Bayside Boules Club - Alden Park

  Monday Group 25-10-21.  A beautiful autumnal morning though the hats and jackets and even hoodies hint at the temperature.  Numbers creeping up as holiday makers return. James on his way to 13 x 3. The camera never lies.....reluctance to measure! The Lady in Red..... Tom assured me that he was aiming at the boules rather than his better half... Item B1 wasn't sold at today's auction! Tuesday Group 26-10-21 .   Though few in number the enthusiasm was infectious.  Seven players in a four and three combination.   Frank ,,,, just making sure! Rose being closely monitored ......

Enjoying the bants after an early Round 2 finish. Monday was the only morning this week I managed to uncuff myself from the work laptop but I gather others not subject to such inconveniences faired much better. Happy and not-so-happy players were stalking the pistes every day bar Wednesday which suffered a very rare rain-off (that better not jinx it). Pictures are therefore at a premium with almost all relating to Monday's play. We're more than happy to take picture submissions from players at any point so please send them on to Tom D or Ciaran if you remember to take some or if you've snapped any gems! Doubles Match Play Work on this continues and I expect to be re-confirming numbers mid-week with a view to starting next week. More details will follow in our WhatsApp groups. Group A League Competition Six weeks down, six to go and the competition is bubbling along nicely. We're halfway there alright but is anybody livin' on a prayer?! Answers on a postcard please!

Soaring high on Thursday. Play continued at a steady pace this week with both organised games and random practice noted. There have also been a few late afternoon/early evening games. As players race against the dying light, those high visibility cochs purchased earlier in the year are now looking like a good investment. The pistes themselves are in good shape and the changing weather is leading to a lot of variation in boule behaviour. It's safe to say some are more pleased about this than others! Open Play Numbers have settled at fairly consistent levels on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays. We look forward to the return of some of our globe-trotting regulars to add a bit of further (presumably well tanned!) variety to proceedings. Assorted photos from Thursday: Ann won the first game but John & Shay battled it out for the second. John watches on anxiously as he closes in on victory. Marie was playing a stormer on Piste C today. To the victors go the... scoreboard and the

A little birdy told me this boules lark is a hoot! It was a mixed week weather-wise but that familiar thud of steel boule on jagged stone was heard around Alden Park each and every day as players continue to enjoy our not-so-new favourite pastime. As Sod's Law would have it, my mention last week of a relatively clean and low maintenance boules area was immediately undermined as empty cans and bottles of wine ( Châteauneuf-du-Pape , presumably!) made an appearance one morning. We thank Sean for the unprompted clean up and a scrub down of the benches. It's good news for Tom D though as this turn of events has eliminated him as a suspect... Group A League Competition We had twelve players on Monday which, like any multiple of 4, was warmly welcomed by those playing. We split into three random doubles matches and rotated twice more during a rip-roaring session. Ten players scored at least one 13 on the day which is great to see. The week belonged to Champagne Charlie though as he v

  Welcome Noel! The temperature may have dropped sharply but boules in Alden Park continues apace albeit with a little extra insulation appropriate to the time of year. There were players spotted every day of the week and on Wednesday, I took the above snap of our newest regular player, Noel Kelly. John certainly wasn't going easy on him but Noel enjoyed the morning's play nonetheless and played some super shots. If you see Noel on a morning you're playing, please do say hello and introduce yourself. The busy pistes are no doubt helping to reinforce the idea that the area is not a place for littering or petty vandalism so thank you to all our players on this score. This is a really positive side-effect of our actions. The tables are in reasonably good shape and there's been very little rubbish seen over the last few weeks. I'm not entirely sure what conclusions to draw... was it just Tom D out each morning cleaning up after his late night partying?! :) Open Play Ope