West Barns 2013 Scottish Pairs champions Alister ‘Bongo’ Kennedy and Billy Mellors were the crowd pullers to the Royal Leamington Spa Bowling Club, in Warwickshire this week with the talented duo bidding to enhance their national title by adding the British Isles crown.

The Garden County pairing bid for title glory started yesterday (Thursday) at 2.30pm with either the pairing from England or Wales providing the opposition in the semi-final.

The final will be staged today (Friday) at 2.30pm. Live scoring from the championships can be viewed at britishislesbowls.com Kennedy and Mellors will be joined at Leamington Spa this weekend by East Lothian colleagues Derek Oliver (Cockenzie & Port Seton) and Scott Kennedy (West Barns) as they will all be part of a Scotland side looking to reclaim the British Home International series.

The Scots begin their campaign tomorrow (Saturday) at 9.30am against Wales, followed by an afternoon (2.30pm) clash with defending champions England. They finish off their campaign on Sunday morning when they tackle Ireland.

East Lothian clinched runners-up spot in the East section of the Scottish Counties Championship with a comprehensive 33-shot victory (141-108) over Stirling County East in their week 7 clash at West Barns BC, enough to take them into the knockout quarter-final stage for the Andrew Hamilton Trophy.

Going into last week’s final round of fixtures the battle to finish in the second qualifying place behind section winners West Lothian was between three sides, with East Lothian, Borders and defending champions Edinburgh & Leith all in the mix.

The odds favoured East Lothian as they had home advantage, while Borders and Edinburgh & Leith faced off at Jedburgh.

The Garden County knew a sizeable win would probably see them outdo the others and as it transpired Borders defeated Edinburgh & Leith 127-107 but it was not enough, as East Lothian took second place with a shot margin bank of +68 compared to Borders’ +56.

“We had a feeling that the game at Jedburgh would be a tight affair so in my pre-match team talk I asked the guys to give it their all and try win the game by a wide margin, which thankfully we did, and I’m thrilled to bits to be leading the side into the knockout stages,” said team captain Craig Valentine.

It was East Lothian’s fifth win in the seven-match campaign and the team produced a clinical performance that saw them outscore the opposition on five rinks – Billy Mellors (+18), Craig Valentine (+10), Derek Oliver (+8), Scott Kennedy (+6) and Alister Kennedy (+4) – with the only setback sustained by former captain Brian ‘Sconie’ Young (-12).

East Lothian’s opposition in their quarter-final at Carnoustie BC next Saturday (July 5) comes in the shape of North section champions Aberdeen & Kincardine.

A coach has been booked to transport players and officials to Carnoustie and any supporters wishing to travel on the coach are asked to contact team admin officer Jamie Gordon on 07795 264449 to check on availability of seats.

West Barns are the new Division 1 pacesetters at the halfway stage of the East Coast Carpets-sponsored East Lothian Leagues and last year’s Top Ten champions are sitting pretty with a one-point lead over the chasing pack, headed by former five-in-a-row champions Cockenzie & Port Seton.

Last Friday night’s action was week nine of the 18-match campaign and West Barns grabbed the headlines with a strong performance at home to inflict 8-0 pain on relegation-zoned Prestongrange.

Early-season leaders Port Seton dropped to second despite registering a 6-2 away win at Aberlady.

Haddington came up as Division 2 champions and they have made a tremendous impression to sit in third place, just two points adrift, after a 7-1 home win over Tranent.

East Linton are the defending champions but their form to date has been fluctuating in nature and their 8-0 hammering away to EL-Coop is a loud wake-up call. Castlepark were happy with their 6-2 away win at struggling Gifford.

In tonight’s (Friday) action match of the night is the top-of-the-table clash between Port Seton and West Barns, with both sides missing key players due to international duties.

A cracking clash looks in prospect at Haddington when they entertain defending champions East Linton, while EL-Coop visit bottom club Aberlady.

An out-of-sorts Gifford side welcome back Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall into their line-up when they make the trip to Polson Park to tackle Tranent, while the it’s an all-Prestonpans affair at Prestongrange when they entertain Castlepark.

All club secretaries are requested to ensure that all league and cup results, including shots aggregate score, are phoned into ELBA match secretary Keith Fender on 01620 860217 or via text message 07786 110416 immediately after each match.

Cockenzie & Port Seton Bowling Club is staging a big money Open Pairs tournament on July 26. Entries are now being accepted. Contact Steven Morgan on 01875 810481 or 07861 672123.

Pencaitland & Winton Bowling Club’s Open Pairs is next Sunday (July 6), 10/11am start, £5 per pair.

Entries are required no later than noon on Monday. To enter, call secretary Daniel Strachan on 07515 458905 or enter your pair on the sheet in the club locker room.

This will be a fun event – members past and present, young and old are invited along. Any prospective new members or members of other local clubs are also welcome. Light buffet/barbecue will be available.