Ottery St Mary's Bowling Club has had a busy month full of competitions and events.

The longest day of the year brought plenty of bowling matches contentiously fought. However, the first scheduled event in June was postponed due to the opposition's inability to form a team.

Instead, a stride of internal and external competitions filled the gap, with the men's team in the Foxlands Trophy, which is played on a home and away basis on the same evening, progressing to the final.

Here, they met a formidable opponent in the form of The Madeira Club.

Despite the support and the vocal backing of the Ottery members, the men's team fell short by three shots in the final reckoning.

The enforced break may have been the reason that could have contributed to the later defeat at Chardstock, a complete rout.

However, the mood soon lifted with the advent of Presidents Day on June 16, organised by Terry House.

This proved to be a wonderful afternoon of fun, laughter, banter and competitive bowls.

The day ended in a diplomatic draw between the President's team and the Chairman's team, thereby forestalling any banding about of bragging rights for the rest of the season.

The bowls were closely followed by a feast of grilled steak or roast chicken, accompanied by salad.

Many described it as a fitting way to end a great afternoon.

The club was then suddenly entrenched in a series of three friendly matches over three consecutive days.

A visit to Bovey Tracey saw both teams winning two rinks each, but Ottery came out on top by three shots overall.

On this occasion, the top team of Carl Gilleard, Jane Bishop, Peter Parnell and Terry House won by 27 shots to 8, thereby ensuring victory for Ottery.

The second match in this trilogy was an away match against Honiton, where two rinks were drawn and Ottery won on the remaining two rinks. Terry House started badly and the team was down after 5 ends by 1 shot to 8.

However, Brian Salter and Fenella Griggs contributed well to Terry’s expertise, winning by 29 shots to 13.

The last of the three friendly matches were on June 23, against Crediton, culminating in a draw, as both teams won two rinks each.

Complementing this flurry of competitions has been the striking accomplishment of Ms Gail Hawke, who has attained a level two coaching award.

This now takes the count of the club's level two coaches to two.

Despite the rush of events hosted and participated in by the bowling club, all the triumphs, losses and draws, and the level two coaching badges all reflect the dedication and competitive spirit cultivated within its members.