So, once the season is complete, what actually happens in the following week to start the process of preparing the green for our return to bowling next April

Following the Final Drive on September 22nd, work commenced first thing Monday morning with members of the green team starting to scarify the green. This involves removing the thatch, moss and weeds from the green to enable water, air and nutrients to better reach the grass roots, encouraging growth and helping reduce the risk of disease.

A number of passes across the green were carried out by Dave Brown, Mike Cozens, John James and Peter Parnell. Later in the day, Dave took delivery of some £1700 worth of fertiliser, nutrients and other chemicals to aid keeping the green in tip top condition during the close season and over the coming year.

On Tuesday, the team completed further scarifying, with the some of the above photos showing the significant amount of material removed from the green over the 2 days. 

On the Wednesday morning, Dave arranged for a contractor to deep spike the green which helps reduce compaction and further aids air, water and nutrients to reach the grass roots. This is a further investment of £540 into the green.

Following this activity, the green was sprayed with Iron and a fungicide to combat Dollar Spot, a fungal disease affecting the grass which we have seen over recent months.

Finally, new seed was sown and for now, a combination of nature and nurture will be employed with the aim of having the best possible green available for use in 2025.

The work of maintaining and sustaining the green is a year round endeavour involving a great deal of effort and significant financial investment and we are always on the lookout for some extra assistance. This would be mainly grass cutting and brushing during the season, so nothing too technical. If this is something you feel able to assist with, please speak with any of the greens team who will be pleased to discuss what is involved.

What a fabulous way to end the 2024 season! With the green partially under water in the morning, it recovered incredibly well to enable some top quality bowling (on some rinks at least!).

Huge thanks to Melvin for doing the bulk of the organising - Gail, her helpers and those who made / donated goodies for an excellent buffet and many many more who made the day memorable...

Lastly, special thanks to Kevin and Fenella who donated a magnificent hamper that was raffled separately and looks to have delighted the winners!

​Looking forward to 2025!

As the season sadly draws to a close, suddenly only the last few remaining matches needed to be played.

On Friday 13th September, Shaftesbury Bowling club visited Strawberry Lane and a close match ensued, which was greatly enjoyed by both teams. Lunch was also included for the visitors and the catering team lived up to their reputation by providing a superb meal.

Saturday gave the players a break from playing, but Sunday was the annual Chairman’s Day, sponsored and organised by new chairman, Carl Gilleard. On this occasion two teams were created, one representing “North and East England” and the other was entitled “South and West” England. Members were requested to dress accordingly, and a fierce, but fun, battle of the regions ensued with a team ending ”th” coming out as winners! A good cream tea was enjoyed by all the players after the match, with the usual good natured debate as to whether it should be cream or jam first on the scone

The club always welcomes touring teams to the ground, and this year we were delighted to receive a visit from Bredon Bowling Club, generally known as the BBC, who travelled down from Worcestershire for their annual tour. Lunch having been enjoyed, the visitors gave Ottery a most enjoyable afternoon in the sunshine, but came away with a substantial defeat.

Sunday 22nd September sees The Final Drive, and thereafter the green will be closed for the winter, and the groundsman and his team will be busy preparing the surface for next year. Next season will commence on Sunday 13th April 2025.

In summary, it should be said that this season has been a very good one, with all matches played in the most competitive spirit with mutual respect for the opposition. Perhaps the most gratifying thing seen this season has been the arrival of new players to the game and to the club, and to hear one of them say “our first season has been so much fun!”

As I sit down to write this article, suddenly it feels that the Summer is over! The trees are just beginning to turn brown and the acorns are already dropping off the oak trees, and the bowling season is drawing to its close.

Perhaps the best way to sum up this season is to say “Nearly, but not quite”. The ladies section entered the County competition which is open to all the bowling clubs in Devon. They fought their way through the opening rounds to reach the semi final, which was played at the South Molton Club. Their opponents in the semi final was Culm Vale, and such was the quality of our ladies play, that they reached the final with a concession by Culm Vale. The final was played in the afternoon of the same day, and the opponents were Tiverton West End. As hard as The Ottery ladies tried, the match was eventually lost on the last shot of the final end, gutting to say the least.

Earlier in the season, the men’s section reached the finals of the TopClub competition, played this year at Plymouth. Regrettably, becoming championship winners eluded them. The club is extremely proud of both sections having progressed so far in both competitions.

It is not all a case of just missing out on trophies! A team comprising of Carl Gilliard, Grant Hawes and Brian Hammond competed in an invitation event organised by Budleigh Bowling Club, and returned home holding the Victory Cup.

Ottery St Mary Bowling Club also organises an invitational event, which is sponsored and supported by Redferns of Ottery. This event is open to other clubs and this year competitors came from Budleigh, Chardstock, Lyme Regis and Sidmouth. Unfortunately, one club who had agreed to come, pulled out at the very last minute, giving an administrative headache to the organisers. Following an afternoon of fierce competition, an Ottery team consisting of Gail Hawke, Brian Salter, Charlie Griffin and Emma Bradshaw-Smith were declared the winners.

The club wishes to thank Redferns of Ottery for their continued support and sponsorship of this event, which is greatly looked forward to by the competing clubs. No doubt a quality high tea is part of the attraction!

As the season draws to a close, the internal competitions are nearly complete and the finals will soon be taking place, with the awards taking place at the annual dinner. Friendly matches have taken place throughout the season (weather permitting), and these have been competitively played with a sprinkling of laughter, banter, good humour and respect for the opposition. It has been particularly gratifying to see people new to the game, proudly wearing the Ottery colours, and enjoying a new sport, coupled with a great social experience

Every correspondent likes to report on successes, and I must confess that I am no different. A team from Brixham St Mary made the long trip to Ottery in the third week of July, and one of the teams with “St Mary” in its name lost by 3 shots despite the efforts of Gail Hawke, Mike Watson, Maggie Beighton and Ron Spedding, who were the only rink
to record a win.

The green at Ottery continues to be recognised as being good enough to host County matches, and Devon Ladies chose to play a friendly match against a team from the East Devon Area. The High Tea provided by Sharon Kenny and her catering team after the match was greatly appreciated by all participants.

The weekend of the 27 th July was the day of the annual Redfern Trophy sponsored by Redferns of Ottery St Mary. This is an invitation match open to other teams in the local area, and invitations were accepted by Chardstock, Budleigh, Sidmouth and Lyme Regis. Unfortunately one team who had agreed to send a team, pulled out at the last minute creating much angst for the tournament organisers considering how much work goes into organising these events!!!.

This tournament is played on a round robin basis with each club playing the others, the combined score determining the winners. The Ottery team consisting of Gail Hawke, Bryan Salter, Emma Bradshaw-Smith and Charlie Griffin were declared triumphant, and the trophy was duly presented by Mr Lee Maddicks, Director of Redfern’s Estate Agents.

Ottery St Mary Bowling Club would like to convey their sincere thanks to Redferns for their continued sponsorship of
this auspicious event. As the captain of one of the visiting teams remarked, this is an event that is greatly looked forward to by his club members and there is always a surfeit of members wanting to play. A combination of the quality of the green and the excellence of the High Tea provided by the catering team under the direction of Carol Bennett,
undoubtedly contributed to the enjoyment of the afternoon. Ottery members will soon have to watch their waist lines with all these teas!

Finally, I am pleased to report that a team from Ottery, consisting of Brian Hammond, Grant Hawes and Carl Gilleard, entered an invitation match organised by Budleigh Salterton Bowling Club. Yet another cup, called The Victory Cup, to put into the trophy cabinet, as they won comfortably with only four shots being scored against them

Some lovely photos provided by Gerry Beighton. Looking splendid as usual is Terry House at the recent Section 3 vs Devon Ladies match.

Also, some informal photos of past presidents wearing the 'chain' provided by Terry. Maggie & Gerry Beighton, David Rose and Norman Lawrence 

Congratulations go to the Mens Top Club Team who beat Sidmouth 3 - 2 in the Section 3 Final played last night at Sidmouth.

There were good wins in the 4 wood singles and Triples, the key match was the rink. OSM were 13 - 7 down with 4 ends to go. They then picked up a 5 to change the momentum of the game and go onto to the narrowest of wins to ultimately win the fixture overall. Terry House, Tony Luff, Dave Brown and Ray Luscombe are shy, modest men and would prefer to be anonymous ! However they did ask me to tell everyone they were in the winning rink.

OSM will now go "out of section" and play a team from the Plymouth area at the start of August in the quarter finals of Devon Top Club competition.

Thanks also go the OSMBC travelling supporters who flooded the terraces and supported the team.

ALSO, Congratulations go to Eileen Burston who collected her County Badge at Tiverton in an inter section County match yesterday. Well done Eileen! Sharon and Gail joined Eileen in the match. With Sharon on the highest scoring rink whilst Gail skipped on another rink and picked up a HOTSHOT.

Not a bad Thursday at all.