Half-way to perfection

The Tenby first team continued their winning ways at home to Pembroke Dock on a blustery Thursday evening last week.

This was a re-arranged fixture due to Tenby facing Henleys, of Monmouthshire, in the first round of the Carruthers Shield on Saturday and the fixture was a perfect practice match for the forthcoming event.

Pembroke Dock had only played four league games to Tenby's seven, but they were the only other undefeated team in the league, so Tenby knew they should not take them lightly.

Indeed, over recent years Pembroke Dock has been Tenby's bogey side, albeit mainly in the Dock rather than at fortress Sutton Street.

Anyway, the game started well, once the mats and kit were finally put out by Dai 'it wouldn't happen in my day' Spencer. On rink one, or Cameron White's rink as it is becoming, Peter Day's boys had a tussle against multiple county champion Les Davies. Les is one of the nicest bowlers you're ever likely to meet on and off the green; he's such a gent he even bought Pat Currie a drink!

On the rink, he and his men enjoyed a good battle with never more than a couple of shots in it. Indeed, matters were all-square after the 19th end, but with Pat and Peter both adding a shot each, they went into the last end two up. Again, all the rink played a decent last end, taking a three and winning by five in the end.

It was a nice start back after injury for Pat, showing that playing away from his accustomed place of skip has not affected his bowls and whilst he may feel he could or should be skipping, his attitude has been exemplary (that means good Pat!).

As usual, Cameron White continued to put in a good performance, Joe Richards being slightly off the mark that evening - no doubt his balance was affected by the reduction in hair following a trip to the barbers.

With Luke Guymer still playing with his left hand, it meant that Mike Jackson continued his role as third to Craig Guymer. With Dai Spencer coming over to second in that rink and Luke Rees continuing his good form, this rink was in the box seat from the second end.

After dropping a two on the first end, the boys bounced back with two of their three counts of five on the evening and later added to this tally by picking up five threes. They only picked up shots on 11 of the 21 ends, but such was their scoring ability that when they scored they picked up twos, threes and fives, whereas they restricted the opposition to ones and twos, eventually winning 34-17.

The Pembroke Dock boys were very complimentary to the rink afterwards, saying that the whole rink had put in a great performance, with Craig having one of his usual 'special' games.

Sadly, the good form didn't quite follow onto rink three. John Roberts's men were pitted against the canny Brian Dowling. Another one of Pembroke Dock's gentlemen bowlers, it's always a pleasure to play against Brian - you know you're going to have a hard game against him, but he always plays with a smile on his face. That smile was sadly broader than John Roberts's at the end of the match as Brian pipped JR by three shots.

It just seemed to be one of those nights for JR. To be fair, Luke Guymer is still bowling with his wrong hand and unfortunately it appeared that Dicko had an uncharacteristic off night - to yours truly anyway - I hope there's not an editor's comment in italics stating otherwise! The rink kept trying to the last and having picked up a five with a few ends to go, they may even have got closer, but time ran out and despite winning the last two ends they fell short by a few.

It was a happier tale on rink four. Gerald 'G-unit' Hewitt was drafted back into the side and with swapping Ben Cloake to lead and Geraldo coming in at two, there was a nice balance to the rink; both boys gelling together well up front. Sadly, however, young Ben decided to play with black socks ("sorry Jon, I was hoping you wouldn't notice!"). So another message to his old man Nigel - well done on educating Ben into the world of rock with a foundation of Sabbath, Zeppelin and AC/DC, but try and teach him to remember his correct uniform next time, either that or give him an extra quid pocket money!

In the match, the back end of yours truly and D&G played well, with Wigan having a cracking evening, even with weighted shots, and even though we lost the last three ends the damage had been done early doors and we were convincingly the top rink, winning 31-11.

Another fine result for the boys in blue - a perfect first half of the season, eight out of eight in the league, 103 out of 112 points and plus-300 shots difference.

Tenby ease through Round one

The Tenby first team entertained Henleys, of Monmouthshire, in the first round of the knockout stage of the Carruthers Shield last Saturday. Sadly the weather gods decided that we weren't going to have it all our own way and the monsoon on Friday and into Saturday morning only served to slow up the green and play into the away team's hands. In fairness, bearing in mind the rain that we've had in May and June, the fact that the green is playing as well as it is is tantamount to the hard work and dedication put in by greenkeeper and life member Chris Jenkins.

So out we trotted on a grim and gloomy Saturday afternoon in June hoping to see if the accolades of the previous two seasons could be repeated. Well the short answer is yes, so far, so good.

However, it may be easier to start with rink two this week.

Due to Paul Diment pulling out of the side, once again Luke 'south-paw' Guymer was drafted into the side at second, with John Baggott stepping up to third. After two successive defeats, this rink probably felt as if they needed to produce the goods, such being the nature of the sport and the old saying 'only as good as your last game'. However, all four put in a fine display. Dicko, back to his usual boring best, Luke getting to grips with his wrong hand(!) and JB in inspired form. John Roberts marshalled his troops well and played to his usual fine standard, just easing himself into touch for his Welsh Series in Edinburgh this weekend. All the best JR.

Rink three saw another of our budding players of the season, Cameron White, get off to a flyer. He continued his good form throughout the game, as always backed up by Joe Richards. Joe may have looked like he'd had a night on the tiles, but luckily for him he didn't play like he'd had one, well in parts at least.

Behind were the 'experienced' (which is always a euphemism for old) Pat Currie and his former pupil Peter Day. This were a bit nervy in the first few ends, trailing 5-0, but then two fives in succession and a count a few ends later set the tone of the afternoon. Mention must be made of the Henleys skip against Peter, who drew shot or second bowl when shots down on many ends that afternoon, thus saving his side a heavy defeat.

It was a similar story on Wigan's rink, who were again stuck out on the graveyard of rink four for the third game in succession. Must get that draw rigged next home game. Again we went behind early doors, only to come back into the game and then strongly surge ahead. With Ben Cloake adapting well to his repositioning at lead and Gerald Hewitt providing steadiness at second, both boys played well all afternoon and set-up the back end boys time and time again.

As with the match against Pembroke Dock, two nights earlier, the back end of Webbie and Wigan combined well, drawing shots and turning over heads.

As with the rink next door, however, the Tenby boys could only watch in vain as time and again the Henleys skip produced some wonder bowls to cut down shots or to draw shot himself, again helping his team avoid a heavy defeat. Thankfully, though, we still managed to retain our top rink status from Thursday (I think).

Sadly, this brings us back to the 'show rink', rink one. Luke Rees, Dai Spencer, Elizabeth Taylor's stalker and Craig Guymer. This was a close game, with never more than a few shots in it. Sadly, dropping a one on the 20th end left the boys needing three on the last to win, which was just a shot too far.

Now, the jury's out about how this defeat came to pass. The boys on the rink came off absolutely despondent, moaning about luck, wicks and all sorts. To be fair, from rink four it seemed like all the boys were playing well, so maybe luck did choose not to smile on them that afternoon.

However, there does seem to be a common denominator in Dai Spencer. Since leaving Muskey's rink, we've been top rink in the last two games. Maybe Dai's not only inherited the D&G mantle, but also he's a bit of a Jonah too! Time will tell, but one things for certain, the boys fought hard to the end and did their very best, not letting things get to them too much and as a captain you can ask for nothing more. That said, it didn't stop me from fining them for losing.

Having heard the results filter through on Saturday evening, the next match will again be at home against Skewen, who beat former winners Old Llandorians. Tenby will be hoping that fortress Sutton Street remains unbowed or beaten come July 9, as looking back through the WBA website, Tenby have not been beaten at home in the Carruthers since at least 2004, maybe longer.

When the results came through on Saturday, there was a muffled cheer to find that multiple winners Pontrhydyfen lost away to Havelock Park, as the likelihood was an away trip to their village in the Neath Valley. Before that happens, though, lads, let's make sure we get past the next round first - one game at a time.

Finally, huge thanks to Christine White and Lynn Deli for putting on the food and tea, Dave and Dewi McGhee and as always to our gorgeous WAGs.

Five Arches 124

St. Katherines 53

In the final Brains Cup match, we had to win by a large margin and rely on the Mariners beating St. Thomas.

We certainly fulfilled the first objective by winning by 73 shots, with fine performances from the rinks of Peter, Lee and Ashley and just a narrow defeat for Tony's rink.

Unfortunately, St. Thomas edged out the Mariners by 13 shots to secure their place in the final.

Rink scores (Five Arches first, St. Kats skips only):

John Rees, Steve Davies, Ben Simmons, Peter Hooper 36; D. Hastings 14.

Ken Williams, John Hubbard, Ken Lloyd, Lee Richards 37; S. Slade 9.

Mike Gouldingay, Dewi McGhee, Harry Ebdon, Tony Brown 16; P. Simpson 18.

Dai Rees, Tony Powling, Gwyn Beynon, Ashley Hooper 35; D. Mathias 12.

Pembroke Dock Mariners 80 Five Arches 79

Once again back to league action and a game against the unbeaten Mariners team from Pembroke Dock.

After our recent exit from the Brains Cup, it was important to carry on winning to maintain our push for the league title.

Ray, reunited with Steve and ably supported by John and Ben, played a very controlled game. Only behind once on the second end, they led by 11 shots to six at tea and eased away to win comfortably by 25 shots to 13. Unfortunately, this was the highlight of the whole afternoon.

Tony and his rink of Mike, Harry and Peter were involved in a tight tussle against county secretary Gerard. Ten shots to eight down at tea, they could never quite close the gap and finished losing by 19 shots to 18.

Ashley and his rink of Dai, Tony and Gwyn got off a flying start; 13-2 after seven ends the game looked over. However, a determined fightback by the Mariners quartet, led by Mariners captain Dave which included 16 shots in six unanswered ends, completely turned around the match and they went on to win by 24 shots to 20.

Meanwhile, on rink three, Lee and his rink of Stuart, John and Ken failed to score in the first five ends, but fought back to be 9 -5 down at tea. Another spurt by the Mariners opened up a 17-8 lead, which was then turned around to be only 17-18 on the 20th end.

With all to play for on the last end and the Five Arches leading overall by four shots, it looked safe. However, determined play by the Mariners allowed them to pick up a five to clinch the game and win the match overall by a solitary shot.

Rink scores (Five Arches first, Mariners skips only):

John Rees, Steve Davies. Ben Simmons, Ray Taylor 25; G. Roberts 13.

Mike Gouldingay, Harry Ebdon, Peter Hooper, Tony Brown 16; G. Thomas 19.

Stuart Askew, John Hubbard, Ken Lloyd, Lee Richards 18; G. Bann 24.

Dai Rees, Tony Powling, Gwyn Beynon, Ashley Hooper 20; D. Halward 24.

PEMBROKE DOCK PARK 25

TENBY ARCHES 56

The ladies (sponsored by The Fourcroft Hotel) travelled away to Pembroke Dock.

Rink five saw Mair and co 13-10 up at tea and they continued to play well to finish at a wonderful 35-12.

Rink six was a very tight game up to the 14th end - 12 all, but the Tenby ladies then scored every end but one to finish 21-13.

Rink scores (Tenby team first, Park skips only):

M. Skyrme, R. Silcox, L. Evans, M. Marquiss 35; K. Cole 12.

L. Delabertouche, A. Owens, H. Baggott, A. Redman 21; M. Lewis 13.

TENBY ARCHES 39 FISHGUARD 39

On a rather blustery Thursday afternoon, the home side, sponsored by the Fourcroft Hotel, played host to Fishguard.

Alison Redman and her rink had quite a battle and were 8-11 down at tea. By the 13th end, the score was 8-17 to the away side, but the home side pulled up their socks to finish 24-19 up.

Mair Marquiss and her rink were 10-7 up at tea, but dropped a five on the 11th and didn't score until the 16th end, finishing 15-20 down to make the overall score a draw.

Rink scores (Tenby team first, Fishguard skips only):

L. Delabertouche, A. Owens, H. Baggott, A. Redman 24; A. Newberry 19.

R. Silcox, G. Beeken, L. Evans, M. Marquiss 15; G. McFarlane 20.

TENBY ARCHES 34 PEMBROKE DOCK 39

On Monday afternoon, Tenby Arches (sponsored by The Fourcroft Hotel) played host to Pembroke Dock.

During the game, the club received some very sad news: Ted Brutnell had passed away. We would like to send Gerry and Elaine our deepest condolences.

On rink five, Alison Redman and her rink were 11-5 up at tea, but only scored three ends after to finish 14-14.

Mair Marquiss and co, meanwhile, were 9-12 down at tea. They were 20-12 up on the 16th end, but finished 20-25 down.

Rink scores (Tenby team first, Pembroke Dock skips only):

V. Roberts, L. Delabertouche, R. Silcox, A. Redman 14; C. Bethwaite 14.

A. Owens, G. Beeken, L. Evans, M, Marquiss 20; B. James 25.

Whist results

Monday, June 20: top - Vera Burrows, 183; 1st lady - Mair Marquiss, 170; 2nd lady -Pearl Thomas, 160; 1st gent -Pauline Barnikel, 175; 2nd gent - Mary Renowden, 172; highest first half - Vi Roberts, 98; highest second half - Elsie Breadman, 84; longest sitter - Ginnie Beeken, 10; lowest score - Olive Frost, 151; raffles - Mary Renowden and Vi Roberts.

Thursday, June 23: top - Elsie Breadman, 177; 1st lady - JeanSalisbury, 169; 2nd lady - Phyllis Jones, 164; 1st gent - Margaret Hill, 174; 2nd gent -Pauline Barnikel, 166; highest first half - Mair Marquiss, 90; highest second half - Olive Frost, 81; longest sitter - Vi Roberts, 7; lowest score - Ginnie Beeken, 148; raffles - Jean Salisbury and Olive Frost.