One of the favourite days on the calendar for the Sidmouth ladies came around on Tuesday when the club hosted the Spears Trophy drive.

Five clubs - Budleigh, Exonia, Honiton, Madeira and Seaton, sent a team each to compete against Sidmouth teams, moving to a new rink and opposition every four ends, accumulating a plus or minus score as they go along.

Twenty-four ends are played in total - exhausting enough on an average day, but in temperatures hitting 30 degrees the ladies were more than grateful to stop at 12 ends for a ‘bowlers’ tea - a variety of sandwiches followed by an array of delicious home-made cakes, and, of course, plentiful pots of tea.

Refreshed and ready for action, the ladies went back out to complete another 12 ends, enjoying the light breeze that wafted in from the sea.

At the end of the day it was the Ottery ladies of Dot Luffe, Val Kille, Jan Williams-Richardson and skip Sharon Kenny who took the honours with a score of plus 23.

The runners-up, with plus 14, were the Sidmouth team of a plus score of 14, were Sidmouth bowlers Valerie Newnham, Liz Boyle and Jean Brimson with skip Carol Smith.