The longest day of the year has just passed, and at this point in the season bowling matches seem to be coming thick and fast, so when a match is cancelled for whatever reason, it almost feels like a well earned break!  The first match in June had to be postponed as the opposition were unable to raise a team, but in the interim, internal club competitions were being played  as well as external competitions. 

In the Foxlands Trophy the men’s team reached the final which is played on a home and away basis on the same evening. The opposition that Ottery met was  a strong team from The Madeira Club, and despite the vocal support from the Ottery members, the men went down by three shots in the overall reckoning.

The enforced break may have been the reason that the next away fixture at Chardstock turned into a complete whitewash for the home team - least said, the better! 

Following that, on Sunday 16th June, it was Presidents Day which was superbly organised by Terry House. This proved to be a wonderful afternoon of fun, laughter, banter and competitive bowls, as the President’s team took on the Chairman’s  Team. The result was inconclusive, so with a little bit of mutual miscalculation, it was agreed that a draw was the best result, thereby allowing no-one to have bragging rights for the rest of the season.  Following the match, the catering team provided  a superb meal of grilled steak or roasted chicken, accompanied by salad.  A fitting way to end a great afternoon.

Suddenly, the club played three friendly matches in as many days.  Firstly Ottery paid a visit to Bovey Tracey where both sides managed to win two rinks but Ottery were the winners by three shots. On this occasion, the top team of Carl Gilleard, Jane Bishop, Peter Parnell and Terry House won by 27 shots to 8, thereby ensuring victory for Ottery. The second match in this trilogy was an away match against Honiton, where two rinks were drawn and Ottery won on the remaining two rinks. The team captained by Terry House (again) started badly and found themselves down after 5 ends by 1 shot to 8.  However Brian Salter and Fenella Griggs contributed well to Terry’s expertise, winning by 29 shots to 13.  The last match was played on Sunday 23rd June against Crediton, and on an afternoon of sunshine the result was a draw with both teams winning two rinks.

Finally, congratulations must be accorded to Gail Hawke who has successfully completed level two coaches award, so now the club has two coaches of this level.  As one of our new players mentioned ”I have learnt more in one week at this club, than I have in two to three years at a previous club”

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Ottery have experienced a reasonably good start to the season, winning more than they have lost. However, following the visit of Hemyock Bowling Club to Strawberry Lane on Saturday 1st June, this record was soon shattered, as the visitors won on three out of four rinks with the remaining rink being drawn. The only way to describe this performance is “A bad day at the office”

However it is not all doom and gloom, as the club is well represented in the preliminary rounds of County Matches, as in both ladies singles and ladies pairs, and men’s triples, club representatives have made it through to the second rounds. The only exception being a ladies singles match, where one Ottery lady was drawn against another! It is such a shame when that happens.