Season
April
The men's opening friendly match against
Jordanhill took place on the sunniest day of the year (so far), and resulted in
a win.The second friendly, against Strathblane, also
resulted in a narrow win.
The Seniors team had a poor start to their season in the Kelvin Allander Seniors
League with one team losing and the other drawing after being in a good position
against Killermont.
The vacant Match Secretary position has now been filled by Frank Kennedy.
The
members gather as the sun appears for the opening of the green on 12th April,
and Rena Jaffrey becomes the first lady to open the green as President, flanked
by
Secretary Bill Gilfillan ,Vice President David Linley and West of Scotland
Ladies Bowling Association representative Myra Hastie on her right, and Past
President John Huntley and Match Secretary Mary Cochrane on her left.
President
Rena then threw the first bowl, followed by her team winning the first match,
and her rink being highest up on the President's side, much to the delight of
Alistair Linley who was playing against his father, Vice President David.
May
A glorious day for the friendly match against Killermont which saw Killermont
regain the trophy by one shot, although this did not spoil the enjoyment of the
day.
As
part of the process of encouraging an interest in bowls, the club had a visit
from some High School of Glasgow Junior School pupils in which President Rena
was
reminded of her previous life as a teacher, and club Director Alex Sinclair
organised some target practice. Our thanks are due to Tom Hamilton of Woodend
Bowling Club for arranging the small bowls. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves!
The
Balloted pairs resulted in a tight final in which John Robertson and Ron Geddes
just defeated Tom Turkington and Ian Bowie.
The Kelvin Allander League started against Partick with both home teams losing
and the away teams winning.
The second Seniors match (against last year's winners, Hyndland) resulted in one
win and one loss.
The friendly match against Claremont for the Ken McCulloch trophy resulted in a
narrow win for Bearsden.
At the end of May, Jim Cuthbertson and Colin
Beattie were still in contention in the Glasgow pairs competition. In the Bowls
Scotland competition, Jim Short and Richard Jackson were still progressing in
the Pairs and Alistair Gunn and Paul Skett were both competing in the Senior
Singles.
June
Congratulations to Tom Turkington and Frank Kennedy for winning the Kelvin Allander League pairs competition at Partick Bowling Club on Sunday 15th June.
The
ladies invitation triples competition was held on 14th June in pleasant weather,
with the Willowbank triple of Evelyn Smith, Isobel Drynan (Skip), and Christine
Reid defeating Woodend in the final. Thanks are due to sponsors Durashield
windows.
So far this season ( mid June) the ladies have only completed 4 out of a possible 8 aggregate matches due to the weather. Our second home friendly against Strathblane was held at the end of May after three of our ladies had to supplement the visitors team. Our first away game against Bishopbriggs on 9th June was a decisive win for the weather but was nevertheless enjoyed by all, especially the lovely tea!
In the Dunbartonshire Association, out triples team did well to get to the district finals.
In the West of Scotland Association, Margaret Ballantyne and Christina Kennedy have won two rounds so far.
In the Bowls Scotland ties, Margaret Ballantyne won through to the second round, as did the triples team of Wilma Macdonald, Helen Chalmers and Christina Kennedy, but their progress ended there.
July
The Millenium Trophy on 5th July (sponsored by David and Wilma
Macdonald) was won by David Brown, Mima Hylands and Alistair Gunn. The Gents
Triples on 19th July was unfortunately abandoned because of the weather in what
has been a generally dry year, but thanks are due to our sponsors Durashield
Windows and Cooperative Funeralcare for their continued support.
We visited Milngavie Bowling Club for our annual friendly and beat
them in a close finish after a good day's bowling. Unfortunately we occupied our
usual position in the Kelvin Allander League in the bottom half of the table.
Never in danger of relegation though!
Our seniors are having mixed fortunes in the Senior League which has proved
quite competitive this year, and although there are a few games to complete we
are not really in contention this year.
August
An away victory in difficult conditions at Castlemilk gave us the three points needed to finish second and gain promotion in the Glasgow League.
Finals
day on Saturday 23rd August saw the Championship contested by two former
champions, Colin Beattie and David Macdonald, with the former winning for the
third
time. President Rena Jaffrey presents the Cup to Colin on the right. Other
finals held were the Vice President's Cup where Lindsay Young defeated Jim
Short, and in the age group competitions Alistair Gunn made it
three
wins in a row in the over 70's in a closely contested match against George
Broomfield.
Bill Gilfillan lost to Paul Skett (right) in the "boys"
event. Alistair Craig and Margaret Ballantyne defeated
Frank
and Christina Kennedy in the mixed pairs.
The Sunday reserve finals day saw Paul Skett come from behind to defeat Peter Macfarlane in the Talbot Crosbie competition played in sets, and Frank Kennedy defeated David Macdonald in the two bowl singles in a tight match.
Saturday
30th saw a repeat of the championship match between David Macdonald and Colin
Beattie (with the same result) in the President's trophy; in the pairs
Bill Milroy
and Frank Kennedy (on left of right hand photo) emerged triumphant over Alistair
Craig and Lindsay Young , and in the Isle of Skye Consolation Cup Gerry
Carter was victorious over Jack McLachlan .
The friendly against Maryhill on 16th August resulted in a narrow win for Bearsden.
The Glasgow Cup was held on 9th August with our four rinks all playing away. Only the team visiting Baillieston recorded a narrow victory, in spite of the indirect but effective draws of Bailliston's John Daly (who was promised a mention here if he did it again!)
September
"Indian summer" weather in September ended with the traditional "under 45" game with Killermont which they won.
The final competitive match of the season was the fours final which was played on Sunday 21st. Club champion Colin Beattie's team of Jim Cuthbertson, Gillies Lang and Alistair Linley played better bowls initially and were heading for a comfortable win with the score at 10-2. Alistair Gunn's team of Jim Gilchrist, Alistair Craig and George McLaughlin staged a comeback and needed a four at the last end to force a tie and an extra end. When the skips came to play their bowls Alistair's team were lying three shots. Alistair's first bowl made it four and Colin's first bowl reduced the deficit to three again. Alistair added another and Colin's final bowl needed to count for a clearcut win. As it set off it seemed a little wide but as it got wider and wider it became obvious that it was a wrong bias!!!
Fortunately for Colin his first bowl won a measure for fourth shot and his team won by 11 shots to 10. His explanation that he was sure that his first bowl had been in fourth place and he was just keeping out of the way was met with some scepticism!! The match was a good summary of the bowling season: good weather , good banter, some good bowls, some wayward bowls, some lucky bowls and the odd humorous moment.
October
The
good weather came to an end on closing day for the outdoor season on 5th
October, when a small group gathered to hear President Rena Jaffrey close the
green officially.