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Knyveton Kingfishers v Bustards

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No sign of the threatened thunderstorms, which was good news as the green appeared to have been watered. Having said that, it was still quick & played really well.
Rink 2 – Lewis, Muriel, Ivan. Lost 13-17. We were 10-6 up after 10 ends & 13-12 up after 15 ends where we got a brilliant wick to go from 5 down to 3 up! Sadly, on the 17th end, we had an unlucky wick & went from 1 down to 3 down, effectively sealing our fate. Considering we only won 6 ends, this was a good team effort.
Rink 1- Paul, Alan, Geoff. Lost 11-25. Another tough day at the office, but never gave up & reached double figures on the last end, having lost a 6 on the 17th end. A good effort, against a very strong trio.
The Kingfishers are also struggling for players, so they had to use a couple of players who normally play at a higher standard, which included their men’s first team captain! They have also had to decommission one of their greens, which looked very sad.
Match result Bustards 24-42 Kingfishers. All six points to the Kingfishers. We are now down to eighth, one place above the relegation zone.
Next week we are home to Bournemouth Broncos. The bar is open from midday. All spectators are very welcome.
Ivan Buss 18th May 2024.
Sent from my iPhone

Bustards v Highcliffe Panthers

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  On what looks like being the last day of summer, the Bustards took on what proved to be a very strong Panthers team, with lots of short ends on a very slow green.
Rink 6 – Lewis, Muriel, Ivan. Lost 11-13. This was the one that got away. From 2 up to 1 down on end 10 & 1 down to 3 down on end 5, did the damage. We won the last two ends, but couldn’t quite pull it back.
Rink 5 – Rosemary, Alan, Geoff. Lost 7-23. A tough day at the office against a trio on top form.
Match result Bustards 18-36 Panthers. All six points to the Panthers.
Next week we are away to Knyveton Kingfishers, looking to bounce back with a good win on the road.
Ivan Buss 11th May 2024.
Sent from my iPhone

New forest League v Highcliffe A, 2nd May

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HIGHCLIFFE A v DOWNTON, 2nd May
Highcliffe A 77 shots, 6 points, Downton 64 shots 2points
The first League match on a dry but dismal evening. The green was soft and slow due to our rainfall over the last days and months. Two Rinks won and Two Rinks lost. The winning rink of Steve Allen, John James and Paul Tanner had a cagey game, with Highcliffe preferring long jacks and Downton shorter. When a long jack was cast into the ditch this worked in Downton’s favour. Going into the last end 3 up, they held on to win by one shot. The other winning trio of Nick, Lewis and Charles, had an extremely tight game where the last three ends were won to overcome Highcliffe by two shots. Unfortunately the rest of our team did not play so well and allowed Highcliffe A to win the match 77-64 and six points to 2. Nice game to start the season especially with the hot dogs afterwards.
Alan W.

Regards Alan

Swanage Seagulls v Bustards

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The Bustards made the long trip South to face Swanage Seagulls, in their first match of the season. Both rinks were both wet & bumpy, so not the easiest to play on, but who cares when the sun is shining & you can play in shirt sleeves.
Rink 1 – Tony, Paul & Ivan played a good, solid game & comfortably won 19-8. They won 12 ends to 6, with no more than 2 shots won on any end.
Rink 2 – Rosemary, Alan & Geoff took control of their match with a 5 & a 6 on ends 10/11. They finished up with an excellent 21-13 victory.
Overall score: Downton 40 v 21 Swanage. Downton 6 points, Swanage 0 points.
Our next match is at home to Highcliffe Panthers next Saturday, with a 10am start. All spectators welcome & the bar is open from midday.
Ivan Buss – 4th May 2024.

Charity Fun Day

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Well, the Green is now Open and the Fun Day over. Thank you to everyone who came along and enjoyed the fun.

It felt good to be back on the Green with friends again, sending your bowls towards the Jack. The green is pretty good, given the weather, but, today the sun shone and we all had a great time.

Green Opening – Charity Fun Afternoon

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Just confirming that the Green will open for our first event on Tuesday 16th at 2pm.

This is our traditional Charity Match and so we will ask for £2 from each player to compete in the preliminary Spider. After the Spider, we will choose some teams to compete over 10 ends, depending on the numbers – So come along and loosen those arms!

After Tuesday the Green is obviously open for the rest of the season.

This week’s highlights:

  • We have a Men’s Practise on Thursday Evening
  • Friday is Club Night

Feel free to use the Green for a Roll Up anytime.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Green Report – April 2024

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Pre season preparation for the surface of the Green has been badly affected by the weather, not just of late, but all through the winter months.

We have not been able to cut the saturated grass at regular intervals, the last time being well over a week ago. The grass height needs to be gradually reduced to a playing level, in the correct conditions this may be managed over a week.

If bowls were played on the ground at the moment then damage would be caused due to the softness; on top of this the speed would be intolerably slow. Taking all this into account, the Green team will try to have a reasonable playing surface by Tuesday 16th April, but there is no guarantee, particularly if we have any more wet weather.

We’ve therefore decided to move the opening Charity Fun Day on 16th April at 2pm.

Alan Waters, Greenkeeper.

Marie Clarke is now on the County Register

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Marie Clarke, from Downton Bowling Club has now earned enough points to be offered a place on the County Register.

You are awarded points as winner/runner up in club singles and for getting to certain rounds of county competitions.  If you get 6 points over a rolling 8 years, you qualify to go on the County Register.

Well done Marie! 

2024 Bowls Season – Social Bowling in Downton

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Social Bowls is an important part of bowling at Downton. It helps new bowlers learn both the art and etiquette of playing bowls and builds confidence. This season we’re planning to change how our Social Bowling is organised. We will be holding two Social Bowling sessions a week:

  • A Social Bowling session on a Monday afternoon (excluding Bank holidays) starting at 2pm.
  • A Social Bowling session on a Friday evening from 6pm.

For Monday’ session, we are looking for volunteers (male and/or female) to run the session. This would involve arriving at the club a few minutes before 2pm to open up the clubhouse; put out the bowls equipment for a rink and then play a game. Afterwards, they will make the tea if needed and supervise the tidying up. If we get enough volunteers, you should only need to do this once in a season.

We will also be having Social Bowling on a Friday evening from 6pm. However we would recommend every member who has a mobile phone to subscribe to the Club’s WhatsApp group. You can then post a message on the Group saying you are going to play on a particular Friday and other players can respond saying they would like to join you. We will make tea and biscuits available on these days.

If you are willing to help the club and can volunteer for an afternoon on a Monday, please get in touch with Steve Allen by email or phone.

Thank you
Steve Allen