UP TO DATE INFORMATION FROM OUR NEWS EDITOR DAVID WHITFIELD

The Clubs Over 55 Senior Fours team hosted the Carlisle Hays Travel team to a Christmas tea as a thank-you to them in appreciation of the Company being the principal sponsors to the Subscription team representing England in the Atlantic Tournament in Cyprus which comprised of 26 competing teams , where our team were losing finalists .

All is now quiet in the run up to Christmas and can we wish all of our members and those who have been involved supporting and helping the club throughout the year a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous 2026 , and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to our first Coffee morning of the New Year on Saturday 3rd January at 10am

        Local Lawn Bowls club ....   to National champions ... to  England Internationals ...                                       to Atlantic Finalists  !!

As many of you will be aware  the Subscription Clubs Over 55 team , who were made up of David Lee , Tom Prescott , Rick Gallagher and John Baird ( no Laurence Kelly this time due to him currently recovering from major surgery ) were winners of the 2024 National Finals and were selected to represent England  at the British Isles championship held in Wales earlier this year  and progressed to the semi-finals before losing to Ireland  . 

 They  again representing England in Cyprus last week in what are called the " Atlantic Senior 4's competition " , ( an annual tournament basically along the lines of the Commonwealth games nations plus a couple of guest countries )  I thought I would advise as to their very significant progress and success in that tournament

The format was of two leagues of 13 teams comprising of countries such as Canada, Australia , England , Scotland , Cyprus, South Africa . Wales , Ireland , Spain and the USA plus others and each team has 12 games , and the top two from each league progress to the semi finals

Our team proudly  represented England and played their 12 games and won 10 , drew 1 and lost one ; they therefore qualified through to the semi-finals where they played and beat  South Africa and progressed to the final where they played Scotland  - the match was drawn , but Scotland won on a tie-break end , and Our team  therefore secured a Silver medal as losing finalists

On behalf of everyone in the club can I say what a truly marvellous achievement this has been , and hopefully that they have enjoyed their remarkable success  and experience that will stay with them forever 

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Christmas Social

Well , what can I say ; Saturday saw the holding of our annual Christmas social  and  the heavy winds and rain did nothing to deter our members and we had a brilliant attendance - our highest for a social function for many years - and can I thank everyone for their support and to those who  contributed to the faith tea and the huge raffle and to a couple of specific members in Janice for the superb work in decorating the Bower  and to Emma , Bryan and Colin for their unseen work and support

The afternoon was opened by our President Bryan Steel  who thanked everyone for their support , their considerable generosity in providing a fantastic range and quantity of food for the Faith Tea and what looked like the largest amount of Raffle Prizes gathered in Cumbria , ranging from the first prize of £150 won by Joe Bell  to food hampers , to over 50  items varying from a £50 Restaurant voucher to Chocolates , Alcohol and most things in between .
Bryan also specifically thanked Janice Atkinson for her considerable efforts and skill in transforming the Bower into something of a Christmas Grotto - not an easy task !

He also kept everyone advised as to the progress of the Clubs Senior 4's team who, having won the National Championships last year , were chosen to represent England and were currently playing in the Atlantic competition in Cyprus , where after losing only  one of their league games have now progressed to  the semi-finals of this International competition, with the semis and hopefully the final to be played mid-week.

The afternoon was a very pleasant mix of Christmas quiz's , a special version of Family Fortunes ; a Faith Tea ; the Christmas raffle and then  closed out with the members being entertained by the dulcet tones of Nikki , the singer for the afternoon  who went down a storm and had the members up and dancing to a great music set and hopefully sent everyone home in the early evening very much in the Christmas spirit.

The details of all the Raffle prize winners are detailed below  - and if anyone has on a prize and was not able to collect it on the day they are all clearly labelled and displayed in the Bower and if you could collect them when passing that would be appreciated

Prize                                               Ticket No                  Name

£150 Cash                                                                      Joe Bell

Large Hamper                                    0578                    Brenda

£50   Restaurant Voucher                 0400                    Allison

Litre Whiskey                                   0139                    Margaret

Small Hamper                                 0839                     Rick

Small Hamper                                 0072                   Wendy Wood

Litre Bacardi                                  0465                   Helen   Kerridge

Gin Set                                         0221                   Jean Buxton

Cheese &   Wine                         0319                   Ian Gallagher

Baileys                                        0300                  Joan Edgar

Small Hamper                            0713                  Sandy

12yr Scotch                               0336                 Val Graham

Beer                                         0501                 David Lee

Hamper for   the garden          0189                  Laura

Jersey Ale                               0770                 Alan Strong

Port Wine                               0167                Emma

Red Wine                              0361                Selby

Quality   Street                     0004                Janice

Hamper                               0463                 Rick

Ringtons Tea                      0166                K. Bonfield

Hobgoblin                          0367                Selby

Biscuits                            0213                 Jean. Buxton

Dairy Box                        0343                  Ken

Heroes                           0378                 John

Biscuits                         0536                 Kevin. Lightfoot    

Biscuits                        0369                  Selby

Purse                          0324                  Rick

Wine                          0723                 Sandy. Smith

Mugs                         0122                 Kerry

Biscuits                    0136                   M. Bowes

House                     0638                 Yvonne

Santa &   Wine          0504                  David. Lee

McKay Whiskey        0792                 Mick Wallis

After 8s                    0482                  Pat Richie

Biscuits                  0766                   Alan Strong

Roses Chocs        0181                    Laura. Burrell

Wine                        0778                Alan Strong

Wine                           0535             Kevin Lightfoot

Wine                          0706               J Sallis

Wine                         0342             Ken Graham

Biscuits                    0752                ???

Compton                0576             Brenda Morley

Hobgoblin             0380             J Hewer

Shortbread            0686              Ann

Small Wine          0410            Alison Hullock

Jigsaw                             0335             A Graham /  Val

Matchmakers                 0787             Gary Taylor

Port                               0014              J Bird

Celebrations                0166              Emma

Chocolate                   0597               Danny

Snowballs                 0780                A Strong

After 8s                     0032               D Balfour

DVDs                       0081                F Green

Aperitif                    0415                D Owen

Red Aperitif           0318                I Gallagher

Wine                         0240           c/o Charlton

Winter Candle         0095            R G Benson

Diary                       0635            Yvonne

Dove & Diary          0617           Tom Prescott

Scarf                      0870           Davey

Club activities and Committee

Are you interested in being more involved in the Club activities and organisation ? ... if so , we are seeking members who might like to consider joining our Social Club and help set the direction and content of our social activities , and we are also looking for a new Club Secretary to take the place of Suzie who is stepping down.

If anyone is interested in either role , please feel free to contact either Janice or myself and we can give you some detail of the roles so that you can consider them

 Its a sign I tell you  !!      At last , after quite a long wait over summer , the council have finally erected a " Bowling club "directional sign  on the lamppost immediately opposite the lane to the club , which should be very helpful guidance to visitors. Those of you who are joining us  or the Social on Saturday afternoon will get to see it firsthand !

As the outdoor Bowls season comes to an end for this year our Club Ladies Champion , Alison Hullock , competed in the Women's County Champion of Champions competition on Sunday 7th Sept at Silloth Bowling club . Sixteen club champions from throughout Cumbria competed and Alison beat Leslie Metcalfe of Appleby Bowling club in a  close and competitive final to become the County Women's Champion of Champions and which capped off a very successful season for Alison and for the club 

The end of the season is fast coming upon us , and the league and cup games are coming fast !

Last weekend the Club completed its annual " Competition Finals day "  , with 4 finals being played in a competitive but well-spirited manner watched and urged on by by an enthusiastic crowd. The outcome of the results were as follows :
Club Ladies Championship ... congratulations to Alison Hullock who became our new club Ladies Champion by beating Emma Bues 
Veterans Cup  ... Alison followed up her win in the Championship with a victory over Emma Bues
Chalker Cup ... Barry Milgate beat Ian Gallagher to claim this title
Restricted Handicap.. Alan Bell emerged as the comfortable winner  in his match with David Whitfield
Many congratulations to all of our finalists 

   John Baird , having progressed to the last 8 players in the National Champion of Champions finals at Leamington ,won his quarter final 21-7 but unfortunately went down 21-17 in a closely contested semi-final and many congratulations to John for winning through nationally to the last 4 , which is a tremendous achievement by John

The club are also celebrating the winning of the Carliol Over 55's league which concluded last week ... so all in all , when added to the various County , Reginal and National successes of this year it has been an exceptional year for the individuals and teams involved playing on behalf of the club


On the Social front the club are holding its monthly Coffee morning on Saturday 6th Sept and also holding their next social function - an afternoon of games , sports and quiz's - on Saturday 20th at 2 pm and everyone is welcome

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Finals Day ...  the club held in annual " Competition Finals day " on Saturday , with 4 finals being played in a competitive but well-spirited manner watched and urged on by  by an enthusiastic  crowd.

A couple of matches were held over until next weekend due to the success of individuals who had being playing in the National Finals at Leamington or due to illness , and the outcome of y'days results were as follows :

Club Mens Championship ... congratulations to Kevin Lightfoot who became our new club champion by beating Terry Hullock , and Kevin will go on to represent the club in next years Champion of Champions competition.

Tom Wallace 3 Wood ... Kevin followed up his win in the Championship with a victory in the 3 Wood over Laurence Kelly

Restricted Singles ...  Colin Reed beat Selby Harrison to claim this title

Nelson Handicap..   Terry Hullock emerged as the winner in this closely contested match with Gary Lightfoot

Many congratulations to all of our finalists .

Champion of Champions ... We have also had another major and regional success in what is known nationally as the Champion of Champions competition. John Baird , who won our club championship last year and until yesterday was our reigning Club Champion , has won through to Leamington in this years " Champion of Champions " competition after winning the County title ( against opponents from Silloth , Cockermouth and Workington among others ) and then going on to beat the County qualifier from Northumberland and then followed this up with a emphatic win over the Nottingham / Derbyshire representative to become the North of England Regional Champion and now go's on to play in the national quarter finals in Leamington next friday ( 29th August ) 

This is a fantastic by John , and to  put this success in better context , for John to get through to the last 8 in the country  the Champion of Champions competition attracted 653 club entries from across the country ; he has had to win 11 single games in a row and is now only 3 games away from possibly being crowned the best singles player in the country ! 

 Pairs Tournament ...    On  Sunday the Club held its annual Open Pairs tournament ,sponsored by Stan Palmer Honda . This was the fourth year that the club has run the tournament we and enjoyed our highest attendance to date with all 24 team places taken by a host of clubs plus numerous friends , guests and club neighbours who made the most of the beautiful weather to come and play , or just enjoy the social occasion of watching the bowling while enjoying the refreshments available 

The winners of the tournament were Neil Shearer from Lockerbie and Alistair Service from Eaglesfield who beat the Subscription team of  Barry Milgate and Kevin Lightfoot in a closely contested final ; congratulations to our winners , and many thanks to all of the competing teams for such a close , competitive tournament played in an enjoyable  spirit

The weather was kind and shone on the Costa Del Subs and the day was a tremendous success from a bowling , social and also fund raising aspect and many thanks to those who attended and supported us , and a particular thanks to Stan Palmer Honda for their valued support and to all the unseen club volunteers for all of their work in making the day such a success 

Access Keys ...  I have been asked to advise new members and remind everyone that the key that you have that opens the middle door to the club is also the key that opens the side gate ( the one next to the equipment shed and leads into a side lane ) and which can be used for entry / exit in emergencies for example.

 Whitburn Bowling club visit .....  we hosted the Whitburn club and despite some challenges due to holidays , other county and national games etc in pulling together a team to represent us . 

Val and Janice deserve a big thank-you for stepping up to host our visitors and ensure they had an enjoyable day , as well as all the other volunteers who kindly supported the visit and made it a success

County and National competition success ... As the outdoor season starts to draw to a close the club have continued to impress in County and national competitions - In the county finals this last week our county cup side lost the final to a very good Workington side and Suzie Balfour and Laurence Kelly battled through to the finals of the County  Secretarys and Treasurers Cups . 

On the national competitions side of things Subscription are going great guns ; Alison Hullock has qualified for the National Finals at Leamington Spa in the Ladies senior singles and the club has also qualified for the National Finals in the Tony Alcock competition.

Membership..  I thought it would be good to share some very positive news with everyone regarding club membership ; looking at the club membership numbers for both this and previous years we had a positive year in 2023 / 24 with a 7% increase in membership and we have built on this and in 2024 / 25 .. ie as at April 2025 ,  when annual memberships were renewed etc , we had a further year on year increase of 11% and now have the highest level of membership ( close to 90 )  post our return from Covid in 2020 and it is very encouraging that the increases have occurred in both the playing and social members groups

Can I say a huge thank-you to everyone at the club who have worked together and put in a lot of their own time and effort to help achieve this , and also to our existing and new members for their support to the club in all of its aspects both playing and socially , which has enormously helped the successful growth of the club .

Its not all about numbers - it is about our members enjoying being involved and  part of the club - but as membership grows then hopefully we can continue to expand on what we do and what we offer 

League Tables ... The Ladies league has now drawn to a close for this season and our " joint venture " with Linton has certainly being successful in ensuring competitive league action for our joint Ladies team and as you will see from the League table schedules the Sublinton team , after a slow start to the season ,improved considerably in their latter games finishing a commendable fifth in the league and only missing out on fourth position on shots difference.

It has been agreed to continue the joint team into next season , when all home games will be played at Subscription

Presidents Day  July 20th 2025 ... my thanks to our President , Janice Atkinson ,  for her input from her perspective of the day as follows

The day commenced with plenty of sunshine and the local derby match Subs 'A' v Subs 'B'. 

Subs 'A'  won the game,  and we concluded with bacon sandwiches for all.. The day was well attended and after a short break and the usual speeches the afternoon activities began.

We commenced with two 'Spiders' followed by the 'Cyprus' game, which was great fun and very competitive for some.   Both inside and out we had many activities which were well supported (results below) followed by a superb faith tea.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped prepare for Presidents Day and provided food, raffle prizes , and their time in both helping with all the activities and clearing up afterwards.          It was a privilege to be at the helm.

Janice 

Community support ...  For your information and interest ,  Carlisle United football club community staff are actively involved in a number of local community group , and I am pleased to advise that we are hosting two of these groups on their behalf on wednesday of this week - the Veterans Group from 9 am to 11 am and then the Silver Foxes ( over 65's) in the afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm.

The sessions will be led for us by Val Graham on a similar basis to the U3a groups she hosts very successfully on a monday morning

Club success on the Green .... we are going through an extremely busy - and successful - period of bowling across a wide area of County and National competitions , which include :

:- Emma and Alison progressed to the semi-final of the Ladies County Pair comp , losing to the Foster twins from Workington in a very tight match that required a tie-break end to determine the final result

:- Alison continues her tremendous success in the Womens Over  60 National comp and having this week won the Cumbria Area final now moves on to face a competitor from Morpeth in the Regional area tie

John Fisher Trophy :- Our club team has now progressed through to the semi final where next they will play Courtfield at Caldbeck in August

Tony Alcock National Competition :- Our team , which consists of to mixed rink teams of 4 , have won the County and Inter-area ties against Cumbria and Lancashire , and will next face Northumberland and Durham in the 2nd Inter area final

Many congratulations to all of the players and teams for their tremendous achievements and success to date , and for being such a credit to the club

Side Gate keys ... could I remind everyone that if they need to exit the club premises in the event of an emergency for instance and needed to exit via the side door that leads directly into the lane , that the key that you have that opens the middle door into the Bower is the same key for the side gate.

Could I also ask that any member using the side gate ensures it is locked after their use.

Laurie Inglis ...  As most of you will know , we had the very sad news last week that after a 3 week spell in hospital Laurie Inglis passed away .  Laurie was the nicest , most cheerful , friendly and helpful friend and person you could wish to meet and will be a big miss to everyone.. 

Our thoughts and Prayers are with Avis

Laurie's funeral is taking place on Tuesday 8th July at 11am at Carlisle Crematorium

Top Club ...  In the national " Top Club " competition we were beaten last night at home  in the Cumbria area final by Workington 

British Isles Championship ...  our intrepid four were , unfortunately , beaten last week when representing England in their semi-final v Ireland in the British Isle Championships but hopefully enjoyed the experience and can pride themselves on their tremendous achievement in representing their country

British Isles Championship .. After their success in winning the National Over 55 Championship last year , our very own magnificent four ( David Lee , Laurence Kelly, Tom Prescott  and John Baird ) continue their adventure representing England in the British Isles Championships which start next week in .Llandidrod Wells , Wales , and  having been exempted a play off qualifying tie they will play Ireland in their semi-final match  .  

I am sure we all wish them the best of luck 

Sponsorship of Advertising Boards ... I am pleased  to let you know that we have two further parties who have kindly agreed to become a sponsor of an advertising board at the club 

The first is  Eden House Financial Services . They are Independent Financial Advisers , based at Rosehill, Carlisle , providing financial advice, specialising in Retirement, Investment and Inheritance Tax Planning. 

The second is Williams Painters , who were the painters who recently completed the external painting of the Bower  

Can I thank both of them on behalf of the club for their valued and appreciated support.

Open Triples Tournament.... .On  Sunday the Club held its annual Open Triples tournament , sponsored by Stan Palmer Honda . This was the third year that the club has run the tournament and we enjoyed our highest attendance to date with 72 players from a host of clubs plus numerous friends , guests and club neighbours who made the most of the beautiful weather to come and play , or just watch the bowling while enjoying the refreshments available and generally making the most of the great weather we are having
We had joint winners of the tournament .. a Subscription club ( represented by John Baird , Mark Nanson and Rick Gallagher ) and Lockerbie  ( represented by Eddie Dunbar , Neil Shearer and James Little )  ; congratulations to our winners , and many thanks to all of the competing teams for such a close , competitive tournament played in an enjoyable  spirit.

I would also like to recognise and thank our sponsors of the tournament --- Stan Palmer Honda ;  Hodgson Newsagents ( ie our own Colin Reed ) ; The Auctioneer  and the Cumberland Building Society
It was a tremendous success from a bowling , social and also fund raising aspect and many thanks need to be given to those who attended and supported us , and a particular thank-you to all the unseen club volunteers for all of their work in making the day such a success.

Cumberland News Article     we had a full one page write up in the Cumberland News last friday     ( page 8 ) on the club , our role in the community and the progress we are making on and off the green  . It was a very positive but balanced article and reflects well across all aspects of the club , and for those who have not had the chance to see it I will post a copy on the club noticeboard tomorrow .

 The season has started 

The Jumble ...Many thanks to Alan Bell for his continued organising and running of our weekly Tuesday jumble's , which take place every Tuesday at 2pm  on a " just turn up , play and enjoy " basis - not forgetting you need to be down by 1.45 pm to put your name on the entries.

This week was week two of the jumble and Alan is not sure the exact reason . maybe the good weather , the desire to play outside again  or to get some early practise in - he mentioned it was as high an attendance as he can remember for a long time , so thank you to everyone who came down and I think we all enjoyed our time in the sun

And the Indoor Season  has ended ... and definitely on a high for for one of our members Alison Hullock, who along with Linda Rose ( Whitehaven ) and Tina Smitham ( Workington ) - now affectionately referred to as " Cumbria United " playing for the Carlisle Indoor Bowling Club - after success against Durham and then South Shields to become Northern area champions went on to beat Tilbury in the finals at Nottingham to became the over 50 s National Triples winners . Well done to Alison and the team and heady success to finish the indoor season on.

National Cup success !!       Our congratulations to Alison Hullock and  Jenny Sallis who were part of the successful Carlisle Indoor Bowling Club Ladies team at the National Finals where , after a total of 8 games ,they won the Yetton Trophy ( the premier Ladies four rink club championship ) beating  Egham 79 - 65 in the final ..   Well done to you both , and to the team

 External painting of the Bower
 Some fantastic news .... we have  been advised that our Grant Application to the Cumberland Council for the external painting of the Bower ( following the recent repainting of the internal which we self-funded ) has been approved and will be completed ahead of the Clubs Opening Day on the 13th April.

I would like to recognise and share that we received a lot of support and guidance from  our local Councillor Mrs Anne Glendinning, who was instrumental in our obtaining this award. 

Good Morning All
   Well , with Spring just around the corner March is a busy month at the club ; following on from our Coffee morning last week , we followed this up with our March Social event which included a " Play your cards right " game plus a music quiz and Bingo ;  both of which really well attended and supported and many thanks to everyone who made them such a success , and we are now moving into the working part of the season in getting the club tidied up , gardens weeded and fences  painted etc
I hope everyone is well rested ahead of what is going to be a very busy and active April which starts off with our monthly coffee morning on Saturday  the 5th at 10am , and then the eagerly awaited outside season  starts on Sunday 13th with our official Opening day activities and Faith Tea .  The league season quickly follows and starts on Thursday 24th

       The club has been re-painted inside and out ahead of the new season , and we look forward to welcoming all our members and if anyone would like to come and see what Lawn Bowls is all about or the Club in general as a social activity is like please feel free to come down to any of our events or contact the club via our website  ... everyone is welcome and if you don't look you might never know what you might be missing ! . 
 

FULL LIST OF ALL WINNERS FROM LAST YEARS COMPETITIONS ( 2024 )

The annual club presentation night was held on Saturday 26th October ; it was extremely well attended and after the Award Presentations we had some Social activities and hopefully a good night was had by all.

May I say Congratulations to all of our winners and competition participants , and the Winners and Runners-up of the ( quite numerous  )  Club competitions were as follows :-

  Competition                Winner                                             Runner-up 

Mens Champion           Johnny Baird                                     Barry Milgate

Ladies Champion           Val Graham                                     Lyn Wallis

Chalker Trophy            Ian Gallagher                                    Terry Hullock

Robson Cup Pairs       Ken Graham / David Balfour             Bryan steel / Terry Hullock

Hodgson 2 Wood         Laurence Kelly                                 Neil Baxter

McReadie / Jessiman triples     David Bues;                         Suzie Balfour

                                                  Emma Bues                         Laurie Inglis

                                                  David Balfour                       Colin Reed

Spencer Mixed Pairs     Alison Hullock / David Whitfield       Ken Graham / Gary Lightfoot

Jimmy Armstrong Mens Pairs    Gary Lightfoot / Tom Prescott    Kevin Lightfoot / David Balfour

Nelson Handicap           Johnny Baird                                       Gary Lightfoot

Restricted Single's         Brian Lightfoot                                    Colin Reed

J Bell Veteran trophy     Terry Hullock                                       Barry Milgate

Tom Wallace 3 Wood     Barry Milgate                                      Kevin Lightfoot

Plus Handicap                Emma Bues                                       Kevin Lightfoot

Jumble                            Bryan Steel

Jumble wooden spoon    Neil Baxter

Most improved player      Emma Bues

PLEASE VISIT THIS PAGE OFTEN AS UP TO DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLUB ACTIVITIES CAN ALWAYS BE FOUND HERE. ALSO CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY.