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!

In our club competitions this week the Morris’s were determined to maximise their time on the green, ably assisted by their opponents. Dennis & Simon racked up 29 ends in the Open Handicap, with Nikki & Tarun going one better with 30 ends in the Junior Championship. That’s a new record, in recent times anyway! Thanks again for all the games being played, some quite a way ahead of deadline date. All results have been entered so if there’s any missing please do get in touch.

Unfortunately we haven’t had a great week in the Middlesex county competitions. Karen lost in the Unbadged Women’s Singles, going down 21-19 at Staines, leaving Anita as our sole representative in the county quarter-finals. In the Women’s Triples, both our teams (Alison/Cassie/Pat and Eileen/Karen/Nikki) lost to tough opposition. In the Mixed Pairs one of our two teams were destined to win as they were drawn against each other! Karen & Alan got the better of Tracy & Barry and play an Ashford pair next month. Lastly, good luck to Eileen & Karen who play at Bush Hill Park on Sunday in their Women’s Pairs quarter-final (and semi?!).

There were some close games in this week’s Club Night with one decided by a single shot. With 8 sessions played there are a handful of players within a few points of each other at the top of the rankings .. there’s a long way to go before anyone can get their hands on the trophy for best man and best woman though! Club Night continues on Tues 4th at 6pm (please checkin at 5:45pm or let someone know if running late).

The Friday Morning League has reached the half way point with all teams having played every other team once, apart from one outstanding game that’s deferred to the end.  So today, Friday 30th, there were wins for Alan’s and Eileen’s teams.

10 pts – Alan; 6 pts – Alison, Diane; 4 pts – Eileen; 0 pts – Karen, Nikki

I was asked recently about the placement of the mat so I thought I’d share this handy guide. Remember you can place the mat anywhere up to the first 25m mark, something you could try to change it up a bit. Outdoor Rink dimensions

On a balmy Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a rare win over Ashford in the SML. We may have faced a team missing some of their county players due to other commitments but a win is a win. We actually won on one of the three rinks played for an overall 6-4 result. We complete the first half of the season with a home match against Bishop Duppas in two weeks’ time.

In our club competitions, the results have been flying in with folk arranging their matches around holidays, etc.. Gary & Simon and Michelle & Jenny take the honours for most green time with both their matches taking an exhausting 27 ends, especially in the recent heat! Nikki & Pat went toe to toe in the Women’s Championship with the closest possible score of 21-20. Thanks to all for getting matches played in good time. The third of our day-long competitions is coming up on Saturday 1st July .. the grandly-named Presidents Cup. Although it’s a singles competition the scoring is a little different with the four nearest bowls all scoring regardless of which bowl is shot. Please let me know if your name is missing from the list of entrants or if you’d like to enter, or you can no longer make it.

Alan; Alex; Alison; Andrea; Anita; Bindley, BobH; BobL; Charlie; Chris; Colin; Dennis; Eileen; Jenny; John; Keith; Liam; Nikki; Peter Saul; Richard; Simon; Tarun; Tracy

In Middlesex county matches I faced my third consecutive Ashford player in the 6th round of the Unbadged Men’s Singles. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and I lost 21-20 and by a little over an inch on the last end!  There is better news with Anita in her Unbadged Women’s Singles .. up against Tracy’s victor at Bishop Duppas she won 21-18 to qualify for the county quarters and semi-finals in July. Karen plays at Staines next week with a chance of keeping Anita company.

The latest round of the Friday Morning League saw wins for team’s captained by Alan, Diane and Eileen. Here is the league table after 4 (of 10) rounds.

8 pts – Alan

6 pts – Alison; Diane

2pts – Eileen, Karen

0pts – Nikki

One item I’ve failed to mention this season is the NW Surrey Thursday League. This is something that Eileen (and David) have entered and organised down the years and is played in the traditional format of rinks (fours). Anyway they’ve been doing rather well and have notched up 3 wins in their first 4 matches. Well done to Brian, Lynda, Nikki & Dennis as the mainstay of the team, ably helped by David and Eileen amongst others.