Mary Price charity day a success

Easter Monday saw Desborough play host to the Mary Price Charity Bowls Day and it was a hugely successful event with more than 70 people taking part in a spoon drive type bowls match all in aid of the Marie Curie Cancer Cure.

The ultimate winners of the event were Dee Appleton, Gina Braddock, Percy Chambers and Yvonne Tilley whilst the runners up comprised Daphne Foster,
Yvonne Bower, Tim Eales and Michael White, the winners scoring 26 and the second team 17.

The real winners however were all those present who combined to raise an impressive total of £800 towards the Marie Curie fund and big thank you was offered to all the organisers, helpers and of course the bowlers for making this event so successful.

* Perhaps it was the thought of a relaxing Easter weekend ahead that was in their minds as the Desborough women entertained Sutton last week, and certainly the opposition started off with one thing in mind and that was victory.

As it turned out Desborough failed to win on any of the five rinks although Helen Copeland, Joan Porter, Kath Roffe and Kathy Hughes almost pulled it off having had a close match throughout. They took a two shot lead in the 7th end and increased that to four shots by the 11th but Sutton closed the gap and by the 19th end it was all square 16-16. Helen Copeland and her foursome took a one shot lead in the 20th end but then Sutton forced a draw in the final end.

Elsewhere it was a tale of woe apart from Christina Burton, Ching Crunden, Sylvia Palmer and Sue Newberry who were pretty close up to the 15th end but then dropped six shots over two ends and despite winning the last end were five shots off the lead at the close.

A halfway lead of 19 shots was pleasurable for Sutton but that became more of a frustration for the home side as they increased that to 32 shots by the three quarter mark and ultimately took the match by a big margin of 61 shots 63-124.

* The Desborough Bowling Club coaching scheme has always been a successful part of the infrastructure of the club for many seasons and this season has been no different.

The indoor coaching scheme commences early in the season and continues for a period of 20 weeks during which time the qualified Desborough coaches nurture people of all age groups in the art of bowls. The coaching is extremely useful and benefits all varieties of bowlers irrespective of age or standard so each bowler has a chance to attain any possible level of play.

Last Sunday the culmination of the many weeks of tuition and guidance reached its zenith as the new up and coming bowlers fought each other for the coveted  John Arkle Trophy

The coaching tournament was spread over eight sessions with two bowlers eventually competing for the trophy over a nine-end contest.

The game was close over the first five ends with Colin Carson taking a one shot lead in the first end but by the fifth end Pauline Rawlings had levelled the scores at 4-4.  Colin Carson went into the final end with a three shot advantage and although Pauline pulled one shot back the title ultimately went  to Colin Carson who took the match 8-6.