Ladies from the local bowls clubs enjoyed early success at the Weston Ladies’ Open Bowls Tournament, sponsored by Optika.

WESSEX Ladies, one of the host clubs, had a successful time in the singles on the second day of the Weston Ladies’ Open Bowls Tournament, sponsored by Optika.

Ann Fewings, Chris Peart, Joan Davis and Audrey Powell all came through the preliminary round. Powell beat Clarence Ladies’ Carol Edlin to avenge a morning victory by Carol and her husband Mick in the mixed pairs, when Audrey partnered Malcolm Dare (Torquay).

Singles champion Gill Fry went 9-1 down against Arrow Ladies’ Ann White, a former champion, but recovered to win comfortably. The big surprise was the defeat of Clevedon Promenade’s Margaret Dyer, three times a winner of the singles, by Maureen Edwards, from the Thornfield club, Rugby.

However, Dyer and Wiltshire county bowler Nick Grenfell, with whom she won the mixed pairs last year, came through two rounds of that competition safely. Carol and Mick Edlin are also through to the second round, while other locals to progress in the mixed included Don Towie, Tony Mannion, Reg Flicker, David Stott (all Clarence) and Pat Taylor (Wessex Ladies).

There was a terrific struggle on rink 16 between last year’s mixed pairs runners-up, Pat Marsh and Tony McGregor (both from the Arrow club, Bristol) and ex-Clarence player Barrie Forse, a former winner of the mixed, whose partner was teenager Rebecca McMillan.

Marsh and McGregor prevailed eventually by two shots. It was even closer on the next rink, where Clarence men’s captain Roger Burrough and his wife Pauline (Clarence Ladies) dropped a four at the death to Bob and Sue Hadley (Ashcombe), which meant an extra end. The Hadleys went through by one.

Day two results - singles, preliminary round: K Gent (Caerglow, Gloucester) 21, J Jones (Rodbourne Cheney, Swindon) 15; K Butler (Barbourne, Worcester) 17, A Fewings (Wessex Ladies, Weston) 21; M Sewell (Pencoed, S Wales) 7, C Peart (Wessex Ladies, Weston) 21; A Cox (King’s Heath, Birmingham) w/o v L Palmer (Clevedon) scr; A White (Arrow Ladies, Bristol) 12, G Fry (Gloucester Spa) 21; P Gunn (Caerglow, Gloucester) 21, S Bailey (Arrow Ladies, Bristol 11; J Davis (Wessex Ladies, Weston) 21, W Evans (Monmouth) 16; M Tingle (Royal Forest of Dean, Coleford) 21, J McMillan (Wessex Ladies, Weston) 11; A Mitchell (Henleaze, Bristol) 21, R McMillan (Clarence Ladies, Weston) 18; A Powell (Wessex Ladies, Weston) 21, C Edlin (Clarence Ladies, Weston) 12; M Dyer (Clevedon Promenade) 16, M Edwards (Thornfield, Rugby) 22; J Kemsley (Churchdown, Gloucester) 18, E Lewis (Redland, Bristol) 22.

Mixed pairs, preliminary round: K Butler (Barbourne)/J Tingle (Royal Forest of Dean, Coleford) 11, C Britton, R Britton (GB Britton, Bristol) 14; C Edlin (Clarence Ladies, Weston)/M Edlin (Clarence, Weston) 18, A Powell (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/M Dare (Torquay) 16; A White (Arrow Ladies, Bristol)/T White (Bristol Arrow) 8, M Dyer (Clevedon Promenade)/N Grenfell (Box, Wiltshire) 16; J Forse/A Ware (both St Andrews, Weston) 24, J Jones/B Hunt (both Barbourne Cheney, Swindon) 14; L Oldham (Clarence Ladies, Weston)/J Keay (Clarence Weston) 14, P Gunn, R Gunn (both Caerglow, Gloucester) 22; V Ford (Arrow Ladies, Bristol)/R Ford (Bristol Arrow) 15, C Peart (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/J Marshall (West Wimbledon) 16; P Bax (Warwick)/M Clay (Clarence, Weston) 13, S Bird, A Ford (both Clevedon) 16; E Williams (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/D Williams (Victoria, Weston) 14, E Lewis (Redland, Bristol)/D Towie (Clarence, Weston) 15.

Round one – Britton/Britton 10, Edlin/Edlin 24; Dyer/Grenfell 23, Forse/Ware 11; Gunn/Gunn 22, Peart/Marshall 13; Bird/Ford 12, Lewis/Towie 18; K Gent/D Gent (both Caerglow, Gloucester) 17, S Godfrey/E Skipp (both Monmouth) 22; J Westlake (Arrow Ladies, Bristol)/M Humphries (GB Britton, Bristol) 5, A Cox (King’s Heath, Birmingham)/A Mannion (Clarence, Weston) 17; B Brown (Arrow Ladies, Bristol)/B Stefanovich (Bristol Arrow) 14, B Halligey (Pencoed, South Wales)/D Stott (Clarence, Weston) 16; M Sewell (Pencoed, South Wales)/D Jackman (Clarence, Weston) 8, P Taylor (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/D Cooper 24; M Edwards (Thornfield, Rugby)/A McMillan (St Andrews, Weston) 10, P Aston (King’s Heath, Birmingham)/M Campbell (Victoria, Weston) 21; P Dunn (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/H Sparks (Clarence, Weston) 7, L Palmer/A Morgan (both Clevedon) 23; M Tingle (Royal Forest of Dean, Coleford)/N Butler (Barbourne, Worcester) 13, P Hawkins/C Hawkins (Monmouth) 22; Judith Beaton/John Beaton (Abergavenny) 14, J Halligey (Pencoed, South Wales)/R Flicker (Clarence, Weston) 24; G Fry/R Fry (both Gloucester Spa) 14, B Jones (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/T Cockcroft (Clarence, Weston) 11; J Davis (Wessex Ladies, Weston)/P Tubb (Clarence, Weston) 14, J Butler/M Butler (Barbourne, Worcester) 26; R McMillan (Clarence Ladies, Weston)/B Forse (St Andrews, Weston) 13, P Marsh (Arrow Ladies, Bristol)/A McGregor (Bristol Arrow) 15; P Burrough (Clarence Ladies, Weston)/R Burrough (Clarence, Weston) 16, B Hadley/S Hadley (both Ashcombe, Weston) 17 (after an extra end).