THE Hillingdon and District Men's Singles Bowls competition is bubbling up nicely.

The field has been whittled down to the last 16 and the top half of the draw still contains reigning Middlesex Champion Ron Le Leux, double Hillingdon title winner from 2006 Chris Harris and Attilio Ciampini, the Worthing Open and Hillindon Open champion. The finals will be played at Rosedale Park on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25.

In the pairs, 2006 winners Le Leux and Harris face Gary Miller and Bob Ashley in the quarter-finals at Uxbridge while all the other matches are last 16 clashes and a wide open event includes bowlers from Ladygate, Denham, Harefield, Rosedale, Cowley, Deane Park, Fassnidge and Hayes.

The Mill's Paul Darius trio awaits the winner of Fassnidge or Rosedale in the last eight of the triples and another three from Rosedale, skipped by Peter Crouch, await news of their opponents from the Cowley versus Ladygate match. The other fixtures are still at the last 16 stage.

The quarter-finals of the Men's Over-60s see M Diegnan take on M Kirby, D Cutmore play B Smith, E Norris or J Belle-Isle face J Langley and T Perry host R Clark.

The ladies singles trophy will have a new name engraved on it this year because Rose Mayo could not defend her title due to work pressures.

In the last eight Pat Roberts entertains Joyce Purvey, Sue Pocknell visits Yvonne Powers, Maureen Robinson goes to Hayes to play an opponent yet to be decided and Jean Matthews is home to Christine Phair.

The ladies pairs is down to the same stage and match one will be a duel between two Hayes pairings, match two is an all Fassnidge battle and in the other half two Ladygate pairings take on Rosedale and Harefield. The triples is almost a repeat as Sheila Connor's Hayes trio take on clubmate Joyce Hearns, Cowley (J O'Connor) entertain Ladygate (R Bragazza), Eunice Chater hosts Lyn Ive's trio and the Karen Rushton triple takes on Barbara Wilkinson at Harefield.

The 2008 Open Championship boasts several previous Hillingdon winners as the competition approaches the last eight with Ciampini, Willie Woods, Derek Cut-more, Dave Parrott and Ive all still involved.

Three couples have already booked a quarter-final berth in a competitive looking mixed pairs event with Brian and Jennifer Johns (Denham), Pat and Peter Huggett (BAC) and Ann Hitchcock and Dave Flatt snr (Ladygate) all through.

Finally, the last eight line-up for the mixed triples is W Woods versus B Putnam, Swakeleys versus J O'Connor, D Hodgkins versus M Simpson and G Roberts versus D Cutmore.

Organiser Dennis Hodgkins is hoping for good weather and another huge crowd for the finals where there will be a bowls trade stand, barbecue, bar and tea stall.