WHAT'S NEW APRIL/MAY 2026

Friday, April 17th

A large number of members came to the club and helped to set up for the beginning of the season. We are now open fir business!

16 of those who helped stayed on for a roll up and a good time was had by all with the welcome return of bowling. The green bowled well and the drink in the clubhouse which followed was very welcome.

Monday, April 20th

The first Points session of the season was very well attended, with 28 members in attendance. Despite the changeable weather, everyone enjoyed being out on the green again.

Friday, April 24th

A good turn out fo the first Friday Points of the season, with 16 members participating.

Saturday, April 26th 

We had perfect weather for our Open Day. Support from our members was magnificent and the visitors received a warm welcome and help and advice on the green.

Sunday, April 27th 

Our first fixture of the season was an in-house match between the President and the Chairman. 27 members participated in glorious sunny weather, enjoying the competitive but friendly atmosphere. A warm welcome to Linda Jennings, playing in her first competitive match The day started with a "Spider", won by Pete Leverett.

There was a very tight contest on Rink 1, with the Chairman's team of Dave Ward, Ali Uygur and Elaine Robinson setting the pace and leading by 10-4 after 9 ends. The President's team of Marilyn Mowatt, Chris Emmett and Jim Bland hit back with two 3 shot wins to their opponents' single over the next 3 ends. This took the score to a much closer 11-10 in the Chairman's favour. A single on the next end and the scores were level, but a 4 on end 14 gave the Chairman's team the lead again. The teams swapped singles on the next 2 ends, before the President's team scored 4 to level once more. It was now all down to the final end, which was won by the Chairman's team with a single, giving them a 17-16 victory.

Rink 2 was a Pairs game, with Margaret Bullock and Jeff Harris representing the President and Laurie Mowatt and Jane Ward for the Chairman. This was another close match, with the score standing at 7-7 after 11 ends. A single, 2 and 4 from the President's team gave them a 14-7 lead with 4 ends to play. The Chairman's team were not ready to concede defeat and took the last 4 ends. scoring 1,3,2,and 1 to finish level at 14-14.

On Rink 3 the Pair of Janet Townley and Alan Gough were the President's team against the Triple of Sandra Gough, Barrie Jones and Keith Walters. The first 6 ends went the way of the President, for a 10-0 lead. A 2 in response was countered by a 2 from the President's team. End 9 was won by a single from the Chairman's triple, but a single and two 2's stretched the President's lead to 17-3. Another mini revival from the Chairman's side, with a single and a 2, was matched by a 3 and it was 20-6 to the President. Singles only scored on the final 3 ends and the President's team ran out 22-7 winners.

Rink 4 saw a convincing victory by the Chairman's team of Sue Reid, Pete Leverett and Sylvia Blackmore; winning 28-6 and never being troubled.

Rink 5 was equally one-sided, with the Chairman's team of David Lloyd, Jean Buckett and Graham Kennedy winning comfortably by 30-10.

The day finished with the players sharing the food that they had brought in and listening to the speeches from the President and the Chairman, who announced his victory by 96 shots to 68, winning 3 rinks, losing 1 and drawing 1.

Wednesday April 29th

Our first match of the season and a narrow win against Woodley in a Friendly. As it was the first match and the light was uncertain, there were no trial ends and a maximum score of 1 on each of the first 2 ends, but a 2 on end 3 It was quite a shock to the system to be out on the green in very gusty winds and far from warm weather, but everyone ploughed on for 16 ends, before the match was halted 2 ends early in decreasing light.

Star performance of the evening came from Sue Pitcher, Keith Walters and Wendy Cross. Winning 3 of the first 4 ends, they led 5-1. The next 3 ends went slightly in Woodley's favour, making the score 6-3 to Shiplake. Shiplake then scored 3 x 2's to Woodley's 2 singles and the lead increased (12-5). This was followed by 4,3,2 to Shiplake and they were very comfortable at 21-5. Woodley gained a consolation single on the final end, giving Shiplake a 21-6 win.

There was another fine performance on Rink 1, where Sandra Gough, Mick Lovejoy and Graham Kennedy had another comfortable win. They started slowly, losing the first 2 ends by singles, but a 2 on end 3 levelled the score. Honours were even on ends 4 and 5, before Woodley scored a 3 to take the lead. They were amply repaid for that win by a run of 4 winning ends from Shiplake (2,1,6,2) and the lead went to Shiplake by 14-6. Woodley made a minor revival by scoring a 2 on end 11, but Shiplake bounced back with scores of 1,4 3 to increase their lead to 22-8. Woodley won the last 2 ends with a single on each, but Shiplake ran out winners by 22-10.

Rink 4 produced another fine win for Shiplake. This time it was Neil Warley, Elaine Robinson and Pete Leverett who added to the tally. Another slow start left them 0-4 behind, but they remedied that by scoring 4 on end 5 to go level. Two ends later, they scored a 3, but they were outmatched by Woodley's 4 shots over a 4 end period. End 9 and the score was 8-7 to Woodley. The final 7 ends were a different story, with Shiplake winning them all and amassing 13 shots, to win very comfortably by 20-8

Two rinks along, the very cold Triple of Lorraine Walters, Alan Gough and Jeff Harris had started in the shade and never experienced any sunshine. Despite that, they soldiered on and managed to win their rink 14-8. Winning the first 2 ends, they lost end 3 by 3 shots and then scored 1 single to Woodley's two over the next 3 ends and were behind 3-5. A run of 4 winning ends pushed them into a 10-5 lead, before Woodley scored 2 singles to make it 10-7. Shiplake dug deep and shrugged off the cold to win 3 of the final 4 ends and  win the rink.

On Rink 5 Marilyn Mowatt, Pete McCoubrey (in a welcome return to match play) and Jane Ward had a real fight on their hands and succumbed by 8-14.

The nightmare suffered by our remaining rink has forced me to leave them nameless, so as to spare their blushes!

Overall, a good start to the season and a win by 89-73.

Saturday, May 2nd 2026

Following on from our victory over Woodley, we hosted Trenthams in another 6 Triple Friendly match. We were lucky with the weather, which was sunny with light winds for most of the match.

We continued our winning streak, with a victory by 102 shots to 81 and a 3-3 split on rinks, before a torrential downpour cut short the contest on some of the rinks.

Top honours for the day went to Rink 1, where Margaret Bullock, Laurie Mowatt and Sylvia Blackmore won comfortably by 24-11. They were quickly out of the traps, to establish a 6-1 lead after end 4, before Trenthams hit back with a 2 to reduce the deficit to 3 shots. a single and a 4 pushed Shiplake bac into a 11-3 lead, but Trenthams were far from beaten. They bounced back with 3 winning ends in a row, to make it 11-8 in Shiplake's favour.  A dead end was followed by a pair apiece and it was 13-10 to Shiplake, with 5 ends to go. A great finish resulted in Shiplake winning 4 of the 5 ends, scoring 1, 6, 1 and 3. I n reply, Trenthams could only muster a single.

Following close on their heels was Rink 5. Neil Warley, Lorraine Walters and Alan Gough had a slowly played match, with a lot of measuring and only completed 15 ends before the rain intervened. However, in that time , they completed a solid win by 22-10. Honours were shared after end 2 and again after end 5, but then it was virtually all Shiplake. They won 8 of the remaining 10 ends, scoring 5, 2, 1, 1, 3,1, 1 and 4 to Trenthams reply of a pair and a 3.

Shiplake's other winning rink was Rink 3, where Dave Ward, Ruth Copp and Wendy Cross emerged victorious by 19-10. It was nip and tuck to start with and  the score was 4-4 after end 6. A 3 by Trenthams and a single and a pair by Shiplake kept the honours even after end 9. Shiplake then took control of the game, losing only 2 of the remaining 9 ends and conceding only 3 shots, while amassing 12 of their own, including a 6 on end 17.

The losses Shiplake endured were not severe. On Rink 2 Sandra Gough, Keith Walters and Jane Ward just failed to deliver, going down 13-16. Level at 2-2 after 4 ends, they scored 2 on end 5, but conceded 4 shots over the next 2. A score of 3 on end 8 put them back in the lead by 7-6. Trenthams started to gain the upper hand  and , by end 17, they were 16-9 ahead. A gallant effort by Shiolake gained them 4 shots on the final end, but it was not enough.

On Rink 6 Sue Pitcher, Mick Lovejoy and David Challis were 10-4 ahead by end 8, but were then made to take a back seat by a spirited recovery from Trenthams, who won 7 of the remaining 9 ends played. Their 13 shots outmatched the 3 from Shiplake and they were victors by 17-13.

Another close game took place on Rink 4, with David Lloyd, Sue Reid and Jeff Harris suffering a narrow defeat. They won the first end with a count of 2, then lost the next 7 ends, to trail 2-8. A good recovery in 3 of the following 4 ends brought them level at 10-10, but Trenthams started to reassert themselves by winning 5 of the remaining 6 ends, giving them the game by 17-11.

Overall, this was a good win for Shiplake, making it two from two and 12 Rinks occupied over the 2 matches.

Sunday May 3rd 2026

Today, we had a double whammie. The main event was visit from a County Touring Team from Essex, but before their arrival, we had a visit from 4 ardent Midsomer Murders fans from Denmark. They had seen the episode filmed at Shiplake on Danish TV and were keen to visit the location of the filming, so they contacted the club via the website, to arrange a visit. This just happened to coincide with the tour match. The Danes arrived at the club late morning, en route for Heathrow. They were delighted to be able to look around the club and speak to some of the members who had been involved in the filming. An explanation of how lawn bowls works was well received, as they do not have bowls in Denmark. Sandra Gough gave them a practical demonstration of how bowls works and they were very interested. As we had catered for the visiting team, provision had been made for the Danes to buy lunch and they were able to purchase drinks from the bar. Having eaten lunch and taken lots of photographs, they were able to watch the beginning of the match. On their return to Denmark, they contacted the club to say how much they had enjoyed the experience and how wonderful it was to experience something so quintessentially English at first hand. It is hoped that this will be the start of a good relationship and will lead to further visits from fans of Midsomer Murders. Many thanks to John Townley, who sourced a plaque, commemorating the filming, and to Barrie Jones, who obtained payment for the cost of the plaque from ManningUK Insurance Brokers.

Having had the hors d'oeuvre of the Danish visit, we moved on to the main course. The touring team of County players from Essex had chosen us as the first match of their tour. They had come with 6 Rinks of 4 male players to pay against our mixed team. This was a major challenge for us, as many of our players had never played Rinks before and finding 24 players rather stretched our resources. Many thanks go to Wendy Cross for organising the event, Margaret Bullock, Elaine Robinson and Sandra Gough for making rolls and those members who turned up to play, support and help with the smooth running of the day, especially our Chairman Graham Kennedy, who stocked the bar with just enough alcohol to assuage the thirst of our visitors.

The match itself was a close run thing, with Shiplake failing to gain the victory by only 5 shots and both teams winning 3 Rinks.. The Essex team were delightful company and we wish them well on the rest of their tour.

The best result for Shiplake was on Rink 2, with David Lloyd, Ali Uygur, Jane Ward and John Townley winning by 22-12. They got off to a flying start and were 7-0 ahead after 2 ends. Essex fought back with 3 consecutive winning ends, to make it 7-4. Seven shots over the next 3 ends and Shiplake had a healthy lead at 14-4. They retained control by winning 3 of the following 4 ends and now led by 19-5, looking very comfortable indeed. They added to their lead with 3 shots to Essex's one over the next 3 ends and a 22-6 lead. However, you cannot write off a County team that easily and Essex took the final 3 ends (3,2,1) to reduce the deficit.

Close second for Shiplake was the other half of the Townley marriage, with Janet Townley, Laurie Mowatt, Dvae Bullock and Sylvia Blackmore winning 22-15. A score of 5 on end 2 gave them a healthy 5-1 lead, before Essex scored a pair and a single to peg them back. Two 3's took the score to 11-4 in Shiplake's favour by end 6. The next were won by Essex 3 shots to 2 and Shiplake led 13-7. Essex managed a 3 and a 2 on the next 2 ends and reduced the deficit to 13-12. The next 3 ends went to Shiplake (3,1,1) and it was back up to a 6 shot lead. In the final 3 ends, Shiplake scored a 4, to beat Essex's pair and single and won by 22-15.

Rink 3 was Shiplake's other winning rink, by 19-15. Margaret Bullock, Sue Pitcher, David Challis and Wendy Cross started well, with a pair on the first end. Essex pulled one back, then Shiplake scored 1, 2 and 3  on the next 3 ends for a 8-1 lead. End 6 was won by Essex with 3 shots and ends 7 and 8 were won by Shiplake, with 2 on each. Eight ends played and Shiplake were leading 12-4. They won 3 of the next 4 ends, scoring 6 shots to a single from Essex and looked to be romping home, the score being 18-5. That was when the wheels started to come off, with Essex running rampant and winning 5 of the remaining 6 ends, scoring 10 shots to Shiplake's 1. Shiplake had done enough, though, and held on for the win.

Two other Shiplake rinks suffered narrow defeats. On Rink 4, Keith Walters, Sue Reid, Pete Leverett and Elaine Robinson started very slowly, losing the first 4 ends and trailing 8-0. A pair and a single reduced the deficit to 5 shots by end 6. Only 2 of the next 6 ends went to Shiplake and they were 5-13 behind. The next 3 ends witnessed a spirited recovery, with scores of 2, 4, 2 and they were level, with 3 ends to play. Essex scored 4 on end 16 to dash Shiplake's hopes, but they didn't give up and scored a single and a pair, to lose narrowly by 16-17.

Rink 6 was another close finish from Sandra Gough, Pete McCoubrey, Jean Buckett and Jim Bland. The lead changed hands for the first 6 ends and it was 6-6 after end 6. The next 4 ends followed a similar pattern and it was 10-10, after end 11. A score of 4 on end 12 put Shiplake ahead, but Essex came back with scores of 2,2,1 and 2 to lead 17-14. Despite a pair on end 17, Shiplake lost the final end to a single and the game by 16-18.

The team on Rink 1 have gone away to lick their wounds and have asked for "No Publicity."

The match was played in a competitive, but good natured, atmosphere and even the weather was on our side. The forecast was for rain, but the clouds that appeared failed to produce any rain. Essex provided boisterous, lively company and justified the stocking up of the bar, as there was little left by the time they left!

The raffle caused a good deal of banter and generosity on the part of Essex, who re-donated a number of the prizes they won. Following on from the raffle, we were presented with a shield bearing the Essex county crest and the Essex members gathered to sing a rousing "Goodbye" chorus.

Wednesday, May 6th 2026

Tonight, we played our first fixture in the OTL; an evening match against Burghfield, who were last year's champions. The weather was not conducive to standing around, or even playing. It was very cold and numerous layers of clothing were required. The green was challenging, to put it mildly, but we applied ourselves to the task. There were no trial ends and a maximum score of 1 on the first 2 ends. This proved to be a good decision, as the light was very poor by the end.

On a very successful night, we won by 4 rinks to 1 and scored 12 OTL points; a very good start to the season.

Highest winning rink was Rink 3, with Jean Buckett, Alan Gough and Wendy Cross battling against the green and a strong Burghfield Triple. 4-1 down by end 4, Shiplake had levelled the score by end 6. There were no big shot counts, but Shiplake steadily piled on the score, winning 4 of the next 5 ends and leading 10-5. Burghfield put up a fight, but Shiplake were not giving up their lead and won 4 of the remaining 7 ends for a 16-8 victory.

On Rink 4, Lorraine Walters, Janet Townley and Graham Kennedy started very well and were 9-0 up after 6 ends. A pair and a single from Burghfield were matched by a 3 from Shiplake and the differential remained the same. By end 13, Shiplake had increased their lead to 16-4, but Burghfield began their recovery, winning the final 5 ends, amassing 7 shots, but it was not enough and Shiplake were victorious by 16-11.

Meanwhile, on Rink 5, Sandra Gough, Oete Leverett and Sylvia Blackmore started slowly and were 1-3 down after 4 ends. They established a good lead, with 4 winning ends in a row (1, 4, 2, 1) to lead 9-3. It was nip and tuck from then, with Shiplake unable to push ahead and they led 13-7 after end 13. Burghfield had the better of the final 5 ends, winning 3 and one end with no score. Shiplake held on for a 15-12 win/

Rink 6 was another close game. Five of the first 7 ends went to Burghfield and they had a narrow lead at 5-3. A run of 3 winning ends switched the lead to Shiplake by 8-5 after end 10, before Burghfield chiselled away at the Shiplake lead, winning 3 ends to Shiplake's one and trailing by only one shot. The remainder of the game was very close, but Shiplake triumphed in 3 of the remaining 4 ends for a 13-10 winning margin.

The highest combined total was on Rink 2. Mick Lovejoy, Jane Ward and Elaine Robinson started well, leading 6-0 after 3 ends. Burghfield gradually reduced the gap and were level 7-7 after end 7. A single and a pair took Shiplake to a 3 shot lead, but the lead changed hands again when Burghfield scored 5 on end 10. By end 14, Shiplake had fallen behind by 13-14 and were then rocked by Burghfield scores of 4, 1 and 2. With one end to play, Shiplake were 8 shots behind and it appeared that the game was up. Shiplake were playing to a different script, however, and scored a magnificent 6 shots on the final end. Beaten 19-21, but by no means disgraced.

May 9th 2026

On a lovely sunny day, we hosted 5 Triples from Suttons in a Friendly fixture. John Townley acted as Team Captain for the day and performed his duties well. The overall result was another win for Shiplake; winning 2 rinks and drawing the other 3.

The stand out performance was on Rink 4. Mick Lovejoy, Sue Pitcher and Graham Kennedy left their opponents stunned by an amazing demonstration of how to annihilate the opposition. They won 15 of the 18 ends, dropping only 6 shots in the process. 19-0 up after 8 ends, they dropped a 3 and a 2, before adding 5 shots over the following 3 ends, to lead 24-5. A single by Suttons interrupted the flow, before Shiplake finished the job, with scores of 4,1,3 and 5 on the final 4 ends. One nil to Shiplake by 37-6.

Less spectacular, but still a very good result, was that on Rink 3. Lorraine Walters, Jean Buckett and John Townley started well, winning 4 of the first 5 ends and leading 5-1. The two teams swapped singles over the next 4 ends and the score was 7-3 to Shiplake. Shiplake then set off on a very good run of wins with a score of 5, followed by two pairs and two singles. They now held a commanding lead at 18-3. Suttons staged a minor comeback with a pair and two singles, but Shiplake won the final end with a single, for a 19-7 victory. Two nil to Shiplake.

Meanwhile, on Rink 1, Sandra Gough, David Lloyd and Janet Townley had a very tough time right from the start of the game. They lost 4 of the first 5 ends, including a loss by 5 shots on end 5, to trail 1-10. A minor fightback started with a score of 4 shots on end 6, followed by 2 singles. They were now behind, but only by 7-10. The initiative now switched to Suttons and they won the next 4 ends with a pair and 3 singles, which put them 15-7 in front. A score of 4 shots by Shiplake was followed by a single apiece and it was 16-12 to Suttons. Shiplake got their noses in front for the first time, with a 4 and a 2, but Suttons won the final end for a draw at 18-18. 

Next door, on Rink 2, Neil Warley, Dave Bullock and Jane Ward started somewhat better and established a 7-0 lead after end 3. Singles were matched on the next 2 ends, before Shiplake scored 3 shots, to lead 11-1 after end 6. The Shiplake Express stuttered to a halt at this point and Suttons moved smoothly into gear, winning 4 successive ends and adding 9 shots to their score. Shiplake now had only a 1 shot lead, which they doubled on the next end, only to be pegged back again on end 12. End 13 went to Shiplake by 3 shots, but Suttons scored 6 shots by end 16. Two ends to play and Shiplake were in trouble, two shots adrift. Three shots on end 17 put them ahead again, but Suttons would not lay down and scored a single on the final end, for another 18-18 draw.

Last, but not least, was Rink 5. Pete McCoubrey, Margaret Bullock and Alan Gough won 3 of the first 5 ends and were drawing 4-4 after end 5. Three shots and a single put them 8-4 ahead after end 7, but Suttons scored 6 shots to their one over the next 3 ends and took the lead 10-9. They then added 3 more shots to increase their lead, but Shiplake fought back with a 5 and a pair and they now had a 16-13 lead. The impetus now went back to Suttons, with a pair and 2 singles, to lead 17-16 with an end to play. Shiplake pulled the cat out of the bag with the final wood of the game for an amazing third draw in the match, 17-17.

What an incredible match this was, but Shiplake were deserving of victory on the day.

May 10th 2026

Great Hollands were unable to find sufficient players to fulfil the planned fixture, so Alan and Sandra organised a MiniMax competition, open to all comers. Despite the terrible weather. more suited to the Arctic than Shiplake, 19 members decided to try their luck. We started with a "Spider", with a bottle of wine for a prize. Congratulations to Martin, who joined the club at our Open Day this year. His wood was the nearest and his day started well. With 19 players, the teams did not quite match up, but Sandra and Jean decided to play half a match each. 

The teams were drawn by lot and it was left to them to decide which order they played in. The most intriguing game of the day was on Rink 2. Laurie Mowatt, Stuart Earl and Wendy Cross slugged out a draw against Scott Jennings, Marilyn Mowatt and Jane Ward. It was 2-2 after 3 ends, then Wendy's team scored a pair and a single to lead 5-2. They gradually built on their lead over the following 5 ends, with 6 shots to their opponent's 2. Eight ends to play and a deficit of 7 shots, so Jane's team started a much needed comeback, with 5 shots over the following 3 ends. They now trailed 9-11, so it was more of a possibility. A pair from Team Wendy was outmatched by 4 shots from Team Jane and we were set for an interesting finish, with the scores level at 13-13. Both teams scored a single on each of the remaining ends and the game ended in a 14-14 draw.

Next door on Rink 3, Dave Ward, Jean Buckett/Sandra Gough and Jim Bland faced Jenny Ward, Lorraine Walters and Alan Gough. The first 4 ends went to Team Alan and they led 6-0. The momentum now switched to Team Jim and they scored 5 shots in 3 ends to reduce the deficit to 1 shot. A pair from Team Alan and a pair and a single from Team Jim and it was 8-8 after 10 ends. The momentum switched back to Team Alan, with scores of 5, 1 and 2 to push ahead by 16-8. Team Jim replied with a single, but were rocked back on their heels by a single followed by a 7, leaving them no hope of victory. Trailing by 9-24, they won the final 2 ends with a 2 and a 3. It was not enough and Team Alan won 24-14.

The final game was between Barrie Jones, Chris Emmett and Ali Uygur and Martin Hedges, Linda Jennings and David Lloyd. The first 5 ends were dominated by Team David, giving them a lead by 10-0. A score of 4 shots by Team Ali stemmed the tide temporarily, but the Team David steamroller continued almost uninterrupted. They won 5 of the next 6 ends and increased their lead to 21-5. The next three ends were won by Team Ali, with 1, 2, 1 but it was too little, too late. Scores of 5 on two of the ends dwarfed the pair Team Ali scored and the end result was 31-11 to Team David.

It was a fun afternoon, despite the cold and the wind. We look forward to the next MiniMax on the evening of Wednesday, June 17th. With a bit of luck, the weather will be more clement then!!!

Wednesday, May 13th

Now was the winter of our discontent! After a good start to our season, we came to earth with a bump at Tilehurst. On a seriously challenging green and with the constant threat of the repeat of hail and rain storms, which had marked the day, we played this OTL match in freezing conditions, more akin to November than May.

The sales of rechargeable hand warmers will experience a considerable boost after this!

Heroes of the night for Shiplake were Rink 2. The team of Mick Lovejoy, Lorraine Walters and David Challis had a good start, winning the first 2 ends and leading 3-0. Tilehurst won the next two, to make it 3-3. A single and a 4 re-established Shiplake's lead at 8-3. Tilehurst then got the better of the following 5 ends, winning 4 and losing one. In the process they got within one shot of Shiplake at 8-9. A three from Shiplake, then 3 singles from Tilehurst and the difference remained the same. Three ends to go and Shiplake turned on the tap, scoring 6, 1, 3 to put their seal on the game with a 22-11 victory.

On Rink 6, Keith Walters, Jane Ward and Pete Leverett were narrowly defeated by 16-18. They started well, with singles on the first 3 ends, but conceded a 7 and a 2 to trail 3-10. Wins on the next 5 ends brought them within one shot of their opponents at 9-10, bur Tilehurst scored 3 on end 11 to widen the gap, A single on end 12 was surpassed by a single and a 3 from Tilehurst and Shiplake were 7 shots down. They rallied to win 3 of the final 4 ends, scoring 6 shots to Tilehurst's one, but it was not quite enough.

Also narrowly beaten were Sandra Gough, Chris Emmett and John Townley on Rink 5. They were 3-3 after 3 ends, 4-4 after 6 ends, 5-5 after 8 ends and 6-6 after 10 ends, but a score of 3 by Tilehurst put them behind. However, two ends later, they were level once more at 9-9. By end 16, they had finally edged ahead by one shot at 11-10, but Tilehurst scored a pair on each of the 2 remaining ends to secure a 14-1 win.

Beaten, but not disgraced, were Rink 1. Neil Warley, Janet Townley and Wendy Cross battled bravely against Tilehurst and the elements, with a turbo start of 3, 5, 2 for a 10-0 lead. Tilehurst then started their comeback, scoring 15 shots to 2 from Shiplake, over the following 7 ends. They also won 3 of the next 4 ends, cruising into a 22-13 lead. Shiplake staged a minor revival, with wins on 3 of the remaining 4 ends, but they succumbed by 19-25.

The final rink was Rink 4. David Lloyd, Alan Gough and Elaine Robinson started with 3 on end 1, but were pegged back to 4-4 by end 6. The game remained very close over the following 3 ends and Shiplake had a one shot lead after end 9. The pendulum then started to swing in Tilehurst's direction and they won 7 of the remaining 9 ends for a final score of Tilehurst 17, Shiplake 8.

Not a great night for Shiplake. The overall score was Tilehurst 85, Shiplake 76. Unfortunately, the OTL points were 12-2 to Tilehurst.

Saturday, May 16th

Today, we played an OTL match against Hurst. The weather was better than our last match, but still very unseasonable. However, we remained dry, which was a bonus. Our opponents were Hurst and we ended the day with a good win and some much needed OTL points. We won by 4 rinks to 1 and 12 points to 2. The overall score was 88-70 in our favour.

Top honours went to Rink 5. Mick Lovejoy, Janet Townley and Jane Ward started slowly, losing the first 3 ends. They won the next 2 and levelled the score at 3-3. They outplayed their opponents over the following 4 ends, with two pairs against two singles, giving them a 7-5 lead. A run of 4 winning ends (3,1,2,1) stretched the lead to 14-5. Hurst scored 2 shots on end 14, but Shiplake scored two 3's and were leading 20-7 after end 16, with a comfortable victory in sight, There was a minor setback on end 17, with Hurst scoring 4 shots. Shiplake won the final end with a single and the game went to Shiplake by 21-11. One rink and 2 points gained.

Close behind was rink 3. Lorraine Walters, Pete Leverett and Elaine Robinson kept pace with their opponents and the score was Shiplake 4, Hurst 3 after end 5. Scores of 3,2,3  on the next 3 ends gave Shiplake a healthy 12-3 lead, before the teams exchanged singles on the next 2 ends. The final 8 ends were shared, 4 apiece with both teams scoring the same number of shots. Consequently, Shiplake won the game by 9 shots, 19-10. Another rink won and 2 more points.

Rink 4 was a little closer, but Shiplake had another good win, by 17-12. Sandra Gough, Sue Pitcher and John Townley lost the first two ends, but scored a 3 and a 2 to lead 5-2. Hurst won 3 of the next 4 ends, all with singles, to close the gap to 5-6. Shiplake then had a run of 3 winning ends (4,1,1) and put some distance between the teams at 12-5. The next 6 ends went to Shiplake 5-2 and they were leading 17-8 after end 17. Hurst had a final fling on the final end with a score of 4.

Rink 2 was even closer. David Lloyd, Alan Gough and Wendy Cross lost 4 shots on end 1, but made it up on the next 2 ends. Three pairs to Hurst's one increased the lead to 10-6 after end 7. Hurst then had a run of 4 winning ends out of the next 5, scoring 6 shots to Shiplake's 3, making the score 13-12 to Shiplake. Shiplake increased the lead to 17-12 by end 15, then conceded 3 shots to be only 2 shots ahead on the final end. They scored a single, to win by 18-15.

It was not Rink 1's night and they went down by 13-22.

All in all, a very good day for Shiplake and we have now won two of the three OTL matches played, scoring 26 points.

Sunday May 17th

Desborough were unable to field a team, so Wendy organised an Irish Bowls event at the club. There was a reasonable attendance of 13 players. The event was preceded by a Spider, won by the same bowler as in the MiniMax event. He is now in possession of the beginnings of a good wine cellar!

The players were split into two Pairs games and a game of 3 v 2. The overall score was close, with only 4 shots separating the two sides. A good way to fill an unexpected empty date in the calendar. Thanks to Wendy for organising the event and to Jane for providing the prize.

Wednesday May 20th

Finally, a warm evening on which to play a Friendly fixture against TMX. The match was played in a good spirit and ended with a friendly result, with the scales just tipping in TMX's favour with a narrow 76-74 victory. As you would expect, there were no big winners or losers on the night. There were no trial ends and a maximum of 1 shot on the first 2 ends, as the Captains were aware of the limit imposed by the light.

Shiplake's highest winning rink was Rink 2. Marilyn Mowatt, Keith Walters and Jim Bland shared the first 2 ends, then launched a run of 5 winning ends, scoring 4,3,1,2,1 to laed 12-1 after end 7. The next 2 ends were shared, 2 apiece, before TMX started a mini revival. They won 5 of the next 6 ends and recovered to 9-15. A single and a pair from Shiplake took them to 18-9, but they conceded 4 shots on the final end, for a 18-13 success.

On Rink 5 Lorraine Walters, Dave Bullock and Pete Leverett had a narrower win. The game was evenly matched, with Shiplake leading 5-4 after end 6. The following 4 ends yielded 2 singles each, but TMX started to gain the upper hand, with 7 shots to Shiplake's 2 over the next 5 ends. Shiplake were now in trouble at 9-13, but a spirited finish saw them score 2, 3, 4 to clinch the game 15-13.

Rink 4 was even closer. Roger Horton, Ruth Copp and Graham Kennedy struggled badly and were 4-12 behind after end 8. A single and a 3 pulled them closer, before conceding 2 shots on end 11. They now trailed 8-14 and decided that it was time to launch a fight back, Winning 6 of the remaining 7 ends, they added 9 shots to their score, against 2 from TMX. Shiplake emerged as worthy winners by 17-16.

There was a narrow Shiplake defeat on Rink 1. Neil Warley, Margaret Bullock and David hallis battled gamely, but never got their noses in front until end 7, when they led by 7-5. TMX levelled the score 2 ends later, then scored 4 shots on end 10 to push ahead. TMX continued to get the better of the ends and built their lead to 16-10 after end 16. Shiplake won the final 2 ends, with a single and a pair, but failed to close the gap and lost by 13-16.

Finally, we come to Rink 3. Dave Ward, Jane Ward and Wendy Cross had a poor start, losing the first 5 ends and trailing 0-7. A single and a 3 pulled them closer, but TMX won 4 ends in a row and took their lead to 9 shots. Another 3 and a single from Shiplake and the score was 13-8 to TMX. TMX once again gained the ascendancy, winning 3 of the final 5 ends, to win 18-11.

Saturday May 23rd

Today was our 4th OTL match of the season, away to Reading, and it was a tough one. Despite our best efforts, we lost 3 rinks, won one and drew one. This gave us only 3 points, which was disappointing. The shot count was 105-66 in Reading's favour.

Our best result was on Rink 4. The winning combination of Mick Lovejoy, Lorraine Walters and John Townley had a poor start and they were 3-9 down after end 7. They scored 2 shots on each of the next 2 ends,  The score was now 19-18. A bizarre situation followed, when Reading scored 6 one end 10, followed by Shiplake scoring 6 on end 11. A pair from Shiplake and it was all square at 15-15 after end 12. End 13 was won by Shiplake with 4 shots, but the next 3 all resulted in singles from Reading. The score was now 19-18 to Shiplake and they increased their lead with a single on the next end. The final end went to Reading, with a single, but Shiplake held on to win 20-19.

There was partial success on Rink 1. Keith Walters, Sue Pitcher and Elaine Robinson held their opponents to a 16-16 draw. The score was 2-2 after end 4, but a 4 and a 3 gave Shiplake a healthy lead.The teams scored a pair and a single each on the next 4 ends, then Reading started a run of winning ends (1,3,2,3), to lead 14-12. Two singles and a pair from Shiplake beat the pair from Reading and the scores finished level.

Shiplake were outplayed on the other 3 rinks and will have a few days to lick their wonds before the next OTL clash at Palmer Park on Wednesday, May 27th.

Sunday May 24th

After our disappointing result against Reading, it was good to have a slightly less stressful afternoon. with our annual Ladies v Gents internal match. John Townley led the Gents team to a narrow victory over Wendy Cross's Ladies by 70-64 and 3 rinks to 1.

The best rink for the gents was Rink 3. Neil Warley, Keith Walters and Jeff Harris won 2 of the first 3 ends, to lead 3-1, but were knocked back by a 5 shot win by the Ladies on end 4. Each of the teams won 3 of the following 6 ends and it was 9-9 after end 9. The Gents had much the better of the remainder of the game, winning all but 2 of the ends and winning comfortably by 22-11.

On Rink 2, the Pair of Ali Uygur and Graham Kennedy traded ends with Janet Townley and Sylvia Blackmore and trailed 5-7 after 9 ends. They then started to edge ahead, outscoring their opposition. Despite losing 5 of the next 8 ends, they went into the final end leading 12-10.  Scoring 5 shots on the final end ensured the victory for them by 17-10.

The third win for the Gents was on Rink 1. Dave Ward, David Lloyd and Alan Gough started steadily and were 5-0 ahead after 4 ends. The ladies came back with 2 shots on ends 5 and 6, but the Gents won 5 successive ends, to lead 13-4 after end 11. A single and a 4 and the Ladies were back in contention at 9-13. A single from the Gents was topped by a score of 6 by the Ladies and the Ladies now had the lead for the first time at 15-14. The Gents held their nerves and scored a 2 and a 3 to lead 19-15 with one end to play. A single from the Ladies was not enough and they lost 16-19.

The sole win for the Ladies was on Rink 4. Lorraine Walters and Jane Ward gave Chris Emmett and John Townley a really hard time, beating them 27-12. The course of the game was laid out from the start, with the Ladies responding well to a score of 5 on the first end by the Gents. They launched a 5 end winning streak, including a 4 and a 5 of their own, to establish a 12-5 lead. By end 11 the Gents had pulled back to 10-14, but a 3,1,2 by the Ladies re-established their authority at 20-10. Two shots by the Gents was just a bump on the Ladies' road to victory. They finished with 1,2 4 and a comfortable win.

It was a good day, enjoyed by all, especially the Gents who gained another victory in this event.

Wednesday, May 27th

Another OTL match tonight and, sadly, another defeat. We won 2 rinks and lost 3, but the scoring system for the OTL means that we get 4 points and Palmer Park get 10. We did have two winning rinks, however, so here is the report.

Stars of the evening were Rink 3. David Lloyd, Lorraine Walters and John Townley won their game 23-6. Always in command and never behind, they won 5 of the first 6 ends and led 10-2. A pair from Palmer Park was followed by 4 singles from Shiplake. Palmer Park scored 2 on end 12 and that was the end of their contribution to the scoreboard. Shiplake won the final 6 ends for a resounding victory.

On Rink 1 Margaret Bullock, Alan Gough and Elaine Robinson also won, but by a smaller margin of 20-16. They won 6 of the first 9 ends and appeared to be cruising at 14-3 in front. It therefore came as a shock when they conceded 6 shots on end 10 and a single on end 11, to find themselves only 4 shots ahead. They repaired a little of the damage with a pair on end 12, but conceded another 4 shots on end 13. It was now very close, with Shiplake hanging on at 16-14. They held their nerve and gradually increased their lead, winning 4 of the last 5 ends and scoring 4 shots to 2 from Palmer Park.

I have been asked to keep the identity of the other players a secret, as they would prefer to forget the match and concentrate on the future.