Our popular annual Ladies v Gents match was played in good spirits on the 18th and 30 members took part. As there were more gents than ladies, three of the men got in touch with their feminine side and played as ladies (but thankfully they couldn’t find skirts to fit them!).
It was a jubilant win for the ladies with a score of 86-68 and a jolly afternoon with a fair amount of competitive banter. A wonderful tea of cakes and scones was prepared and served by Ann and her willing helpers. Thanks to all who made this a successful event. I’m sure the men will get their revenge when we meet on the indoor rink.

The finals of the Internal Outdoor competitions took place over the finals weekend. The winners and runners-up were presented with their trophies at the prize giving buffet that took place on Sunday evening. Congratulations to all the winners and runners up.
Thanks to all those who took part in the competitions and to Marilyn and Andy for the organisation of the competition throughout the season.

​Sadly rain stopped play this afternoon in our friendly home match with Ottery St Mary. But it didn’t stop everyone from enjoying a cuppa and chatting about how things might have been!

A​ lovely sunny afternoon for our home match against Exonia yesterday. We had a win on one rink, with Les, Wendy and Judith, (well done), but sadly the skills of the Exonia players on the other three rinks outshone our own players.

We started off in the rain when we visited Topsham yesterday and initially things were going well for us. By tea time the rain had stopped and scores could have gone either way. Unfortunately they didn’t go our way and the end result was a heavy loss for Budleigh. The only saviour was our team on the only rink playing against a Topsham team of men only, who had a good 16-8 win. Well done Brian Membery, Russ and Jackey!
An enjoyable afternoon and we were made very welcome.

A home win on all four rinks for our teams against Phear Park on Saturday. Final score 76-45.
Well done everyone

Sunny smiles pre-match at Honiton for a friendly game on 14th August. I don’t suppose our Budleigh players were so cheerful post-match!

​Twelve Budleigh players travelled to Chardstock on Saturday to play on the 'challenging' rink under sunny skies and in the gusty wind. One team, skipped by our match captain Penny Weeks, with Ann Vincent and Trevor Davey had an astounding win of 28-5. The other rinks struggled to find their form and didn’t fair so well but, in the spirit of friendship, the overall score was called a draw!
An enjoyable afternoon in the beautiful countryside.

​A lovely afternoon, full of good humoured banter, entertaining players from the Erdington Bowling Club at the start of their tour of East Devon. They were resplendent in their colourful new modern polo shirts.
Their outdoor rink is synthetic so some of their players struggled with the demands of a grass rink.
The final overall score was a well kept secret but Budleigh did have a significant win, with 4 out of 5 rinks ahead in the scores. But no one really cared about the scores as we were all winners, having enjoyed the company of other like minded bowlers.
Thanks to all who made this such a successful afternoon.

On Friday we hosted our annual Victory Cup, with six home teams competing against teams from Ottery, Sidmouth, Exonia, Madeira, Phear Park and Honiton.
It was a beautiful day and very well organised by Tony Mackness and helpers. Tea and cakes rounded off the afternoon.
The 18 end round robin competition was played in good spirits and won by the players from Ottery (pictured above with Tony), proudly displaying their trophy. The second win in a row for the club. 
Well done to all who took part and thank you to those who made the day possible.

​It was a very warm and muggy afternoon when we welcomed the players from Feniton yesterday. Some of our rinks started very strongly and our hopes rose for a possible victory, but sadly our luck changed after tea and only one rink had a win, with an overall defeat of 72/50. Well done to Feniton.

​Our ladies Spear Trophy team had a lovely afternoon at Sidmouth, including a great lunch. 
There were high hopes this year following their runners up place the previous year, sadly it was not to be. The ultimate winners on the day were Madeira. 
Thanks to Sidmouth for a great competition.

​Heavy skies, heavy green and heavy hearts as our Budleigh players lost to Phear Park on Monday.
The final score was Budleigh: 38 Phear Park: 60

​Our second year of visiting the Broadclyst club and on a very hot and sunny day it resulted in a resounding win for the Budleigh players with a score of 72-41.
Before tea we were 6 points behind, with only one team ahead, but after tea it was all change and we forged ahead to win on three out of the four rinks. 
The green was challenging to all and the heat made it exhausting work, but the cheerful friendliness of the home team made for an enjoyable afternoon. 
Well done to all.

​A very warm afternoon for our match at Seaton. Although we had a one point lead on one rink, for the team of Trevor, Ann and Melissa, Budleigh were defeated overall by 75-54.

​Our teams played well and put up a good fight but were defeated at Madeira yesterday by a close 8 points. The final overall score was 68-60 in Madeira's favour. Well done everyone for an enjoyable and good friendly game with our hosts.

​The very hot day did nothing to deter our players from achieving a great home win today against St. Thomas with a score of 73-53.
Well done to all.

​A very close but enjoyable game against Exonia on Monday at their club. We lost by a mere 3 points. The final score was 65-68.

Otterleigh Tour 2025
Friends from Budleigh and Ottery were made very welcome by two Cardiff teams at the weekend. The first on Saturday was Mackintosh Bowls Club, who had visited us last year as part of their South West Tour and subsequently invited us back to their club. Our six triples teams all did their best to beat the teams who had achieved a significant win when they visited Budleigh. But despite our best efforts, we were defeated by just four points. It’s not all about the winning!  

​Our second match was against Whitchurch Bowls Club, in the north of Cardiff, another very sociable and friendly club. But the friendliness did not extend to letting us win, and we sadly suffered another defeat on their excellent green. They had some very good players and a lot of ours seemed to beset with injuries and aches and pains. That’s our excuse and we are sticking to it!

A great weekend. Thanks to Tony, Gerard and Ralph for organising it. I know a lot of hard work went into it. Hopefully more to come in the future?

Budleigh won on three rinks but the loss on the fourth contributed to our low cumulative score and the narrow defeat of 59 to 66. The fast green proved a challenge for all, especially when a strong wind developed.  An enjoyable afternoon with jovial friends.