June 2026

June 3rd 2026

On a wet, miserable Wednesday evening we played Twyford in a Home Friendly match, reduced to 4 rinks by Twyford. The overall result was close, with Twyford gaining a narrow victory by 61-52. The Rink score was 2-2.

The best performance of the night was by Neil Warley, Sue Pitcher and Pete Leverett. There was not much in it for most of the game: 3-3 after 4 ends, 4-4 after six. A three on end 8 finally gave Shiplake a two shot advantage, but by end 12 it was level again at 9-9. Shiplake then had a run of 4 winning ends and put themselves 18-9 ahead. Twyford rallied to win the final 2 ends with a single and a pair, but Shiplake were the winners by  18-12.

Success also for Roger Horton, David Lloyd and Wendy Cross. They got off to a flying start and led 6-1 after 4 ends. Twyford hit back with a pair on ends 5 and 6, to cut the gap to 1 shot. Shiplake scored 5 shots to one from Twyford over the following 4 ends and  established an 11-6 lead. This was soon cancelled by Twyford, with a 2 and a 3,

and we were all square again at 11-11. A single by Shiplake on end 13 was surpassed by 4 shots from Twyford on end 14 and Shiplake were now trailing by 12-15. A late rally, winning the final 4 ends 1,2,1,1 secured the victory for Shiplake by 19-15.

The other two Shiplake rinks had a tough time, but contributed shots to the overall score.

June 6th 

A disappointing day today. Continual rain and no sign of a let up resulted in the cancellation of the fixture with Harwell, which had already been reduced to only 3 rinks.

June 7th

A break in the spell of wet weather meant that the Friendly fixture with Maidenhead Thicket was able to go ahead and Shiplake made the most of it, with a good win, by 88-56. Wins on 3 out of 4 rinks made the day a resounding success.

Top scorers for Shiplake were Rink 2. Dave Bullock, Jane Ward and Jeff Harris won the first 5 ends, to lead 8-0, before Maidenhead scored singles on the next 2 ends. Shiplake were quickly back into their stride with scores of 2 and 4. Another single from Maidenhead left Shiplake ahead by 14-3. The next 4 ends went to Shiplake (3,1,2,1) and it was 21-3, with 4 ends to play. Maidenhead had the better of these and scored 3 singles to one from Shiplake, but the end result was a resounding 22-6 to Shiplake.

There was another good win on Rink 4. David Lloyd, Jean Buckett and Pete Leverett started slowly and were 0-5 down after 4 ends, but took the lead with a 4 and a 2 in the next two. The next 6 ends were dominated by Shiplake, scoring 13 shots to Maidenhead's one. Shiplake now held a very comfortable 19-6 lead. Maidenhead were not yet beaten and scored 1, 1 and 4 over the succeeding 3 ends, to narrow the gap to 12-19. Shiplake rallied once more and ended the game with 1,2, 2 for a 24-12 win.

Rink 5 had a narrower win, but a win nonetheless. Margaret Bullock, Keith Walters and Sylvia Blackmore scored three on end 1, but conceded 4, 1, 4 and 2 on the next four, to go behind by 3-11. A reversal of fortunes on end 6 saw the start of a 5 end winning run from Shiplake; scoring 1, 3, 2, 3 and 2. They now had the lead at 14-11. Four shots from Maidenhead took them into the lead 15-11, but 3, 4 and 2 from Shiplake redressed the balance and they had a healthy 23-15 lead. Another 4 and a single from Maidenhead beat the single and pair from Shiplake on the final 4 ends, with Shiplake victorious at 24-20 after a "Thrills and Spills" game. 

The only defeat for Shiplake was a narrow one on Rink 3. Martin Hedges made his team debut at lead, ably supported by Lorraine Walters and Wendy Cross. After losing the first 2 ends by a single, they scored 2 on end 3 to level. Two more singles were conceded, before a run of 3 winning ends (2,2,3) stretched the lead to 9-4. There followed an exchange of singles, before Maidenhead scored 5 and 2 to take the lead. A three and a single from Shiplake were matched by 4 shots from Maidenhead, leaving Shiplake trailing by 14-16. Two shots apiece on the final 3 ends and it finished 18-16 in Maidenhead's favour.

June 9th

Update to Used Clothing Section on the website. Badges sewn on and prices for sale items

June 10th

This was not a night we wish to remember. In a match reduced from 5 to 4 triples by Suttons, Shiplake loaned Suttons 3 good players, so that the match would not be reduced to only 3 Triples. Ironically, all 3 loan players played well, contributing to a heavy defeat for Shiplake. The overall result was a win for Suttons by 99-42 and 4 rinks to nil. The uncertain weather and light meant that we played one on the first 2 ends, with no trial ends.

Two of Shiplake's Triples avoided heavy defeat, but were not good enough to win.

On Rink 4 David Lloyd, Marilyn Mowatt and Alan Gough won the first 2 ends (maximum 1), but had a nightmare on end 3, conceding 5. They recovered quickly, winning 4 of the succeeding 5 ends, to level the score at 7-7. Another poor end by Shiplake resulted in a concession of 4 shots and a run of 7 winning ends from Suttons. By end 15 Shiplake trailed by 7-18. A spirited fight back added 5 shots to their score and, with Suttons winning the final end with a single, a loss by 12-19.

Rink 5 was the Triple of Chris Emmett, Ruth Copp and Jim Bland. They were always struggling against the Suttons team, winning only 3 of the first 11 ends, with one tied end, and trailed 3-11. A good run of ends, winning with 2, 3, 2 brought them within reach at 10-11. However, Suttons finished strongly, winning 3 of the final 4 ends to win 18-11.