The first was at Tavira B.C., a grass green, which we’re not used to and, inevitably, we lost on all 6 rinks. A great morning’s bowling though, spent in good company, followed by an excellent lunch at the Club.

Our second match was at Alvor B.C., again a grass green. We managed one rink win and although we lost the other five, the scores were much closer than at Tavira, as we started to get the hang of playing on grass. The Club laid on a great barbeque for us following the match.

Our third match was played at Valverde B.C. in Almancil. Yet again we were on a grass green but, as a sure sign of our improvement on this surface, we managed two rink wins there out of the six played. Again, the Club laid on an excellent lunch for us after the match.

Our final match took us to Floresta B.C. in Praia da Luz. Here we were back on a carpet surface, which was like bowling on glass, even compared with our home green, let alone to the grass surfaces we had played on previously. On the first end, our tour organiser counted 26 bowls in the ditch! However, we had good wins on two rinks and a draw on another out of the six played. A superb buffet lunch followed the match.

Our presentation evening at the end of the week was held at a country restaurant, where the food kept coming and the wine flowed freely. With singing and dancing till the early hours, everyone had a great time and it was a fitting ending to a thoroughly enjoyable week.

Photo to support the report: Group Photo taken at Floresta Bowls Club.

Report by Jeff Rowe - Tour Organiser.