The team was unchanged from our success last week and Dawn and Sean opened up the scoring. Both scored well and got 26-a-piece. This was in reply to the Inequalities’ 20 and 24. We now had an eight pin lead.

Next up it was Paul and Kieren. Kieren again struggled to find his form and punctuated his scoring with a two and three. Paul, on the other hand, was scoring well and produced some fine fives and sixes. This combination took Paul to a masterful 32 and Kieren scored the reverse with a 23. This was still enough to tie the pair and retain our eight pin lead.

The last pair was always going to be a tough one as the big guns went head-to-head. Thankfully Andy was on fire and punctuated three fours with a seven, six and a five to take him to 30. Steve started well but suffered a cruel duck in the second Up. He rallied well and still scored a very impressive 27. This took Steve and Andy past the Inequalities’ score of 54 by three pins and secured a superb 1-11 win for The Lifers.

This keeps the league title alive (just). We need to score eleven points in our game against PUS and rely on the Bolts not scoring anything against MARACANA for us to take the league. We also need eleven points to make sure the Inequalities can’t catch us by scoring 12-nils in all their remaining games. We also need any points at all to stop PUS catching us (and even then they have to win every game 12-nil).

The final scores were:

• Dawn 26
• Sean 26
• Paul 32
• Kieren 23
• Andy 30
• Steve S 27

The final scoreboard looked like this:

Dawn and Sean started well, the pins were flattened and last week just a distant memory. Dawn cruised to an impressive 29 and Sean supported well with a 22. With Jill and Rosy only managing 38 between them this gave a good solid start.

The second pair started well with Paul scoring three fours and Kieren a six, two, five combo. George and Nick put up a strong fight but The Lifers stuck with it and finished with 54 compared to the Crawfords Crackers’ 47.

The return of Steve and Andy was met with joyous scenes on the alley… although not for the pins as they were clattered out of the way. Andy was on fire and scored a very impressive 34, Steve scored well with a 22 and the pair won their end by nine pins.

This gave The Lifers a morale boosting twelve – nil victory.

The final scores were:

• Dawn 29
• Sean 22
• Paul 27
• Kieren 27
• Andy 34
• Steve S 22

The final scoreboard looked like this:

The Bolts are always a good side and usually close to the sharp end of the table. We’ve beaten them twelve – nil before and they’ve dealt the same punishment right back. Usually the games are pretty closely fought though.

Unfortunately not last night. It’s difficult to work out exactly what went wrong… probably something to do with us not being able to knock enough pins down though. We were a staggering 50 pins down by the end of the second pair. Not even Steve and Andy could pull that back…. and they weren’t there anyway!

The team soldiered on all night but something odd happened. Basically we fell apart, maybe it was too much beer, maybe it was too little, maybe it was just bad luck. Whatever it was, it was horrible. The team struggled to its lowest score in ten years (although this is a new alley with much lower top scores) an aesthetically pleasing but, wholly unimpressive, 123.

The Bolts, feeling sorry for us in our plight, decided to get the current highest male score, the current highest pair score and miss out on matching the current top team score by one pin.

The final scores were:

• Verity 17
• Sean 20
• Lucy 17
• Kieren 17
• Steve C 25
• Paul S 27

The final scoreboard looked like this:

We’ve played the Bottlers (nee Airheads) quite a few times in recent years and the games are often unpredictable. For example, last season we won one game 12-0 (home) and lost the other 9-3 (away).

Opening up for The Lifers were Steve C and Lucy. Lucy put down an initial marker by scoring an 8 in her first Up. Things remained fairly close for the six Ups in the End but it was the strength of Steve and Lucy that won through. The husband and wife pairing finished the End with a five pin lead.

In the second pair Sean and Verity (The Lifers) took the fight to Chirpy and Al. Again this was a closely contested End with both Chirpy and Verity suffering the full venom of the of the alley’s fickle nature. On the other hand Sean and Al were scoring well. This meant both pairs were evenly matched but ultimately it was Sean and Verity who emerged victorious and extended The Lifers‘ lead to nine pins.

Going in to the final End Steve S and Andy had a nine point lead but, as we all know, anything can happen in skittles.

Things started well for Andy as he set down an intention loaded eight. Steve struggled through the first Up with a two. The Bottlers’ pairing of Adam and Dave started well and the End was nip n’ tuck for most of the Ups.

Going in to the final Up the pair was still too close to call. Adam scored well with a six and then Dave stepped up to the alley. His first two balls were a little wayward but the third was terrifying. The ball flew for almost three quarters of the alley before crashing onto the woodwork and missing everything. This left Andy and Steve needing nine to take the pair.

Up to the alley went Andy but, disaster, the alley unleashed all her fury and Andy could only knock down a single pin. However, this still left Andy on a superb 29. Steve now had to score eight to take the pair. His first two balls weren’t bad but leaving five pins Steve had a mountain to climb. That is, until he unleashed a ball that rivaled “Shane Warne’s ball of the century”. This gem of a ball from Steve took four pins and secured the pair and a 12-nil victory for The Lifers!

The aftermath of “Steve’s ball of the century”:

The final scores were:

• Steve C 25
• Lucy 28
• Verity 16
• Sean 31
• Andy 29
• Steve S 28

The final scoreboard looked like this:

Jim and Steve C opened up for the home side and quickly developed a good lead. This was partly due to some strong scoring from The Lifers’ pair but also due to a dip in form from the skipper of Brownian Motion. After the final Up Jim and Steve C had put twelve points of daylight between us and Brownian Motion.

Going into the second pair, Paul and I just had to protect our lead. Unfortunately, looking at my recent form, that’s a lot easier said than done. For once though the pins seemed to fall for me and, in only four ups I was only one pin away from my dismal score last week. However, it was Paul’s turn to experience the alley’s fickle nature. In the end Paul managed a respectable 24 and I got a season best (for me) 28. Unfortunately the Brownian Motion pairing were scoring well and El Tel scored a mighty 29 and Barnsy a 23 to draw the pair.

Of note was El Tel’s skittling style, in a bizarre homage to great cricketing spin bowlers, he’d rub the ball against his right buttock before stepping up to bowl. Perhaps most worrying was the success achieved with the technique!

Andy and Steve S now took up arms and, with a twelve pin lead on the game, set about putting it beyond reach. However, the Brownian Motion pairing of “bizarre Prince-esque symbol” and Jazzy had other ideas and the end was closely contested up until the fifth Up. In the fifth Up Andy and Steve unleashed an eight and a six and the Brownian Motion pair could only respond with a six and a four. Despite pulling a few pins back in the final Up the final scores for the third End showed Andy and Steve with a four pin lead.

The game ended as an 11 – 1 win to The Lifers.

The final scores were:

• Jim 26
• Steve C 21
• Paul S 24
• Kieren 28
• Andy 28
• Steve S 25

The final scoreboard looked like this:

The first pair started well with Dawn and Sean scoring consistently. This was Dawn’s first game on the new alley and after an initial “sighter” of two she found her form and stormed to an impressive 27. Sean also scored well and finished on 25. With Axiom This ! scoring 48 this gave us a lead of four.

Paul and I once again filled the skittles sandwich of the middle pair. Paul found the groove very quickly and was scoring well. Again my performance was erratic and three ups with scores of 2, 2, and 1 left me really struggling. In the end Paul finished with an excellent 27 and I finished with a six, which dragged my dismal score to 20. This result left us one down on the pair and three up on the game.

The final end started well with Andy and Steve getting a brace of sevens. The Axiom This ! pair then matched them in the second up. Axiom This ! then pulled a pin back on the third up followed by seven on the fourth up. Andy and Steve then rallied by pulling four back. Going into the final up the game was on a knife edge. Chris and Jon from Axiom This ! scored a 5 and an 8, Andy and Steve matched them with a 7 and a 6.

This mighty display of skittles finished in a tie! Both teams used 108 balls to knock down 159 pins. A close and very enjoyable game.

The final scores were:

• Dawn 27
• Sean 25
• Paul 27
• Kieren 20
• Andy 34
• Steve S 26

The final scoreboard looked like this:

New-boys (and girl) ‘Maracana’ were the opponents for this game, and as it was only their second game ever, we let them have a short practise before we started for real. This may have been a mistake!

Jim and Steve C opened up for the Lifers, and made good progress against the opening pair of Matteo and Dario for Maracana. Unfortunately Matteo got off to the worst start with a zero. However, despite Matteo’s inconsistency resulting in a modest 15, Dario kept up steady scoring, and narrowly outscored both Jim and Steve, beating their 27 each with a 28. The Lifers took an 11 point lead into the second pair.

In the second pair, Sean and Paul started OK with a 3 and a 4, which was matched by Adam and Carmen from Maracana. It looked like it might be a close game however, when Sean failed to score and Paul could only manage a 6 to cover. Sean recovered, and made steady progress to a reasonable 21, but Paul could only manage a 25. Maracana only needed 8 in the last up to draw, or 9 to win. Adam managed a 4, and the nerves were jangling – could Carmen put the 0 from the previous go out of her mind and get the 5 needed? Amid some good-natured heckling from the Lifers, she nearly buckled but managed a solid 4, to draw the end.

Now all eyes from the Lifers were on Andy and Steve S to keep us around the top of the league, and get the 11-1 we now so craved. It started well, with both Andy and Steve opening with 4 in the first two ups. But then things started to unravel as Andy could only manage 2s in the next two ups, while Pete from Maracana was sending down some bombs, and scoring a 7 and an 8. The normally unflappable Andy was looking grim and unsettled, but managed to finish out on a 4 and 5. Steve was holding his own, with consistent scoring, ending with a 7 and a 5, finishing with a laudable (and now rare) 30.

So, the Lifers were sure of the overall high score, but would it be an 11-1, or 9-3 victory? Maracana needed 6 to win the end. Paolo went first, and managed a 6 – the end was tied. The Lifers final pair were apparently doomed, as high-scoring Pete stepped up. But he starts with a 0 – is the pressure too much? But then with his next ball he gets the 1 to take the win, and finishes with 2, but totalling a solid 32 – only just off the highest men’s score so far. Maracana take the points for the end, but the Lifers roll out 9-3 overall winners.

It was a good game, and Maracana look as though they could be contenders when they’ve a little more match practise under their belts. The Lifers move on to play ‘Axiom This!’, another new team – we won’t be taking them so lightly, and definitely no practise time at the start!

The final scores were:

• Jim 27
• Steve C 27
• Sean 21
• Paul 25
• Andy 21
• Steve S 30

The final scoreboard looked like this:

Doug and Dave started strongly for the Mopheads but Steve C and Paul countered their threat despite it being the first competitive game on the alley for either of The Lifers‘ pair. All was going well until the last end when Doug and Dave scored a brace of fives and Steve C and Paul could only respond with a two and a one. Fortunately they’d both done enough work earlier in the pair to secure the two points and give the team a one point lead.

In the second pair, Jim and I were paired against Paul and Flo for the Mopheads. The pair started well for us but after some inconsistent Ups I was struggling to make 20. Jim, on the other hand, was on fire and clearly enjoying the new alley as he cruised to a strong 30. With a three in the final Up I made it to 22 and between Jim and I (well, largely Jim) we had built a lead of ten pins.

Steve S and Andy returned to the familiar anchor position for our second match and set about the pins with panache. The Rays (junior and senior) were also scoring very strongly for the Mopheads but Andy and Steve built up and then defended a slender lead to secure our second 12-nil of the season.

Going in to the Christmas break this puts The Lifers ten points clear at the top of the table but, after just two matches, it’s far too early make predictions.

The final scores were:

• Steve C 26
• Paul 25
• Jim 30
• Kieren 22
• Andy 28
• Steve S 23

The final scoreboard looked like this:

7:30pm on the 4th December 2007 was a step into the unknown for The Lifers. Our opening match was against the Engideers – one of the new teams. Ours was also the first game of the new season.

The honour of throwing the first ‘competition’ ball on the brand new alley fell to Sean – a historic occasion indeed. We recorded the moment for future generations of skittlers:

None of us knew how the scoring would go on the new alley. The pairs were well matched but Sean and Verity started well and a couple of sevens later in the End saw them edge into a good lead. Alex and Carla (Engideers) put up a great defence, especially having not played skittles before. Carla was particularly unlucky not to get more pins down. To be honest skittles seems to have got a lot harder this year.

At the end of the first pair Sean and Verity had built a strong 12 pin lead.

Andy and Steve then stepped up to the alley. How would they do playing on a new alley and out of the traditional anchor position? Andy found his feet almost immediately and, showing that class is permanent, scored 31. Steve scored more slowly but finished with a highly respectable 24. In reply, Jeff scored a superb 29 and Rita scored 18. A strong pairing from Andy and Steve had extended our lead to 20 pins.

Lucy and I then took to the alley, neither of us regularly play the anchor pair so this added to the pressure. We both struggled initially, Lucy getting a brace of threes and me getting a one and four, and by the end of the third Up we were three pins down on the pair.

The next three Ups were a bit better with both of us scoring more consistently. In reply Dave and Bex had started extremely strongly but some unlucky Ups towards the end of the pair allowed Lucy and I to overhaul the deficit and we finished five pins ahead securing a 12 – nil victory for The Lifers.

The final scores were:

• Sean 25
• Verity 27
• Andy 31
• Steve S 24
• Lucy 23
• Kieren 24

The first game of the season was very enjoyable and I’m really pleased our league has been joined by a new team as friendly as the Engideers. The new alley is also a great leveler and the svelte pins meant for some modest scoring – getting over 30 really is going to be a triumph this season!

The final scoreboard looked like this:

The eagle-eyed amongst you will recognise the nostalgic-chic of the scoreboard. Diki from the Inequalities saved the scoreboard from the old social club and it now has pride of place in our new facility.

After a gestation period equivalent to that of a black bear the University of Bristol’s brand new skittle alley has been born. The new facility is located in the undergraduate refectory, under the Hawthorns, in the main precinct.

For the start of the 2007/2008 season we’ve not only got a new alley we’ve also got brand new pins and balls – we’ve never had it so good!

Unfortunately though, two of the longest standing teams in the league have been unable to get enough players together to join the new league. The Thin Blue Line and the Glassblowers will be sadly missed… although maybe their prodigious scoring might not be.

However, we’re joined by four new teams:

• Axiom This!
• Brownian Motion
• Engideers
• MARACANA

This means we’ve got eleven teams all set to beckon in the new era of skittles at the UoB!

For those who just can’t wait for the season opener on the 4th December here are some pictures of the new alley:

The alley is slightly smaller than our previous sporting arena. However, the surface is flat and the pins slightly smaller so it’s likely to be just as hard. In fact it could be a low scoring year and many of the new teams can capitalise as the old teams have to adjust to the new facility…. game on!