June 19th

 2025

There was a very hard fought contest in the first round of the Handicap today, between Alan Gough (4) and Jane Ward (1). It took Jane 2 ends to claw back the deficit and, from then on, it was a dingdong battle. Alan got the better of the next 3 ends to lead 8-5. Two ends later it was 8-8. Three winning ends in a row for Alan and it was 11-8. Two shots for Jane and a couple of singles for Alan and we were at end 13, with Alan leading 13-10. The next 3 ends were 2 shots to Jane, 2 shots to Alan and 2 shots to Jane, leaving Alan with a very narrow lead at 15-14. Alan managed to score 2 shots in each of the following 3 ends, to end the suspense and move through to the next round by 21-14. The match was played in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees and was a real trial of endurance. Many thanks to Sandra Gough for marking the 19 end marathon.

June 20th

 2025

Upcoming Matches:

NEW!! June 24th at 2pm: Wendy Cross v John Townley in the Handicap

June 24th at 3pm: Tony Reid v Dave Bullock in the Seniors

 June 26th at 2pm: Jane Ward v Janet Townley in the 91 Up

NEW!! June 26th at 2pm: Dave Ward v Keith Walters in the Novices

June 27th at 2pm: David Lloyd & Ruth Copp v Wendy Cross & Jane Ward in the Drawn Pairs

NEW!! June 27th at 3.30pm: Janet Townley v Alan Gough in the Seniors

July 1st at 4pm: Tony Reid v Barrie Jones in the 91 Up.

July 3rd at 3pm: Lorraine Walters v Alan Gough in the 91 Up

July 8th at 4.30pm: Neil Warley & Barrie Jones v Jean Buckett and Alan Gough in the Drawn Pairs

NEW!! July 10th at 2.30pm: Sue Reid v Marilyn Mowatt in the Women's Singles

July 29th at 4.30pm: Barrie Jones v John Townley in the 2 Wood

June 15th

2025

Captain for the day Dave Bullock led his team to victory over Wargrave, in a friendly fixture that last took place more than 10 years ago. A good result for Shiplake by 95 shots to 70 and 4 rinks to 1.

Highest winning rink for Shiplake was Rink 5. David Lloyd, Alan Gough and Jane Ward won by 28-13. They were never troubled, winning 7 of the first 9 ends (including a score of 7 on one end), to lead 20-2. Wargrave then began a fight back, winning 5 of the next 6 ends and bringing the score to 21-10 in Shiplake's favour. A second score of 7 shots by Shiplake on end 16 was more than a match for the 3 shots scored by Wargrave in the final 2 ends.

There was another good win on Rink 1, with a 22-10 win for Sandra Gough, Sue Reid and Graham Kennedy. Two scores of 3 shots by Shiplake were followed by a 3 and a 2 for Wargrave. Shiplake won the next 3 ends to lead 10-5 after end 7. Shjiplake then shifted up a gear and won 8 of the final 11 ends.

There was a closer result on Rink 3. Barrie Jones, Janet Townley and Elaine Robinson were 4-0 up after 2 ends, but lost 4 ends in a row to trail 4-6. Two shots on end 7 levelled the score, but Wargrave scored a single on each of the next 2 ends, before Shiplake had a fun of 4 winning ends, to take a 14-8 lead. Shots scored on the final 5 ends were shared equally, leaving Shiplake winners by 6 shots.

Even closer on Rink 4 was the victory by Dave Ward, Jean Buckett and John Townley. 3-0 up after 2 ends, level after 3 set the pattern for the game until end 9, where Shiplake were hanging on by 7-6. A score of 4 on end 10 finally opened some clear water between the teams and Shiplake pressed on to lead by 15-8 after end 14. Wargrave were not done though and scored 6 shots to Shiplake's 1 on the final 4 ends. Final score 16-14 to Shiplake.

A tough time was had by the triple on Rink 2, with a loss by 11-21.

June 14th 2025

Having won our home fixture against Maiden Erlegh, we were hopeful of a win in the return fixture, but it was not to be. The overall shots were close, with M.E winning by 84 shots to 77, but M.E. gained 12 OTL points to Shiplake's 2.

Congratulations to Jane Ward, Ali Uygur and Wendy Cross; winners of the only rink for Shiplake by 26-13.They won the first 8 ends, to lead 16-0, before M.E. scored 5 over the next 3 ends. The following 3 ends went to Shiplake, including 7 shots on end 14. Shiplake then took their foot off the pedal, losing the final 4 ends and conceding 8 shots.

There was a titanic struggle on Rink 4, where David Lloyd, Ruth Copp and Elaine Robinson represented Shiplake. It was very close for the first 9 ends, with the score at 5-5 after end 9. A count of 4 for Shiplake gave them a breathing space, but M.E. fought their way back and it was 11-11 with one end to play. M.E. scored 2 shots, to emerge as victors by 13-11.

Another close finish on Rink 2, with Pete Leverett, Janet Townley and Tony Reid going down by 2 shots. The score was 5-5 at end 6, before Shiplake conceded 8 shots over the next 3 ends, to trail 5-13. Shiplake then won the next 5 ends to trail by one shot. Six shots from M.E. and 3 winning ends and it looked to be all over for Shiplake at 12-19. They very nearly caused a sensation by scoring 5 shots on the final end, but succumbed 17-19.

Shiplake's other 2 rinks were not disgraced, but found that the opposition proved too strong on this occasion.

June 13th

2025

Jean Bucket and David Lloyd played this afternoon in the 91 Up competition. It was 10-10 after 2 ends, then 2 good ends for David gave him a 25-15 lead. David managed to get the upper hand over the next 7 ends, to lead 68-42, before Jean rocked him with a 10-0 on end 12. David then won the next 3 ends, to lead 90-60 and put Jean under enormous pressure. A 7-3 win on end 16 was not enough to save Jean and David was the winner at 93-67. Congratulations to David and commiserations to Jean.

June 11th 2025

A rare 6 Triples game was played against Suttons in a Friendly fixture. The match was dominated by Suttons. who won on 5 rinks, with an overall score of 117-78 in their favour. Shiplake's only winning rink was on Rink 1, where Sue Reid, Jean Buckett and Graham Kennedy beat their opposition 21-8. They were never behind and, with the exception of end 15, where they lost 4 shots, it was a very dominant performance.

There was a close game on Rink 4, with Jenny Ward, Dave Bullock and Elaine Robinson narrowly losing by 13-15. They were never in front, but never gave up, getting to 13-14 on the penultimate end, before Suttons scored a single to put an end to their challenge.

There was a worrying incident on Rink 6 when Neil Warley fell, but elected to carry on. He looked very wobbly for the rest of the game.

A lesser drama on Rink 2, when Alan Gough dropped out after 5 ends, with a wrist injury. A big thank you to David Lloyd, who stepped in at the last minute, to ensure that the numbers were evenly matched. 

June 7th

2025

A trip to Harwell for a friendly match, amid yellow weather warnings of torrential rain, did not fill us with joy. However, we had won our last three matches and hoped to make it a fourth. Unfortunately, the day did not go as well as planned. The weather forecasters were right and we had a long break in the middle of the game, as the heavens opened and the already heavy green was turned into a quagmire. In a match shortened to 12 ends, a win, a draw and 2 lost rinks resulted in a 10 shot defeat by 39-49.

Well done Marilyn Mowatt, Janet Townley and Dave Bullock who were our only winning rink by 17-4, leading from start to finish.

The match involving Jenny Ward, Margaret Bullock and John Townley was a hard fought draw. It was nip and tuck for the first 6 ends, with Harwell leading 5-3. Two more shots on end 7 took Harwell into a 7-3 lead, but Shiplake started to come back and reduced the deficit to 6-8 after 10 ends. Five shots scored on end 11 and it looked like Shiplake had pulled the game out of the fire, but Harwell hit back with 3 shots on end 12, for a 11-11 draw.

June 10th

2025

Ali Uygur took on Jenny Ward in the Senior Citizen's competition 1st Round, over 15 ends. The score was 5-4 to Ali after 5 ends, with Ali winning 3 and Jenny 2 of the ends played. Two shots on each of the next 2 ends and Ali led 9-4. Two for Jenny on end 8 to make it 9-6 to Ali, then 5 winning ends in a row to Ali, to lead 18-6 after 13 ends. The final 2 ends went to Jenny, but Ali won by 18-12.