It was a busy week for Madeira Bowls, which began with a good win over Sidmouth in a friendly, writes Terry Dowrick.

After enjoying some free parking on the M5, Witney Mills BC arrived in Exmouth, determined to get their four match Devon tour off to a good start. Sadly, the powerful raiders from Oxfordshire met little resistance from Madeira as they romped to victory on five out of seven greens with scores that would not have been out of place next door at the Cricket Club.

A gallant tie on a rink skipped by Jenny Smith and a spirited 16-8 victory by Janet Grundy, Ann Maloney, Lawrie Humphries and skip Keith Bister mercifully prevented a whitewash. Final tally - Witney 131, Madeira 79.

Highlight of the week was the Edwin Putt Trophy for new bowlers, which saw twelve talented newcomers seek to add their name to those of their illustrious predecessors already on the trophy. Three round robin singles matches to determine section winners reduced the field to two finalists.

The crowd was then treated to a high-quality match between Kate Lee-Smith and Chris Trayler, with neither able to establish clear supremacy over the first five ends. With the match still evenly balanced, it came down to a measure on the final end to determine that the Trophy would go to Chris Trayler. 

The skills on display throughout the competition, a tribute to Chris Reed’s coaching programme, suggest that Madeira’s future on the greens is in good hands.

Still smarting from their Friday defeat, Madeira looked to rediscover their mojo against day-trippers from Nailsea on an overcast Sunday afternoon.

Leading the charge for Madeira were Mike Ball, Ann Doidge, Jude Harvey and skip Martin Clook, who swept to victory 25 - 11. They were ably supported by Chris Fox, Ann Maloney, Carol Worth and skip Charlie Darke who won at a canter on their rink 24 - 10. It did not all go Madeira’s way, as Nailsea took scalps on three of the seven rinks, however it was to no avail and the final tally saw Madeira run out 115 to 102 winners.

A flurry of local friendlies will now feature in the coming days before an action-packed Club Finals weekend at the end of the month.