Richard Chandler continued as Middleton manager in 2014 but, with nine players not available for the first game, prospects did not look good.

However, the team made the long trip to Derbyshire and got an excellent 18-4 +30 shots victory.

Andrew Baxter and Stephen Farish came back into the side for the next game so the prospects looked good. It proved to be so as Cumbria beat Nottingham comfortably at Wigton, although the 16-6 point share was a shade disappointing. 

In the third group game, Cumbria was again below full-strength and almost paid the penalty, winning on just two rinks but getting the 10 points for the aggregate after finishing six shots in front. 

In the quarter-final, Northumberland were the opposition and Cumbria won by 16 shots. 

An odd incident occurred in this game. Gavin Taylor was last on the green and, overall, Cumbria led by eight shots.

But the Northumberland officials, obviously supreme optimists, would not concede and insisted the end be played. Taylor burned the end and again it was replayed. 

On this occasion, however, Taylor removed the two nearest Northumberland bowls with his final delivery to score a count of eight.

A first Middleton trip to Leamington but it was not successful.

Cumbria made a slow start, 25 shots in arrears at five ends and, though they fought back to reduce the margin to single figures, it was never quite enough and Norfolk went through to the final by nine shots. Another Middleton disappointment.

Stuart Airey received some great news when he was again selected for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Cumbria’s Under-25 side made another good start to the season when they defeated Lancashire by 19 shots and, at the Regional Finals, looked to be on course for a place in the last-eight when leading Northumberland by 20 shots. 

However, the good start was soon forgotten as Northumberland came right back into the game and finished four ahead.

Cumbria’s Alsop side made its customary start when beating Lancashire 20-2 plus 45 shots, and then beat Yorkshire 17-5 plus 12. They continued in winning vein, beating Northumberland 18-4 plus 50 and then battled well to beat Durham at Wigton Park 17-5 plus 10, a victory which ensured that the Alsop Trophy is back in Cumbria.

Cumbria’s Top Double Rink had been disappointing recently and, after a bright start when they defeated Northumberland by 11 shots, they travelled to Kirbymoorside and were beaten by Yorkshire.

On County Finals day, the Triples went to an extra end and it was Paul Wallace’s final delivery, which Ben Sherwen was unable to better, that won the game for the Silloth trio of Adam Hocking, Ryan Orchard and Wallace. 

In the pairs, Lee McGarvie and Kevin Johnston of Courtfield, who had a last bowl win over John Baird and Rick Gallagher in the semi-final, led 20-8 against Bill Bateman and Steven Cook but in the end they went all out to hold on for a single shot victory. 

The fours title also went to Courtfield when David McManus, Eric Johnston, Gavin Taylor and Anthony Little had a comfortable win over Aspatria’s Stuart Irwin. 

Paul Campbell took a third title for Courtfield when beating Joe Coulthard in the Restricted Singles. Peck Orchard had done well in the two Wood Singles in the 21st century reaching the final on three occasions and reached the final again this year, only to find one too good again, this time it was Ben Sherwen. 

The singles final was a remarkable game as Paul Wallace dominated for the best part of the game and led 17-8 against John Baird.

Once Baird got the mat, however, there was a change of tactics with the mat up the green and it paid off in some style as Wallace failed to add to his tally while Baird added 13 shots to take the title 21-17. 

The final of the County Cup was a rain-affected game, both sides had to leave the Fitz Park green after just four ends and when play resumed it was agreed that the game would be 15 rather than 18 ends. Whitehaven came out on top when beating Wigton by four shots.

In the National Finals at Leamington, Peck Orchard was the only player to give any real hopes for Cumbria as he reached the semi-final before going out. But, at the Northern Counties, he at last gained reward for his Two Wood consistency taking the title after four near misses in Cumbria.

Stuart Airey won a silver medal in the fours at Glasgow Commonwealth Games after which he announced that he intended to retire from international bowls as there were many good up-and-coming players, not sure whether he was right about that. 

In the Champion of Champions at Kirkbride, John Baird had a hard semi-final battle with local hope David Beattie but got home 21-16, while in the other semi-final, Jeff Brown played well without ever getting a break and went down 21-12 to Peter Pieri. 

In the final, Pieri again played well but like Brown in the previous game, he did not get the vital rubs of the green and Baird went on to win 21-18. It could so easily have been 21-18 to Pieri.

The next big news item occurred out of the playing season when news came that county secretary Eric Johnston had died on York Railway Station after attending a Northern Counties Meeting. 

Eric had held the position of county secretary for 32 years and was an efficient, if sometimes officious secretary. There were those who adored him while others viewed him in an entirely different light.

The news was a great shock not just in Cumbria but also in the Northern Counties and Bowls England as he had been made a Life member of that association.

Some time after, however, there came a greater shock when it transpired there were some major financial irregularities in some of the bowling accounts which he was responsible for. 

Large sums of money were unaccounted for and no-one knew what happened to that money. The mystery was never solved and possibly never will be.

Dalston BC came into being in 1971 two years after the initial planning had begun in 1969. 

The original bower, a former army hut, was purchased for £39 and is still in use today providing excellent changing facilities for visitors. 

Originally, the club played friendly matches on away greens and the first victory came in 1970. Once the green had settled in it soon became the green that all good players wished to play on and it was very popular for county ties, county matches and finals days. There was ample parking facilities, a bar but the green itself was always the club’s greatest asset. 

It was the best green north of Nottingham where the international trials were played and in later years it hosted the Junior International Series without any problem at all.

The club’s first member was John Hall who no longer plays but still resides in Dalston. His wife Beryl who was in the Land Army during the war also played but still remembers being billeted in 126 Scalegate Road in Carlisle and babysitting for a local bowls correspondent. 

The club soon began flourishing and built a brand new bower and two indoor rinks to provide a great facility for the area. The club has a very active league programme playing in six different leagues, has won numerous county titles and has provided three county presidents and an English international in Ian Carruthers.

Penrith Castle Park BC began play in 1927 though the bower was erected four years earlier. The first winner of the championship was Herbert Winskill. 

It was the first club in Cumbria to host charity tournaments and in the mid-60s at the height of its popularity had in excess of 100 members. The original bower was destroyed by fire in March 2012 but a new bower was opened in 2014. 

The green was at one time maintained by Eden District Council but the club now looks after itself. 

The club has produced many fine players, undoubtedly Tom Armstrong being the best. Armstrong collected the club’s first county title when winning the singles in 1966 and George Hetherington was the clubs only county president in 1990.