SWANMORE were not put off by a torrential downpour when they defeated Braeside in their own backyard in A Division.

It took 30 minutes to clear the Magic Carpet after a break in the clouds eventually came and the Swans took advantage of the sunshine to register a 45-32 victory. Carole Feetham, Jill Griffiths, Rosie Beales and Jenny Osborne (26-11) were well ahead of Braeside’s winning skip Molly Shutler 21-19.

Broadstone-Wessex also notched four points after Pam Fordham, Monica Sturgess, Ann Williams and Lyn Howard (29-13) covered Richmond Park’s successful skip Linda Johnson (27-15).

Poole Park had almost completed their match when the rain arrived, but by then the Dolphins had swamped Lymington 53-23. With their minds on Leamington, the Poole Park squad of Ann Walford, Wendy Hardy, Julie Saunders and Penny Cresswell (29-9) handed out a first defeat of the season to Lymo skip Kay Richardson. Captain Sandie Smith (24-14) ensured the Dolphins claimed all six points.

• B Division leaders Wimborne were held to a 3-3 tie at Highcliffe. The Minster ladies must have felt hard done by, as they played with one player short on Chris Sexton’s rink and, after the 25 per cent adjustment, lost 21-18 to Highcliffe’s Janet Emerson. Meanwhile, Pat Gallup’s quartet registered a 23-20 win to level the match 41-41.

Pelhams moved to within one point of the leaders after completing a 33-30 victory over West Moors. Moors skip Olive Freeman (18-17) held off a spirited challenge from Pelhams’ Norma Grinter, but a crucial 16-12 win by Mary Watts, Trish Kilminster, Audrey Lewis and Beth Roberts earned Pelhams four points.

Iford Bridge remained in touch by overcoming Brockenhurst 4-2 (43-30). Janet Holloway, Linda Savage, Maureen Rutty and Ann Sedgwick (30-14) finished well clear of Brock’s winning skip Jean Lees (16-13).

Mary Wych (17-13), meanwhile, collected two points for Fordingbridge at Kings Park, but Jo Shaw, Anne Hill, Muriel Rose and Beryl Nuttall (19-12) paved the way for the Royals to win 32-29.

At New Milton, Sheila Nicoll’s squad of Chris Cooke, Pauline McCarthy and Margaret Whale (29-14) had a great time setting up Milton’s 4-2 (44-35) success over Milford-on-Sea.

• In C Division, Southbourne moved into top spot by taking all six points from lowly Alexandra Park. Gill Goodright’s rink (20-12) played the support role to Maureen Chadwick, Edie Brophy, Pam McKenna and Sheila York (23-13).

Richmond Park II remained in the drop zone after their 37-34 defeat at Branksome Park. Trish Gray (15-12) flew the flag for Richmond but all in vain as Veronica Sandell, Val King, Rosemary Staddon and Lola Barker carded a 25-19 win.

Braeside’s 6-0 win at Verwood did not reflect how close the match finished.

Home skips Pat Dowling and Gill Farrance both won their last ends, but their Braeside rivals Mary Lamb (21-20) and Pauline Crocker (18-17) held on in a nail-biting finish.

• Poole Park retained top spot in D Division despite losing 6-0 at Lymington. Lymo’s combination of Pam Shiell, Ann Goddard, Ann Coles and Jean Stopp (20-10) put paid to the Dolphins’ hopes. Ann Norris chipped in with a 22-13 win.

New Milton, meanwhile, moved into second place after a comfortable 46-31 victory over Ringwood. A spirited 23-15 win by Mary Macarthur’s quartet fell well short of the 31-8 amassed by Milton’s winners Jean Garrard, Yvonne Tansley, Mary Herlihy and Chris Mays.

Swanmore remained in touch after their 6-0 win over Highcliffe, who were one player short.

The top return for the Swans came from Val Honan, Doreen Brown, Pam Bullock and Pearl Shepheard (23-14). Mary Jones’s quartet added two points after the 25 per cent adjustment left them 18-17.25 ahead.

Argyll, meanwhile, moved clear of the bottom two following their 42-36 success at Broadstone-Wessex, for whom Vicki Miller’s squad posted a respectable 28-12 win. However, a watertight 30-8 return by Margaret Gardener, Jean Gatrill, Annette Chant and Doris Jeffery earned Argyll the four points.

• Is there no way of stopping the Shelley Park express in E Division? Pelhams tried, but were flattened on both rinks. Pam Bolt, Peggy Wolfe, Marion Stainer and Joan Smith (29-11) were in the driving seat this week, while Sylvia Sayers’s crew (22-16) rounded off Shelley’s 51-27 triumph.

Southbourne held on to runners-up spot, after completing a 4-2 win over third-placed Braeside. Pat Shepherd’s flock collected two points for Braeside but were well covered by Southbourne’s combination of Marion Jupe, Sheila Hulland, Anthea Chilcott and Jan Pardy (33-17).

Three six-point hauls on the trot have resulted in Christchurch surging up the league. Their latest victims were New Milton, who crashed to a 57-30 defeat. The top choristers for the Priorites were Beryl Round, Beryl Webster, Jill Butterworth and Margaret Crisp (32-10), with backing from Mary Poore’s rink (25-20).

Elsewhere, there were 4-2 away wins for West Moors and Redhill Park at Branksome Park and Poole Park respectively. Top honours for West Moors went to Linda Light, Nancy Brown, Marion Miles and Shirley Sadler (19-16), who helped Moors to a 41-39 win over the Squirrels.

Redhill’s Tour de Force was Margaret Colbourne, Barbara Bell and Bobby Saunders who survived the 25 per cent adjustment to win 21-15 and cover the Dolphins’ winning skip Esther Prior (20-15).

n With Kings Park’s game abandoned, Moordown, thanks to Cherry Webb’s rink (21-12), collected only two points at Wimborne but still took over top spot in F Division. Jane Enticott’s quartet (29-14) engineered the Minster ladies’ win.

There were 6-0 home victories for Milford-on-Sea and Swanmore.

The Seasiders overcame New Milton 36-28, while Swanmore aligned with the weather to swamp visitors Branksome Park 55-27.

Top flight for the Swans was Gwen Skinner, Noriko Cox, Beryl Brunsden and Gill Bunce, who glided through the puddles to win 36-9.

• Due to torrential rain in several parts of the area, many games were abandoned.