Just a quick posting to congratulate the members of the Calne team who finished 4th in the league, certainly an improvement on 2022/23 5th position.

Having entertained Marshfield at Calne and lost 17-52 (0-9pts), we were doubtful of getting anything, however whilst we lost 23-50, we managed to win 1 rink 13-9 so we got 2 of the 9 points going. Congratulations to Les, Phil and Pat. I am led to believe that Marshfield needed 4 pts to qualify for the finals, so they were happy. As soon as the final league is published I will update the website, we are hoping not to be bottom as we were last year.

Well done to all who played in games, next year who knows!!

47 members and partners attended the Annual Presentation Lunch at the North Wilts Golf Club yesterday.  As usual the food and service was very good and everyone appeared to have a good time.

We did the second draw of the year for the 50/50 club that raises £150  each year for charity.  The numbers were drawn by Ro Smith and Ro managed to pull her own number out of the bag to win the first prize of £17, with the second prizes of £8 going to Mayumi Lewis.

Presentations were made and the recipients were as follows – Ladies first of course:

Top Attendance:

Ladies – Mary Edwards

Men – Phil Milham

Top Player:

Ladies – Pat Watson

Men – Phil Milham

Players’ wooden spoons:

Ladies – Sharon Burton

Men – Stuart Beard.

We did the second draw of the year for the 50/50 club that raises £150 each year for charity.  The numbers were drawn by Ro Smith and Ro managed to pull her own number out of the bag to win the first prize of £17, with the second prize of £8 going to Mayumi Lewis.

Many thanks to all those who brought raffle prizes, also those that organised it – a magnificent £148 was raised for our charity fund (chosen charity recipients will be decided as normal at our AGM in November).

Our Secretary Stuart Beard was then presented with an Honorary Lifetime President award by John Harris,, on behalf of the committee and the members, and his wife Pip was presented with a bouquet.

For more photographs please go to Annual Presentation Lunch 24th February 2024

Not a good week, after losing to Crudwell on Tuesday we took on Marshfield on Friday evening, unfortunately we lost 2 rinks heavily 4-17 and 2-17, however on a lighter note we managed 2 close games losing only by 6-9 and 5-9. Only 1 game left and that is on Tuesday 27th February at Marshfield.

On a very wet evening, we received a warm welcome from the home team. Unfortunately the evening did not go our way, losing the first half on both rinks 3-11 and 4-16. So there was a lot to do in the second half unfortunately we did no better in the second half, with Crudwell having a hot shot (6) to win 4-24 on one rink, however the other rink led by Les went to the last end, it was all even at 7-7 when they went into the last end, we were 1 up with Geoff (Crudwell) to bowl his last wood and unfortunately he took the end, so anothe rink down, but only 7-8, well done Les, Phil and Mayumi, commiserations to Nick, Carol and Terry, but congratulations to Crudwell, the final score 19-59 (0-9pts). The Calne team adjusted well to a level floor and the mat speed. Lastly many thanks to Crudwell for the half time refreshments.

This week has, as normal, sessions on Monday and Wednesday 2pm to 4 pm and Thursday 6pm to 8pm. So if you think you would like to try bowls, why not come along and see what is involved, if you want to give it a try, just make sure you have flat shoes, there is always a time for a roll-up during the break 2-45pm to 3-05pm.

On Tuesday at 7pm we are away in the W.S.M.B.A Winter league to Crudwell and on Friday we take on Marshfield at Beversbrook, start time 6pm.

To finish things off we have our Annual Luncheo and Presentation at the North Wilts Golf Club at 12-30pm, nearly 50 members, friends and partners will be letting their hair down, enjoying good food and good company.

We were invited to the Beversbrook Sports and Social Group today to explain short mat bowls and give the group members a chance to play the game.They usually meet at 1pm on a Tuesday, and play darts, pool and badminton, so short mat was a change from the normal.

We used 2 mats and had 7 helpers from our club to lend a hand. We had a very enjoyable hour, with some good bowling amongst the beginners. Dan, Paul and Callum from Beversbrook joined in the bowling, all 3 proving they had a good eye for the game.

A big thank you to Dan for arranging the session and we hope to repeat this sometime in the future should the Sports and Social Group wish it.A big thank you also to the members of  our club who helped on the day.

Photo below others can be found following this link. Sports and Social Group 6th February 2024

The game started on time and proved to be an excelent game, with great bowling on both sides, as normal our floor gave the players a challenge, which on the whole they overcame.

The first half ended with Calne winning one mat and Crudwell the other,

Calne teams first;

Rink 1Nick and Carol Phillips and Terry Brewer 10 – Anita Smith, Julia Guest and Geoff Lane 12

Rink 2 Mayumi Lewis , Pat Watson and Phil Milham 11 – Pam Baldry, Geoff Webb and Brian Reynolds 7

The second half  was close with Crudwell winning both rinks.

Rink 1 Mayumi Lewis, Pat Watson and Phil Milham 7 – Anita Smith, Julia Guest and Geoff Lane 9

Rink 2 Nick and Carol Phillips and Terry Brewer 7 – Pam Baldry, Geoff Webb and Brian Reynolds 11

Overall score  Calne 35 Crudwell 39 – Calne 2 pts Crudwell 7pts

Last week turned out to be a good week for the club. Firstly a big thank you to Calne Town Council for agreeing to our grant request for £5,000 towards the cost of our electric roller, in addition to this we had 2 donations from long time supporters to the club totally £1,200, meaning that with the monies put aside for this project we could go ahead and order the 3 Mat electric roller.

In addition to this the supplier who usually asks for payment at the time of ordering has agreed to accept payment a few days before the agreed delivery date which is hoped to be about Mid March 2024.

So a big thank you to all involved, it is hard to believe this was just a dream last October, it will make a great difference to the club when setting up and packing away, as well as having a roller that is easier to manipulate, when moving it around the hall

Unfortunately due to the weather we had a late start to the game, however the first half went well for Calne, with Nick, Carol and Terry (Calne)  beating Alison, Damian and Colin (Devizes) 10-4 and Mayumi, Pat and Phil M (Calne) also winning 19-2 against Simon, Jane and Colin (Devizes) 19-2.

The second half was a different affair with Devizes getting to grips with the vagaries of our floor, Phil M’s team managed to hold on and lost narrowly 6-7, whilst Terry’s team won 8-6.

The overall score was Calne 43 Devizes Devils 19, Calne winning 7pts to 2pts. This reversed the score as Devizes had previously beaten us on their own floor before Christmas.

It was a very enjoyable evening, with both teams playing very well, especially in the second half of the game.

Here’s wishing all members and their families the seasons greetings.
In addition we look forward to meeting new members in 2024. Our first session is on Wednesday 3rd January (2pm to 4pm), so if you are interested why not come along to Beversbrook Community and Sports Centre and pay us a visit to see what Short Mat Bowls is all about, you will be made most welcome.

This year we had our main session on the Wednesday, however due to demand, mince pies, etc were at the Thursday session as well.

Below are a selection of phtos from the sessions.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy 2024