Lindfield Bowling Club

News roundup

An exciting close game was fought when Horsham came to Lindfield with the home team winning 99-95: Dorothy Keogh was leading much of the time, 11-2, but dropping a six and four was irreparable, 16-19; Sue Wilmott was down 2-10 but came back well to win 17-15: Chris Reynolds was down 6-24 then won the last four ends to finish 15-24; Roger Green kept his nose ahead throughout, 15-10; Paul Sandford made three fours on his way to 24-19; David Glossop led for half the match but dropped a four and five, 12-18.

Against Lewes the visitors led most of the way but a good last third took Lindfield to victory, 80-69: Terry Hughes was dominant but dropped six in the last two ends, 27-16; Dorothy Keogh was behind at 6-9, scored a five and never looked back, 20-15; Wilf Atkins did well to keep up with the hugely experienced Alex Parsons, 15-18; Alan Eastwood was behind but drew up to 17-17 to lose out narrowly, 18-20.

Lindfield beat Buxted Park in the annual John Ellmer Cup fixture winning four of the five games; Paul Sandford (single) 21-14; Terry Hughes (pair) 12-30; Roger Green (triple) 22-15; David Glossop (rink) 16-13; Mike Streeter & Wilf Atkins (double rink) 41-32.

News roundup

As the season draws to a close a good close game was fought against Hollingbury. The visitors, despite losing three of the four rinks, came out victors by a single shot, 72-73: Peter Colbourne started strongly with a 9-1 lead and got to 20-9 only to drop six on the last two ends, 20-15; having led, Sue Willmott dropped a five to go behind 7-9 but regained her composure to win 16-15; Adam Harding led 5-4 but then went behind 5-12, a four and five helped him stay in the lead, 20-18; Terry Hughes led briefly but got stuck on six for eight ends to go down 16-25.

A better time was had when Crouch came, 77-54: Paul Sandford struggled early on, 7-16, but won the last seven ends, 20-17; a six helped Terry Hughes take control, 28-10; Sue Willmott dropped ten on the last four ends but kept ahead nonetheless, 23-19; Shirley Foxwell conceded just seven ends, 26-8.

The visit to Burgess Hill was an unexpected success, 86-72 to Lindfield: Paul Sandford led all the way, 23-9; the captain, Peter Elford, taking on the mantle of skip, had a splendid win against the vastly experienced Malcolm McKenzie, 20-17; Terry Hughes did well to keep ahead of Chris Wilkins, 27-19; at 4-4 Richard Harding dropped a six and never really recovered, 16-27.

Lindfield lose in Tony Allcock final

The Lindfield team for the Tony Allcock Trophy went to Leamington for the national finals, won two rounds but lost both rinks in the final to Banbury Central from Oxfordshire. The team was: Keith Holman, Ian Watson, Peter Gacsall, Carol Watson, Margaret Atkins, Roger Green, Sue Willmott, Janet Hawkins, Carolyn Worth, Roger Willmott.

Bank holiday weather has been kind to us of late. Unfortunately, our finals days suffered a little this time. Overall only two matches had to be rescheduled.

The results:

Ladies' Championship: Jennie Sandord; Men's Championship: Paul Sandford; Men's Pairs: Bill Colbourne & Ron Langridge; Ladies' Pairs: Joan Hampton & Sue Willmott; Ladies' Backbone: Carolyn Worth; Men's Handicap: Tom Palmer; Men's Veterans: David Glossop; Ladies' 2 Wood: Jennie Sandford; Men's 2 Wood: Adam Harding; Dave Butfoy: Paul Sandford; Men's Backbone: Terry Hughes; 2 Wood Triple: Ian Wilson, Steve Minter, Tom Palmer; Ladies' 100 up: Sue Willmott.

There was a fine match on a difficult green at Rottingdean. At tea Lindfield only led on two rinks but by the end they had won four and drawn one, 103-82: David Glossop trailed until the last two ends, 18-15; Roger Green, down 2-9, came back, turning one down to two up with the very last wood of the match, 24-23; Peter Gacsall was behind 6-11 at tea but took control soon afterwards with three twos, 19-16; Alan Gardiner led at tea, 12-8, but only won four more ends, 18-18; Chris Reynolds made a four to lead 5-3 then never looked back, 24-10.

Lindfield in action at Leamington

Lindfield are busily flying the flag for Sussex in the closing days of the National Finals at Leamington Spa. On Friday 31st August Jennie Sandford, Carol Watson, Ian Watson and Keith Holman featured in a nail-bitingly close game in the first round of the Mixed Fours. Up against Mike Parsons's four from Hertfordshire, Lindfield got off to a horribly slow start, struggling to come to grips with the pace and swing of the green. They eventually clawed their way back from 3-12 down to level the scores at 16-16, and with Jennie regularly nailing the jack they took the lead for the first time on the 18th end, and eventually claimed victory, 19-17.

It was a different story in the quarter-final, up against Kelly Ling, Sue Bernard, Martin Heitzmann and Mark Royal of Suffolk, Lindfield were in regular trouble, with Keith having to mix controlled weight with inch-perfect drawing bowls in order to save heads on a regular basis. Another slow start meant that by the time the Lindfield quartet properly got going, there weren't enough ends left in the game to turn a gradual comeback into anything more, so Suffolk won 24-18.

More Lindfield players and supporters arrived on Friday afternoon, for the quarter-final of the Tony Allcock over-60's mixed double rink on Saturday against a team from Yorkshire. Keith Holman's rink of Margaret Atkins, Carol Watson and Ian Watson had a see-saw game, regularly picking up shots but also dropping several 2's and 3's in the first half of their game. They eventually consolidated their lead, Keith again regularly turning round heads to Lindfield's advantage, and their 31-18 win took the pressure of the other rink of Roger Willmott, Janet Hawkins, Sue Willmott and Roger Green, who came back from 12-8 down after 12 ends, to narrowly lose 16-15.

Lindfield play Essex in the semi-final this morning (2nd September), with two changes to the team - Carolyn Worth comes in for Janet Hawkins, and Peter Gacsall replaces Keith Holman, who is away on holiday. Good luck Lindfield!

Sandfords dominate Finals Day

Husband and wife Paul and Jennie Sandford are now the reigning men's and ladies' club singles champions after clinching the titles in contrasting fashions on a grey and drizzly Bank Holiday Monday. Paul took on five-times winner Adam Harding in the men's final and bowled superbly to win 21-7, while Jennie had a much closer battle against ladies' captain Carolyn Worth, playing in her first championship final. While Jennie generally bowled a more consistent weight, Carolyn's slightly more attacking style of play saw her stay in contention, battling back from 14-20 down to narrowly lose 19-21 in front of at least 50 spectators. Jennie's win makes her the first Lindfield lady bowl to win the singles title two years running, since Shirley Nelson in the mid-1990's.

In the other finals Paul and Jennie were again successful, with Paul putting on another excellent display of draw bowling to beat Tom Palmer 100 - 90 in the Butfoy (100 Up) singles, while Jennie found a consistently good weight to beat Carol Watson in the ladies Two Wood final. The only blip for the Sandfords came in the form of Tom Palmer, who fought back from 6-14 down to beat Paul Sandford 21-16 in the Handicap singles final. Tom enjoyed further success in the 2 Wood Triples final, skipping Ian Wilson and Steve Minter to a 12-9 win over David Walker, Phil Taylor and David Glossop.

In the ladies' games, Sue Willmott enjoyed an excellent finals weekend, first combining with Joan Hampton to beat Janet Hawkins and Carol Watson in the pairs final, then enjoying a repeat performance by comfortably beating Carol again in the 100 Up final on Monday afternoon. Carolyn Worth and Maggie Langridge starred in a nail-biting ladies Backbone final, with Carolyn eventually emerging the victor by a single shot.

Terry Hughes was another to feature in two finals, first combining with Peter Page in a 'game of two halves' in the men's pairs, which saw Peter and Terry go from 15-6 up, to lose 15-21 to the experienced duo of Bill Colbourne and Ron Langridge. Terry and Ron then had a re-match in the men's Backbone final, which lasted just over two hours, and saw Ron mount a brave fight-back which just faltered on the last end, Terry claiming the title 21-19. Adam Harding made up for the result in the Championship by convincingly beating Bill Colbourne in the men's Two Wood final, while John Bartlett's heavy cold forced him to concede the Veterans final to David Glossop halfway through their game, as the heavy rain became more persistent.

Club President Ron Langridge hosted the trophy presentations at the end of play on Monday, and an army of willing helpers turned out to provide guests and members with tea and cake, ensuring that despite the best efforts of the weather, this was yet another enjoyable and well-organised club finals weekend.

Schedule for Finals Days 2018

The running order for Sunday 26th August is as follows:

Umpires: Peter Colbourne, Adam Harding, Martin Pelosi.

Note: Dress code for all bowlers and markers is whites. Greys for doing the scoreboard.

Lindfield players in action at Leamington

In the National Men's Senior Fours at Leamington the Lindfield rink, representing Sussex, was: Roger Willmott, Paul Sandford, Ian Watson and Keith Holman, who lost in the first round 14-27 – but our congratulations for getting that far.

After a week of splendid bowling the Lindfield team won the prestigious Jubilee Triples final beating a Newick team by the flattering margin of 15-0.

In a new fixture our trip to The Drive was not a rip-roaring success going down 58-115 with losses on all rinks. Having to play on an artificial pitch will always be a huge problem for outdoor clubs.

An excellent match was fought when Hurstpierpoint visited ending 70-70, thanks to Frank Morris's triple who went from 11-0 to win 25-7; Richard Harding led briefly, 6-5, but finished 15-24; Alan Gardiner had a closer game, 13-17; Alan Eastwood led 9-4 but lost, 17-22.

Various club members will be representing Sussex at Leamington this week: in the Ladies 2 Wood Singles, Jennie Sandford; in the Ladies Pairs, Carol Watson and Sue Willmott; and in the Men's Senior Pairs, Ian Watson and Keith Holman.

Lindfield reach Leamington in Tony Allcock trophy

In the Tony Allcock Trophy Lindfield reached the last 8 nationally after beating Bromley at Tonbridge. Keith Holman, Ian Watson, Carol Watson and Margaret Atkins won 28-18 while Roger Green, Sue Willmott, Janet Hawkins and Roger Willmott won 25-17. They will go to the national finals at Leamington.

In the Mid-Sussex League a strong performance produced an 8-2 win at Hurstpeirpoint.

There was a good away win at Eastbourne Parade, 79-65: Sue Willmott was remorseless winning 34-6; Carolyn Worth was helped to respectability by a pair of threes, 10-26; in a fluctuating game Alan Gardiner came out ahead, 18-17; David Glossop had another close-fought win, 17-16.

A match against Newick is always a close affair this time the visitors came out ahead 48-65: David Glossop tussled to a draw from 5-10 down, 17-17; despite an early five Mike Streeter lost 15-24; Alan Gardiner scored an early six but could not score steadily thereafter, 16-24.

News round-up

Lindfield's Senior Four (Keith Holman, Ian Watson, Paul Sandford, Roger Willmott) played the county final at Worthing Pavilion against a strong White Rock quartet. In a nail biting finish, after trailing by 7 shots, Lindfield squeezed into the lead on the 20th end 16-15, only, when holding 2 shots on the 21st end, to have White Rock's skip Trevor Logan play a brilliant last wood to take the shot and level the score at 16 all. The extra end was very tight with Holman producing the shot of the day to touch the jack away from a White Rock bowl onto a Lindfield bowl. Lindfield are thereby county champions by 17-16, and will go on to represent Sussex at the national finals at Leamington in August.

In the Border League Cup semi-final with Horley it was all square after 21 ends with Horley taking the extra end, 43-42.

In the national mixed double four Lindfield took the match 45-35. Roger Green's rink kept his opponents in check, 16-19; Keith Holman, surely one of the county's most reliable skips, dominated the whole match, 29-16.

There was a stunning demolition of Pope's Mead in the Border League, 70-28.

A new format for friendly matches proved very successful, a triangular tournament with Lewes and Peacehaven. The latter (62) pipped Lindfield (61) to win with Lewes (48) third.

News round-up

In the county two wood competition the doughty Peter Gacsall beat Glyn Ball of Chichester on an extra end to go to the semi-final where he lost to Trevor Roberts.

This week's Border League match was more successful than last week's as Redhill was beaten 60-39: Terry Hughes had a close game until a six put him in charge, 22-9; Graeme Geddie did well to come back from 1-12 and 3-15, to end 12-19; Adam Harding's win was never in doubt, 26-11.

At Horsham it was three rinks all but 102-123 to the home side: Chris Reynolds did not score until end four but then gradually took charge, 20-15; Alan Gardiner was unlucky to come up against the hugely experienced, ex-Lindfield, Doug Whetstone, 12-34; Richard Harding led 8-5 but struggled thereaftert, 12-22; Shirley Foxwell led all the way, 24-13; unusually David Glossop failed to compete apart from a patch of seven in five ends, 11-17; Ron Langridge's game changed throughout but edging it, 23-22.

There was a successful trip to Motcombe Gardens, 64-56: Dorothy Keogh, despite only winning seven ends came close, 14-15; David Glossop was back to winning ways, 23-11; Willi Bollschweiler led 8-6 but then lost control, 9-23; , on the captain's rink Peter Elford only conceded five ends, 18-7.

Crowborough Wolfe came and struggled, 60-49: Frank Morris led 12-3, got stuck on twelve but came out ahead, 13-9; having been down 6-15 Richard Harding secured a good victory, 17-16; Shirley Foxwell stormed it again, 16-9; John Bartlett would have won but for a four dropped on the last end, 14-15.

Henfield were trounced 107-71: for Alan Gardiner a five and a six helped hugely, 30-12; three fours took Frank Morris to a great start, 31-17; Richard Harding went from 1-6 to 17-6 for a final 29-15; despite an opening four David Glossop was overcome 17-27.

News round-up

Lindfield have made it through another round of the National Double Fours. The match was close for a long time: Adam Harding's rink, rather rampant, led throughout against Dave Swainston balancing the tough time enjoyed by Keith Holman's men against Dave Race. Holman was behind 2-10, then 3-12, but a four altered the momentum, he drew up to 12-14 to finish just behind, 12-19; Harding's rink won 31-8 to secure a fine victory.

There was a productive visit to Buxted Park where Lindfield won 102-96: Richard Harding played a tight game when fourteen in five ends took him from 5-12 to 19-12, finishing 24-23; Alan Gardiner briefly led 8-6 but ended 12-24; the captain, Peter Elford, finding a good vein of form, won 24-11; Terry Hughes led until 18-15 at end eighteen to complete a draw, 18-18; David Glossop went from 1-9 to 20-9 in nine ends, ending 24-20.

The trip to the Surrey/Sussex border at Felbridge was less successful, 69-88: Margaret Atkins recovered from 11-19 to lose by just four, 19-23; Shirley "Comeback Queen" Foxwell went from 0-11 to win 24-21; Willy Bolschweiler never really got going, 10-25; Dorothy Keogh led in the first half 12-5 but had a poor second, 16-19.

The visit to Eastbourne Parade went well, 79-65: Carolyn Worth was down 4-14 when two threes took her to 10-14 but that was the end of her success, 10-26; Alan Gardiner's game fluctuated but he came out just ahead, 18-17; Sue Willmott only conceded four ends, 34-6; David Glossop, another "come backer", trailed 2-13 from where he won 17-16.

Lindfield breezed into the next round of the Border League Cup because Monotype could not put a team together.

Watson and Willmott through in county pairs

Carol Watson and Sue Willmott have won through to the Semi Final of the Ladies County Pairs in July. To win they had to play 5 games in a day at Eastbourne.

A mixed team went to Isle of Thorns only to lose 47-69: Willy Bolschweiler was way behind at 2-24 then eleven in three ends took him closer to John Bowes, 17-28; Stella Sayers kept in touch all the way but Phil Bird took the honours, 14-17; Eileen Pope took on the hugely experienced Jan Noyes but could not quite keep up, 16-24.

A splendid victory was achieved away at Mackie, 88-59: Richard Harding was ahead 10-6, a dropped six took it to 10-14, then a good end pipped the match, 18-17; Frank Morris also scored a six in a strong performance, 28-15; David Glossop started behind but once ahead stayed there, 22-12; Alan Gardiner was well ahead but two dropping fours gave a scare but not for long, 20-15.

Peter Gacsall shines in 2 Wood

The team for the Abergavenny (men's County double-fours) played well-judged games against Woodingdean. The home side, skipped by Keith Holman, were drawing 8-8 but then gradually went ahead 15-8 and maintained the effort to win 17-13; away, Adam Harding's rink reached 10-10 then a string of scores, including two fours, took them to 21-10 to win 23-16.

In friendlies there was a good win in the local derby against Haywards Heath, 75-52: it was four ends before Willy Bollschweiler's rink scored, he took the lead two ends later and never looked back, 20-9; Wilf Atkins led 16-6 but only hung on for 16-13; Sue Willmott was behind twice but nine on the last three ends took her to victory, 18-13; Richard Harding dropped ten in the last five ends but persistence paid off, 21-17.

At Adastra there was another good win, 107-90: Frank Morris dropped three threes and a seven, 12-23; despite dropping a six Richard Harding played strongly, 21-10; David Glossop's men were just too strong, 26-7; Mike Streeter could only win six ends, 11-20; two fours helped Ron Langridge stay ahead, 19-13; new skip Steve Minter started well, 10-1, but only just held on, 18-17.

West Hoathly came and drew 2-2 in rinks but Lindfield lost on shots, 64-95: Eileen Pope could not win quite enough ends, 17-26; Dorothy Keogh led 16-2 but only scored twice more, 19-18; Mike Streeter, although dropping two fours, had a good win, 23-15; the captain's rink skipped by Frank Morris suffered a very one-sided defeat, 5-36.

Much to everyone's surprise, Peter Gacsall managed to win the County (Division 2) Two-wood competition and now goes to the county-wide quarter-finals at Sidley Martlets in July.

Men start well in Top Club

Jennie Sandford played in the National Ladies Two Wood single at Eastbourne. She had to play 4 games to win the Zone. Eileen Pope won her first game in the Ladies County Unbadged single 21-17 against Felbridge's F Middleton. A Lindfield triple played for Sussex in the Johns Trophy against the Isle of Wight at Shanklin. Sussex won and will next play Surrey.

The gentlemen of Lindfield managed a good win in the Top Club at Woodingdean on a fast, erratic green, 4-1. In the Two Wood Tom Palmer had a close game with Simon Wilkinson, the lead changing several times. Palmer won the last five ends, 15-10; in the four wood single Adam Harding led John Vickers until Vickers scored seven in two ends to go one up, 18-19, but Harding scored five on the last two ends, 23-19; the evergreen pairing of Watson and Holman took on Trevor Smith and David Race in the pairs: Smith/Race took the lead at 7-9 but the Lindfield pair scored two priceless fives late on, 22-11; the triple, skipped by the sometimes amusing Roger Green, got to 7-7 against Woodingdean's Ken Ross but only scored once more, 9-23; Peter Colbourne's excellent rink were in control throughout, 23-14.

In the Border League Cup against Newdigate, the home side, skipped by the irrepressible Tom Palmer, strolled to 23-7; Terry Hughes's away team had to work rather harder to lose by just 10-15.

In a friendly at Henfield Lindfield went down 35-62 Carol Watson was the only winner, 16-15.

Lindfield news round-up

Lindfield was visited by a surprisingly strong tourist side from Warwickshire who won 145-62: Wilf Atkins won just six ends, 7-26; Colin Stevens could not win quite enough ends, 9-23; Richard Harding picked up a six on the last end, 13-21; Ron Langridge dropped too many multiple scores, including a five, 8-31; Alan Gardiner got off to too slow a start, 12-28; Willy Bollschweiler had the closest match, 13-16.

A more successful time was had at Bletchingly chalking up a solid win, 79-56; David Glossop led all the way, 20-12; Alan Gardiner started down, 1-6, but came back to win, 18-16; Richard Harding performed strongly, 30-11; Ron Langridge led 11-9 but did not score again, 11-17.

At Crouch no rinks won, 55-87: Alan Eastwood only won six ends, 13-26; Alan Gardiner nearly made it, 14-14 into the last end, 14-15; Shirley Foxwell had a good game, 13-19; David Glossop scored regularly but two fours, a five and a six did for him, 15-27.

The week finished with a good win in the local Derby against Haywards Heath, 75-52: Willy Bollschweiler went from 0-3 to 19-3, a dropped four on the last end made it 20-9; Wilf Atkins was comfortable at 16-6 but dropped seven in the last four ends, 16-13; Sue Willmott was down 9-13 but won 18-13; Richard Harding won despite giving away three 3's in the last three ends, 21-17.

Ladies progress in Top Club

The Lindfield Ladies have had a second win in the County Top Club beating Newick 3-1. Jennie Sandford started the day with a wonderful win in the singles 23-6; in the pairs Shirley Nelson and Sue Willmott won 24-11; the triple, Joan Hampton, Carolyn Worth and Eileen Pope put up a very good fight but lost 9-16; the four of Carol Watson, Shirley Foxwell, Janet Hawkins and Margaret Atkins secured an excellent win, 23-14.

In a close-fought friendly the men beat Rottingdean 102-97: Ron Langridge was down 7-17 so did well to pull back to 13-20; Wilf Atkins trailed 5-16 only to produce a splendid win, 25-23; Richard Harding managed to keep ahead throughout, 25-16; Willy Bollschweiler led early on but a poor patch in the middle could not be dragged back, 16-23.

The mixed team sent to Hollingbury was less successful, 72-90: Peter Colbourne took the lead with a six and never looked back, 32-19; Dorothy Keogh could not win enough ends, 12-24; David Glossop had a torrid time, 9-29; Frank Morris was behind 3-8 but a good second half ended in victory, 19-18.

Lindfield teams get into their stride

Lindfield's Men's National Double four started the season with a substantial win over a Newick team, 56-17. Adam Harding's rink dropped just five single shots in winning 32-5; Keith Holman's rink were not quite so dominant, winning 24-12.

In the Ladies County Senior Fours, Lindfield won through to the Zone final beating Seaford, at Eastbourne, 20-18 and then Ringmer, at Newick, 22-10. The team was: Jennie Sandford, Eileen Pope, Carol Watson, and Sue Willmott. The Ladies then won the first round of the County Top Club beating Woodingdean 3-1.

In the Mid-Sussex Champion of Champions Peter Colbourne played a game of two halves against West Hoathly's Roy Williams, Peter bowled well to go 17-5 up, then Roy settled down and came back strongly, converting one crucial end after the other, but Peter held on to win 21-18.

In friendlies, obviously less significant matches (!), things did not go quite so well. At Tarring Priory a relatively strong Lindfield team lost 62-100: David Glossop, our star, managed to stay ahead throughout, 16-13; Ron Langridge only won five ends, 10-19; Graeme Geddie won seven ends but dropped too many multiples, 10-30; Peter Gacsall was trailing 3-11 so the final result was quite encouraging, 15-18.

Redhill came and had the temerity to win, 58-68: Willy Bollschweiler secured a good win, 19-8; Terry Hughes could only win four ends, 6-24; Wilf Atkins was undone when dropping ten shots in three ends, 12-25; yet again David Glossop led the way, down 3-8, then 7-10 but scored fourteen in six ends without reply, 21-11.

On the other hand a good win was produced at Saltdean: Adam Harding led 15-13 but lost the second half, 20-27; after being 5-5 at 10 ends Peter Colbourne's formidable rink enjoyed a splendid second half, 21-10; Ron Langridge was down 11-15 so turned things around well, 20-17; Carol Watson played a tight game against Saltdean's champion bowler Darren Melver, 16-16.

Lindfield ladies off to a strong start

Lindfield Ladies played the first round of the National County Senior Fours at Eastbourne against Polegrove securing a good win 23-14. Lindfield, skipped by Sue Willmott, with Jennie Sanford, Carol Watson and Eileen Pope, lost a 3 on the first end but scored a 4 on the second and managed to keep up a steady game scoring well.

A good win was produced in a close triples game against Balcombe, 68-64: Wilf Atkins started slowly, 1-4, but then scored regularly for 17-13; Peter Colbourne's trio simply handled a difficult green better than the opposition, 22-10; Roger Green took time to get going, 3-8, scored an eight for 12-8 to finish with a creditable draw, 18-18; Jennie Sandford had the worst start, 0-11, so did reasonably in the second half, 11-23.

Mackie came to play a really tight match which Lindfield won, 93-92: a five late on took Shirley Foxwell closer to respectability, 11-23; Chris Reynolds led 6-1 but was pegged back to 8-8 and just missed the win, 14-15; Graeme Geddie scored fourteen in three ends, including a seven, to end 27-19; David Glossop scored a five and a six on the way to a strong win, 26-13.

On a surprisingly warm, sunny afternoon, Lindfield produced a good win against Preston, 105-79: Ron Langridge played tightly to 14-16 then dropped shots on the last three ends, 14-24; the lead changed several times in Graeme Geddie's game getting to 16-16 but he did not score again, 16-22; on the captain's rink Peter Gacsall was helped hugely by his first two, both with ocular problems but who played really well to beat Tony Dade 23-12; Carol Watson put in a very strong performance to be top rink, 27-9; Wilf Atkins was almost as good, 25-12.

In the Edward Rowland game against Crouch, Lindfield "B" enjoyed success in the first 7 ends but were pegged back by a strong Crouch rink, who won 8 successive ends up to the 15th. It was then level pegging to the 20th end. On the 21st with The Crouch leading 17 -14 and holding 2 shots, the final wood of the match was in the mercurial hands of Peter Colbourne. Undaunted by the situation he threaded his shot through a forest of short woods to trail the jack back to 5 uncovered Lindfield bowls - 6 up and a win by 20 shots to 17. Steve Minter lead steadily throughout, Roger Green produced some inspired woods at Number 3, and John Bartlett contributed usefully at 2.

2018 season finally gets under way

After a 2-week delay to the season caused by the unusually wet weather in early April, Lindfield's summer season started unusually in three ways:
1) Having enjoyed balmy weather in late April, the temperatures we played in were arctic. The game against Godstone on 29th April saw most players wearing several jumpers and rummaging for hand warmers!
2) In the Ladies' captain against the Men's captain, the women announced a famous victory, however...
3) The men scored 138 and the women 126!

The first inter-club game was against Godstone and Lindfield won by 3.5 rinks to half a rink, and 73-49 in shots: Roger Green only conceded singles, 22-9; Peter Gacsall was cruising at 16-5 but lost six in the last three ends, 16-11; Jennnie Sandford had a close game throughout, 15-15; Sue Willmott trailed 1-5, then 5-10 but a good second half ended 20-14.

Away at Seaford in glorious sunshine, one dominant rink secured the victory 70-44: Peter Colbourne led 5-3 but only won four more ends, 10-23; Adam Harding led 10-5 but only won two more ends, 12-14; Roger Green only lost five ends, 48-7.