........and to Ventnor and Shanklin! 

This was the 2019 Isle of Wight bowling tour of the Hillingdon Friendly Bowlers organised by Patricia & Basil Smithson of Bessingby Bowling Club which sent a combined team of Bessingby, Eastcote and Deane Park players to the Isle of Wight to play friendly matches against local clubs.

Some 43 Hillingdonians, of which 36 were players, left Ruislip station by coach on Tuesday, 7th May, returning 4 days later on Saturday, 11th May even friendlier than when we started!

 Thanks to the skill of our driver, Steve, in avoiding traffic troubles, the outward journey was uneventful and we arrived at Daish's Hotel in Shanklin in time for dinner.The hotel provided not only good eating and comfortable rooms but also nightly entertainment of bingo, quizzes and a different singer every night. There was also a range of local bars and restaurants for those who wanted a change of scenery.

On Wednesday three teams of six were despatched to the Ryde Marina Bowls club to battle it out with the locals while the rest of the party either came as supporters or visited atrractions on the island, such as Osborne House, Cowes or Yarmouth. Freedom passes made travelling around the island free of charge, as the bus services are excellent.

 

 

Thanks to Ryde's Captain John and his colleagues, we had a great afternoon at Ryde, managing to win one rink but carelessly losing five!

 

 

OnThursday it was the turn of the other 18 bowlers to take on Ventnor, while the first lot had the day off. We managed to hold Ventnor's Captain/President Elsie and her team mates to a draw at three rinks each. 

 

 

Friday saw the best three teams from each day travel to the other side of Shanklin for our last match where we managed to repeat the first match's result, losing 5-1. Congratulations to President Kay and the Ventnorians.  

 

 

Thanks to Ian for driving us to our matches - he did well, especially Shanklin which was a bit of a challenge!

All in all we had a great three days of bowling, meeting some very nice people, and giving some thought to moving to a lovely part of the UK! Our best bowlers were Linda Smith, Geoff Smith & Patricia Smithson who won both of their games - for the rest of us, it's the taking part that counts, isn't it?

Many thanks to Patricia & Basil for all their hard work which ensured such a successful trip. It is hoped to repeat the tour next year and anybody who would like to go should email Patricia on patriciaandbasil@yahoo.co.uk to register their interest.

More pictures from the tour can be seen in the Photogallery.