The past week was not one of the most successful in recent times for the Sidmouth men, writes Carol Smith.

The Over-60s County League team were in action against Kingsbridge-based South Hams, who were the winners on three of the four rinks which helped towards what was an overall score of 90 shots to 67 in their favour.

There was one success for our team with the rink of John Richards, Phil Meadows, John Mason and skip Brian Smith winning 22-15.

The Charles Parrott Cup was introduced by Charles who, along with his wife Nina, were Sidmouth Bowls Club members for many years.

When Charles was the Devon County president he introduced a knockout competition of two rinks, one playing home and one away.

It was established to be exclusively for non-badged bowlers to help them achieve their County Badge.

This year Sidmouth were drawn against Budleigh in the first round and unfortunately lost on both rinks - oh well, here's hoping for better luck next year!

There was also competition action last week for the Sidmouth men who contested a Devon County Trophy fixture against Madeira.

This is another of those 'two rinks at home and two away' formats. Alas, three of our rinks suffered defeat, but there was one rink that 'saved the day' - and a whitewash - so a big shout of well done, to Jim Brown, Ted Button, Alan Davis and skip Chris Nappin, who picked up two shots on the final end to seal a 17-16 success.

? Sidmouth bowlers entertained the Devon Ladies' Patrons. The Patrons is a gathering of ladies from all over the county and they make for a terrific bunch - with some exceptional bowlers to boot!

What a wonderful morning we all enjoyed with lots of laughter and a fair bit of banter too!

Oh yes, and as for the final score - best said quietly, but we lost by 37 shots to 46.

But then on such occasions, does the final score really matter?

What had been a most enjoyable meeting of bowls was ended by the most scrumptious of lunches served up by Valerie, Liz and Sheila with sandwiches and lots of mouth-watering homemade cakes.

Back to the bowls and the top Sidmouth rink on the day was the one of Mary Turner, Emma Crow (who also makes exceedingly good cakes), Anita Mason and skip Zena Johnson, who recorded a wonderful score of 20-12.