​Our second visit to St Thomas this season, it’s beginning to feel like home! A very warm welcome from the home players and a very warm afternoon for the match, despite the clouds. 
We initially struggled with the slow green, which tested the best of us, but we managed to achieve a win on two of the four rinks and so the final result was declared a draw again. Well done to all.

​We have just returned from our three day bowls tour to Suttons and The Island Bohemians in Reading and Windsor Great Park bowls clubs. It was a great success, with mixed match results, but that didn’t spoil our enjoyment. 
The Island Bohemians own part of an island in the Thames, which is accessed by a ferry and is a very special and fun place to bowl. We had welcomed them to Budleigh last year and they returned the favour this year. 
Our teams were made up of mainly Budleigh players and we extended the invitation to some members from Ottery, who had joined us on last year’s tour.
Our final match was at Windsor Great Park, which was a splendid location, made more exciting by the preparations for the Royal Ascot week, though no royals were spotted on the bowls green!
We were very lucky with the weather and the sun shone on us for three days. Not so lucky with the scores though.
Grateful thanks go to Tony Mackness, who sadly couldn’t join us on the tour, and Ralph Cartwright, for organising the whole thing, which we know was a lot of work and made it such a success.  
Gerard mentioned them in the last speech of the tour and everyone showed their appreciation by a round of applause.

​We travelled for our third friendly match at Broadclyst, on a chilly, windy afternoon.
The green was still damp and running slow from the earlier rain, but our four teams accepted the challenge and triumphed on all four rinks with a total combined final score of 67-52.
It’s a small club, but very welcoming and friendly and it’s a pleasure to play there. Very nice cake as well. Well done to all.