PENARTH Bowling Club enjoyed a successful spell in last week’s games with two wins, a draw and one solitary defeat.

Wednesday’s match against Fairoak was a particularly enjoyable friendly, with the spirit so amicable in fact, that both teams tied on 74 shots each, much to everyone’s satisfaction.

Two of the Penarth rinks suffered reversals but thanks to the foursome of Dave Plank, Dave Clements, John Bowen and Lawrence Brooke who won 18-11, and another master-class from Clive Fry, aided once again by Bob Lewis, Phil Davies and Ron Birkby (27-17), the overall tie was assured.

Alliance captain, Russell Daniel admitted that he “had a dream”, which involved defeating Barry Romilly just once this year after losing to them twice earlier in 2015.

Thursday’s match played in idyllic conditions in Barry, saw Penarth produce a mighty effort to help Russell fulfil this vision, but, yet again, Romilly Park proved to be the “house of pain” as the Rectory Road men lost out by just five shots.

Bob Hill, with Nick Thomas, Neil Gaskell and Colin Hicks won by 15-12 and Ron Maggs, so often the star performer for the Alliance, had an excellent 25-10 victory with the help of Alan Stockham, Russell Daniel and Ron Birkby. Sadly these successes could not quite cancel out the deficits on the other two rinks.

Friday afternoon saw the annual match between the Alliance and Penarth Ladies, a clash certainly not for the faint hearted. There have been some dubious tactics employed in this encounter in the past and this year proved no exception with a display of short skirts and revealing blouses - and that was just Peter Needham.

In the event, the match was well contested with the Alliance just scraping through by eight shots. Kath Jenkins with Lucy Maggs, Peter Needham (don’t ask) and Jill Gaskell provided the pick of the ladies fours and there was also success for the Sue Croll rink (17-14).

There were three winning Alliance rinks topped by the Dave Dalby quartet which also included Mike Conway, Tony Gent and Colin Hicks. Dave, by twist of fate, found himself lined up against his “better half” Maureen in this match. One can only guess at the effect this result had on the domestic atmosphere in the Dalby household but, either way, Dave was going to be on a loser here.

Bob Hill and Alan Stockham’s winning performances finally clinched this one for the men. This was the final Alliance match of 2015, so many congratulations to captain Russell Daniel for carrying out his duties so assiduously and patiently. Your efforts throughout the season were highly appreciated by everyone Russell.

Saturday’s friendly against Ely produced a very enjoyable and convivial affair all round, though Penarth’s overwhelming win was anything but “friendly”.

There were three winning home rinks and one drawn in a substantial 104-63 victory. Bob Hill can feel a little aggrieved at having to do the washing up on the strength of a 20-20 draw on this occasion but thanks to convincing wins by Rob Grant (22-14) and Colin Grant (27-13) and the icing on the cake from Clive Fry, Bob Lewis, Phil Davies and Ron Birkby (35-16) the issue was never in doubt.