GLORIOUS weather and some outstanding bowling at Rectory Road saw the culmination of a hard fought Summer of Penarth Bowling Club's internal competitions. The usual expert organisation (Betty and Bob take a bow) saw the weekend battles commence at 10 o'clock on Saturday morning in somewhat murkier conditions than originally forecast. The weather quickly improved to match the quality of bowling served up.

Several games produced really tight finishes, none closer than the men's 2 wood singles on Sunday morning. Bob Lewis and Phil Davies played out the required 21 ends only to be locked at 13 each. Bob won the toss for the extra end and promptly plonked one smack on the jack. With the very last wood of the game Phil hit the target wood only to see it roll with the jack for Bob to keep the winning shot - 14 - 13.

Phil and Bob had also met on the Saturday for the Seniors trophy which Bob had won more convincingly with a score of 21 - 13.

Phil had one more chance to redeem himself on the Sunday afternoon & with the help from his wife and they took the mixed pairs cup in an epic battle with Reg and Betty Jones. Chris Davies bowled superbly to provide Phil with the foundation to secure a 19 - 10 victory.

Another titanic struggle was the Ladies Novice final in which rookie bowler; Christina Church took on the much experienced and classy Lynda Williams. After 10 ends with the score at 2 - 14, it appeared that Christina was well beaten. However with great composure and gritted teeth, she pulled her way back to 16 -18 and looked odds on to win. Lynda was not to be beaten and took the next 2 ends to win by 21 to 16. An exhilarating game of bowls with the old conquering the new.

The old also got the better of the not quite so old, with the ebullient Dave Clements just managing to secure the Handicap trophy with a 21 - 19 win over the slightly demure Mike England. This game produced another titanic battle with some classic bowling from both.

The highlight of the weekend was, as always, the Ladies and Men's Championship encounters. Two totally different yet enthralling games transpired both producing high quality bowling. Jason Greenslade, fresh from his triumph earlier in the day in winning the County Championship, took on the popular Berwyn Lansley. Jason immediately settled into his rhythm bowling superb line and length. He raced away to a 16 - 0 lead after only 9 ends before Berwyn was able to trouble the scorer. He took the next 3 ends with some accurate bowling only for Jason to retake the initiative and run out a clear Champion.

The Ladies final was a totally different contest with Norma Duggan working really hard to secure 17 - 8 lead over Tricia Brinkworth. A win for Norma looked a certainty, but Tricia had other ideas, having held the Championship title on 6 previous occasions, she was not letting go lightly. The next 6 ends saw her bowl confidently to turn the match around and run out winner by 22 to 18. A worthy Champion but an equally worthy runner up.

RESULTS:

MEN

Seniors - Bob Lewis 21 Phil Davies 19

Friday K/O triples - Moaners 14 Rebels 13

2 wood pairs - B Lansley/R Grant 11 - 17 M Conway/ B Lewis

Handicap - D Clements 21 M England 19

Triples - N Gaskell, P Needham, C Grant 21 A Stockham, D Butler, P Davidge 12

2 wood singles - Bob Lewis 14 - 13 Phil Davies

4 wood pairs - C Grant/H Trow 29 - D Dalby/R Daniel 4

Novice - M England 21 Rob Grant 18

Championship J Greenslade 21 - 3 Berwyn Lansley

LADIES

2 wood singles - S Croll 18 - 8 L Palmer

2 wood pairs - M Bowen/J Allen 21 - 7 K Jenkins/B Jones

Novice - L Williams 21 C Church 16

4 wood pairs - J Williams/B Jones 19 - 13 L Williams/V Letton

Triples - C Davies/M Bowen/J Allen 25 - 4 L Palmer/D Willcocks/B Jones

Jean Alexander Cup - Winners - B Jones, M Bowen, C Davies

Gwyneth Kelly League - Winners - B Jones, B Price, L Williams, P Reynolds, C Davies.

Championship - T Brinkworth 21 - 18 N Duggan

Mxd Pairs C Davies/P Davies 19 - 10 R Jones/ B Jones