It was a strange match at Peel on Tuesday 1 July in the Trend sponsored ladies’ over 60’s league with Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt for the home side and Jan Osborne for Douglas having convincing wins to single figures. On the other hand Patsy Rush and Rose Corfield had a close match with Patsy coming through 21-19 while Heather Horsburgh and Jo Oldam kept the rest waiting for their dinner before Heather eventually came through 21-20.Noble’s Mixed had the better of Villa 4-2 on games in a high-scoring match, the two winners for the home side being Muriel Cain and Peggy Chapman, while Marilyn Ellison spoiled the party for Port St Mary B being the lone winner for Onchan B. All the games went to double figures at Onchan A where Hazel Hughes and Flo Kelly were the two winners for the home side while Heather Reynolds put up a battling performance to reach 19 against Tricia Bull. Rita Callan and Lilian Slinger won to single figures against Castletown, whose two winners were Anne Oates and Ann Hollingworth, while Ballaugh won 4-2 on games against Marown with Jenny Maddrell winning to single figures as did Mary Alderson for the visitors.

Fixtures in the Trend sponsored ladies’ over 60’s league reached the half-way stage on Thursday 26 June. Port St Mary start the second half with a 100 point advantage over second placed Mooragh Park while Peel Sunset are not too far behind closely followed by Noble’s Mixed and Ballaugh.

Port St Mary did not have it all their own way at Ballaugh winning only two games. A win to single figures by Margaret Tasker together with a win by Tricia Bull and Val Macfarlane reaching 20 against Jenny Maddrell gave them a points win. Onchan A were unfortunately a player short against Mooragh Park who fell short of a maximum thanks to a win by Ann Watterson for the home side. Wins by Voirrey Curphey and Jean Thackrah, who edged out Connie Pettegrew 21-20, denied Peel Sunset a maximum against Port Erin. The score was close at the Villa despite the home side winning 5-1 on games. A win to single figures by Mary Alderson together with the other players getting into double figures meant that Marown lost by just 4 points. It ended level on games at Castletown, but wins to single figures by Marie Ashurst and Sue Peach gave the home side an 11 pojnt lead. Douglas had the better of Port St Mary B 4-2 on games the winners for the home side being Brenda Hawkard and Pauline Worrall.

Thursday 12 June

With the Douglas match against Castletown being postponed to 24 June there were only five matches played on Thursday 12 June.

After their break on Tuesday the Port St Mary A team returned refreshed to clock up yet another maximum to increase their lead at the top of the table. Villa were left shell-shocked with four of their players just moving into double figures. Mooragh Park kept the leaders in their sights as they dropped just 2 points to Onchan B, Eileen Thomas being the lone winner for the visitors. Noble’s Mixed proved too strong for Peel Sunset, winning 4-2 on games with Lin Ruscoe winning to single figures, Joyce Kelly and Heather Horsburgh being the westerner’s two winners. Although Port Erin drew on games with Port St Mary B, wins to single figures by Sylvia Shelbourne and Jen Thackrah gave them a comfortable points advantage. Pearl Quinn and Audrey Gardner went all the way with Pearl just edging the game 21-20.With Phyllis Gelling and Lynda Clarke winning to single figures Onchan A had the better of Ballaugh, whose two winners were Jenny Maddrell and Jane Teare, by a margin of 22 points.

After a fortnight off play resumed in the Trend sponsored over 60’s ladies’ league on Tuesday 10 June. Onchan A were top scorers winning five games the only fly in their ointment being Brenda Williams who took a game off them to prevent the full house. The Villa girls all reached double figures to give them a respectable score. Onchan B had a closer encounter with Douglas ending level on games and winning by just 2 points. The outstanding game of the match being Wendy Cowin’s 21-20 win against Joyce Gardiner. It was just as close at Peel where Sunset had a 2 point advantage over Marown in a lower scoring match. Noble’s Mixed had a good win, 4-2 on games with Lin Ruscoe and Josie Harding winning to single figures, with Pearl Quinn and Roma Ware being the winners for the home side, while Mooragh Park also won 4-2 at Ballaugh. Good wins by Ann Gale and Jenny Maddrell for the visitors kept the home team’s score down. The other game of the morning saw a 4-2 victory for Castletown, with Marie Ashurst winning to single figures as did the two winners, Gwen Tuck and Voirrey Curphey for Port Erin. By contrast Sue Peach was taken all the way by Sylvia Shelbourne before coming through 21-20.

Port St Mary A recorded their second maximum of the season to consolidate their position at the top of the table. Mooragh Park had a battle on their hands as visitors Villa drew with them on games, Peggy Chapman edging out Jean Radcliffe 21-20 while Joan Murphy came through against Rita Callan by the same score. Second placed Peel Sunset had a 4-2 advantage against Onchan A in a high scoring match while Onchan B had a close encounter with Noble’s Mixed, ending level on games and losing out by just four points. Sylvia Maddrell was the lone winner for Port Erin against Douglas although Gwen Tuck almost added a second game reaching 20 against Jo Oldam, while Mary Alderson and Shirley Whelan were the two winners for Marown against Castletown.

There was an entry of 25 for the Gladys Cowell Over 60’s ladies’ singles played at Peel on Saturday 17th May. The weather was kind although on a very fast green the increasing wind started to have some effect by the end of the afternoon.

Quarter-finals: Lilian Slinger 21, Pat Robertson 11; Jean Radcliffe 21, Heather Horsburgh 14; Sylvia Kennaugh 21, Connie Pettegrew 13; Shirley Whelan 21, Mary Black 13

Semi-finals: Lilian Slinger 21, Jean Radcliffe 10; Shirley Whelan 21, Sylvia Kennaugh 16

Lilian was imperious in the final taking the first four ends and a lead of 12-6 before Shirley put a 2 on the board. Lilian raced to 19-9 before Shirley tried to stem the tide with another 2. However it was too little too late as Lilian finished it with a 2 the following end to win 21-11.

The presentation was made by Heather Horsburgh who thanked all those who had entered, those who had stayed to watch the final and those who had helped in the smooth running of the afternoon.

League leaders, Port St Mary, did not have things all their own way against Castletown winning only two games. These were to single figures by Val Macfarlane and Margaret Tasker giving them a win on points. The highest score of the morning was recorded by Onchan B at Marown, 4-2 on games with all their players scoring at least 16 points, while Onchan A also came away with a win on points against Port St Mary B. Ballaugh and Peel Sunset produced the closest match of the day, ending level on games with the home team 6 points ahead. Noble’s Mixed and Douglas also ended level on games but with all their players reaching double figures the home side had a comfortable points lead. Mooragh Park won 4 games when they travelled South to Port Erin, although the home side fought well to reach a respectable total.

Tuesday 6 May

Castletown had the better of Onchan A, winning 4-2 on games in a high scoring match, the two winners for the visitors being Lynda Clarke and Hazel Hughes. It was nice to see Flo Kelly back on the green, just losing out 19-21 to Marie Ashurst. It was close at Douglas where despite winning 4-2 on games Marown just took the match by 2 points. The two winners for the home side were Wendy Cowin, who came through a close encounter with Mary Alderson 21-20, and Patsy Rush who won to single figures. Onchan B were, for the main, overwhelmed by league leaders Port St Mary A, who won 5 of the 6 games, two of them to single figures. The lone winner for the home side was Marilyn Ellison who also won to single figures. It was a high-scoring game at Peel with every player scoring at least 15 points. The match ended level on games with a 4 point advantage to the visitors, while the visiting team also won at Port Erin, again with all players reaching double figures, the two winners for the home side being Hesba Skelly and Sylvia Shelbourne. Another “welcome back” at Port St Mary as Pearl Quinn played her first game of the season in a match that was drawn on games although Ballaugh had a comfortable win on points with Brenda Bowyer and Jenny Maddrell winning to single figures.

Thursday 1 May

The match between Onchan A and Onchan B had to be postponed because of the inclement weather. League leaders Port St Mary extended their lead with a maximum at Douglas where Tricia Bull won to single figures, while Mooragh Park suffered another set-back going down 4-2 to Noble’s Mixed. Lilian Slinger’s win to single figures was balanced by Sylvia Kennaugh’s result while Pat Robertson won her battle with Rira Callan 21-19.It couldn’t have been much closer at Ballaugh with both teams winning 3 games, one each to single figures, the home side coming through by just one point. Villa put up a strong performance against Port St Mary B with Peggy Chapman and Joan Murphy winning to single figures in a 4-2 win, Brenda Hawkard and Roma Ware being the two winners for the visitors. Marown fell just short of 100 points in their 4-2 win over Port Erin for whom Sylva Shelbourne and Voirrey Curphey were the two winners.

Tuesday 29 April

After five games Port St Mary A have opened a significant gap at the top of the table ahead of Peel and Ballaugh, who are level on points, closely followed by Mooragh Park. The leaders fell just short of a maximum on their visit to near neighbours, Port Erin, where Gwen Tuck was the lone winner for the home side. Second placed Peel Sunset fought well to be level on games with Mooragh Park, and despite Lilian Slinger’s win to single figures, the westerners ended with the advantage on points. Ballaugh won a high scoring game against Onchan B, the match ending 3-3 with all games going into double figures.Noble’s Mixed won five games against Marown with Joan Walton being the only winner for the visitors. Two games went all the way with Lin Ruscoe coming from behind to edge out Shirley Whelan 21-20 while Pat Dacre came through against Celia Joughin by the same score. Onchan A also won five games against Douglas, Jan Osborne spoiling their party with a win to single figures while Kath King gave Phyllis Gelling a good game before going down 19-21. Muriel Cain and Kay McKiernan took two games off Castletown but with Anne Oates and Marie Ashurst winning to single figures the home side had a comfortable win on points.