The 2009 Bowling Season Update
ROC SOLID AGAIN AND THEY ARE ALL MAD CHAPS
Friday saw the Christmas Darts flyer at the club and although there was not a great turn out, the lads who participated said it was a really good night. Past winner Allan Mitchell was trying to regain the honour ut unfortunately for Allan, his eye was out and he finished the evening without a win to his name. The opposite was true of Roy Campbell though, who came through all his qualifying games undefeated and faced another old foe in the final in the shape of George Prentice. With the first two games of the Final being shared, it was winner takes all in the third game and once again it was the ROC who stood solid to take the honours. Monday evening was the Christmas Domino flyer and a healthier crowd showed up for this. In a straight K.O. format, Allan Mitchell fared better tonight as he stormed into the final. His opponent was Mike Morrison, who had done things the harder way by playing a prelim round and in a best of 11 final, this too went down to the last 'down' as the lads tied at 5 apiece. It was 'Mad Mitch' who finally overcame 'Tesco Morrison' (apologies for the nicknames guys but you can blame your 'eye in the sky' for those :-)) to win the title by 6-5. Congratulations to the the winners and a big thanks to evereyone who turned up to participate and also help the club on both nights.
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IT'S STILL ALL MAD AT THE TOP
The Maddest Man in the whole wide world keeps up his undeaten record as he makes it siz wins in a row with a bashing of defeat to Kenny Dixon, 11-3. Holding on with the skin of his teeth is 'Simon Cowell' Bathgate as he takes care of Mike 'Tesco' Morrison by 10-2. The mid table clash between Bluto Anderson and Bootsie Bain saw Geoff leapfrog his opponent with a narrow 5-4 win but the result of the round went to Duffer ROC who sent Lurggy Largo running to his Grannie with a resounding 9-0 (Yes, Nil, Nothing, Zero, Zilch, SFA) win, the ROC is trying hard to rid himself of the nickname afforded to him by your Eye in the Sky.
(Week 6 Updated League tables on League 2009 link from the Front Page) From your EYE IN THE SKY, 'till next week
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PoP GO THE PRIZES
Our annual Presentation of Prizes night was held in the clubrooms on Friday November 20th and we were absolutely delighted at the support shown from the members and their guests for this event. It was a full house that greeted the winners from the season finished and the presentation went very smoothly. Everybody then settled down to be entertained by the KOOL KATS and it is fair to say, these lads once again went down an absolute treat and the dance floor was well populated all evening. If the members can continue to support future events held at the club in similar numbers, the Northern Bowling Club will see ourselves in a far healthier position, so well done to everyone who was there and thanks for supporting your club.
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FRIDAY FUN NIGHT OFF TO A GOOD START
Our first Friday night of fun started on Friday past, and although it was maybe a slightly disappointing turnout, those that made the effort certainly enjoyed themselves. Probably the main event of the evening was the mini carpet bowls, which we played on a straight knock-out basis over 4 ends. This is thouroughly enjoyable and I am sure this is going to prove to be a hit with the members as the winter progresses. Allan Mitchell sailed through his games to reach the final but it took an extra end between Mike Burns and Roy Campbell to decide who would face Allan, and it was Mike who got there with his last bowl. The final was equally as tight as it was peeled at 3 and once again it took the last bowl of the game before Mike again sneaked over the winning post. In the Doms, Jimmy Martin fell at semi-final stage to Kenny Dixon whilst Allan Mitchell also succommed to President Garry Harrison. And it was Kenny Dixon who won through to claim the first Fun Friday Domino title with a 5-3 victory. Allan Mitchell was having a good night as he reached the semi-final of the Darts, however there was no title to claim tonight for Allan as he lost to Andy Romanis, whilst the ROC overcame Jimmy Martin to reach the final. And it was the ROC who claimed first blood as he won the first game but that was the lot for the club Darts Champ as Andy came back to win the next two for a 2-1 victory and the title. We are hoping to hold these nights on a more frequent basis, once a month with dates yet to be decided, so watch this space, but it will probably be the 2nd or 3rd Friday, depending on hall bookings. It really was very enjoyable and we would encourage as many of you as possible to come along and try it.
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MINI CARPET BOWLS OFF TO A MAD START
There was a very encouraging turnout for the start of our first ever indoor mini carpet bowls league on Monday night. With the format being a 'four bowl, six ends' challenge, it was treasurer Jimmy Bathgate who set the early pace, starting off his league campaign with a 7-1 victory and two points. However, Jimmy's lead at the top didn't last too long as up stepped Allan Mitchell to go top of the table with an 8-1 win of his own. This mini bowls league will run right throughout the winter season, every Monday night, so it's not too late to get involved if you fancy it, it really is something a wee bit different and fun. Hopefully I will be able to reproduce some sort of league table over the coming months so keep logging in to see who will be our mini champ.
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THE FAT LADY HAS SUNG
Well at least for this season anyway as the curtain was pulled down on the
2009 bowling season with the usual Treasurer v Secretary encounter. It turned
out to be not to bad a day, despite the windy conditions, and it was a good
turnout considering all the Hibees vetoed
the Northern in favour of Easter road.
22 members turned out to play for the Treasurer and Secretary
respectively,(mainly Good Jambos, if there is such a thing).
The Secretary himself chose to skip against the Treasurer and achieved a
narrow but satisfying personal victory on rink 4.
However Mr R Lee gave the mad one a right royal humping on rink 5, while
the President delivered the sword to the VP and an over all victory to
the Treasurer with a total shots victory of 40 to 26 in favour of our
beloved money launderer, err, eh, mm I mean Treasurer. Everyone who supported
the club on the final day of the season enjoyed their bowls (well let's face
it, considering they were mostly Jambo's, they were never going to enjoy
the fitba). On a more serious note, it is with HUGE thanks to EVERYONE
who has played throughout the season and who made the effort to represent
the club when asked, it has been a highly successful season for the Northern
Bowling Club. We can look forward to season 2010 with the aim of maybe going
one, or even two better than this year and try and bring some silverware
back to the club. Thanks to everyone who supported the club throughout the
summer months, whether that was playing or the helping with the many voluntary
tasks that are required to keep us running. Hopefully we will see you many
of you during the hard winter months, this is when your club REALLY needs
your support.
Please checking this website on either the LATEST or SOCIAL links on the FRONT page throughout the close season to keep yourself updated with everything that happens during the non bowling season.
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ALLAN IN A LOCH OUT
Allan Mitchell returned from his mystery tour to win the Bobby Loch 3 bowl singles trophy as he beat Garry Harrison comfortably in the final. In the Four section round robin, it was Allan who defeated Geoff Anderson in one semi-final whilst President Garry reached his second singles final of the week by defeating Jim Bathgate in the other semi-final. However, it was no mystery why Allan was triumphant as he outplayed Garry in the final to become a deserved winner of this presitgous trophy, well done Allan.
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SINGLE HANDEDLY - STAN's YER MAN
This past week saw all ongoing singles competitions completed and it was Vice President Stan Christie who took the honours in both the President's Handicap and the Charlie Kinnear 2 bowl, to make it a very good year for Stan in singles tournaments. Having already reached the final of the Championship, Stan faced young Darren Prentice in the President's Final and giving away a 9 shot advantage from the start, it was a big ask against our up coming Northern star. However, it was the Auld Heid of Stan who dominated the final and he managed to restrict Darren to just 5 shots as Stan went on to win by 21-10.
In the Kinnear Two bowl, Stan took on an even Aulder Heid in 4 time Senior Champion Andrew Irving, and in what turned out to be an excellent game, it was once again Stan who came through by winning 21-11, although the scoreline maybe does not reflect on just how close a game this was.
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P. BEATS D.P IN W.P FINAL
President Garry Harrison took on young Darren Prentice in the Final of the Willie Porterfield trophy, which is now in its 3rd year, in what shaped up to be a very tight and interesting contest. It was young Darren who got off to the flier as he picked up a full house count of four at the very first end, however Garry replied quickly with a 3 then a single of his own to quickly draw level. From there, the lead changed hands a few times as the players jostled for supremacy and it was not until the lads peeled at 12 before President Garry opened up some daylight on Darren. Two doubles and a single saw Garry draw away to 17-12 and within touching distance of the trophy but Darren was far from defeated and a double and two singles followed to bring him to within one shot at 17-16. However, it was the 'auld heid' of the President who came through in the end and another two doubles for Garry took him to 21 and allowed him to lift the Willie Porterfield trophy in his first year as President. Congratulations to Garry on a fine win, and commiserations to Darren, whom I am sure will feature in many finals at the Northern Bowling Club in the years to come.
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THE FINAL FLOURISH
The finals of the three ongoing singles titles have now been reached and it has been become an Old v New challenge. In the Two bowl Kinnear, Stan Christie takes on Andrew Irving whilst in the Willie Portefield trophy, Darren Prentice faces Garry Harrison. In the Presidents handicap competition, there is a very interesting challenge facing the two finalist and once again it is the names of Darren Prentice and Stan Christie who will be fighting it out. Stan has now reached three singles finals this year and that is some achievement but off a mark of -4 might find it tough against young Darren who starts with a +5 advantage.
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ALL FALLS DOWN
The Northern welcomed the Falls BC from Belfast to the Club on Saturday the 12th and it was indeed the "glorious 12th" as far as the weather was concerned. President Garry welcomed our visitors who were treated to the extraordinary sight of Gary Largue having his back waxed by Sarah & Gemma. His pain was well rewarded however with in excess of £200 being raised towards the cost of our proposed indoor short carpet. Gary was a fantastic sport for putting himself through this and this must surely be commitement over and above the cause for the Northern Bowling Club, well done Gary and a HUGE thanks from everyone.
Gary all smiles before the pain begins Not quite so happy as Sarah tears a strip of him
Next up was a spider and this was won by Davy Scott. On
to the game and four full rinks and two triples participated in an excellent
days play which resulted in a rare, this year at any rate, friendly victory
for the Northern. Both sides then enjoyed an excellent meal in the clubhouse
before returning to the green for some efforts at the target bowls.
The evening saw more visitors to the club to join the players and they were
hugely entertained by a great cabaret duo. Following the cabaret our guests
and some of the NBC stalwarts took their turn at the cabaret with mixed success!!
Highlight had to be the rendition of Fiddler on The Roof in all it's full
glory by one of our visitors. All round an excellent day was had by all,
new friendships made and our visitors are looking forward to welcoming our
own tour party to Belfast and the Fall club in May of next year.
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A DARREN GOOD SHOW BY ANOTHER PRENTICE
As most of the club tournaments head to a finish, it was young Darren Prentice who progressed into the final of the Presidents handicap competition, where he now waits on the winner of the other semi-final between Stan Christie and Roy Campbell. Given a very generous start of +5, Darren took on Alex Young, who might not have been as pleased with his -3 handicap. However Alex clawed his way back from that and even took the lead against Darren as the scores sat tight at 19-18 in Alex favour. Darren wasn't finished though and managed to creep over the winning line by the narrowest of margin as he won 21-20 and off his advantage, is looking like a hard nut to crack.
In the other competitions, Stan Christie plays Jim Bathgate in the Kinnear semi-final whilst Garry Harrison plays Andrew Irving in the other game. The Willie Porterfield Trophy again see's Darren take on Peter Farrell whilst another two semi-finalists of the Kinnear play each other here as Garry Harrison takes on Jim Bathgate.
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THE BALD FACTS, IT'S RYDER GLORY FOR THE STARLETS
With the success of reaching two major finals this season, the annual Ryder Cup fun day, kindly sponsored by Bob Lee, had to be left to a bit later in the season and it was a case of trying to squeeze in this normally popular event. However, coming right at the back of the Invitation Pairs, there was maybe an understandably lower than normal turnout for this day, understandable, but still disappointing. Anyway, those that were sober enough to re-appear for this day certainly enjoyed themselves and as the usual format took place of two teams challanging each other in various different games, it was the STARLETS, captained by Allan Mitcell, who eventually triumphed over the BALD EAGLES, captained by who else but Roy Campbell, with the starlets being victorious by the margin of 20-8. All the players retired to the clubhouse to partake in a few refreshments and a buffet, sponsored by Bob and kindly prepared by Roy.
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OH BROTHER, WHAT A FINE PAIR
The weather took a wee turn for the better for this years Invitation Pairs as the heavy rain of the previous few days had at last died away. Surprisingly the green was fairly quick, despite the hammering it had taken and only a couple of late call offs denied us a full entry. As the day progressed, the top two from each section qualified for the quarter-final stages, but it was the semi-finals that were of interest as two well kent faces appeared with their Northern partners. Davy Scott had been invited along to play with Stevie Nicoll and they were to take on Gary Largue and his partner. And it was Gary who was to triumph over past Northern champion Davy as they went into the final to face the winners of the other semi-final, which was to be a 'family affair'. Mike & Hughie Burns were involved in a tussle between John Ingram and another past Northern Champion, Bob Urquhart, and as in the other semi-final, the past champion bit the dust. So brothers Mike & Hughie Burns faced Gary Largue and his partner, Jackie Clewes from Burntisland and it was Gary and Jackie who made the better start in the final, taking a full house count of FOUR shots at the first end and although the Burns brothers replied with a single, they soon found themselves in deep trouble after losing three at the third end to go 7-1 behind. The Burnses came alight though as they got their act together to reply with a 2-3-1 tally of their own to peel things at 7-7 with two ends to go. Gary and Jackie came back again though and took a single as they then took a one shot advantage into the last end. As seems to be the accepted tactic these days, Gary and Jackie gave the Jack away to have last bowl of the end. It was Gary who was first in though as he lay shot about a foot Jack high and the pressure was on Mike to change things. His first bowl sailed about a yard through the head and with skip Jackie staying clear of the danger, Mike had one bowl to save the game. And save it he did as he drew the shot back to give the brothers another crack and a make it an very fitting end to what had been a fanatstic day as an extra end was now needed to seperate the finalists. Again Gary won the toss of the coin and decided to give the jack away, but this time it was Hughie who was first in as he drew the shot to within a few inches. Gary had given Jackie something to play for though as he himself had been very close and it looked as though Jackie had made a worthwhile trip from Burntisland as he moved the white with his first attempt. Unluckily for them though it had rebounded of the shot bowl and still left the Burns brothers sitting shot and Mike almost drew one closer with his final bowl but it just fell short. It forced his opponent to change his shot though and fortunately, luck was again on the side of the Burns family as the head was left unaltered and Hughie & Mike had lifted the Invitation pairs trophy after two previous final defeats. It had been a great day though, once again superbly run by Roy Campbell, with his family all in attendance to help out both on the green in shape of Allison as she partnered Roy, and with the rest of the family providing us all with much needed nourishments throughout the day. A huge thanks to everyone who supported the event, both members and all their invited playing partners and guests, who had travelled from afar to play, and it is always great to see new and well kent faces at the Northern Bowling Club.
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IT'S JUST NOT CRICKET IN PAIRS FINAL
'Rain stopped play' is a common phrase used around the country when cricket is being played, however it is not exactly something you hear a lot of on the bowling green as players generally just get on with it. In the final of the club SBA Pairs where holders John Young & Mike Burns took on Ian McDonald & Roy Campbell, this was indeed the case. Having got off to a great start by picking up four at the first end as John Young continued his impressive form he has shown all season, John & Mike were going along nicely at 8-1 when the 'heavens opened' to send everyone scurrying for cover. Just as the players bravely re-emerged, down came the rain again and it was back into the clubhouse for more shelter, what a summer we have had! Once the players finally to took the green to get on with things, it was Ian & Roy who made the better re-start by picking up a 2 but this was only a temporary recovery as the next eight ends were pretty much shared evenly, leaving John & Mike 14-7 up after 13 ends. This comfortable lead did not last though and a 4 for Ian & Roy brought things very tight again. Lying four or five shots against at the next end, Mike trailed the white but could only trail it to two of his opponents bowls. Trying to play a 'timing' bowl onto his own, Burns got lucky with his last bowl of the end for what turned out to be the crucial bowl of the game. Being too high for the shot called, Mike caught one of his own wider bowls to turn this into the head for shot, a huge piece of luck that was ultimately to prove the turning point in the game. Going to the 2nd last end four in front rather than just one, gave John & Mike the confidence to go on from there and after Mike had turned the head back in their favour with his first bowl, it made it almost impossible for Roy to alter, and with Mike adding another two shots, it left Ian & Roy needing seven for a peel at the last end. Although the lads quite rightly attempted to get these shots, it was not to be and John & Mike had successfully defended the pairs title they had won for the first time the previous year to complete a very good season for both lads.
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A FINAL DISAPPOINTMENT FOR THE SEASON
For the 2nd week in succession, the Northern lads were in a major final, this time it was the Top Ten as we travelled to Parkside to take on hot favourites Slateford. Due to other commitments, neither George nor Jim Prentice were available again for this final and it was Graeme Prentice who replaced brother George in the singles where he had the hardest of tasks in facing Robert Marshall. Apparently as is normal for this ocassion, the singles was delayed for 30 minutes in an attempt to keep all games hopefully finishing around the same time, however, on a very tricky one sided rink, Graeme struggles against the consistency of Robert, who eventually went on to win by 21-6 to give Slateford a flying start. Our pairs in Stan Christie & Gordon Wilson had been our two aces in the run up to this final but this time, the lads got off to a terrible start and soon found themselves 9-0 down. Stan & Gordon though were very much there on merit and were not about to let themselves or the Northern down and they made a fantastic comeback to the point where they actually nosed in front 11-10 as the game came down to the crunch. With Hughie Hilson doing his usual sterling stuff in the rinks, with Jim McKenna, Allan Mitchell and Ian Miller, they looked as though they would put the Northerns first points on the board and indeed they did. Despite losing the last end, the lads won 20-19 and it was now down to the pairs and Triples. Jim Henderson, Roy Campbell and Mike Burns were involved in a see-saw battle but the loss of an unlucky six at one end made life extremely difficult and although they fought back well to find themselves only 13-15 down, the loss of two singles meant they needed a Four to peel at the last end, which was asking a great deal against very steady opponents. Mike tried to 'burn' the final end but failed and the game was lost 19-13 and almost at the same time, Stan & Gordon had also gone down 16-11 for a final score of 6-2 in the favour of Slateford and our 2nd successive final was lost.
Everybody who played their part in this though can certainly hold their heads up high as they have helped enormously to put the name of the NORTHERN BOWLING CLUB back on the map of Edinburgh bowling. Once again we have to give huge thanks to everyone who supported us on the day as it was so very much appreciated. It felt like more than half of the membership of the club was there to cheer us on and it was genuinely fantastic to see so many friends and family up at Parkside. Whilst there was no silverware to show for our efforts, this has been a truly wonderful season for the Northern, Runners-up in the 3rd div for the first XVI, Runners-up in the 2nd div for the 2nd XVI, both achievements meaning promotion. We were Runners-up in the Edinburgh Cup and now also the Top Ten, two of THE main competitions the club enters in any season. In the Top Five, we were beaten narrowly 3-2 in the quarter finals by Bainfield so all in all, this has been a memorably achievement for the Northern and every single member can feel proud to be a part of it, THANKS TO YOU ALL.
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TRIPLE TREBLE TREAT FOR 'MIDNIGHT's LADS
The final of the club SBA qualifying Triples was a battle between the holders, John Young, Jim Henderson & Mike Burns who faced the toughest of tests in Stan Christie, Gordon Wilson & Hugh Hilson. It was the holders who got off to a good start when they picked up a 5 then 2 to lead 7-1 after 3 ends but the quality of their opponents was never going to allow them to stretch this lead too far, and so it proved. Stan, Gordon & Hugh proceeded to take the next six ends, with Hughie in particular turning heads in their favour by playing some telling bowls, giving the challengers a 10-7 lead after 9 ends. However, John, Jim and Mike were not going to relinquish their title easily and took 5 out of the next 6 ends and it was Mike's turn to be producing the goods now as his running and hitting bowls were getting results. It was a fanstastic game to be involved in and even in the fading light, there was some excellent bowling going on. As the holders took a 3 shot into the last end, all was looking good for them, but a trail on the jack by Stan from lead, pulled the white into an awkward position and both Gordon then Hughie added to leave the lads lying 3 shots. By this time, the light was so poor, there just wasn't any at all, it really was incredibly dark, so much so that Mike actually played one of Hughie's bowls by mistake, a bowl of not only bigger in size but a different colour, everything was just so black. Mike was once again living up to his reputaion of being 'Midnight Burns' it was certainly as dark as midnight. Having turned one of the opponents bowls into the head, Mike had his last bowl of the regulation game to save the match and he managed to do so by an inch. Having saved the game, it meant an extra end to decide the title. John Young brought the mat up the green and asked for it to be straightened but the conditions of pitch darkness in the pouring rain contributed to Mike not even being able to see the mat on the green, it really was farcical. The internal lights of the clubrooms were asked to be turned on to give some sort of light and the jack barely made it into dim glow from the club. An extra end in these conditions produced more of a guessing game than a game of skill, which had been much in evidence by all six players up to that stage. After all 18 bowls had been rolled towards the clubhouse, where the jack was sitting there somewhere, it was John, Jim and Mike who came up trumps with a second defence of their Triples title. It was a great shame that this game had to finish under these conditions as it really was an excellent game throughout with everyone playing their part, however, an extra end and a burnt end meaning a 17 end triples game, maybe it was no surprise it did finish in the dark.
Still, no matter the conditions, somebody has to win and unfortunately, someone has to lose, so it's congratulations to John, Jim & Mike and sincere commiserations to Stan, Gordon and Hughie.
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OPPONENTS FINAL BOWL CAUSES HEARTACHE AS CUP IS SNATCHED FROM OUR GRASP
Corstorphine played hosts to the Final of the Edinburgh Cup on Saturday 15th August when the Northern 'TEAM' travelled up as one with our supporters to take on the might of Tanfield, the holders of the cup from last year. The early rain that had threatened the day's play had cleared away and other than a small shower, it was a nice sunny, if windy, day. The early exchanges on the green between the two sides, were pretty even, Northern were up in three through Roy Campbell, Mike Burns and Allan Mitchell whilst Gordon Wilson, Stan Christie and Hugh Hilson were behind. This was actually encouraging as the big guns of Tanfield were finding things were not going all their own way and the Northern lads were 'UP FOR IT' and giving as good as we were getting. When the half way stage had passed, things had changed slightly, as Roy's early lead had disappeared and his rink of Bob Bain, Garry Harrison and Bob Lee found themselves now one shot down. Better news though was that 'Double H' (Hugh Hilson) and his rink of Gary Largue, Willie Robb and Ian Miller had recovered from their early deficit to go 10-7 in front and with Mike Burns, Jim Henderson, Kenny Dixon and Jimmy Martin keeping their lead intact at 13-7 and Allan Mitchell's team of Grant Young Ronnie Scott and Graeme Prentice taking control at 10-4, Northern were looking ok. Unfortunately though Stan Christie's lads were struggling a bit as Stevie Nichol, Alext Young and Ian McDonald found themselves 7-13 down and Gordon Wilson's lads, Andrew Irving, Darren Prentice and Jim Bathgate looked to be fighting a lost cause even at this stage as they just could not find a road on a tricky rink.
It soon became apparent on the big scoreboard which was giving a 'running total' of the overall score, that the Northern were going to lose the aggregate score and a 'rinks' victory was going to be necessary if the cup was to come back to the Northern. As the first two rinks finished, Tanfield had secured both early points, but Hughie Hilson and his lads were to put a smile back on Northern faces as he had stretched his lead to finish with a great 19-11 win. Allan Mitchell's rink were involved in a tight finish and the loss of a single shot at the last end, meant Allan and his rink had brilliantly held their nerve to win 12-11 to bring the scores level at 2 wins each, and with Mike Burns lads going into their last end 8 shots in front and to finally win 20-11, the Northern had one hand on the trophy. It was all to come down to the very last game between the two Campbell's, Roy of the Northern and Stewart of Tanfield. The game went in to the last end at peels at 15 so it meant whoever won the last end would win the trophy. The shot changed hands several times with Bob Lee playing a fantastic bowl to drag the jack and lie shot. Stewart Campbell's first bowl was tight on his 'backhand', so much so though, that he actually opened up the forehand. With Roy keeping clear of the head, Northern now had both hands on the trophy and we were all waiting just to lift it above our heads. But we were not to reckon with a brilliant Tanfield LAST BOWL OF THE GAME drawn shot by Stewart Campbell, the Tanfield skip, who quite cruelly from our point of view, wrestled the cup out of our hands and back into their own for a successful defence of the trophy. Roy Campbell had the chance to reply for the Northern and grab the trophy back, but Roy's effort fell tight and failed to change the head and the cup headed up the road to the Tanfield club.
The gut wrenching finish we could all have done without but it was a superb LAST BOWL under the severest of pressure and all credit must go to Stewart and Tanfield, they knew they had been in a game though.
Our President Garry Harrison would once again like to thank EVERYBODY, not just the players but Jimmy Porter and Mike Morrison, our two subs, and ALL the supportes of the Northern Bowling Club and the many ladies who turned up to support us too, Allison, Lesley, Arlene, the Two Caths in Martin & Young, Caroline, Sarah and Moira, with apologies to anyone who I may have missed out, it was fantastic to see you all there and everybody appreciated your support.
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Now that the league season has come to an end, President Garry Harrison, on behalf of himself and his committees, would like to thank absolutely EVERYBODY who played their part, whether it was in the all games, most games or whether it was even just ONE game, regardless of what it was, you contributed to a hugely successful league season as both the First and Second XVI finished second in their respective leagues and gained promotion in his first year as President of the Northern Bowling Club and Garry is as proud as punch that everyone has achieved this level of success. However, our season is far from finished yet though, as we look forward to TWO very important finals in the next two weeks. First up is the Edinburgh Cup where we play Tanfield at Corstorphine and Garry and his committee are confident our lads will put up a very good show and bring the trophy back to the Northern. The following Saturday we then take on Slateford in the Top Ten Final and it is a fantastic achievement that the Northern has reached Two of the BIG Three finals that are contested each year in Edinburgh. Consequently, Mr President would hope everyone joins him in congratulating and thanking the selection committee this season, who invariably have THE most thankless task of any voluntary job undertaken in the bowling club in any given season, so to achieve what we have achieved so far, is a credit to both selectors and ALL the players who have played their part. If Yogi and Csaba can be as successful as Bob, Andrew and Allan have been, then the Hibees and Jam Tarts can look forward to a few Hampden trips themselves in the coming football season (with the Scottish Cup coming to Easter Road of course, the Hearts can have the League Cup this time :-))
It is said with genuine thanks from Garry and his committees to everyone, now all we have to do is bring home some silverware.
C'MON THE NORTHERN, IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO BE PLAYING BOWLS (as said recently by Stewart Meikle)
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SECOND XVI FINISH BRILLIANTLY AS FIRST XVI FALTER
The final league fixtures of the season took place on a darkening Wednesday night and it was still all to play for as both first & second XVI had particular goals in sight. And it was the 2nd who took all the honours as they romped home with a marvellous 9-0 victory at home against in form Dudley, who themselves needed the points to avoid relegation. Roy Campbell came home with a fine 18-12 victory and his pairs partner Ian McDonald also skipped his lads to another good 17-13 win. Whilst the other two rinks were closer, it was still the Northern lads who came good as Willie Rae won 16-15 and Ronnie MacDonald took the points with 15-13 win to make it a clean sweep for the boys and ensure they will now head up to Top division of the 2nd XVI's. This was a remarkable turnaround in form for the lads in the 2nd half of the season as it at one point, it look as though they were big favourites for relegation themselves. However, there seems to be some magic potion in the Northern waters these days and every single player who has represented the 2nd XVI's can stand up and 'take a boo lads, take a boo' (in the words of Andy Gray) as you have done fantastically well.
It was not such a good finish though for our first XVI who had a very difficult last game at Tramways. Going into the last game Top of the division and already promoted, maybe the minds had turned to other forthcoming games but a 2-7 defeat was not exactly the boost we were looking for and this result, couple I believe with a 9-0 win for Corstorphine, meant we could only finish 2nd in the league. It was a game that really could have went 9-0 either way with 3 ends to go but it was our opponents who held their nerve and only an 18-14 win for Mike Burns and his rink meant we avoided a whitewash. Before the league games even started, it looked as though this could be the worst place we could visit if we required the points and so it proved. However, all credit to all our lads in the first XVI as titles and promotion as won over the season and we had done enough in all previous games to ensure promotion had already been won before this visit. So all in all, it has been a brilliant and successful season for both XVI's and huge congratulations should go to everyone who took part, very well done indeed everyone, you have all done the Northern proud.
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CLUB SBA's NEAR CONCLUSION
The last two semi-finals of the club SBA qualifying competitions have been completed over the last two days. On Monday, Stan Christie & Allan Mitchell took on Ian McDonald & Roy Campbell in the pairs and it was the latter duo who came good to reach their 2nd pairs final after many years of trying. A change of tactics this year has proved very profitable for them as Ian has changed to lead where has taken his turn as skip and they have taken on and beaten all comers this season. From reports, it seems as though Allan Mitchell had 'one of those games' where everything he attempted went wrong, but we've all been there and worn that particular T-Shirt over the years. It resulted in Ian & Roy going into the last end with a lead of 7 shots, a situation Stan & Allan did not think was recoverable and they conceded the tie.
In the Triples, twice defending Triples champions John Young, Jim Henderson and Mike Burns had what looked like a very tough encounter as they faced Ronnie MacDonald, Ian McDonald and Ian Miller. However, a fantastic display of 'lead' bowling by John Young blew away his opposite number and set his Triple up for another crack at the final. John, Jim & Mike were comfortable being 8 shots up at the last end and were happy to concede a five to Ronnie, Ian & Ian at the last to allow them progress to their third final in three years.
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BURNS HOPES END UP IN TAITERS
The last sixteen of the Tait Trophy took place on Monday and Northern's representative, Mike Burns, was playing against the Dudley Champion at the Wardie Bowling Club. The evening didn't start well as both players arrived at the same time to find themselves locked out, and it didn't get any better from there. Having eventually gained entry, Wardie were unaware they were to host a 'Tait' tie and no rink, marker or umpire had been allocated. Once this oversight was sorted, Mike was soon wishing neither he nor Peter from Dudley had managed to gain entry to the club as the early part of the game was simply terrible. On a very heavy surface, and on a rink that Rolf Harris would having found difficulty drawing on, Mike's weight was all over the place, leaving him trailing 12-3. Eventually though he did make something of a comeback and at 9-12 behind, had dragged himself back in to the match. Again though, it drifted away from him as Peter played a couple of good conversion bowls, none more so than at 17-13 and Mike lying two good shots behind the Jack, the Dudley champ drew the shot. This was the final turning point and Mike never scored again and to be truthful, never really deserved anything out of a poor game where Peter's weight was far more consistant all night.
On a personal note now though, I would like to thank everyone who came along to support the Northern and myself on the night. There was certainly a healthy support there and it was very much appreciated and apologies to everyone for putting on such a poor performance after you had all made the effort.
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NORTHERN PUT ON A 'BERRY GOOD SHOW
With games coming thick and fast these days, it was once again the turn of the Top Ten as the Northern took on yet another division One club in the shape of the Queensberry. As it was the 'Berry's home draw, our singles and fours visited the Granton Club in the shape of George Prenctice, with Jim McKenna, Jim Prentice, Allan Mitchell and Shuggie Hilson in the rinks. The home club were in confident mood and had disclosed they they fancied their singles not just to win, but win BIG, so it looked like George was going to have his work cut out. However, our double Champion is no mug himself and scores were tied at eleven apiece before the Queensberry man pulled away slightly. George had found himself 20-17 down and with game against, missed a trail on the 'white' by a fraction to level at 20-20. Despite going down 21-17, George had given an excellent account of himself and even in defeat, the score was something of a boost to the Northern lads as the 'Berry prediction of a big win had not materialised. Back at the Northern, the confidence of the Queensberry was not restricted to their singles as they firmly believed the Pairs were also in the bag. However, Stan Christie and Gordon Wilson have formed a very formidable partnership our dynamic duo were not about to roll over and get their tummies tickled. A 2 followed by a 4 gave Stan & Gordon a great start, but in all fairness to Frank and Brian from the 'Berry, they fought back well to lead 7-6 after seven ends. Stan & Gordon 'upped' their game though and won 6 of the next 7 ends to lead 16-8 and whilst they lost a 4 to tighten things up slightly, a great 'take-out' by Gordon meant they replied immediately with a four of their own and after picking up another 3 at the last end, had tied the overall score at one win each, with their 23-13 victory now giving the Northern aggregate shot advantage. Down Granton way again and Hughie Hilson and the lads were always reported as being behind, but never out of touch. Then the news came through that our lads had pulled it back to peels, then one shot up with an end to play and as the the triples were always tight at the Northern, this game was going down to the wire. The Queensberry skip had burnt the last end with the Northern lying game in the fours, and with the Triples going into their last end peeled at 13, it really was an exciting finish. Fantastic news filtered through though from Queensberry, as it was reported that our FAB FOUR, the two Jim's in McKenna and Prentice, along with Allan & Shuggie, had won their replayed last end to win the Rinks by 2 shots. This meant the Triples had to avoid losing a 6 at their last end to leave the Northern facing a 2nd final in the space of two weeks. Although the 'shot' was always against, the TERRIBLE TRIO of Jim Henderson, Roy Campbell and Mike Burns were never in danger of losing six the Queensberry required and an attempted 'burn' with skip Alan Watson's last bowl failed to hit the target, meaning the NORTHERN had done it again. Huge congratulations to all the lads who have played their part in getting our club to another final and thanks also to those who turned out to support the club, we are having a season from Heaven and long may it continue.
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BACK FROM THE DEAD
The Tait Trophy got under way, as far as the Northern was concerned, on Friday night as Mike Burns travelled to Tramways to play the champion of Summerside. On a slick green with 3 big swinging hands and one that was nigh on impossibly straight, it was Martin from Summerside who made the better start. In fact, Mike was struggling with both weight and grass and soon found himself trailing by 5-14 after a brilliantly 'timed' running bowl on the biggest swinging hand by the Summerside Champ, took Mike's 'toucher' off the white and into the ditch to pick up a full house 4. It really did look all over for Burns but a change of tactics after picking up an immediate reply of 3 himself, found Mike changing away from straight hand to the big swinger and he never looked back. Another 3 at the next end got him right back into the game at 11-14 and six ends later it was all over as Burns had completed his fightback to win 21-14 and he now looks forward to a visit to Wardie on Monday night.
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FIRST'S GO TOP AFTER LAST END DRAMA
With rumours abounding that, due to possible league reconstruction next year (surely not) only the league winners were certain of promotion, the first XVI game against Mayfield took on greater importance than what was previously thought. So the bad starts made by Hughie Hilson's rink and Gordon Wilson too, didn't make for good reading early on. However, never write of Shuggie's boys and a six to take them 6-9 was followed up a run of scores and as usual, Hughie had this game in the bag a long time before the end and they walked off with a 25-12 victory. George Prentice confident start lasted right throughout the game and George and his lads ran away to a 23-9 win and these two results secured us with at least 5 points. Gordon Wilson and his re-jigged rink had always struggled and although it looked like they might have made a come back, it was not be as they lost 9-18. But the real drama of the evening was still to unfold. Mike Burns and his lads had managed to fight their way into the lead but the loss of a SIX late on turned this game in favour of Mayfield. Going into the last end 3 shots behind, it looked a tough task for the lads to pull anything out of the fire here but a double 'take-out' by Burns left his boys lying 5 shots. The Mayfield skip, who had been playing fantastic stuff throughout, missed with his first 'running' bowl and as Burns played into the head to try and take away the 'catch' the Mayfield skip was still facing game against. Having played such a good game all evening, confidence was high amongst the visitors that he would turn it around but the Mayfield skip chose this particular end to play his worst two bowls of the night and an unlikely 2 points went the way of the Northern to make it a crucial 7-2 win. Better was still to come with the news that Corstorphine had lost 4-5 away from home, meaning Northern go back to the top of the table by two points.
The 2nd XVI lost 4-5 away at Postal but even that was met with good news as nearest challengers Corstorphine lost 1-8 to league leaders Pilrig.
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NORTHERN REACH TOP TEN SEMI-FINAL
On paper, our quarter final game against our friends from Dudley was a tough encounter, but as games are never won on paper, and having already knocked our opponents out of the Edinburgh Cup earlier in the season, we went into this game with a good deal of confidence. And this confidence was well founded as George Prentice got the Northern off to a fantastic start when he totally dominated proceedings at home in the singles, winning by an impressive 21-9 margin. To back up George, at Dudley, Stan Christie and Gordon Wilson were simply destroying their opponents in the pairs in equally impressive style, building up a big lead which they never looked like throwing away at any stage and these two results alone looked as though they were probably going to be good enough to see the Northern into the last Four of the competition. With Hughie Hilson also being in front at home in the 'rinks' and Mike Burns keeping the Triples tight, before edging in front, things were going well on all fronts. Indeed, as news came through that Hughie had peeled in the rinks, and Stan and Gordon had walked off with around a 14 shot victory, it was all over before the Dudley Triple conceded defeat as they found themselves 13-6 down to Jimmy Henderson, Bob Lee and Mike Burns with 3 ends still to play. So, the Northern Bowling Club can look forward to another semi-final in what has become a fantastic season for us and all the lads can be well proud of their achievements so far, with just a little bit more work to be done.
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TOP FIVE DREAM ENDS IN TIGHT FINISH
Bainfield were the latest visitors to the Northern as we played host to them in the quarter final of the Top Five singles. There was one change to our line-up from the previous games as Hughie Hilson took the decision to stand down in favour of Ian Miller, Hughie deciding graciously that he was simply not playing well enough, well done Hughie, that couldn't have been an easy thing to do. Anyway, our efforts didn't get off to the greatest start as Gordon Wilson was soon behind and although he did make a bit of a recovery, Gordon was the first off the green with a 21-12 defeat behind him. The scores were soon levelled at one apiece though as Stan Christie once again raced away in front as he found his form to win 21-7 and put a smile on the Northern faces. Unfortunately though, this didn't last long either and in similar fashion to Gordon, George Prentice had made a bad start which he was never to recover from and was always headed in a 21-13 defeat, 2-1 Bainfield. In a battle of the 'club champions' newly crowned Northern Champion Mike Burns, took on Bainfield;s champ and whilst this was tight early on, Mike pulled away to good lead. The loss of a 3 though made things tight and once more, this could have gone either way and it took some consistant bowling from Burns to be lying game at 18-13 before his opponent 'burnt' the end with yet another good 'hit' shot. But Mike was not to be denied and not long after came through 21-16 to level the scores at 2-2, leaving Ian Miller to battle it out to see who progressed to the semi-final. Ian was struggling after a good start though and at 19-13 down, had a big uphill battle to face. He did mange to pull it back to 19-16 and when lying the shot to put some real pressure on his opponent, was unlucky to turn a short bowl into head, giving the shot away. A huge difference this was, and at the next end, despite lying a possible 2 shots, Ian's opponent came down with his last bowl to once more turn his own in for shot and game. This was a great effort from our lads though and they can be proud of the run they have had in this competition, whilst we still have both the Top Ten and Edinburgh Cup Final to look forward to.
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BURNS ON FIRE AS HE AT LAST COMES TO THE FOUR
The premier competition of the season, the club singles Championship, took centre stage on a wet and dreary Friday night but this did not deter either the players or the spectators, who in particular, came out to support the club on this miserable night. Twice champion and several times runner up, Stan Christie took on Mike Burns, himself achieving a hat-trick of final defeats and facing a 2nd time two year running 'bridesmaid' prize. However, it was Mike who got off to the better start by taking two doubles at the first two ends, before Stan replied with a single of his own to get on the scorecard. A single followed a full house four and another double by Mike, had Stan in all sorts of trouble at 11-1 but a sloppy end by Burns let Stan back right back into the game as he quickly replied with his own count of four to make it 'game on' at 11-5. Stan however, was not finding things easy in the wet conditions and Mike soon raced away to 17-5 and within touching distance of his first ever singles title. Stan's determination though found a bit of form that we all know he is more than well capable of playing, and it took some good and fortunate bowls by Mike to take the score to 20-6. Now it was a case of, can Mike hold his nerve? as the 'Holy Grail' was in his sights and doubts maybe crept into the minds of the spectators as Stan scored at the next two ends to take his tally to nine. Then Mike played a good opener, only for Stan to better it. Mike trailed the jack to lie game again and after missing with his first attempt, Stan played a great 'take out' with his final bowl to lie shot and save the game again. With the option to play a running bowl of his own to take Stan's only bowl out of play, Mike opted for the draw instead and fortunately for him, it made the distance by an inch and the Championship was won at his fourth final of asking.
Before presenting Mike with the marvellous piece of silverware that is the Northern Championship trophy, President Garry Harrison gave summary of the season so far and congratulated everyone on playing their part in what has been, so far, a magnificent achievement for the Northern, something that was reiterated by Mike in his own speach.
President Garry presents the Trophy to Mike Mike proudly holds the Championship trophy
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CORRIE's STREET IS DEAD END AS NORTHERN SECURE OUR PLACE
Corstorphine were once more our opponents this time in the Top Ten, we seem to have played each other more often than the Old Firm do in one season. With Corstorphine being drawn at home, it meant George Prentice re-visited a place that does not bring him happy memories in the Top Ten singles, fortunately though, these are things that do not bother George. However, as is the nature of this competition, confusion reigned back down at the Northern as news came through that, first George had lost by a shot, then won by a shot, then lost by a shot, wait, no, he definitely won, or did he lose? As it turned out, the big fellae had actually won by 4 shots at 21-17, how can a simple score be so confusion to those relaying the information? Anyway, George had got us off to a great start and with Stan Christie & Gordon Wilson also well in command in their home pairs, it was left to either the Triples or Fours to achieve the necessary result to take the Northern through to the next round of yet another competition. As Mike Burns Triple had just a 4 to go 10-4 down, news was coming from 'Corrie' that the fours were also struggling and this could well go down to shots. Stan and Gordon eased over the line but the loss of a four at the last end meant that the game was in the balance and it was all square in overall points & shots as both Triples and rinks played their respective last ends. With the Triples being only one shot behind, a single shot and peels would have been enough to secure victory, however a trail on the Jack to lie two by the Corstorphine 2nd was added to by another double by the skip and the game was slipping away. But not for long, as again news had came from Way West that Shuggie Hilson's rink had picked up a four at their last end, leaving the triple to defend a four and going through on countback to George's singles game. With the Corstorphine skip failing to add a fifth the game was over, although Burns took the opportunity to draw 2nd shot in the Triples, putting the Northern's place in the next round a certainty on the aggregate.
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SEMI-FINAL's PROVE TO BE ONE SIDED AFFAIRS
The single's championship reached the semi-final stage and unusually, there was only really one winner on the evening. A few years ago, the Tartan Army sang, 'one team in Tallin' there's only One team in Tallin' as their opposition failed to turn up for the match, and in similar circumstances, Mike Burns found himself into the Final without having to roll a bowl as his opposition, Robbie Paterson, had not returned from holiday. This may not have been the most satisfying way to reach THE major final of the season but there was little anything could be done about it. Onto the real bowling though, and in the other semi-final, Stan Christie faced up to Hughie Hilson, and the truer sense of the phrase 'one sided' Stan raced away to an early lead. With Shuggie struggling to find a road with his big swinging bowls, he consequently could not find his weight either and it was not too long before they were shaking hands with Stan recording a 21-2 victory to reach his umpteenth Championship final.
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CURRIE ARE NO CHICKENS, BUT IT'S SWEET AND SOUR VICTORY FOR NORTHERN
With the Top Five singles taking its turn this weekend, our visitors this time around were from Currie and with no Rice now available for the Northern, this was going to prove a very spicy affair for our lads. To start of with, it was Hughie Hilson who was, as always, first off the green. However this was to leave the sour taste for us all as the speed at which this game finished, meant Shuggie had an appointment to see his 'grannie' as the Northern were quickly one game down. Fortunately though, the 'Sweet' was just around the corner, for as quickly as we were one down, Stan Christie had shot away into an unassailable lead, and although his opponent picked up a couple of face saving shots, it was only delaying the inevitable and Stan had the Northern level at 1-1 with a 21-9 victory. The other three games were much closer as Gordon Wilson, Mike Burns and George Prentice were involved in their own battles. George in particular looked as though he was struggling but a great fightback by the big man took this down to the wire with George eventually coming through 21-17 to make it 2-1 Northern. This meant that we only needed one win from either Mike or Gordon and they had both managed to take charge of their own respective games. With Mike sitting on 20-14, it was Gordon who clinched the necessary point with a 21-12 win to take the Northern into the quarter final of the Top Five Singles and keep this remarkable season going. As Gordon walked off to deserved congratulations, handshakes were offered and accepted by Mike's opponent, as Burns claimed a technical, if not arithmetical, victory and a 4-1 win for the lads.
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EDGING EVER CLOSER
As it was Top v Bottom for the first XVI when we travelled to face Seafield, the lads will maybe be a wee tad disappointed to come away with a 5-4 victory, such has been the confidence that they have been rightly playing with this season. However, games always start at 0-0 and wins have to be earned and opponents respected and on a heavy, bumpy tricky surface, this was never going to be easy. Mike Burns got off to the almost perfect start when he picked up a SIX at the very first end and was never headed throughout the game. The loss of a five though made things a lot tighter and indeed it took a last bowl draw when faced with a lie of 5 against when the score was 18-13, to finally kill off the hopes of the opposition as Mike and his boys went on to win 22-14. As always, Hughie Hilson got off to a great start and his rink raced off to a big lead never looked in any danger as they won 22-9, making sure the 5 points were coming back to the Northern. George Prentice always found himself battling to keep in touch and each time it looked like he may just overtake his deficit, his Seafield counterparts answered the questions asked and pulled away again, meaning George lost by 16-12. And so it was left to Gordon Wilson's rink, who were involved in a right ding dong battle, as the scoreboard changed from one shot up to peels, to one down to peels etc right throughout the game.Peels at 16 with 2 ends to play and this game was going right to the wire but unfortunately for Gordon and the Northern, it was Seafield who picked up a vital two shots at the 2nd last end and with a single at the last too, Gordon's lads went down 16-19. However, this was still another 5-4 victory away from home and under the circumstances and the league positions, this result drew us ever closer to the big prize of promotion as we go 17 points in front of 3rd place Tramways, who we face in the final game, with only two games left.
The 2nd XVI had a more disappointing evening at home as, for the first time in a long time, the lads lost by 3-6, the Northern points being earned by Roy Campbell in a 17-12 victory whilst Alex Young peeled.
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BURNS IS PACEMAKER IN LIGHTENING TOP TEN VICTORY
It was the turn of the Top Ten to take centre stage as the Northern were drawn away to Caledonian on a terrible night weather wise. And the bowling didn't start off too well either as our singles representative, George Prentice, got us off to a disappointing start as the big fellae was on the receiving end of a 21-10 scoreline up at 'Caley'. At home though, Stan Christie and Gordon Wilson were in the process of returning that loss with interest and by the time they picked up a SEVEN, their game was virtually all over as they chalked up a 25-6 victory. Back up at the Caley and it was the reliable Hughie Hilson, skipping the rink, who put the Northern in front on points as Shuggie secured a 7 shot win. As the thunder and lightening was roaring and flashing across the green at the Northern, the triples had taken a comfortable lead at 15-6 with 3 ends to go when a lightening flash, just a little bit too close for comfort, ended play as Mike Burns took an early bath due to health reasons. Burns wanted no further part in events, worried about his pacemaker being the centre of attraction for the lightening, although he may just have been in more danger from Jim Henderson's umbrella. A phone call to Caley from their skip to find out the scores, confirmed that their triples needed three eights in the last three ends to go through on the singles game countback and the Caley boys gracefully offered handshakes and congratulations to their opponents to put the Northern through to the next round of the Top Ten competition.
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CLUB SBA's REACH SEMI-FINAL STAGE
The line ups for both the club Championship and Pairs competitions were almost completed last night and there were some tense affairs. An early start by Allan Mitchell v Hughie Hilson meant they were well underway in front of the rest and this was a right ding dong battle. Never much in the game at this stage, it all came down to the nitty gritty as the lads were locked on peels at 16. Allan must have thought he was almost over the line when he picked up 3 shots to move to 19-16 but Shuggie replied immediately with a FOUR of his own, then a single at the next end was enough for him to move into the semi-final. On rink three, Mike Burns took on Jimmy Porter and again this was a game going one way then the other, with Jimmy Porter playing some very impressive opening bowls in particular. With Jimmy sitting at 13-11 in front, Mike played a chap and lie to turn the head to a three and this proved to be the turning point in the game. A four at the next end on a long Jack was followed up by 2 at the next and an a cracking opening bowl of his own saw Mike sitting an inch in front and hidding the white. Although Jimmy had failed to alter with his first two bowls, he did manage to move Mike's shot bowl with his 3rd and this was enough to give Jimmy a look at the white. With a back bowl only inches from the ditch, Jimmy tried to trail the white and although he clipped it, it was not enough to save the game.
In the pairs, there was a comfortable win for last years runners up, Jim Bathgate & Harry Hastie, who have formed a formidable partnership, as was proved by their efforts in the ELBA pairs this season, as they defeated Willie Robb and Bob Bain by 10 shots. However it was the other pairs semi-final that caused all the drama. Jimmy Henderson and Gordon Wilson had taken a 16-4 lead against Ian McDonal and Roy Campbell, but Roy and Ian pulled themselves back into contention. Still needing four shots for a peel at the last, a full length white didn't deter Ian from putting in some cracking bowls and when it came down to the last bowl of the match, Gordon needed to draw in to save the game. In a most un Gordon like fashion, he was short and the game was lost for the long time leaders and Ian & Roy had pulled off the great escape.
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A LOVELY MIX AND MATCH
The mixed pairs took place on Sunday with our biggest ever entry of 16 pairs and it was really fantastic to see all the ladies, of different bowling expreience, some with absolutely NO bowling experience, turning up with their respective partners, on a lovely sunny day (we always seem to be lucky with the weather for this day). Holders Mike & Lesley Burns came through their group with single shot victories over Jimmy and Mary Porter and Darren Prentice and Kerry Campbell, the latter also qualifying. Other qualifiers from the group stage, with apologies to those ladies whose names escape me, were Allan & Angela Mitchell, Grant Young & his wife, Gordon Wilson & Arlene and Gus Mckenzie and his wife (sorry folks, I should have made a bigger effort to get names), Stan & Sarah Christie, and Roy& Alison Campbell. Anyway, the semi-finals were down to Allan & Angela v Darren & Kerry and it was Allan & Angela who managed to win through to the final. In the other semi-final, holders Mike & Lesley Burns faced Stan & Sarah and it was the latter who got off to a great start, racing away to a 6-1 lead. The holders were not about to relinquish their title that easily though and fought back to within two at the last end and quite incredibly picked up a three to yet again sneak through another game as Lesley hit form just at the right time with two beauties. And so to the final as Mike & Les took on Allan & Angela, and it was the holders who came through with flying colours as Lesley had kept her best bowls until last with an excellent display, which left Allan & Angela needing 7 shots with two ends remaining to take the game into an extra end. Again though, with Les lying the shot, this allowed Mike to play a couple of 'cover' bowls, leaving Allan with an almost impossible task of trailing the white a few yards, which he just failed to do, leaving Mike & Lesley delighted to have defended their title of Mixed Pairs Champions.
Although on paper, there will always appear to be winners and losers, I would much rather like to think that absolutely everyone who participated in this fun day, feel as though they are the reall winners as it was such a successful day that just gets bigger and better every year. Thanks as always to the Campbell family, Roy for organising and running a superb day and to Alison for providing us with some much welcome and needed food. If you didn't happen to make it along this year, you missed another smashing fun day and I hope, if possible, you can join in next year.
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IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
The Edinburgh Cup had reached the semi-final stage and the Northern were faced with the task of taking on yet another first division side and previous cup winners Pilrig. Our 3 home rinks were skipped by George Prentice, Gordon Wilson and Hughie Hilson and it was George who got us off to a flying start. Always in front, Gordon crept away and kept a comfortable lead of around 10 shots for most of the game and finsihed up 16-6 winners. The other rinks were certainly tighter and both of them could have gone either way. However, our 2nd win came when George won through 11-10 and although Shuggie eventually went down by 5 shots at 9-14, two wins and a loss at home was a good result. So it was left to the three away rinks, skipped by Stan Christie, Mike Burns and Roy Campbell and it was Roy's boys who raced away first to good lead with Roy in particular having an excellent game, continually turning heads in his favour to keep his scoreboard ticking over. The other two rinks got off to the worst possible start with Stan being 9-1 down and Mike losing a six at the 2nd after his 'hit' shot smashed into the head, only to take his own two bowls out, a bit unfortunate but that's bowls. The good news though was that Stan picked up a six of his own and from there went on to take a healthy lead right up until the 2nd last end. With Burns rink struggling, it looked as though Stan, Stevie Nicoll, Ronnie Scott and Mike J. Burns were going to see the Northern through with a victory to leave the last game irrelevant. Five shots up with two to play and it all looked very good, but the Pilrig lads were far from finsihed and the loss of a 2 then 4 in the last ends to leave Stan down by a shot meant everything was hinging on the overall shots as with two ends to go, and Midnight approaching, Mike's lads needed to avoid losing 3 shots in those two ends to allow the Northern into the final. There was a whole load of confusion about what was required as scores were being relayed back from the Northern and nobody seemed to know what the total shots difference was. Jimmy Martin played a beauty opening bowl, only for the Pilrig 3rd to chap and lie his bowl and things were now getting tighter. In stepped Allan Mitchell though and played his own chap and lie, whilst turning the white through slightly to make things harder for the Pilrig skip, who had repeatedly turned heads in his favour all night. This time though, he failed to alter the head and the Northern went into last end knowing that the loss of a 3 was the worst we could achieve to see us into the final. A three quarter length jack in heavy, wet and dark conditions left Jimmy and Kenny Dixon struggling a wee bit and although there was nothing really close, Mike's lads were three down and not looking good. Once again though, Allan Mitchell stepped up to the mark and his first bowl gained a good close 3rd shot meaning the Pilrig skip HAD to draw his own two closer to give them a chance of an extra end for everybody. His first bowl though was high, wide and handsome as far as we were concerned and now it was Burns turn to step up. And step up he did as his first bowl trailed the white away from the Pilrig head for a lie of four for himself and more importantly, to an alsmost impossible position for the opposition skip to do anything about it. A sort of 'hit and hope' effort failed to disturb the head and the Northern took the scalp of the big favourites, Pilrig. With Tanfield defeating Wardie in the other semi-final, our old rivals from the North West League days are next on the agenda and with the final being played at Cortsorphine on Saturday 15 August at 2.00pm, there should be a large crowd in attendance to cheer the boys on.
Well done to everyone who took part last night on a dreary night and to everyone who has played and contributed throughout this competition to help us fight our way to the final.
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PROMOTION BID KEEPS ON TRACK
Despite the heavy afternoon rain that saw the green flood under a couple of inches of water, by the time the lads turned up for their league match against Brunstane at night, it was fine, if not a little wet and heavy. As I type from memory (with the site being down for a few days) I can say that Shuggie Hilson and his boys won in a canter on rink one again, as did Gordon Wilson, with a narrow victory for George Prentice being achieved with his last bowl. So seven points were in the bag and it was back to 'midnight' Burns to try and gain a full 9 points. Never behind in the game, Mike lost a few ends in a row to bring the scores level. One shot up going into the last end and the full house looked on. However the loss of a double at the last meant there would be no full count of nine, but a 7-2 victory every week would be more than acceptable and should certainly cement our position as one of two favourites for the title.
The 2nd XVI paid a visit to runaway league leaders Pilrig and this was certainly going to test their recent excellent record. I am delighted to say that the guys were more than up for this test and came away from Pilrig with another 7-2 victory of their own after wins for Jim Bathgate, Roy Campbell and Ian MacDonald was enough to inflict only the 2nd defeat of the season on Pilrig.
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HIGH FIVES
On a busy weekend, which included a Four from Wardie winning the Invitation Fours on Saturday, Sunday saw the next round of the Top Five taking place at the Northern. With Ian Miller being on Holiday, Stan Christie was fit enough to take his place back and it was Stan who got the club off to a great start. Whilst the early scoreboards showed the Northern struggling a bit, no one looked in more trouble than Stan as he found himself 13-5 down. However, our V.P battled away strongly and it seemed like in no time at all, Stan had taken a 17-13 lead and from there went on to notch up our first success with a fine 21-17 victory. By this stage, Hughie Hilson had also fought himself back into things after an indifferent start and with Gordon Wilson struggling in his match, and George Prentice surrendering a 9-1 advantage to fall behind, it looked we really needed Hughie and Mike Burns to pull through. Mike, playing on his now familiar rink 5, had built up a good lead, however as he sat 16-7 in front and with a count of 3 in his favour, his Maitland opponent drew the shot with his last bowl. Back to rink 6 and Hughie Hilson (does Hughie only ever play on end rinks?) and it was Shuggie who notched up win number two for the club as he had taken control and won comfortably 21-12. As Gordon looked to be in a losing battle and George level at 19 apiece, it was Mike Burns who got us over the line when he eventually won 21-8, leaving the other two lads to shake hands on meaningless defeats at 21-10 and 21-19. And so another fantastic weekend was complete for the Northern as we continue to compete on all fronts and big congratulations go to everyone involved, well done lads.
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MORE CUP SUCCESS AS NORTHERN REACHES SEMI-FINAL
The Edinburgh took centre stage again on Friday night as Mayfield were opponents this time around. At home, the Northern were represented by Skips Roy Campbell, Mike Burns and Stan Christie whilst a strong looking team skipped by George Prentice, Gordon Wilson and Hughie Hilson was sent up to Mayfield. And it was Roy Campbell's lads, Garry Harrison, auld Willie Robb and Bob Bain who got the club off to a great start with a commanding 19-8 victory and one which never looked in danger at any stage, such was the form of our boys. Next up, or should I say OFF, was Mike Burns, who seems determined to lose the tag 'Midnight' Burns as he is 'rushing' through his games these days. Although it was a close affair early on, Jimmy Martin, Kenny Dixon, and another pensioner in Jimmy Henderson, managed to take charge of their game and marched away to another 2 points with a 17-9 win. This left just Stan and his boys to complete the home ties but unfortunately Stan had 'one of those games where everything he tried went wrong, we've all had them which left us with two wins and one defeat at home. And so we were left waiting on news from our lads at Mayfield and it soon filtered through that the necessary wins had been achieved up there too as Gordon Wilson finished 14 up and George Prentice won by 5 shots, with only Shuggie going down narrowly by 4.
A mention has to be given to the condition of the Green at Northern. After many comments about the lack of pace all season, a conversation with our consultant Jim Paterson led to Jim putting in many hours work to bring it right up to scratch and the green was playing fantastic on Friday. With Jim planning even more work on it over the weekend, we should back to the standard that we are used to, and maybe spoiled to expect, so thanks to Jim for all his efforts.
Now though, it's Div one title challengers Pilrig who have to face up to the in form Northern lads in the Semi-Final of the Edinburgh Cup and I can say for certain, everybody representing the Northern Bowling Club will be UP for this encounter in an effort to reach the final of this competition.
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IT'S SEVEN's UP
Despite some last second changes to the teams as the first XVI walked on to the green for their away game against Liberton, it was yet another fine performance by the lads as we walked away from a very tricky venue with a 7-2 victory under our belts to keep our promotion bid well and truly on track. It didn't always look that way though and at one point, it was 2 rinks down, one up by a shot and the other, well, the other turned up I suppose. Almost Simultaneously, both George Prentice and Gordon Wilson picked up good shots which enabled them to nose in front and neither relinquished their lead as they walked off with 4 points in the bag. Next off was Mike Burns rink (yes, that's right folks, NEXT off, about the only thing they achieved in the whole night, not being last again). Burns was just never in this game and was struggling to fight to keep the score down, as at one point, the aggregate looked in danger. On a very tricky surface, it was maybe an achievement in itself to have lost by only eight shots and that is one night to forget. It was left to Shuggie Hilson (Yes, once again, that is actually correct, Shuggie was LAST off, ok, he did burn two ends) whose lads were involved in a dire struggle for the remaining points. The game was tight all the way with only a shot lead constantly changing hands. Even at the last end, where the lads had gained a three shot advantage, it was left to the last bowl of the game for Shuggie to draw in for 2nd shot to save the points, well done that man and to all the winners tonight, a very tricky match is now behind us with a fine victory achieved.
At home, the 'wee team' were trying to continue their fine 2nd half of the season as they took on Queensberry. Garry Hansen, sorry, Harrison, went down 16-10 but this was to prove our only loss on the night as both Jimmy Bathgate, 24-14 and Alex Young at 18-14 won through, whilst the ROC was involved in another tight affair but thankfully he too secured an 11-10 win which made it another 7-2 victory and SIX in a row for the 2nd XVI. How things have changed for the 2nds, who couldn't buy a win in the first half of the season but who have turned in some fantastic performances to be undoubtebly the form team of the league in the 2nd half, and this result will keep their own promotion bid to the top league well and truly on track too.
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NO HAT-TRICK FOR CHAMP GEORGE
Having won our club singles championship for the first time two years ago, George Prentice then went to successfully defend his title last season. He made a good start in defending it yet again this season, however his 2nd defence came to halt as he faced another past champion, Stan Christie, as it was Stan who won the battle of the big guns. Stan seemed to be always in front in this encounter, although George did make a bit of a comeback. However it was Stan who triumphed 21-15 at the finish to end George's reign as Northern Singles Champion. In another Championship game, it was Allan Mitchell who came through to reach the quarter final against Roy Campbell. Allan was another who seemed to have his game under control until Roy moved the mat up the green and staged a comeback of his own. However, it was not to be for Roy as Allan Mitchell won through in a tight finish 21-17.
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A BIG THANK YOU
Allan Mitchell, on behalf of himself and fellow selectors, would like to thank all those members who have, and will continue to help, him and our club, by making themselves available for selection for the teams during the holiday period. Allan says 'You can be Proud of your achievement as you have helped to keep the momentum going'. As some of the people who have been away, return from holiday over the coming weeks, unfortunately he may have to ask some to step down to make room for them as we continue our challenge on all fronts. He hopes this will be taken in the right spirit as the selectors must make the most of those players available. As both teams are doing very well in their respective leagues, Allan thanks EVERYONE very much for all their efforts.
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CUP OF CHEER
The Northern lads playing in the Edinburgh cup once again did us proud as we sneaked through to the next round by the narrowest of victories over our esteemed opponents from the top EBL league, Dudley. Once again, we had a number of players missing through holidays and other commitments but again, those lads who stepped in did the needy. Although we had only one rink up at home and two down, it was the lads on their travels who managed to secure the win, but make no mistake, EVERYONE contributed to this success. As news filtered through from the Northern that one rink had won, skipped by Roy Campbell, it came down to the lads at Dudley. Gordon Wilson had came through a tight game to make it two wins in a row for himself by winning 17-14. Jim Bathgate's rink was 8 up going into the last end and looked to have secured the points. So it all came down to Mike Burns rink who went into their last peels 0n 10. Lying 3 shots against and at this stage, that would have been enough to knock the Northern out the cup, Mike's first bowl was good enough to chap and lie the shot bowl and with the Dudley skip failing to alter, it meant Northern went through to the next round and another highly satisfactory week had been achieved.
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EARLY BIRDS HAVE A SEMI
As we hit July and the holiday period approaches fast, a couple of our club SBA qualifiers were rushed through to reach semi-final stage, well in advance of the rest of the relevant competitions, but needs must to allow members to play bowls, the whole reason for joining the club in the first place. In the Championship, Grant Young and Robbie Paterson fought out a tough quarter-final with Robbie being the man to win through in the end. Peeled at 15, Grant picked up a full house count of four to stake his claim but Robbie replied superbly with two three 3's at the next two ends to leapfrog Grant and into the semi-final of the Championship, where he will have a long wait to find out his opponent.
The SBA Pairs also reached the semi-final stage as Mike Burns and John Young overcame Ian Miller and Ronnie MacDonald eventually. Mike and John got off to a convincing start but were overhauled by Ian & Ronnie at 8-7 but a 4 then 3 from 8 each gave John & Mike the impetus to go on and win with an end to spare.
Despite two of our major competitions reaching the semi-final stage, the big talking point, as has been the case all season is the condition of our own green, which despite the hottest spell we have had in years, continues to be incredibly heavy and bumpy. It seems to be a continuous topic of conversation at the club and is in danger of spoiling an excellent season for us.
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FIRST XVI GR-EIGHT RESULTS; 2nds GO NAP
The first XVI travelled to face Edinburgh Cup opponents Blackhall on their own green, looking and hoping for a similar result to that cup game. The game did start favourably for the Northern as each rink took the lead but as the games progressed, Blackhall piled on the pressure. Hughie Hilson was in a finely balanced battle on his rink with the game going one way then the other. A double at end 16 put Hughie's lads one shot up but the loss of a single at the last end meant he was first off with a peel at 19. Gordon Wilson was again skipping to Allan Mitchell and with Phil Rae and Harry Hastie dominating from the front, the lads sailed away to a convincing 25 - 4 victory, the one game that was never in doubt. Surprise of the evening came with Mike Burns rink, no not the score, although some might say that too was a surprise, but the fact that Midnight Burns was not last of the green. Although always in front in his game, the 2nd half was a tight affair as Blackhall recovered well. Five in front at the 2nd last end, a 'trail' by the Blackhall 3rd had the lads in trouble with a 4 or more lie against. Fortunately 'Midnight' managed to draw 2nd shot to retrieve the situation slightly. However, after the front ends had played, by the time Jim Henderson went down to play, he was looking at 4 against, but Jim managed to draw in for what was at least a measure for 4th shot. As Mike left the head to play his bowl, a possible game lie was facing him, but on a hand he would like to have dug up and taken home with him, just one of those hands you love to find, down he went to draw the shot and with the Blackhall skip failing to alter, another two points were in the bag. George Prentice was in a tighter battle and fortunately Stan's fingers had held up well enought to allow him to play out the whole game, despite his pain, suffering for the cause Stan eh! By the time the last end came along, the boys had managed to get themselves four shots in front and had a built up the head sufficiently to allow them to play 'cover' bowls to ensure their own victory. So an 8 - 1 away win was achieved and a very pleasing performance and result for the first XV1 to keep their promotion hopes on track.
The 2nd XVI were looking to keep their good run going as they faced Maitland at home. Alex Young's rink won comfortably 20-6, and with Jimmy Bathgate also winning 21-15 it meant Roy Campbell's narrow, but important, 20-19 win was enought to secure seven points for the boys, as Garry Harrison went down narrowly 13-10. This fine 7-2 victory makes it five wins in a row for the 2nds now and from being relegation fodder a few weeks ago, the lads have dragged themselves right into the promotion race and without doubt the form team in the league.
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THE FAMOUS FIVE
Sunday saw the Top Five singles take place with a home a tie against our table table toppping division three opponents Corstorphine. Although we had a fine home in the league against the same opposition on Wednesday, singles is a different ball game and with Stan Christie having to step down through injury, in came Ian Miller as his able replacement. Some thing never seem to change and as per usual, Hughie Hilson was drawn on Rink One, and as per usual, Hughie was first off the green in his game. Unfortunately for Shuggie, he didn't trouble the scoreboard too much and the Northern quickly found ourselves one match down. 'Some things never change' did I say? well how about this for a change. With comments flying around that Kenny Dixon might be struggling to make the seniors game on Tuesday as he had been chosen to mark Mike 'midnight' Burns tie, Mike made quick work of levelling up the score for the Northern with a fine 21-12 victory, with unbelievably three games still on the green. But the score quickly changed in the Northern's favour when Ian Miller, who always looked in control of his game, chalked up a victory before Mike had even changed his shoes, and it was now left to either Gordon Wilson or George Prentice to take us over the winning line. Whilst George had built up a 16-9 lead, it didn't look for Gordon as he found himself trailing by 20-15. However a single and then a brilliant last bowl trail on the Jack to give Gordon a count of three, followed by another trail on a full length Jack, and all of a sudden Gordon had levelled at 20-20. George Prentice had progressed to 19-11 and maybe this helped Gordon to relax, but whatever it is was, Golden Gordon drew the shot and with his opponent not troubling the head, he had made a remarkable recovery to win 21-20 and the Northern secured victory and passage to the next round. As Gordon walked off the green triumphant, George's opponent shook hands and conceded his game as the three wins required had already been achieved, leaving the Northern with a 4-1 scoreboard.
This has been a great week for the club with both first and second XVI's recording 7-2 victories in their respective league games during the week, lifting the 2nd XVI out of the relegation zone and into a mid table position for the first time this season. On Friday, all six rinks won in the Edinburgh Cup and now we have won 4 out of the 5 singles game in the top Five. Well done everyone involved in this achievement, be proud, feel good, and let's keep the good form going.
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UP FOR THE CUP
The Edinburgh Cup started the 2009 campaign on Friday and we were drawn against last years opening opponents Blackhall, who had defeated at the same stage 52 weeks ago. So a similar result was hoped for, but with many calls offs due to holidays etc, it was a bit of a mix and match team the Northern sent out. However, mix and match it may well have been, Blackhall were no match for the Northern as we recorder a clean sweep of three home and three away victories. The three home rinks won by large margins, and the only drama there was when Vice President suffered a recurrence of his hand injury, and as happened in our league match, Stan was forced to retire after 5 ends, leaving John Young, Ian Miller and Hughie Hilson playing a three against four. Even this did not last though, as one of the Blackhall players also had to retire hurt with a sore back, leaving two triples to finish off the game. The margin of victory was such, that the confidence was high that our lads away from home would do enough to see us through the next round. This confidence was well justified as news filtered through that our three away rinks had also won, leaving our next opponents Dudley shaking in their bowling shoes (well hopefully anyway) at the form of the Northern lads.
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A DITCH IN TIME FOR FIRSTS - 2nds TO THE FOUR
Following last week's disappointing home defeat to promotion challengers Tramways, it was vital for our own hopes to produce a home win against League leaders Corstorphine. Drawn on rink one for what seemed the nine millionth time (there must be more chance of winning the lotto than this happening) Hughie Hilson and his lads got off to their usual start and led comfortably early. A wee fight back midway by their opponents was not enough to stop Hughie though and 'First off' speedy Hilson won through 20-10. Graeme Prentice struggled throughout their game and was on the wrong side of 21-12 defeat. However, even in defeat, the wee recovery made by the lads was to prove crucial for the overall score. George Prentice was involved in a tight battle but had managed to keep his nose in front for most of the game. Going into the last end, George and his lads were 5 up but lost a three, giving another crucial two points but making the overall shots very tight. So, once again, it was left to 'Midnight' Burns and his rink to decide the overall outcome of this game. A single shot at the first end was the only time Burns rink were in front in the whole game and the loss of a 5, 4, 2 meant they were struggling badly after 4 ends at 11-1 down. However a shot at the next gave Mike control of the Jack and mat and with the mat being moved up the green and short Jack lengths played, the slow recovery took shape. Peels at 13 eventually, the loss of two singles meant Burns men went into the last end needing to not lose by more than a shot to tie the overall aggregate, but more was needed in the grand scheme of the league situation. Jimmy McKenna had played two good opening bowls, even though one was a good 5 feet through. Ian McDonald had narrowly missed with his first attempt at a trail but with his next effort, Ian managed to move the Jack back into open space and a lie of three vital shots near the ditch. No alteration was made to the head until Jim played his 2nd bowl and he was unlucky to turn up an opposition bowl for the shot, making a huge difference to the potential outcome of the match. As the opposition skip fell short with his first bowl, it left Burns with no option but to try the hit, and although the initial target was the shot lie bowl, he narrowly missed this but managed to trail the Jack into the ditch for an unbeatable lie of one, meaning at least the aggregate point was safe. However, the trail also meant the lads were lying the vital three shots needed to win their own game and with the Corstorphine skip coming up short, it meant a win for Burns and his lads, but much more importantly, a vital 7-2 victory for the Northern.
As I await news from the 2nd XVI, I am able to tell you that our lads made it a brilliant 4 wins in a row with another victory under their belts. In a throw back to the old North West League, the 2nd XVI's were also playing Corstorphine, away from home obviously. It is becoming a very welcome habit to say that once again, Jimmy Bathgate's rink recorded another fine victory with a score of 14-13 to keep his winning streak going, and Roy Campbell kept up his very good record with a more comfortable 19-10 victory. They were joined this week by Alex Young's lads who came home with an 18-10 win under their belts, and despite President Garry losing 21-13, our 2nds kept their impressive form going with a 7-2 away win to continue their battle for safety, well done once again lads, great result.
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JUST CHAMPION
As we reach about the half way mark in the 2009 bowling season, it appears, on the face of it anyway, that the form continues on from last season. With Hughie Hilson's rink already having defended their Club SBA Fours championship by beating the same four from last year, the Triples got under way and the Pairs continued to progress also. The Triples holders of Mike Burns, Jim Henderson and John Young scraped through in the only prelim tie of the round when they defeated Bob Bain, Bob Lee and Allan Mitchell, whilst in the Club SBA pairs, holders John Young & Mike Burns got through by the skin of their teeth, and a bit of luck by dragging themselves over the line with a single shot victory over Bob Lee & Graeme Prentice. In the main event, winner for the past two years, George Prentice is still continuing along his merry way at the top end of the draw, although that same top end appears the much harder draw and George faces a few more difficult ties to come if he is to make it a hat-trick of Singles Championship victories.
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HALF TERM REPORT STILL FAVOURABLE
As we reached the half way mark in the league this season, we were involved in 2nd and 3rd place tussle at home against Tramways. Strangely enough, for such an important clash, there seemed a rather subdued atmosphere amongst some of the Northern boys, maybe seeing so many ex Pilrig lads there had us a bit confused. Even before a bowl was rolled, the Northern were forced into a change as George Prentice was suffering a bit from an ailment and swapped rolls with Gordon Wilson, who skipped for the evening. It turned out to be an unhappy change as Gordon and his lads were never really at the races on the night and were, well, hammered really, 22-7. On rink one, Hughie Hilson got off to his ever reliable start but was soon forced in to a change. Stan Christie somehow managed to dislocate his finger when delivering a bowl and was unable to continue. Fortunately, Gary Largue was down supporting the club and on the agreement between the two skips, Gary stood in for the injured Stan. Again fortunately, this did not affect Hughie's rink and they went on to win comfortably by 18-6. Mike Burns and Graeme Prentice rinks looked very much in control of their respective games early on. However, within a matter of a few ends, both these games turned on their heads and defeat was grasped from the jaws of victory, Burns going down 21-13 from being 13-6 up, and Graeme going down 22-13 from a similar position. So a hugely disappointing 7-2 home defeat against our closest rivals for promotion means that it is all to play for in the 2nd half of the season. The first XVI should still be holding on to 2nd place and can be satisfied with their first half report card despite this setback.
The winning ways continued for our 2nd XVI as they made it three victories in a row with a 5-4 away at Dudley. Wins for Jim Bathgate and Roy Campbell, 23-9 and 22-10 respectively were enough to give the lads the five points as Garry Harrison went down 13-14 and Alex Young was 11-15 down. After a very poor start to the season, the 2nd XVI's continue to gather momentum and their relegation battle continues apace
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DIGGING DEEP FOR THE CAUSE
The table topping first XVI visited our nearest rivals, 3rd place Mayfield, and found a green looking very patchy but playing fast and well with some of our own boys looking on with envy at the pace. However, it might well have been the quicker than we are used to condittions that caught everybody out as the Northern boys were behind in all four rinks for most of the game. In saying that though, it looked like it was the ever reliable Shuggie Hilson's rink that was really toiling as they were some distance behind their opponents, whilst the other three rinks were always well in touch. Needless to say, Shuggie is never beat until he is beat and a remarkable fight back saw Shuggie's boys level things at peels going into the last end. It was not to be the perfect fightback though as the loss of a single meant the two points were kept at the home club. Graham Prentice had swapped roles with Allan Mitchell and took over the skips duties for the evening. Another close battle saw Graham going into the last end three down but this though, the Northern lads took the points as Graham added his two bowls to a lie of two, picking up the four shots necessary to win their game, great fight back lads. George Prentice and his rink were another involved in a titanic struggle and went into the final end a shot behind. And once again it was the Northern who came out on top as George's rink also pulled a four out of the hat to win by three shots. Last Man Burns as usual, was still playing in what must have been the longest rink game ever, eventually trudging off the green at 10.10pm, 3 hours and 10 minutes after the start. Their pain was complete when a the loss of a bad four at the second last end meant it almost impossible to win the game, however the extra point was at stake. With four great bowls from Jim McKenna and Ian McDonald to open up with, this looked possible to achieve, but a couple of 'Her Flicks' from the opposition, meant Mike needed to trail the Jack two feet to give them a chance but he was just too heavy and the bowl drifted past the white. So, all this meant a 5-4 defeat, which was not a bad result considering our nearest rival for one of the promotion places, only managed to gain a point.
Better news on the 'Home' front though as our 2nd XVI recorded a fine 7-2 win at home and the lads seem to be getting some impressive momentum together as we approach the 2nd half of the season. Despite losing Jim Bathgate late on due to illness, our 2nd XVI showed a lot of bottle too. President Garry Harrison was promoted to skip for the evening, with Willie Robb stepping up to third and the lads came good with a fine 17-9 victory. The President was joined on the winning trail by Alex Young and Roy Campbell to take the SEVEN points, with only Ronnie McDonald losing on the night. This win dragged the lads back into the dog fight for survival and are now only three points behind Queensberry but the current momentum is certainly with the Northern in this league.
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DERBY DAY DELIGHT FOR UNDERDOGS
The annual James Taylor Hearts v Hibs game was eventually played following the rain affected first attempt. In what looked like a very strong Hibs team, nobody would have put even a few Litas on the Jambos winning this as, on paper, the Hibees simply looked too strong. However, as the Jambos found to out recently to their own cost at Tynecastle, games are never won on paper, and in a major surprise, they went on to win three of the four games with the other game peeled. It was tight all the way with the Hibees getting off to a flier right across the board but it was the Jam Tarts who turned things around to eventually come out on top. As always, though it was the club itself who were the real winners of this game as the four full rinks meant the best turn out we have had for a while for this largely fun event. There were also a few 'new faces' for the evening as a couple of younger lads turned out and it was good to see a couple of the ladies also playing for the Hibees. In a game mostly played in the spirit of the event, the evening finished with both captains handing over the reins for next year, with Hibs captain Roy Campbell following Mixu out the door, and Bob Lee retiring and having the distinction of being the longest serving Hearts manager since Vlad took charge of the club.
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THE JOURNEY'S END
After putting up some great performances to reach the quarter final of the ELBA Pairs, the journey of Harry Hastie and Jim Bathgate unfortunately came to an end on Thursday night at the West End club against the Robert Donaldson and Alex Hurry from Parkside. Jim and Harry had made a poor start but managed to fight back to within three shots, however, as the last end was reached, the lads found themselves eight and handshakes were made with a concede. Jim and Harry should be proud of their run though as reaching the quarter final of such a competition is a good achievement, so well done lads.
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THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDES AGAIN
After last week's good 7-2 victory away from home, the first XVI played hosts to Seafield hoping for at least a repeat performance. And on a freezing cold that felt more like the first game of the season, another seven points were indeed secured at home. Starting with the predictable, Hugh Hilson's rink stormed into an early lead and never looked back. Off first as always, Shuggie had our first two points in the bag with a comfortable 23-4 victory and left the rest of us to battle it out. Mike Burns rink was also always in command, having picked up a MAGNIFICENT SEVEN at the 2nd end and although they never quite managed to run away with the game, they controlled it well to win 24-12 for another two points. Allan Mitchell had started of well but the loss of a six put his rink behind and they struggled throughout to make any headway. However Allan returned that compliment with three ends to go to drag themselves within 2 and with peels going into the last end, it gave them a fighting chance. With George Prentice and his lads looking very much secure now in a tighter game, in which George eventually went on to win 18-7, the last end decider was going to mean a possible 9 points in the bag. As Allan went down to play his bowls though, he was a few down and not looking good. His first attempt had narrowly missed the line and with his last of the game, Allan tried to drive the 'jack' into the ditch. It was very much in the area from hand but on a big swinging rink five, it missed the white, clattered into the shot bowls and left Seafield lying 3 shots. A final draw from the opposition skip made it four and the game was lost 14-18.
Still another 7-2 victory was welcomed and the news filtered through from the Dean that our 2nd XVI had secured their first win of the season as they returned with a 5-4 result. Wins for Jimmy Bathgate and Roy Campbell was enough to gain the 5 points and this could have been bettered as a similar tale to the first XVI was emerging. Alex Young had peeled his game 13 going into the last end but unfortunately lost a three, but any win away from home is a good win and the lads seem to be picking up form as the season progresses.
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WE'VE BEEN HERE BE-FOUR
The first major club final took place on Monday night as the SBA Fours was a repeat of the 2008 final between Hughie Hilson's rink and that of Mike Burns. And unfortunately for John Young, Mike. J. Burns, Jimmy Henderson and Mike Burns, this years final took an almost identical path as Brian Millar, Darren Prentice, Stan Christie and Shuggie totally dominated proceedings from start to finish and came out very worthy winners. From 7-0 down, Burns and the boys made little inroads and at 7-3, lost a six to virtually finish the game at an early stage. The surprise may well have been that the game actually went to the last end, such was the dominance of Shuggie and the lads, with young Darren Prentice, who is probably now our youngest ever winner of a Scottish qualifier in the Northern, and Stan Christie having superb games. Eight shots down going into the last end, John, Mike.J. Jim and Mike decided and eight was never going to be achieved under these circumstances and conceded a game they never looked likely of winning. So congratulations to Brian, Darren, Stan and Hughie for retaining their title with a very good and commanding display of bowling,
On a footnote to this competition, I would like to congratulate match secretary Roy Campbell on the running of this. Having decided to play this competition on consecutive Monday evenings early in the season in attempt to avoid some of the hassles of these ties being arranged, I think it worked very well and believe this could be a norm for future years.
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GIVEN THE ELBAe
Stan Christie, Gordon Wilson and Hughie Hilson returned the the scene of the league victory from the previous night as they took on opponents Dudley at Brunstane in the ELBA Triples. However, there was to be no repeat of their various Wednesday night victories and it is suffice to say that Shuggie didn't relish being labelled as 'Shuggie the One' on his return to the club as the lads ended up with two more players in their team than they scored shots.
Continued good news though as Harry Hastie and Jim Bathgate took care of Gordon and Andrew Ramsey from Slateford in ther ELBA Pairs. What looked like a very difficult game for Jim and Harry turned out to be an easy victory as it took the Ramsey's 10 ends before getting on the scorecard with a single shot. After 13 ends the score had moved on to 13-2 for our lads and with Slateford only scoreing a single on end 14, the towel was thrown in by them and Jim and Harry marched on to the next round. A great victory and very well played to Jim and Harry who have a very sound partnership.
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A MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Following our narrow home defeat to Liberton last week, the First XVI travelled to Brunstane, who themselves were only five points off the top of the table. So another close encounter was anticipated and so it proved to be. As consistent as the long summer nights, Shuggie Hilson's rink of Ian McDonald, John Young and Ian Miller romped away to their usual victory and long before the end, it looked like they had secured three points for the Northern, such was their lead and the closeness of the others, eventually winning 22-7. Allan Mitchell had got off to a good start and was looking in command. However a late loss of Four shots gave the opposition hope and they grabbed it with both hands as they came back to win 16-12 to make it 2 points apiece. Mike Burns rink had always held the lead throughout a very tight game and they managed to hold on to win by 2 shots in the end. This left the decider to George Prentice rink, who had got off to a horrific start by losing a SEVEN at the first end and were 10-1 down before, it seemed, some of us had rolled our first jack. However, never discount big George and his lads, and Andy Irving, Jim Prentice and Gordon Wilson dragged themselves right back into, and then some. Going into the last last end, the lads had completely turned around their earlier deficit and were 5 shots in front. Despite the Brunstane skip burning the end, he could only eventually pick up three shots and another 2 points were secured for a very good victory.
The 2nd XVI had started the season poorly and had a bigger challange in front of them as they faced league leaders Pilrig at home. Despite losing the game 6-3, this was a better performance and more of the same in the weeks ahead could see them climbing their league to a safer position
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DEJA VU FOR FOURS FINAL
The final of our club SBA qualifying Fours will be a repeat of last year's final as Shuggie Hilson's rink won through in a close battle against the rink skipped by Gordon Wilson. Despite the fact that Shuggie's lead, Brian Millar, had turned up the worse for wear having been at a funeral all afternoon, it was Brian, Darren Prentice, Stan and Shuggie who nosed in front of Gordon and his boys and was then never headed. However, there was never more than 3 shots in this game and with the card reading 13-11 at the last end, it was Shuggie's rink who won the shot to win through to defend their Fours title.
The other semi-final between Allan Mitchell and Mike Burns was a slightly more one sided affair, thanks mainly to some excellent front end play by John Young and Mike J. Burns. Having got off to a very good start, Mike's rink was never really threatened and when his front end failed to do the needy on the odd occasion, in stepped Jim Henderson, leaving Mike with not a lot to do in the game. Eight in front going into the last end, the game was all but over and a repeat of last years final was very much on the cards and so it proved to be as Allan failed with his last bowl in attempt to burn the end.
Over on rink 5, twice defending Champion George Prentice, successfully overcame a potential tricky opener when he won through 21 - 13 against Jim Bathgate in the prelim round of the Championship.
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FIRST UP FOR SILVER
Jimmy Martin was the first trophy winner of the new season as he won the Two Bowl Singles on Saturday afternoon. He was quickly followed by Jim Henderson & Allan Mitchell who were drawn together to reform a previously very successful partnership and this winning combination triumphed again in the Two bowl pairs.
