With the leading two sides sitting the weekend out of the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club, the focus was on the three behind them as they were separated by an average points margin of just 2.3 at the start of play.

First into action were Mooragh Lakers who are fourth and Louie’s Angels who occupy fifth, and it was Angels who revenged an earlier defeat to close the gap on their rivals to only 10 points.

That was the opener of two three-team sessions so the victors were straight back onto the green, this time against bottom placed Castletown Cannons and Angels notched up a score of 120 against under strength opposition.

The Cannons next had to take on a team who were determined not to let third spot go without a fight and Lakers did in fact match the total set by Angels to end the day with that slender advantage.

Results for Saturday, January 24: Mooragh Lakers 101 (2) Jenny Moore, Louie’s Angels 116 (4) Margaret Tasker; Louie’s Angels 120 Margaret Tasker and Tricia Bull, Castletown Cannons 88 (2) Peter Curtis; Castletown Cannons 80 (1) John Alderson, Mooragh Lakers 120 (5) Jenny Moore.

Sunday saw third placed Bowling for Soup sweep into action but not before two teams who are having their own little battle for positions and were locked on the same average.

Govags had a slight advantage, but saw that disappear, first they lost out to their closest rivals Erin Porters by a margin of four, before recording a below average tally against Bowling for Soup.

The final encounter had a very tight result last time the two teams met with B4S just getting the better of Porters, and it was similar this time round. The southern outfit did however do enough to move up above Govags.

Results for Sunday, January 25: Govags 105 (3) Phil Parker, Erin Porters 109 (3) Caroline Whitehead and Bernard Thackrah; Bowling for Soup 118 (5) Bob Berry and Phil Kerruish, Govags 95 (1) Doug Allan; Erin Porters 102 (3) Bernard Thackrah, Bowling for Soup 110 (3) Ben Dugdale and Nigel Thomas.

This latest set of fixtures leaves an average points gap of just 1.5 separating third to fifth, B4S on 113, Lakers 112.1 and Angels 111.5. Keeping a close eye on those three are Castletown Corkers not far behind on 109.7.

Looking at the remaining fixtures, Angels have a slightly easier run-in than Lakers, so they could well overall their northern rivals and snatch that fourth position and I am sure haven’t yet given up on third if B4S make any mistakes.

There is now just one more outing for Erin Porters and with the club on schedule having now passed through the 100 fixture barrier, there will be a free day this Saturday, when weather permitting a round robin will be held.

Meanwhile gang of 26 attended the latest regular midweek gathering, which was played as two sets of doubles. Winners of the black jack gang were Bernie McPhee and Jean Thackrah, second place went to Erwin Gelling and Allan Cromwell; and in third it was Philippa Taylor and Les Halsall.

Brian Needham and Sylvia Kennaugh topped the other group, ahead of Alan Kennaugh and Tricia Bull, with third spot going to Shirley Corrin and Peter Karran.

At the end of a week that saw the weather throw just about all it could at the Island, the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club enjoyed two fairly good afternoons of dry but cold conditions.

Both sessions produced maximum wins, one on Saturday, a first for Parkers, and two the following day for Rule Breakers. This being a second double this season and took their tally to seven and the overall total to 14.

The action began with two very close results, one of which saw Parkers win by an advantage of two points when then beat Louie’s Angels, who are currently two places above them.

In the other Erin Porters defeated Castletown Cannons with a margin of just one, both fixtures ended three-all on games.

Unfortunately Porters and Cannons were a player short and this didn’t help either team in the final two clashes.

The Castletown side reached just 69 as their opponents Parkers notched up a maximum, while Porters faired slightly better and took one game of the Angels who notched up 118.

Both winning sides did enough to improve their averages and close the gap on those ahead in the table, whilst Porters slipped down two positions.

Results for Saturday, January 17: Parkers 110 (3) Mike Thomas, Louie’s Angels 108 (3) Alison and Matthew Keggen; Erin Porters 104 (3) Chris Dent and Caroline Whitehead, Castletown Cannons 103 (3) Peter Curtis; Louie’s Angels 118 (5) Margaret Tasker, Erin Porters 73 (1) Caroline Whitehead; Castletown Cannons 69 (0) John Alderson, Parkers 126 (6) Jo Smith.

Sunday saw current champions Rule Breakers take another step towards retaining the title and with four fixtures remaining are firmly in the driving seat to secure their seventh league crown.

They were pushed all the way in some of the games with four scores of 18 and over against them, but nevertheless they raced through the 2000 points mark, firstly defeating Bits n Bobs, then Roller Bowlers.

Also playing were Castletown Corkers, who are presently sixth, they took on Roller Bowlers and kept the pressure on Louie’s Angels, with a score that saw them drop just three points.

Corkers then hit another above average result, as did their opponents Bits n Bobs, who have yet to record a win this season.

Results for Sunday, January 18: Bits n Bobs 86 (0) Geoff Mayles, Rule Breakers 126 (6) Alan Moore; Roller Bowlers 104 (2) Sylvia Kennaugh, Castletown Corkers 123 (4) Dave Faragher; Rule Breakers 126 (6) John Kennish, Roller Bowlers 91 (0) Rosie Winckle; Castletown Corkers 112 (4) Dave Hollingworth, Bits n Bobs 104 (2) Kim Hargraves.

The Wednesday round robin outing saw a small group take part in a short contest with the main objective to finish ahead of the heavy rain that was forecast.

They were almost done when the wet stuff arrived and the victors were Jo Smith and Allan Cromwell, ahead of Peter Daugherty and Alec Taylor; third place went to Derek Clarke and Doug Allan.

The league programme swung back into action after the festive break, over two days of bitterly cold winds in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and saw the season’s 11^th maximum score, while all teams remain as they were in the table.

All fixtures were reversals from earlier in the campaign and five of the sides improved their totals with the biggest benefactors being Erin Porters who recorded 31 points more this time round.

Leaders Rule Breakers had two maximums when they played the same fixtures back in November, but dropped 25 on Saturday – 10 in their opener against Parkers, then another 15 when Erin Porters took three games off them.

Parkers may have lost both outings, not helped by being a player short, but in fact bettered their points total from last time and managed to draw on games against Castletown Corkers, only losing out by a margin of 11.

Corkers having earlier defeated Porters with the highest score of the afternoon and remain in sixth spot in the standings.

Results for Saturday, January 10: Rule Breakers 116 (5) Dave Kelly, Parkers 90 (1) Mike Thomas; Castletown Corkers 119 (4) Sid Bolton, Erin Porters 99 (2) Caroline Whitehead; Porters 96 (3) Derek Allen, Breakers 111 (3) Glynn Hargraves; Parkers 102 (3) Terry Moore, Corkers 113 (3) Sid Bolton.

The second session was also a set of matches reversed from the first half and the afternoon kicked-off with a maximum win for Mooragh Lakers as they recorded the double over Govags.

Next up second placed Seven-Up were against Bowling for Soup who are currently holding on to third and once again a close battle took place between the pair. They drew back in October with 113 points apiece, whereas this time they were separated by a gap of just two in favour of Seven-Up.

Two more evenly balanced encounters ended the afternoon when Bowling for Soup revenged a loss by beating Mooragh Lakers by nine points and so maintain a slender lead over their opponents in the league table. Whilst Seven-Up notched up the double over Govags, with an advantage of just seven, both fixtures ended three-all on games.

Results for Sunday, January 11:Govags 87 (0) Ray Hardman, Mooragh Lakers 126 (6) Lilian Slinger; Bowling for Soup 112 (3) Tony Dugdale and Frank Watson, Seven-Up 114 (3) Jordan Cain; Lakers 100 (3) Jenny Moore, B4S 109 (3) Nigel Thomas; Seven-Up 116 (3) Jordan Cain, Govags 109 (3) Phil Parker.

Unfortunately the wet and windy weather put paid to any chance of the first midweek round robin session of the New Year.

Wednesday 17, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 December:

Three round robin sessions took place and were all played as doubles. The midweek winners being Philippa Taylor and Doug Allan, along with Tricia Bull and Peter Karran; while second places went to Gordon Corrin and Allan Cromwell, also Derek Allen and Alec Taylor.

Avoiding the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, two gangs competed on both days over the weekend. Winners on Saturday were Sid Bolton and Caroline Whitehead, and the pairing of Lyn Bolton and Ken Karran. Lyn and Ken were also victorious on Sunday, but with different partners – Lynda Cadamy and Louis Callister.

Just missing out in second positions were Casey Bolton and Philippa Taylor; Mike Thomas and Tricia Bull; Alan Moore and Derek Clarke; Philippa Taylor and Dave Kelly.

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December:

Two days of round robins brought the year to an end for the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club with the participants enjoying two good afternoons of nice weather.

Derek Clarke and Jo Smith took the honours in the first session, followed by Lyn Bolton and Stefan Kelly, with third going to Lynda Cadamy and Alan Moore.

A strip of frost along one edge of the green was avoided on Sunday and from a group of triples the winners were Elaine Moore, Lynda Cadamy and Joan Murphy; second place went to Shirley Corrin, Jo Smith and Alan Moore.

Runaway victors in the doubles gang were Philippa Taylor and Margaret Tasker, with the runners-up being Lyn Bolton and Ken Karran.

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 January:

The final weekend of the festive break had another two afternoons of round robins in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club with the entrants enjoying dry conditions in both sessions.

Yellow jack group winners on Saturday were Louis Callister and Peter Hughes who just pipped Ken Karran and Tricia Bull; with the victors from the other gang being Alec Taylor and Alan Moore, second going to Rita Callister and Dave Kelly.

A slightly larger entry the following day was once again played as doubles and after a roll-up Stefan Kelly and Bob Berry emerged as victors ahead of Louis Callister and Alan Moore, and in third it was Lil Smith and Rita Callister.

Heading the second group on this occasion were Steve Moore and Peter Karran; second went to Alec Taylor and Jean Thackrah, with Dave Kelly and Peter Hughes just missing out in third.

The final weekend of action in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club before the festive break saw another two maximums recorded to take the season’s total so far to 10.

Second placed Seven-Up notched up their second full-house in as many outings when they took on Erin Porters and in doing so keep the pressure on the leaders; also scoring an above average points total were Mooragh Lakers who defeated Parkers by a margin of 10 and gained revenge from earlier in the campaign.

Erin Porters did fair slightly better to pass the 100 point target in their next outing, but could only win one game in a 5-1 loss to Lakers.

In the final set of games, Parkers also managed to pass the ton, but they missed out by a closer margin than earlier, with Seven-Up taking the spoils by seven points.

Results for Saturday, December 13: Parkers 107 (2) Bernie McPhee, Mooragh Lakers 117 (4) Lilian Slinger; Erin Porters 86 (0) Derek Cadamy, Seven-Up 126 (6) Derek Clarke; Mooragh Lakers 116 (5) Lilian Slinger and James Teare, Erin Porters 105 (1) Derek Cadamy; Seven-Up 113 (4) Philippa Taylor, Parkers 106 (2) Mike Thomas.

The following day it was Bowling for Soup who recorded a maximum win and they very nearly made it a double, dropping just three points in their other fixture.

Govags also had a good afternoon, firstly defeating Bits n Bobs and then Roller Bowlers. Both by the same points difference of six and they pushed their average up to almost 100 in the process.

Roller Bowlers managed to take one game off their opponents and reach a total of 97; however Bits n Bobs struggled to 80 as Bowling for Soup powered into third spot, relegating Mooragh Lakers down to fourth.

Results for Sunday, December 14: Govags 120 (4) Peter Kelly, Bits n Bobs 114 (2) David Galbraith; Bowling for Soup 123 (5) Tony Dugdale, Roller Bowlers 97 (1) Lil Smith; Roller Bowlers 101 (2) Rosie Winckle, Govags 107 (4) Allan Cromwell; Bits n Bobs 80 (0) Kim Hargraves and David Galbraith, Bowling for Soup 126 (6) Nigel Thomas.

A bitterly cold wind meant that a small group of just 12 attended the midweek round robin with the winners being Bernie McPhee and Les Halsall; second went to Louis Callister and Erwin Gelling, while in third it was Ken Karran and Jo Smith.

All league fixtures are up to date, so this means the next three weekends will see round robin sessions take place, all starting at 1pm and kicking-off this Saturday. The Christmas tombola will be drawn the following day. Members are reminded however that no midweek activities are planned for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Two contrasting days of weather were evident last weekend as the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club passed through the halfway point on a wet Saturday afternoon, ahead of a dry sunny session the next day.

Four teams in the bottom half of the table were the first day’s participants and it was Parkers and Erin Porters who came away with two wins apiece.

They both triumphed in their openers after drawing on games, Parkers beating Bits n Bobs and Porters getting the better of Roller Bowlers with a six point margin.

Then as the rain fell and the light faded, they both recorded scores just short of maximums – Parkers missing out by three against Roller Bowlers and Porters were just two away, beating Bits n Bobs, a result that saw them swapping places in the table with Roller Bowlers.

The last game of the afternoon went the full distance and it was pretty dark when the session finished after 4 o’clock; all teams heading for home content in the fact that they had improved their averages.

Results for Saturday, December 6: Parkers 119 (3) Terry Moore, Bits n Bobs 97 (3) Geoff Mayles; Erin Porters 111 (3) Derek Cadamy, Roller Bowlers 105 (3) Sefton Dent; Roller Bowlers 100 (1) Sefton Dent, Parkers 123 (5) Paul Bailey; Bits n Bobs 96 (1) Pauline Worrall, Erin Porters 124 (5) Bernard Thackrah.

Members playing on Sunday had to contend with a very strong cold wind in the first three-team session of the campaign and on this occasion it involved sides currently in the leading six.

Opening the programme were first versus fifth, and leaders Rule Breakers came out on top in a good encounter against Bowling for Soup.

Sixth placed Castletown Corkers then joined in the action, but now warmed up the Soup were a little too hot for their opponents and notched up the season’s eighth maximum win.

Things didn’t get any easier for Corkers as they were then thrust up against Rule Breakers however the two sides fought out a close battle which ended with a four point margin in favour of Breakers.

Results for Sunday, December 7: Rule Breakers 114 (3) Glynn Hargraves, Bowling for Soup 102 (3) Nigel Thomas; Bowling for Soup 126 (6) Mike Alexander, Castletown Corkers 100 (0) Dave Hollingworth and Derek Lewney; Castletown Corkers 104 (3) Lyn Bolton, Rule Breakers 108 (3) Dido Kelly.

A smaller than usual gang took part in the midweek round robin and from a group of doubles Allan Cromwell and Peter Karran emerged as winners ahead of Peter Curtis and Erwin Gelling.

The remainder played triples, the victorious threesome being Bernard Thackrah, Trish Bull and Pauline Worrall, with second place going to Doug Allan, Ken Karran and Derek Clarke.

If the weather is favourable this weekend it will be the final two sets of fixtures before the festive break and the last opportunity to take part in the Christmas tombola, which will be drawn on Sunday, December 21.