"I can play better, and I will. 106 is not good enough and I am determined to prove Gemma wrong about not being able to break the 500 point barrier. It will be tough from now on, but someone has to do it. At least I got over 100 today, eh?"
Gemma predicted on the SNB website that it was "highly unlikely" that James will break the 500 (monthly) points margin that no one has managed to overcome yet.

All in all, James was happy that he is back at the top of the table following a miserble few weeks. Now that his sweetheart is back, maybe she is all the inspiration he needs.

He scored more strikes and spares than he did in round one than he managed for the entire month in October. We were able to catch some comments from Chris as he left Hollywood bowl.

"This is a sign from above! I will win this month and show everyone that being a Leeds FC fan does not mean I am crap! Last month was a hiccup and nothing to do with consistancy"
Truth is, he was consistant last month - consistantly crap.

Going into the rest of the month he trails by 19 points from the leader, which will undoubtably grow wider, he is 10 points clear from 3rd place, which will shrink, and he is 16 points off last position. That'll close rapidly, too.

Lets see what he had to say.
"I played shite, but so did everyone else. Yes I should have taken advantage of everyone's apparent lack of skill - but then again the championship isn't out of reach and my aim this month is to become the first double SNB Champion."
Anthony obviously hasn't given up yet and based on his form last month, he has no reason to (he scored over 100 on all three occasions).

He failed to clear the pins on any occasion on Sunday which is pretty poor when looking at final few bowls last game. Still, like he said, he isnt too far behind James and he wasnt the only one to play poorly - everyone was.

"Last month I saw a new side of myself - one that wanted me to win. Take a look at my scores and you will see a massive improvement from previous games. This indicates that I am improving and I feel like I may soon challenge for the championship by February half term next year."
She hasn't taken into account, however, that she is still using barriers. If she wants to become a champion then she will have to stop using them as they cost her 80 points a month, which would have netted her second position last month. But yes, her results are alot better than they used to be.

"I feel good about everyone else playing rubbish as I am still within sight of the title. I don't think I will win it this month, or next, but 2004 I hope will see a new side of me. Coming back to November 2003, I think I can finish in third position or higher if people continue playing like they did on Sunday."
We asked her how her holiday in Blackpool was going.
"Err its good actually, how nice of you to ask. Im enjoying it but I am missing my friends back in Bradford. Ive been around the shops, eaten out and even bought myself a few things too."
What did she buy, I hear you ask?
"Erotic underwear? no! No no...I have plenty already, but I do admit that I have passed through the Ann Summers doors quite a few times these last few days. I have bought myself a few new things, including my birthday party dress. Yes, it is small and very revealing, but thats how I go!"
We asked her about any additional comments she would like to add.
"Other than it's mightly cold almost everywhere, not much really. Oh yeah, if you come stay away from the donkey shit, because it really, really stinks"

"I come here for the women, not to win. But hey, theres no single ladies around so i've nothing better to do than to play. And i'm not last!

Ryans tactic of curving the ball did work sometimes on Sunday but more often it didnt. He has not tried anything new and so he is not likely to challenge for the title until he scores 100 or more points on a regular basis.

"Cant we get this week cancelled? No? Oh well. Ive been in this situation of being over 30 points behind the leader after the first week before and look where I finished at the end of the month - more than 50 points ahead. I am not overly confident about my chances but I will hang in there. After all, I hold most of the records!"
Yes...but she won last month's championship mainly because of the poor performances experianced by James Reeves. He again leads the championship this month and finds his chief female opponent 35 points behind.

Gemma is looking forward to the rest of the month, as she knows herself that she can only do better. One of the things that irritated her most was Chris Hyland defeating her, and of course, playing on the aftermath of yet another disappointing result, but an otherwise excellent Bradford City performance.