4th April '25 v Fire Brigade (Front Pin Final) Lost 231-243

The Tatti's quest to win the Front Pin cup for the third year in succession was thwarted in the Final by an excellent performance by Fire Brigade, the result ended 231-243. 

It was the 16th Front Pin cup final for the Bogoes but the first against Fire Brigade who can boast a great achievement of reaching the final of all the three main cups this season. Two days prior to this, they won the KO cup, by beating Evans SC, and they will have a crack at the hat-trick when they play 'C'on Men in the Cider cup on 25th April. Good luck to them. 

You can have a look at the scores on the board & you'll find many reasons for the Tatti's losing this one but at the end of the day, you just have to applaud Fire Brigade's brilliant 81 third leg and Lee Silcox's superb 46 total. It's the league's highest individual front pin score of the season. 👏👏

Finally, well done to Jonah, 37 at front pin is excellent and to Prycer & Rusty for weighing in with their very good 29's to help make the total score respectable.

28th March 25 v Woodpeckers (A) Lost 309-350

The Tatti's were well second best in their final league game of the season against Woodpeckers at the Bowling Club, losing by 49 pins.

21st March '25 v Painters 'B' (H) Won 349-342

In their final home game of the season the Tatti's beat Painters 'B' by 7 pins, 349-342

New supporter, Heidi, took her place on the terrace to watch the Bogoes produce some entertaining skittles with Rusty, Benny & Vorni all recording good spares to surge their opening leg total past the ton mark. After that, she left the venue satisfied having seen enough to believe the result was a foregone conclusion.

However, if Heidi had stayed for the second & third legs she would have left for a completely different reason. Two dire totals brought Painters back into contention & when they finished with with a good 91 they left the Tatti's 85 to win. 

Fortunately, the Bottom Halfer's dug deep and scored an excellent 47 without a spare. It paved the way for the top half to coast home to victory with Booby felling the winning pin with his first ball.

Vorni topped the high scores with a great 36 pipping Benny by a pin & Rusty by two. Heidi will be proud!

"Good game good win to end our home campaign with 9 wins on the spin. An excellent 1st leg of 101 which included good spares by Rusty Benny and Vorni set us up but painters were never out of the game especially when we threw in two poor legs of only 77 & 80 which really put the outcome in the balance. Painters could only match our 80 on their 3rd leg but a good 91 to finish left us a very challenging 85 to get on an alley where the conditions had got worse. Hats off to to the bottom half good skittling for 47 eased the pressure and in the end we ran out winners after matching our opponents last leg. Those 3 spares would be the last for us on the night but they probably proved decisive although painters recorded 5 in total. Well played Rusty, 34, Benny, 35, but top score went to Vorni with an excellent 36( maybe the extra supporter on the first leg spurred us on but like the spares she had disappeared at the end of that leg too !!)"

14th March '25 v Fire Brigade (A) Lost 343-355.

 After retaining their championship last week, the Tatti's can be excused for an under-par performance away against Fire Bridage which ended in a 12 pins defeat, 343-355. 

The ol' saying "spares wins games" is perfect to describe how this match panned out. Fire Bridage made full use of their opportunities to boost their total score by an extra sixteen pins, and if only the Bogoes had done likewise, the result would have been different. Just TK Maxx managed to achieve a spare, confidently dispatching a single pin but unfortunately his final ball sailed through the gap between the front & quarter pins.

Ne'r mind, congratulations to Fire Bridage & hat's off to them for making it through to the final of all three cup competitions, an excellent achievement. 👏

"With the league won the week before maybe this performance was expected but take nothing away from Fire Brigade they fully deserved the win. Big spares by them was the difference and we wish them well for the rest of the season having reached all three cup finals, fantastic achievement. Top scorers were the father and son combo Ian and Liam with 33"

12th March '25 v Beevers (Front Pin S. Final) Won 217-192

The Tatti's reached their 16th Front Pin final with a 25 pins victory over Beevers at the Railway Club, 217-192, in a repeat of last seasons semi-final.

A good start by Beevers saw them 12 pins up after one leg each but, with the Tatti's improving their scores as they became more accustomed to the difficult alley conditions, Beevers suffered a couple of sub 40 legs to hand the momentum to the Bogoes. 

The Tatti's finished with a solid leg without ducks to leave the Beevers requiring an unassailable 93 to win. This maintains their 100% record against Beevers in this competition, with five wins from five games.

7th March '25 v Livin' on a Spare (H) Won 365-351

The Tatt'is secured their seventeenth division one title with a great home win by 14 pins against Livin' on a Spare at the Military Club, 365-351

They had to do it the hard way though. Following a poor opening leg they found themselves 12 pins behind but their opponents second leg below 80 gave them an opportunity to come back and, they did in some style with two superb high 90 legs. 

A brace of 13 spare's by Eric & Berti almost brought up a ton second leg but arguably, the third leg was better still. Despite the lack of spares, the skittling was excellent and the total was just three pins shy of the ton. It also put the Tatti's well in command of the outcome having left their opponents 107 to level.

Fair play to Livin' on a Spare, they produced an excellent last leg to leave the Bogoes 75 for victory and another championship title secured in the bag. 

So, on a night when Prycer celebrated his 50 something birthday, just a few days after Captain Ali had celebrated his too, the team celebrated winning their 17th Division title, and a fifth in succession, what a fantastic achievement!

"Brilliant boys !! 

Not the best of opening legs, 81, which gave a good Livin on a spare team a chance to really put us under pressure. 93 gave them an early advantage but followed it with 77 that let us back in. Good spares by the top two in averages lan and Eric meant we recorded a 99 2nd leg to give us a slight advantage at the half way point. A brilliant 3rd leg 97 without any spares left our opponents 107 to be level and with 85 and a good last leg 96 they left us 75 for the win and ultimately the title.

 A good last leg of 88 and we’d secured the win we needed in what was a very good game. Once again new boy Eric, I think he’s settled in🤪, topped scored with an excellent 'Vorni' "

28th February v The 'C'on Men (A) Won 351-298

The Tatti's are now one point away from winning the Division One title for the fifth season in succession after an excellent 53 pins victory over The 'C'on Men at the Golden Lion, 351-298. 

It wasn't the best of starts by any means, with just 22 pins from five players in the top half resulting in a 74 opening leg. However, Prycer got their second leg off to a flier by flooring a fabulous 14 spare to set the Bogoes on their way to a very comfortable win at their inaugural home. 

In the final leg, the newly formed double-act of Jonah & Vorni performed two amazing back-to-back flopper spares of 15 &16, sealing victory and a whitewash of the top half to boot. However, their celebrations couldn't have been more different. Whilst Jonah face was still wearing a look of complete astonishment, Vorni pranced up & down the alley with his shirt above his head. To be fair, not a particularly great look from either of them! 😂

"Another good win and a better performance to see off The 'C'on men who would have been buoyed after a good performance in midweek in reaching the cider cup final. However they started with a surprisingly poor opening leg of 69 which gave us the chance to stamp our authority on the game. Our opening leg wasn’t the best, 74, but an excellent 2nd leg of 92 aided by a good 14 spare by Dave left the home side 97 to catch us. Two spares in a 88 leg kept them in the game but another 60 odd 3rd leg effectively ended the contest. A solid 89 3rd was followed by an excellent last leg of 96 thanks to brilliant spares by Jonah 15 and Vorni 16. Jonah’s effort helped him to a “Vorni“ top score with the man himself just 2 pins behind !! A special shout out to the bottom half who absolutely annihilated the top half, excellent boys "

26th February '25 v Fire Brigade (Cider Cup SF) Lost 4-6

The Tatti's bowed out of the Cider Cup at the semi final stage, losing to Fire Brigade 4-6 at the Military Club. 

It was a tight game that could have gone either way but was massively spoiled by the dreadful plastic pins. Far too frequently poor efforts, delivered way wide of their intended target, were rewarded whilst an accurate ball, hitting the pin it was aimed at, was severely punished with a bizarre fall to leave everyone shaking their heads in bemusement. 

So unfortunately, what should have been a great contest of skill between two teams with good skittlers', turned into a farcical game of who would be the luckiest. 

Sad really, but anyway it is what is, congratulations to Fire Brigade who progress on to play 'C'on Men in April's final, after they beat Beevers on the other Military Club alley.

Hopefully, that match will be much better for playing with the proper traditional wooden pins. 

21st February '25 v Buccaneers (A) Won 337-330

Not the Tatti's best performance by a long shot but fortunately, it was sufficient to beat Buccaneers by 7 pins at the Lads Club, 337-330.

At this stage of the season, points in the bag are all that matters and two more gained here has inched the Bogoes closer to a fifth league division one title in a row. They are six points clear of second placed Fire Brigade with just five matches to play.

Berti & Jonah topped the scoring but the game was more memorable for the bowl-off to secure a place in the side for next weeks away match against the 'C'on Men at the Golden Lion. With five players finishing the night on the lowest score of 24 they all had to compete for the two places on offer. And, it was Boundy (8) & Benny (7) who prevailed although Benny did need a second bowl-off to oust TK Maxx who had initially matched his 7.

"Not pretty, not pretty at all, but at this stage of the season all that matters is the 2 points. Buccaneers started well and would have been confident of completing a league double after turning us over earlier in the season. 

It looked like it was gonna be one of those nights especially with a poor opening leg of 80 and a bottom seven on the 2nd leg amassing just 37. Sometimes it’s spares that win you games but, on occasions, it’s when you get them and this was certainly the case because without good spares by cheese Ian and Rob to finish that leg the game would’ve been over. Buccaneers who are a dangerous side let us off when they returned to alley and left us us just 77 to be level on three. Another poor leg of 79 left us 2 up and when Jonah started the last leg with a brilliant flopper 15 we had something to build on to record a good last leg of 91. 94 to win for home side, looked like it could go either way but in the end they fell 7 pins short to hand us the points. A massive win, move on now for another away trip this time at the Golden Lion !! Ian and Jonah topped the scoring both scoring good 35’s"

14th February '25 v Military 'D' (H) Won 369-330

Three excellent legs by the Tatti's saw them beat second placed stablemates Military 'D' by 39 pins on their home alley, 369-330.

It has increased their lead in the title race to 6 points with six games to play. 

The stand-out performer on the night was Boundy who was very unfortunate not to score 40 or more when he suffered a very unlucky 2 on the final leg. But, by then, the game was over as a contest. 

"Another good team performance probably the best at home since the Fire Brigade game. 

A must win game we gave ourselves every chance with good opening leg of 92 and with Military D only scoring 86 & 80 the chance was there to take control and we did just that thanks to a excellent 13 spare from Dutchy, a brilliant flopper 16 from the Bound and a 13 from the MIP Cheese. 106 2nd leg, 32 up, we followed that with another 92 thanks to Rob's 15 and when the D’s chalked up a 78 3rd leg it was game over. 

Some impressive performances and the Bound should’ve topped the 40 mark and probably deserved to but was very unlucky on the last leg so had to settle for a share of the top score award with Rob, Cheese and Dutchy.

 Another game ticked off another two points keep it going boys!!"

7th February '25 v Evans SC (A) Won 362-338

The Tatti's were in top form to defeat Evans SC by 24 pins away at the Hereford Bowling Club, 362-338. 

For reasons unknown, the Bowling Club is renowned as a difficult alley to play on but in recent games the Bogoes have made light of this. In this fixture last season, on 19th January 2024, they scored 358 to win by 26, with Stuee Griff excelling with a brilliant 42.

In this game, Evans' opened with a very good 90+, twelve more than last season however, the Tatti's matched this thanks to Rusty's & Cheeso's spares. In the following leg, the bottom half excelled, racking up a superb 48 without a spare and, when Captain Ali repeated his feat from the January last year, it was enough for the top half to pip the bottom by a couple of pins & for Stuee chalk up 98.

The reply from Evans was a surprise to all and their 2nd leg sub 80 probably cost them the points. They found themselves 21 pins behind which soon became 26 pins when Prycer produced some magic to complete the Tatti's third leg. Despite a very average 80 finish, it was enough to leave Evans' more than a ton to win and for Stuee to chalk up the Bogoes highest ever total on this alley. 

"The big one!! Always the game that gets the juices flowing and when Evans started with a good opening leg of 91 the challenge was on. A good start was paramount and we got just that with excellent spares by the two Russ’s which enabled us to match the 91. Some excellent skittling and a spare by the captain and we chalked up an excellent 2nd leg of 98. 

Evans 2nd leg was ultimately the difference because at the half way point we found ourselves 21 up and when Dave produced a fantastic 17 spare to finish the 3rd leg it gave us that buffer you need on that alley against such good opposition. An average 80 to finish left the home side 107 to win and their final leg of 82 resulted in us running out winners by 24 pins. 362 on that alley is superb probably our best team performance in a while and we must keep it going now with another big game against our stablemates next week. Rusty and Dave both scored brilliant 37’s to share the top score gong"
  

5th February '25 v Painters 'B' (Front Pin Q.Final) Won 203-170

The Tatti's sailed through to the Semi-final of the Front Pin cup after a 33 pins victory over fellow Division One team Painters'B' at the Military Club, 203-170.

Painters' opened proceedings with a poor 33 leg to hand the initiative to the Tatti's in their 100th Front Pin game. They fully expected to forge a healthy lead after Booby & Berti started with a 9 & 8 but when Holly completed the leg with a duck to match TK's they found themselves just a pin in front. 

Despite two more ducks, the second leg was much better. With four 8's & a couple of 9's they left Painter's 60 to level. It was a target they never really threatened and the match became comfortable for the Bogoes to win.

The first spare was achieved by Boundy. He narrowly missed the front pin with his first ball to take down five pins & leave the long three with one of the back quarter pins behind. A perfect second delivery cleared the rest & shortly after the sticker had reset them, he duly knocked them all over again for an 8 spare. 

On the final leg, after the game was won, Berti completed a fine personal performance with 13, to end up with the top score of 35. However, he would have preferred to have done that in their league match the previous Friday!

31st January '25 v Beevers (H) Won 357-334

The Tatti's avenged their away defeat by Beevers earlier in the season by beating them on their home alley at the Military Club by 23 pins, 357-334.

By pure coincidence, the Bogoes total of 357 matched the exact score achieved by Beevers in the reverse fixture at the Richmond Club, but maybe it shouldn't have done with the top three players finishing poorly after seeing Westy fell the winning pins. 

At the start of the game all eyes were on Eric, who was playing against his former team. Despite a nervous start he floored a fantastic 16 spare to equal Boundy's superb effort in the third leg. These back to back 16's surged the Tatti's on to a ton leg to effectively end the contest. 

This was Eric's 14th spare of the season, three more than anyone else in the team but, it was Boundy who claimed the limelight, finishing with an excellent 9, to register the highest score of the night & his best of the season so far.  

"This was always going to be a hard fought game between two sides fighting for points for different reasons. With both sides recording two opening 80 plus legs we found ourselves 8 up at the midway point and after two and a half legs we still hadn’t managed a spare until the Bound stepped up to floor a fantastic flopper 16 which was immediately followed by Eric’s brilliant 16 (a bit like buses!!). A ton third leg gave us the upper hand and with Beevers chalking up two more 80 odd legs the two points were ours. An excellent win in the end with Boundy top scoring with 35"

 

24th January 25 v FJ Lions (A) Won 346-301

The Tatti's returned to their previous home alley at the Q Club to defeat FJ Lions for the second time in three days, this time by a very convincing 45 pins, 346-301. 

After inflicting a gaping wound into their opponents, by beating them at their new lair in the Cider cup the previous Wednesday, the Bogoes fully expected this league encounter to be much tougher to win especially as the Lions' were breathing down their necks by leading the chasing pack in this season's fight for the Division one title.

However, the game turned out to be the complete opposite when Jonah cracked his whip to tame the Lions' instantly into submission with a brilliant 18 spare.
Despite this being the only spare ball of the night made to count (Eric suffered the miss-fortune of finding a gap with his spare ball in the third leg) it didn't matter, because the Tatti's had every Lion fully under their control by that stage and two points in the bag. 

Deciding his whip was no longer needed for the last leg, Jonah set it aside next to his burnt-out hoops, and stepped onto the alley to claim his first 40 of the season. Always an entertainer, in his finale he performed some late drama by leaving himself with a further three pins to fell for his final delivery. Seemingly by the skin of his teeth, he duly dispatched them to avoid suffering the dreaded 'Vorni' before taking a bow and a round of applause! 👏👏

 "In a clash of the top two in league we were expecting a tough game from a team determined to maintain their title challenge and one trying to avenge the cup defeat in midweek between the two sides. However a surprisingly below par performance by lions meant we won the game comfortably.
 Their opening leg of 71 shouldn’t of put us under any pressure but our first leg was looking like we’d only be a few up until Jonah produced a brilliant 18 spare to give us a lead of 15. 83 second leg left the home side 98 to level but the game was effectively over when they could only manage 69. Jonah (can I play here every week) topped scored with an excellent effort of 40, 18,8,8 he deserved to record that total with every player willing him on with only 3 down with one ball remaining on the last leg he didn’t deserve to record a ‘Vorni’ because without that spare on the first leg it could have been a totally different game !!

Keep it going boys"

22nd January 25 v FJ Lions (Cider cup QF) Won 6.5-3.5 (287-271)

The Tatti's progress through to the Semi Final of the Cider Cup with a comfortable victory over FJ Lions, 6.5-3.5 at the Q. Club.

Congratulations to Rusty for completing his 400th appearance for the Tatti's on his 18th against Lions. More than 13 years have passed by since he made his debut, away against Ramblers at the Cross Keys, and he's been in the winning team 308 times. 

17th January 25 v Harry's Lads (H) Won 353-341

 A better performance from the opening leg enabled the Tatti's to achieve an important home victory over Harry's Lads by a dozen pins.

A solid 88 start to the game was their best first leg score at home since the middle of November and set them on their way to claim two massive points. Harry's finished their opening leg with an excellent 16 spare which helped them stay in the match. However, a couple of legs each later on, the Tatti's had taken command thanks to spares by Captain Ali & Berti in their second leg. 

Despite a couple more spares by Harry's Lads, when the Bogoes returned to close out the match they required just 70 to win. They comfortably passed the finish line when Berti cleared the frame for the fourth time in what was probably his best performance of the season so far and Captain Ali wasn't too far behind him with a very good 36.    

So, with other results going their way, they find themselves back to where they were a couple of weeks ago, leading the title race with a three point cushion. Up next week is two matches against second placed FJ Lions on the Tatt's previous home alley. On Wednesday they go back to the Q Club to battle Lion's in the quarter final of the Cider Cup and, just two days later, it will be a case of 'deja-vu' for both teams when they square up in the league. 'Up the Tatti's!'

"Excellent win in what is always a hard fought game with Harry’s lads. A better opening leg of 88 was matched by our opponents on their 2nd leg and with their opening leg being rescued by their last man Jamer with a 16, 82 was the target to level on 2. Spares seem to have dried up for us at the moment (outspared again!!) but two good spares on the 2nd leg proved decisive as we recorded a 99+ leg to give us a 17 pin advantage at the half way point. Between both sides 7 out the 8 legs were in the 80’s which is why that excellent 2nd leg proved crucial to the outcome of the game. Ian starred again with a brilliant 40 his 3rd of the season. Keep it going boys as the big games will continue to come thick and fast !!"

10th January 25 v Wranglers (A) Lost 330-334

The Tatti's suffered a slight set-back in their quest to retain their D1 title after a disappointing defeat by four pins against relegation threatened Wranglers at the Richmond Club, 330-334

Apologies for the poor picture quality above but, if you squint, the photo improves. If it does, you'll notice, at the bottom of the board on the left hand side, that Wranglers fielded an AN Other. You may also be able to see that only three Tatti's achieved above thirty, perhaps some should try squinting when they play next week!

Anyway, on a more positive note, congratulations to Westy, who returned to action following his knee operation with a superb performance. He topped the scoring for the Bogoes with an excellent 37 thanks to a brace of spares and, but for a very unfortunate final ball, he would certainly surged into the 40's & could have won the match too. His last delivery, a 'spare ball', was on target to cut the side of the front pin perfectly but, instead of the expected flopper, the front pin fell down on its own. Very very unlucky.

Ne'r mind, the Tatti's are still sitting pretty on top of the table & can look forward to next weeks visit to the Military Club by Harry's Lads. 

"Disappointing defeat but hats off to wranglers on the win especially playing with a n other and for the way they finished off the game needing 46 off their top half on an alley that played tough. On a positive note we welcomed Craig back after two months on the sidelines and he showed the rest of the team how to do it by recording the top score of 37 and achieving the only 2 spares we had all night !! Dave with a solid 33 and Ian with 31 along with Craig were the only ones to make it into the 30’s which is not good enough if we want to maintain our challenge of retaining the title"

3rd January '25 v Westend (H) Won 350-315

The Tatti's returned to action following the extra long festive break with a comfortable home win over Westend, 350-315.

 A steady 85 opening leg wasn't too bad considering the players were a little rusty and there was a complete lack of spare opportunities. 

Unlike in their previous match, Westend failed to chalk up a 100+ leg so never threatened to change the final outcome. Cheeso set the Tatti's on their way to victory with a superb 17 spare to rescue what could have been a disastrous second leg and Berti did likewise in the third with a well taken 15.

From that point on the result was a formality however, the Bogoes saved their best for the final leg with Benny's 12 and Booby's 17 spare being the proverbial on top of the cake. 

Casting an eye on the board, the 350 total isn't too bad when considering there is more than an entire leg of 5's chalked up there and ten of them are in the bottom half!

"On a very cold alley we guessed it could be another tough night and when we chalked up an opening leg of 85 no one seemed to crumble !! Westend found the going tough as well posting 76 and 83 with a 15 spare and our second leg looked like it was going to be much the same until cheese produced a brilliant 17 to rescue the leg. Ian’s well taken 15 in the third leg helped set our opponents 100 to be level but with only 72 and 84 the two points were effectively ours. Spares by Benny 12 and Robs excellent 17 ( yes he was sober !!) sealed what was in the end a comfortable win. Cheese topped scored with an excellent 41 with Ian not far behind and achieving a “Vorni “"