THE sun keeps shining in Penarth and San Francisco and the Penarth Bowling Club enjoyed an equally hot PG1 victory against Pentyrch.

Captain Phil had some concerns following the late withdrawal of automatic skip choice Clive Fry who, unfortunately, 'pulled a fetlock' in a Monday evening club competition and will be sidelined for two or three weeks. The void saw Bob Lewis move to skip and Joe Ellis joined Colin Hicks and captain Phil to complete the rink. The combination proved too powerful for the opposing four to chalk up a 22-13 success.

A clean sweep of wins ensued, with Dave Clements (23-10), Bob Hill (21-12) and Colin Grant (20-16) contributing to an overall 86-51victory and another well-earned 14 points.

Penarth now sit in joint second place in the table alongside Cardiff Athletic, with both sides two points adrift of Merthyr Guest Memorial. All three sides have completed five games.

However, the euphoria of this exalted position was blown apart when, on Saturday at Rectory Road, only four points were earned when BP Sully earned a six-shot (84-90) win to severely dent the home side's pride. The game really revolved around two rinks, with Dave Dalby leading his to a 31-16 win, but, conversely, Dave Clements' four went down14-31. Mr Clements is probably feeling all the worse by the fact that they dropped a five on the last end - a game changing score!

Bob Hill secured a credible 21-16 win, while the usually 'Mr Reliable' Colin Grant went down 18-27. Colin may well rue the 12 shots without reply suffered in the middle section of the game.

The PG2 side visited the renovated BP green and enjoyed a 76-60 win for a 10-point haul. Lack of players in the BP side brought adjustments on each rink. Mike Conway and Ron Maggs secured wins, whereas Bob Willmott and Roger Gidman both lost - the latter by just half a shot.

Earlier in the week Penarth Belle Vue were welcomed for a Munro Cup game which the home side badly needed to win. Dave Dalby (31-11), Bob Hill (21-15) and Dave Clements (23- 13) rallied to the call to contribute to an overall 92-58 victory and 12 points. The two points which got away came when the Bob Lewis rink slipped up 17-19. With the battle at the top now hotting up, every point is crucial.

No report has been received on the events of Captain's Day, but, if one had been, your correspondent can guarantee that the usual suspects would have featured. You know who you are!

N C