-up sheets in the clubhouse.

In other news , in the county competitions,  Anita did amazingly well in her quarter-final match of the Middlesex Women’s Champion of champions. Up against someone she’d lost to previously she came back from 20-16 down to take the match 21-20 after 30 ends. Rain has been her nemesis before and so it proved to be in her semi-final ending up second best and rather bedraggled! Next week she and Bob and Karen and I play our next rounds of the Middlesex Mixed Pairs. In the South Middlesex Mixed Pairs, Nikki & Dennis will be aiming to join Karen and I in the semi-finals after we won our quarter-final game at Ashford with a narrow 16-15 win.

It was yet another great turnout for this week’s Club Night. At some point soon the starting time will need to come forward in order to beat the light so watch this space.

There is a shortage of players for this Wednesday’s team friendly at Walton so if you can make it please put your name on the sheet in the clubhouse or contact our captain Diane.

This week’s Friday Morning League saw wins for the chasing pack, narrowing the gap to the top two teams. The teams captained by Karen and Nikki have a postponed game to play.

10pts – Alan; Diane; 8pts – Alison; Karen; 6pts – Eileen; 4pts – Nikki

In the Middlesex Women’s 2-woods pairs at Bishop Duppas on Saturday, it was a case of what might have been .. Eileen & Karen lost on an extra end but Tracy & Jen went one better making it into the next round.

On a sour note there was a recent theft from a car parked by the fence near the driveway during a busy time, so it’s a timely reminder for us all to be vigilant.

We enjoyed a midweek friendly at the rather quaint Oatlands Park, losing 2-1 on rinks but winning overall on shots, and, crucially, beating most of the rain! It’s nice to see that Oatlands continue with the old traditions of men wearing ironed shirts and ties and with a tea break half way though the match! Our next team match, the SML game against Ashford on Saturday, has been postponed as most of their women are unavailable. So next up is a friendly at Strawberry Hill on Sunday, followed by another at Walton on Wednesday. Many more games are coming up so please do consider signing up for them on the sheets in the clubhouse.

After last week’s bumper turnout at Club Night, this week broke records again with 38 players! Folk like playing triples but with these numbers it’s inevitable some games will be played as fours so please bear with us.

On the county scene, Anita continues to put Sunbury on the map beating a friend and ex-Sunbury player at Cambridge Park in her Women’s Champion of Champions game and qualifying for the quarter-finals to be played this Sunday. Elsewhere we wish Karen & Eileen and Tracy & Jen all the best in the Middlesex Women’s 2-woods Pairs at Bishop Duppas on Saturday. Jen is a new bowler to Sunbury but not new to bowls, and hopefully not to be confused with our other rather good Jen, or Jenny, who’s progressing well as a brand new bowler! On the Mens side (one half anyway!) Alan & Karen and Bob & Anita play their next rounds in the Middlesex Mixed Pairs this coming week against opposition from Ashford and Hampton.

In our Club Competitions the line up for the semi-finals for the Women’s Handicap is now complete. Others are progressing well with only a couple of games behind schedule. Thanks again for making my life pretty easy and getting games played .. the enthusiasm easily matches that for Club Night! Lastly, some advance notice of the last of our day-long club competitions – the Presidents Plate on Sat 12th August. This is played as a series of short games played in triples, so everyone is involved for the best part of the day with two teams progressing to Finals weekend. I’ll be asking folk to check their entry or sign-up in the week before but do get in touch with any issues.

Saturday’s SML match against Staines was a victim of the bad weather which hit most of the country. Some of their players enjoyed the catering before venturing home in a break in the rain! A new date will be arranged. We had better fortune on Sunday at Fordbridge Park, at least with the weather if not the bowls .. we lost 10-0!

Please check the sheets in the clubhouse and sign up for team matches – there are quite a few friendlies and SML games coming up. If you’ve never tried a team match before now’s the chance to give it a go before the end of the season.

On Friday there were good wins for teams captained by Diane, Karen and Nikki in the Friday Morning League leaving the table nicely balanced ..

10 pts – Alan; Diane

6 pts – Alison; Karen*

4 pts – Eileen; Nikki*

NB: Karen and Nikki have a game in hand.

Just a reminder to book a rink when playing competitions or roll-ups. There is a regular cut to the green at 5pm Friday and ad-hoc cuttings at other times so being able to see gaps in play makes for happy green-keepers! If you have trouble making a booking I’m happy to do it for you .. just get in touch via txt/whatsapp.

The annual Men v Women match takes place towards the end of the season on Sat 16th September. We’re keen to get an idea on numbers for a BBQ after so please sign-up on the sheet. Everyone’s invited .. players, family, friends .. etc..

Tomorrow’s Friday Morning League sees Cassie take charge whilst Eileen is away. The weather forecast is looking good so there shouldn’t be a last-minute cancellation this week!

This weekend sees a double-header of SML team matches .. Saturday at home to Staines and away to Fordbridge Park on Sunday. Both opponents will be looking to cement their push for top honours, so let’s hope Sunbury can pick up a surprise or two! We enjoyed a gentle friendly with Ember last weekend, played as 3 triples in the end. We may have lost on them all but it was the heaviest green we’ve faced this year, almost like playing in April!

We had a bumper 34 players at Club Night this week with many folk returning from hols, etc.. We welcomed three potential new players, including a couple from Chertsey Bowls, so it’s good to see our numbers continuing to grow.

In the club competitions most games are on target and have reached the quarter-finals, with even some of those having been played. Good luck to those still playing and thanks to everyone for competing. Competitions/Leagues

We suffered a duo of defeats this week in the South Middlesex League (SML). We snatched a draw on one rink against Bishop Duppas on Sunday for a 9-1 defeat then went slightly better against Hampton on Thursday with a one-shot win on one rink for an 8-2 defeat. Thanks are due to Stanwell for keeping us off the bottom of the table! The next of our team matches is a friendly at Ember on Sunday 16th with 16 players required .. please contact captain Di or reply here if you’d like to play.

In Middlesex county matches, Anita did Sunbury proud with a good win in her quarter-final of the Women’s Unbadged Singles on Sunday then, in Anita’s words, “had a disaster” in the semi-final. Next time?!

In our Club Competitions the quarter-final line-up is almost complete in most events, apart from the in the biggest draw, the Junior Championship. All results are up to date so please do get in touch with any issues or errors (thanks Gary!).

The second half of the Friday Morning League commenced this week and there were some surprising results. There was a resounding win for Nikki’s team against Alison’s team giving them their first win of the season; Karen’s team enjoyed a single shot win over Alan’s unbeaten team; Diane’s team kept in the hunt towards the top of the table with a narrow 3-shot win against Eileen’s team. This leaves the table a little more bunched, especially with Karen’s and Nikki’s team having a game in hand on the others.

10 pts – Alan; 8 pts – Diane; 6 pts – Alison; 4 pts – Eileen, Karen; 2 pts – Nikki

The club competitions continue in full flow. Everyone has now played at least once in the biggest draw – the Junior Championship. All the other draws are doing well and thanks are due again to everyone for such a great appetite to get games played. Tarun has setup a WhatsApp group for members that’s proving it’s worth in asking for markers for games, so please ask him or me if you’d like to be added. One slight negative this week is with a plea to avoid arranging games that impacts grass cutting at Crackerjack time .. Friday 5pm! This is the one set time for cutting as it lends itself for the greenkeepers’ ritual of visiting the bar afterwards.

Tomorrow (Sunday 9th) we welcome Bishop Duppas to Sunbury as we resume our campaign in the SML. Stanwell recorded their first win of the season against Bishop Duppas during the week so here’s hoping we can add to their woes .. I’m sure they’ll be thinking the opposite and that they can’t lose to the two bottom-placed teams in a week!

Lastly, good luck to Anita, flying the flag for Sunbury, competing in the quarter-finals of the Middlesex Unbadged Singles.

News on Cricket Club activities ..

At Saturday’s President Cup we had a potential new member, identifying as a duck!  He, or she, stuck around for quite a while admiring the play before waddling off. The third of our day-long club competitions had it’s fair share of exciting matches, especially the quarter-finals and it was subsequently decided that the semi-finals would be contested on a future date .. Dennis v Eileen and Alan v Tracy. Thanks to all the helpers for organising the rinks, refreshments, etc. and particularly the markers who did a grand job with the more complex 4-3-2-1 scoring and fast-moving scoreboards! Full details .. Presidents Cup 2023

We move onto the last of the season’s day-long competitions with the Presidents Plate on 12th August. This is played in triples, so a format that everyone is well-used to, and teams being drawn on the day. Entries will be taken up to the week before.

In their Middlesex Women’s Pairs quarter-final on Sunday, Karen & Eileen came off second-best to last year’s beaten finalists at Bush Hill Park. Nevertheless a good time was had by all. One match I failed to mention is in the Middlesex Mixed Pairs .. Anita & Bob had an exhausting win against a Staines pair and join Karen and I in the next round.

Happy bowling to everyone this week .. the unprecedented bowls-friendly weather looks set to continue .. except for Tuesday!