Bembridge Isle of Wight Bowls Break

Thirty-one of our members recently enjoyed a four-night, five-day bowls break at the Warner Hotel in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.
We set off in beautiful sunshine and enjoyed a smooth, trouble-free journey to the island. Unfortunately, on arrival there were a couple of minor hiccups. The hotel staff had not been informed that we were arriving as a coach group, so our welcome meet-and-greet, room allocations and information packs were not quite ready for us.
To add to the challenge, the lift was out of order for most of our members staying on the second floor! One couple was able moved to another part of the hotel where a much needed lift was working, while the rest of the group bravely accepted the daily exercise of climbing up and down two flights of stairs.
Thankfully, once those early issues were behind us, the rest of the week went without a hitch and everyone had a really good time.

Our club entered six teams into the bowls tournament, competing against 22 other teams and each other. Two of our teams reached the finals day when the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were played.
Alan’s team of Trevor, Delphine and Geoff had a very close quarter-final but were unlucky to lose by just one shot. Meanwhile Scott’s team of Ian, Vanessa and Barry went on an exciting run, reaching the semi-final.
The semi-final was a real nail-biter (as described in the previous post below), but our team held their nerve and secured a fantastic win to reach the final.

After only a 45-minute rest, having already played the quarter- and semi-finals, they were back on the green for the final. Winning the first end gave everyone a real lift, but it soon became clear just how experienced the opposition were. Our team played extremely well and managed to pick up some more points, but by the final end it was clear that catching up would be a bit of an ask.
Even so, our team did us proud, and the whole trip was a great success both on and off the green.
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​A fantastic week of bowls, friendship and fun!