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August 19th 2025

There were 3 Club competition matches today.

First was the Plate match between Jane Ward (1) and Wendy Cross (1). Another strong performance and another Final for Jane, as she tore Wendy apart. Jane won 7 of the first 9 ends, amassing 17 shots to Wendy's 2, for an 18-3 lead. Wendy took over for the remainder of the game, winning 6 of the remaining 9 ends. However, Wendy was restricted to singles and went down 9-21. Jane will play Ali Uygur or David Skilleter in the Final.

Next came the Women's Singles Semi-Final between Margaret Bullock and Janet Townley. This had all the promise of a very close game and so it was. After 6 ends, both players had won 3 ends each and it was 3-3. Margaret then had a 3 end winning run, scoring 5 shots, to lead 8-3. Four shots from Janet over the next 2 ends kept the scores within 1 shot. Margaret won 2 ends and Janet 1, but both scored 3 shots, so Margaret still held a narrow lead, at 11-10, after end 14. Ends 15 (1), 16 (1) and 17 (2) went to Janet and she now held a 14-11 lead. Margaret was not finished yet and won 4 of the succeeding 5 ends, scoring 5 shots to Janet's 1. It was now Margaret 16, Janet 15 after 22 ends. Once again there was a shift in momentum, with Janet scoring 2, 2 and 1 on ends 23-25, to leap ahead by 20-16. Only one shot needed for victory and a place in the Final. We now moved onto scorecard 2 and Janet finally made it across the finishing line 21-16. She will now play either Marilyn Mowatt or Jane Ward in the Final.

Today's final match was a Semi-Final in the 91 Up, between Jane Ward and David Lloyd. Jane set to with a vengeance, winning the first 4 ends by 7-3, 7-3, 7-3 and 6-4, to lead 27-13. David won end 5 by 9-1, before Jane started another shot spree, adding 33 shots, in winning 4 and drawing 1 of the next 5 ends. She was now leading 61-39. Wins of 9-1 and 6-4 reduced the deficit for David to 54-66, but Jane came back with a 10-0 on end 13, followed by wins of 7-3 and 6-4. She now needed only 2 shots to win and David was still 30 shots away from victory. He scored a 7-3 win on end 16, but it was all over: 68-92. Jane goes through to another Final, meeting the winner of the match between Elaine Robinson and John Townley.

August 18th 2025

There was only 1 Club match today, with Sandra Gough meeting Lorraine Walters in the Semi-Finals of the Novices competition. Lorraine started well and was 4-0 ahead after 2 ends. Sandra came back with wins on 3 of the next 4 ends and it was 5-4 to Lorraine. It seemed that we had a close match in prospect, but Lorraine held a different view. She moved up a gear and gave Sandra no openings and no score in a very impressive display of bowling, which left Sandra stunned in her wake, as Lorraine moved smoothly into the Novices Final. She will play Pete Leverett, who knocked out Lorraine's husband Keith in the other Semi-Final.

August 17th 2025

A fixture not played in more than 20 years was revived today, when Maidenhead Thicket visited Shiplake for a friendly match, bringing 5 Triples. As the weather was very hot, there were no trial ends and a maximum score of 1 shot on the first 2 ends. The result was good for Shiplake, winning 4 rinks to 1 and 90-61 on shots.

Best result for Shiplake was on Rink 5. Neil Warley, Ruth Copp and Janet Townley started very well by winning 3 of the first 4 ends and scoring 9 shots, to lead 9-1. Maidenhead replied with 4 shots over 2 winning ends, to reduce the deficit to 5-9. Now it was Shiplake's turn and they won 3 ends and scored 5 shots for a 14-5 lead. By end 12, Shiplake were ahead by 16 shots to 8, which was increased to 22-8 with a 5 and a single. The final 4 ends were won 3-1 by Maidenhead but the two teams scored equal shots. The final score was 25-11 to Shiplake.

Jenny Ward, Dave Bullock and Wendy Cross were next in the Honours list. A steady startsaw them win 3 of the first 5 ends, to lead by 3-2. The following 5 ends went Shiplake's way and they added 7 shots to their total. They were now 10-2 ahead. Maidenhead won 3 of the next 5 ends to trail 7-13, but did not score again and Shiplake won 19-7.

Marilyn Mowatt, Margaret Bullock and Jeff Harris had a comfortable win by 17-8. They won only one of the first 4 ends and trailed 1-3, before scoring 4 shots to go ahead. The difference in scores remained close for the next 4 ends, but Shiplake scored 1,2, 1 to win ends 10, 11 and 12 and establish a 6 shot lead. The remaining 6 ends were shared equally, with Shiplake doubling the shots scored by Maidenhead and gaining a 17-8 victory.

Laurie Mowatt, Sandra Gough and John Townley were quick out of the traps on Rink 4. A 5 count on end 3 put them 7-0 in front. Maidenhead were still 7 shots behind after end 8, with the score at 10-3 to Shiplake. A score of 3 on end 9 was outmatched by Maidenhead's 2, 1 and 3 on ends 10, 11 and 12. They were now within 4 shots, but Shiplake buried their hopes with a 5 count on end 13 and a single on end 14. Shiplake now led 19-9. Despite winning 3 of the final 4 ends and scoring 4 shots to Shiplake's 1, Maidenhead succumbed 13-20.

A very good result for Shiplake and a very pleasant afternoon, which will, hopefully, be repeated next year.

August 16th 2025

Today, we travelled to Palmer Park for a match in the OTL. We started the game well and it looked like we were on course for a victory and some much needed league points. However, the second half of the game went in Palmer Park's favour and we came away with 5 OTL points, having won on 2 rinks and drawn on one. 

The best win for Shiplake was by Sandra Gough, Dave Bullock and Tony Reid. 9-0 up after 3 ends, they lost 3 of the next 5 ends, but added 6 shots to Palmer Park's 3. This gave them a 15-3 lead after end 8. The momentum now shifted dramatically in Palmer Park's direction. They won 7 of the following 8 ends, scoring 9 shots to Shiplake's 1. With 2 ends to play, Shiplake held a narrow lead (16-12). Three shots on the 17th end gave Shiplake a cushion and they held on, despite losing the final end. The final score was 19-13 to Shiplake and  2 OTL points were in the bag.

On the next door rink, Jean Buckett, David Challis and Alan Gough had an even tougher fight on their hands. Having started well by winning 4 of the first 6 ends, they were leading 9-2. The match started to slip away from them as they won only one of the next 9 ends and trailed 11-12, with 3 ends to play. Two shots on end 16 put them 1 shot ahead, but one shot from PP on end 17 levelled the score. There now had to be a winner, but who would it be? The pressure was taken off Skip Alan, with Jean holding 2 shots and no need to bowl the final wood. The final score: Palmer Park 13, Shiplake 15 and 2 more OTL points.

Over on Rink 2, Margaret Bullock, Keith Walters and Graham Kennedy won 5 of the first 6 ends, to lead 7-4. PP came back at them, winning 4 of the next 6 ends and making it all square at 11-11 after end 12. Shiplake hit back with a two and and a single in response to PP's single shot and led 14-12, with 3 ends to go, PP were not beaten and won 2 of the final 3 ends, to force a 16-16 draw. Only half a point gained for Shiplake.

David Lloyd, Pete Leverett and Wendy Cross had a really tough time, but led 9-5 at the halfway stage. Palmer Park were inspired in the second half of the game and conceded only 2 ends, to win 17-11.

August 15th 2025

On a blazing hot day, there were 4 Club matches today. The first was in the 2 Wood competition between Jane Ward and John Townley. John had a good start, leading 3-0 after 2 ends, but Jane won the next 2 ends to level. The following 3 ends went to John and he won the first set 7-3. The second set was much closer. The first 4 ends were shared, with both players scoring 3 shots. Jane then took charge and John won only one of the following 5 ends. The set went to Jane 8-5. In the deciding set John dominated proceedings, losing only one end and winning the set 7-1 and the match 2-1. John has now booked his Final place against Elaine Robinson.

After a short rest at home, John was back to play Sandra Gough in the Handicap Semi-Final. Sandra had a 5 shot start, but it was of no avail against an in form John. He swept Sandra aside and raced to a quick victory. He will now meet David Lloyd in the Final.

Two rinks down, there was a Novices match between Pete Leverett and Keith Walters. Pete scored singles on the first 3 ends, but Keith struck back with 5 shots over 3 winning ends, to lead 5-3. Pete then came back with 3 winning ends of his own, adding 5 shots to his score and retaking the lead 8-5. Another mini revival from Keith added 2 ends and 4 shots to his tally and it was now 9-8 to Keith. The pendulum swung once again in Pete's favour, with a run of 3 winning ends and 9 shots added to his total. He was now 17-9 in front and edging his way to victory. Keith was not done yet and added 3 shots over the next 2 ends, to reduce the deficit to 12-17. The final 4 ends of the match were shared, but but Pete scored the 4 shots he needed to win and the match ended 21-14. Pete goes through to the Final, to play either Sandra Gough or Lorraine Walters.

In the fourth match of the day, Ali Uygur (4) beat Ruth Copp (3) in the Plate. This was always going to be a close match and it started that way, with the scores separated only by the Handicap difference after 3 ends, before Ali won 2 successive ends, scoring 6 shots to leap ahead 12-5. Ruth then set off on a winning streak, taking 6 of the next 7 ends for a 14-13 lead after end 12. This fired Ali into a strong response and he won 5 successive ends, scoring 8 shots and winning the match 21-14. Ali will now play David Skilleter in the next round.