The last round robin before the Christmas festivities attracted an entry of 21, which was slightly lower than the usual midweek total.

The session was played as one gang of triples with the eventual winners being Mike Skelly, Roma Ware and Mark Kelly; with second going to Alan Moore, Erwin Gelling and Philippa Taylor; whilst in third it was the trio of Doug Allan, Margie Tasker and Voirrey Curphey.

One week later an entry of 25 was separated into two groups with the successful partnerships being Jenny Moore and Shirley Fargher in the doubles, ahead of Steve Moore and Lil Smith.

Whilst in the triples it was Mike Skelly, Hazel Hughes and Ken Karan who were the winners ahead of Derek Clarke, David Clucas and Dave McCabe.

Without wishing to tempt fate, the festive break was reached at the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League, with everything on schedule and not having any postponements to the programme.

Just three teams were in action and they were welcomed by a heavy dew on the surface which soon disappeared during a close encounter that saw Parkers win by the margin of just 13 over basement side Castletown Corkers.

There was no time for a brew as the Castletown outfit then went up against their southern opponents Louie’s Angels, and although taking two games, they lost by 19 points.

However they were the only team on the day to increase their average and in turn move closer to their stablemates Castletown Cannons.

Keeping the momentum going Angels next took on Parkers and they left for home with two victories to their credit after defeating them by 12 points.

The outcomes saw fourth placed Angels slip closer, and Parkers in sixth further away, from Outsiders who are sandwiched between these two in the table.

Results for Saturday, December 17: Parkers 110 (3), Castletown Corkers 97 (3); Castletown Corkers 89 (2), Louie’s Angels 108 (4); Louie’s Angels 115 (4), Parkers 103 (2).

The Christmas tombola round robin took place on Sunday, whereas the midweek session prior to this was cancelled.

There was an entry of 33 in the weekend outing which was split into two groups and the afternoon ended with roll-ups in both to decide the outcomes.

In the black jacks it was for first place, with the eventual winners being Philippa Taylor, Jackie Elliott and Doug Allan, and just missing out were Jordan Cain, Peter Hughes and Voirrey Curphey.

The roll-up in the other gang was to decide second, behind Steve Parker, Alec Taylor and Derek Clarke, and it went in favour of Jenny Moore, Margie Tasker and Frances Radcliffe.

The top three extended their lead over the other contenders at the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League, after they improved their averages and now have a margin of almost four points.

Mooragh Lakers hold top spot on 119.9, helped by their fourth and the season’s 11^th maximum; into second are Seven-Up after they boosted their average to 116.9, compared to third placed Unstopabowls close behind on 116.7.

Both days were reversed sets of fixtures played earlier in the campaign and on Saturday the overall points totals between the two days was a difference of just eight, with Castletown Cannons and Unstopabowls doing better second time round.

Three teams recorded victories with Outsiders and Bowl Rollers defeating Cannons by four games to two and that was also the score when the Rollers lost out to an improving Unstopabowls outfit, who are pushing hard to retain their league crown.

In the final fixture, the champions notched up their second success of the session and dropped just five chalks against Outsiders, with the match details as follows (Unstopabowls first): Glynn Hargraves 21, Frank Watson 19; Steve Waters 16, Tony Dugdale 21; Neil Withers 21, Lynn Bolton 18; Kim Hargraves 21, Sid Bolton 13; Stefan Kelly 21, Ben Dugdale 8; Alan Moore and Glenn Boland 21, Mike Alexander and George Brew 17. Result: Unstopabowls 121 (5), Outsiders 96 (1).

Remaining results for Saturday, December 10: Outsiders 115 (4), Castletown Cannons 92 (2); Bowl Rollers 94 (2), Unstopabowls 114 (4); Castletown Cannons 96 (2), Bowl Rollers 118 (4).

The second day was a big challenge for two of the teams, with there being just one point dropped by the two victors first time round, a set of results that had three maximums.

Govags scored just 80 against Mooragh Lakers in the first clash back in October, but this time they improved to 95 and in turn their opponents were seven points worse off.

Bottom side Castletown Corkers fared only slightly better on the individual games front, but were plus 19 on the points side and also prevented another full house defeat against Seven-Up.

The next fixture was also a 126 score to the winners Seven-Up some two months ago, and although Govags struggled to the lowest total of the weekend, they managed to take eight points from their challengers.

Finally, although Corkers reached 19 in two of the games, they couldn’t halt Mooragh Lakers, who went on to record their fourth maximum and open up a 43-point advantage over their closest rivals.

Results for Sunday, December 11: Govags 95 (2), Mooragh Lakers 119 (4); Castletown Corkers 87 (1), Seven-Up 122 (5); Seven-Up 118 (5), Govags 79 (1); Mooragh Lakers 126 (6), Castletown Corkers 85 (0).

A slight downturn in the weather saw a smaller gang of 21 compete in the midweek round robin and from one set of triples the winners were Derek Cadamy, Hazel Hughes and Steve Parker.

In second were Jeff Wilson, Doug Allan and Tricia Bull, with third going to Mike Skelly, Margie Tasker and Erwin Gelling.

This weekend sees the first three-team session on Saturday, followed 24 hours later by the Christmas tombola draw and a round robin.

Once again there was just one set of fixtures over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League, as the club raced through the halfway point in their schedule, helped by the continuing dry conditions.

And what a session it turned out to be, especially at the top of the merit table, after the last three unbeaten players lost for the first time, proving that although it was dry, the cold weather made things difficult.

Three of the top four teams were in action and it was the leaders Mooragh Lakers who came away happiest after they improved their average to 119.5, compared to non-playing nearest rivals Unstopabowls on 116.5.

Next come Seven-Up, who slipped down to 116.3, they are well clear of new fourth placed Louie’s Angels, however after having their worst afternoon of the campaign, Outsiders dropped one place into fifth on an average of 111.1.

Also competing on Saturday were Bowl Rollers and they also had their worst session to date, they scored a total of just 161 and in turn lost a place in the table, and are now behind Erin Porters.

Results for Saturday, December 3: Outsiders 98 (1), Mooragh Lakers 115 (5); Bowl Rollers 78 (1), Seven-Up 117 (5); Seven-Up 114 (4), Outsiders 102 (2); Mooragh Lakers 125 (5), Bowl Rollers 83 (1).

As mentioned earlier there was a shake-up at the top of the table in the chase for the Derek Killey memorial trophy, with the new leader being Jenny Moore (Mooragh Lakers), followed just two points behind by Jordan Cain (Seven-Up) and Glynn Hargraves (Unstopabowls).

The leading 15 with their averages is as follows: 1, Jenny Moore 20.92; 2, Jordan Cain 20.75; 3, Glynn Hargraves 20.70; 4, Tony Dugdale (Outsiders) 20.50; 5, Steve Parker (Lakers) 20.42; 6, Bernie McPhee (Parkers) 20.25; 7, Rob Monk (Lakers) 20.08; 8, Brian Kelly (Lakers) 19.92; 9, Alan Moore (Unstopabowls) 19.90; 8, Matthew Keggen (Louie’s Angels) 19.67; 9, James Teare (Lakers) 19.58; 10, Margie Tasker (Angels) 19.58; 11, Elaine Moore (Unstopabowls) 19.50; 12, Lyn Bolton (Outsiders) 19.42; 13, Sid Bolton (Outsiders) 19.33; 14, Rebecca Teare (Angels) 19.33; 15, Adrian Skinner (Lakers) 19.17.

Two round robin afternoons were held either side of the league games, with a good entry of 41 in the midweek gang, which was split into groups of two triples and a doubles.

Topping the scoresheets were Vicky Lloyd-West, Tom Wilson and Doug Allan, along with Alan Phair, Steve Parker and Mike Ware; also the duo of Hazel Hughes and Lil Smith.

Just missing out were Graham Ogden, Shirley Fargher and Derek Clarke; George Peach, Jean Thackrah and Pauline Worrall; and Frances Radcliffe and Philippa Taylor.

Sunday’s session had a much smaller entry probably due to the bitterly cold wind and the 24 who braved the elements were separated into two equal sets of doubles.

The black jack winners being Allan Kennaugh and Alec Taylor, ahead of Steve Waters and Elaine Moore, while the other group was won by Lynda Cadamy and Stefan Kelly, with the runners-up being Steve Moore and Steve Parker.

Three fixtures finished with margins of two points or less during the latest weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League, with all but one of the eight teams improving their average.

At the end of the first day all the teams had played 10 fixtures each and with the leading three not in action, it was Outsiders in fifth who had an opportunity to close the gap.

They kicked off with a near perfect score of 125 against Govags, but then lost two games and 19 points when they played bottom side Castletown Corkers, to finish on an average of 116 for the afternoon.

Bowl Rollers also had two victories, the first against Corkers by the closest of margins, even though they lost 4-2 on games. They then went one better to double their advantage with a two point success whilst defeating Govags.

Match details from Rollers versus Govags fixture were as follows (Rollers first): Gordon Corrin 16, Vicky Lloyd-West 21; Shirley Corrin 21, Bob Berry 18; Sue Caley 10, Jeff Wilson 21; Sylvia Kennaugh 21, Doug Allan 12; Terry Bates 21, Pat Roberston 20; Lil Smith and Rosie Winckle 21, Lynda Wilson and Mark Kelly 16. Bowl Rollers 110 (4), Govags 108 (2).

Other results for Saturday, November 26: Govags 94 (1), Outsiders 125 (5); Castletown Corkers 104 (4), Bowl Rollers 105 (2); Outsiders 107 (4), Castletown Corkers 83 (2).

Sunday afternoon started with another close outcome when Parkers and Erin Porters fought out a three-all on games, which went in favour of Parkers 111 to 109.

Into fifth after the previous day’s results, Louie’s Angels then set about getting back above Outsiders, but with scores of 117, against Bits n Bobs, and 112, whilst defeating Porters, they now trail their rivals by 0.3 on average points.

The final clash of the session saw Bits n Bobs record their third victory of the campaign, after another draw on games, but success on the points front saw them move clear of the bottom two.

Results for Sunday, November 27: Parkers 111 (3), Erin Porters 109 (3); Louie’s Angels 117 (5), Bits n Bobs 97 (1); Erin Porters 95 (2), Louie’s Angels 112 (4); Bits n Bobs 117 (3), Parkers 108 (3).

A gang of 43 attended the latest midweek round robin session and from three groups, the doubles winners were Steve Parker and Shirley Fargher, just ahead of Lynda Wilson and Peter Kelly.

From two triples sections, the winners were Hazel Hughes, Voirrey Curphey and Carol Kaye; along with Allan Kennaugh, Margie Tasker and Mark Kelly.

Just missing out were Jeff Wilson, Janet Monk and Joy Stephens in the yellow jacks, and Colin Spence, Julie Reilly and Lynda Clarke in the black jacks.

There was just one day of league bowls last weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Club and it was played on a very cold Saturday afternoon, but they did manage to avoid the hail showers that were close by.

Unstopabowls were the biggest benefactors, winning both outings and recording the season’s 10^th maximum as they moved onto equal points as second placed Seven-Up.

Louie’s Angels were their first opponents, but even though they fought hard to reach 104, they couldn’t prevent Unstopabowls from scoring a full-house.

Also having to cope with the cold conditions were Castletown Cannons and Parkers and it was the latter who came out on top, although Cannons did have the consolation of winning their first doubles game of the campaign.

Next up the southerners struggled to a below average score of 89 against an Angels outfit who showed some of their true form and just missed out on that elusive maximum, however they did enough to move up one position ahead of Outsiders.

Match details from the Parkers against Unstopabowls fixture were as follows: Mike Thomas 21, Glynn Hargraves 18; Graham Atkinson 9, Elaine Moore 21; Bernie McPhee 21, Steve Waters 14; Terry Moore 7, Alan Moore 21; Paul Bailey 16, Stefan Kelly 21; Colin Spence and Brain Woodall 18, Kim Hargraves and Glenn Boland 21. Parkers 92 (2), Unstopabowls 116 (4).

Others results for Saturday, November 19: Castletown Cannons 93 (1), Parkers 118 (5); Unstopabowls 126 (6) Louie’s Angels 104 (0); Louie’s Angels 124 (5), Castletown Cannons 89 (1).

With all teams having played at least eight fixtures we can take a look at how each of them is doing in the doubles games which have been introduced for the first time this year.

No surprise in that the leading four are also top of the pairs table, with Seven-Up out in front with eight wins from ten, they are followed on seven by Mooragh Lakers, Unstopabowls and Louie’s Angels.

Next come Erin Porters with six, followed by Parkers who have won five and lost five; whereas Outsiders and Bowl Rollers are level on four wins from eight played. Also on four are Bits n Bobs, but from 10 games.

Not yet coming to terms with the new set-up are the Castletown outfits, with both on one win apiece, Corkers from eight and Cannons having played 10.

On an individual front there are now just three players who are undefeated in the chase for the Derek Killey memorial trophy, and they are Rob Monk and Jenny Moore (both Mooragh Lakers) on 10 wins, and Tony Dugdale (Outsiders) who has won eight.

Wins don’t necessarily matter in the end for this contest as it is decided from points scored, so just three behind are Jordan Cain (Seven-Up) and Glynn Hargraves (Unstopabowls).

A couple of round robin sessions took place either side of the league fixtures, the midweek event attracting an entry of 35 split into two groups.

The threesome of Mike Skelly, Alan Phair and James Teare were winners ahead of Doug Allan, Bernard Thackrah and Alec Taylor, with third going to Rita Callister, Graham Ogden and Vicky Lloyd-West.

The remaining players took part in a doubles gang with the successful pair being Ken Clarke and Philippa Taylor; second went to Lil Smith and Julie Reilly, and in third it was Derek Clarke and Margie Tasker.

Sunday’s participants had a similar format albeit with a slightly smaller entry and winning the triples were Carol Kaye, Derek Cadamy and Julie Reilly who just pipped Steve Crampton, Shirley Fargher and Stefan Kelly.

Rita Callister and Steve Moore won the doubles section, with the runners-up spot going to Janet Monk and Margie Tasker.