For the first time in five years there was no national title glory for East Lothian bowlers at last week’s Bowls Scotland National Championships played at Ayr Northfield.

However, there was a bronze lining for the Garden County as the Cockenzie & Port Seton rink of Jamie Gordon, Gordon Baillie, Steven Thomson and Craig Valentine picked up a medal as beaten semi-finalists in the gents’ fours.

Valentine & Co faced up to Midlothian champions Bonnyrigg in last Sunday morning’s semi-final clash and things looked good for them when they raced into a 6-1 lead but then a disastrous loss of a seven on end seven was to prove very costly as they failed to recover and slipped to an 18-13 defeat.

East Lothian hopes of putting up a bold show in the gents’ pairs suffered an early knockout blow with Stephen Whitson and John McCrorie of Tranent crashing out to a 21-7 defeat from Kilwinning.

And there was also a first-round exit for the highly fancied West Barns triple of Ian Thorburn, Gary Landells and Billy Mellors, who suffered a nightmare 14-13 defeat from Kintore.

Grant Thomson of East Linton went into the gents’ junior singles with high hopes that failed to materialise as he made an opening-round exit in a 21-19 defeat from Reece Taylor of Wilton.

In the gents’ singles Kyle Robertson of Aberlady – subbing for the unavailable Gordon White – was a 21-8 victim of Jim Byron of St Monans in his first-round clash.

In the ladies’ events, Yvonne Veitch of EL-Coop – who captured the singles title in 2011 – made an early exit, having failed to pick up from 9-9 in a 21-10 defeat from June Marshall of Mearns.

In the pairs East Linton’s Agnes Thomson and Iris White made a first-round exit as they lost 23-10 to Sorn, while in the triples the Castlepark trio of Agnes McLeod, Jean Russell and Margaret Thomson had to hand opponents St Ronans a walkover at the quarter-final stage due to unforeseen medical circumstances.

The East Linton rink of Amy Newlands, Hazel Fender, Jennifer Newlands and Dawn Murdoch reached the second round but then lost 15-13 to Crookston, while in the senior fours the Castlepark rink of Betty Gunn, Barbara McLeod, Grace Thomson and Janet Fairnie opened impressively with 19-8 win over Wellcroft but then fell away in round two as they lost 18-15 against St Vincent.

Elsewhere, the ELBA seniors team in the Matt Purdie Trophy suffered a 43-60 defeat to rivals West Lothian at windswept West Barns on Monday.

Trying to avoid the wooden spoon for a second year, the team tried in vain to quell the wind but West Lothian were just too good on a tricky green.

Gordon Blyth’s rink of Duncan Hogg, Bobby Scott and Bobby Brunton were the best of the day with a good two-shot win over Gordon Marshall. Tommy Young failed to make it and lost by one shot to Bob MacKay.

Dougie Kennedy’s rink failed in the second half of the game to lose 15-7 and Billy Higgins’ four went down to Gordon Logan 22-12.

Selector Andy Burt said: “The guys tried hard all season but it was inconsistency that we lacked. There are a few positives that we can take to next season but we need a few more seasoned players to make themselves available.” The end-of-season Purdie Bash will be at Dunbar on August 28, starting at 10am, followed by lunch. All players are invited to attend and those who cannot make it should let Andy Burt know on 07783 323079 by August 25 for catering purposes.

Thanks went to all the players and markers, John Thorburn the umpire and the clubs for their support throughout the campaign.

The two section winners – Fife and West Fife – played at Berwick BC on Monday to go through to the final against the north section winners later this month.

Following a week’s break in action due to last weekend’s Bowls Scotland National Championships, the race for the prestigious Division 1 title in the East Coast Carpets-sponsored East Lothian Leagues gets back on track tonight (Friday) as the campaign enters the home straight, with only three rounds of fixtures left to play.

Current leaders West Barns hold a three-point lead over the chasing pack and they enjoy home advantage for the next couple of fixtures, starting with a clash against Gifford, who will welcome Commonwealth Games hero Alex Marshall back into their line-up.

A titanic battle looks in prospect at second-placed Haddington when they entertain third-placed EL-Coop, while Cockenzie & Port Seton need a big win at Tranent to keep their very slim title hopes alive.

Elsewhere, relegation-zoned Prestongrange entertain East Linton, while officially relegated Aberlady make the trip along the coast to tackle Castlepark.

A new name will be etched on the ladies’ singles championship board at Haddington after Janice Blair captured the title for the first time after beating Francis Brock 21-18 in Monday night’s final.

Scotland star Lauren Baillie won the Cockenzie & Port Seton ladies’ singles championship for a remarkable eighth time following a hard-fought 21-17 win over Essa Billie in the final.

Several gents’ singles championships across the county have already reached their conclusion and Stevie Thomson ended a barren 17-year spell as he captured the title at Castlepark for a sixth time with a 21-9 win over Jamie Frame, while at Haddington there is a new name on the trophy after Davie Todd defeated Gordon Hunter 21-10.

At Tranent the final was due to be contested on Tuesday evening between John McCrorie and Alister Russell, while Athelstaneford has also reached its final stage and sees John Carpenter Jnr tackle Luke Newlands.

At EL-Coop rising star Steven White will tackle old guard Kenny Boyd in the final, while at Elphinstone Peter Fallen has made it through to the final and he now awaits the winner of the semi-final clash between Declan French and Kevin Gordon.

West Barns Bowling Club is staging an Open Pairs tournament next Sunday (August 24) and entries are now been accepted by contacting club match sectary J L Johnston on 07771 430547.

The draw for Tranent Bowling Club’s Invitation Fours tournament, sponsored by Medical Professional, at Polson Park tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows: 10am: M. Hoggan, N. Buchanan, G. Duncan, J. Bonner, J. Carpenter Snr, B. McKeown, J. Higgins, Late Entry.

11am: B. Kerr, S. Whitson, S. Blyth, Y. Veitch, D. Mitchell, J. McCrorie, C. Cochrane, M. Osborne.