Match Reports

Thame Bowls weekly match report 4

Thame have once again had mixed fortunes during the last seven days. A disappointing result 57 – 88 in an enjoyable game against Oxford City and County on Monday was followed by a very good win 64 – 61 against South Oxford in the Norfolk Cup on Friday. The Norfolk Cup is a long standing annual competition against old friends, South Oxford, held on a home and away basis. The second leg will held at the South Oxford green on Friday 18 June.

The two weekend games, both at home, were split between a heavy loss to a strong Bicester side 53 – 116 and a good win against Gerrards Cross 61 – 57. Thame’s best rink against Bicester was played by Norman Hyde, Frances Goodyear and skip (and Captain) Bill Giles. The best rink against Gerrards Cross was played by Maire Duncan, David Holland and skip Bill Giles (again).

The Tuesday evening sessions for new or newish bowlers will again get underway on 22 June from 5.30 pm. These are relaxed but structured sessions with the Club’s qualified coaches on hand to organise and give guidance on a one to one or a group basis. Some 16 people have already expressed an interest in these sessions which culminate in The Paul Heafey Cup (a competition for new bowlers) which this year will be held towards the end of July.

14.6.2021

Thame Bowls Club weekly news report 3

Thame Ladies suffered a rare defeat on 2^nd June away at Princes Risborough by some 20 shots. The men’s League team however were strong winners on 3^rd June away at Chipping Norton. They finished winning by 66 shots to 55 giving them 5 league points against Chipping Norton’s 1 point. The highest winning rink was played by Geoff Roynon, Dave Holland, John Rawson and skip Chris Shannon.

The Saturday friendly match at home to Abingdon was another accomplished win on a gloriously sunny afternoon by 84 shots to 57. The best rink was played by Keith Brook, Marion Keal and skip Ray Plested.

The Sunday friendly match, also at home was a close encounter with a strong Chesham side who ran out winners by 76 shots to 59. The best Thame rink was played by Jan Sargeant, Adrian Wilcox and skip Ron Duncan.

Overall, Thame’s players are now beginning to find their feet again after such a long lay off and are all enjoying the exercise and as much of the social side as is possible at present.

The Friday League, the inhouse social evening, will start on 25^th June and is eagerly awaited by in excess of 70 Club Members. This increasingly popular night gives the members of whatever capability, a chance to play in a competitive but friendly atmosphere with an open bar and refreshments. Let us hope that the weather helps and the Covid rules are sufficiently relaxed to maximise the enjoyment.

7 June 2021

Thame Bowls Club weekly news report 2

Unfortunately, Aston Clinton ladies had to cancel their match against Thame on 24^th May which meant that Thame will have to wait until 2^nd June for their next match. This will be away at Princes Risborough.

The men’s league game against Charlbury on 27^th May proved to be a second defeat by 78 shots to 62 giving Thame 1 point against Charlbury’s 5. Thame’s best rink was played by Adrian Wilcox, John Walker, Leonard Grimshaw and skip Ray Plested. The men are confident that they can bounce back from the initial two defeats however when they play away at Chipping Norton on 3^rd June.

The annual Whitsun Cup was played for on Bank Holiday Sunday 30^th May and some 16 members enjoyed a glorious afternoon in the sunshine. The semi finals were decided by clear margins, Team 1 beat Team 2 13 – 5 and Team 4 beat Team 3 15 – 7 but the final was much closer with Team 1 (Colin Feltham, Ken Lewis, Kevin Sharman and skip Heather Hallchurch) winning over Team 4 (Gini Williams, Roger Blackburn, Deidre Page and skip Jane Kimber) by 13 shots to 11. Chairman Bill Giles presented the first trophy of the season to the winning team, Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and thanks go to Adrian Wilcox for its organisation.

Matches will start to come thick and fast from now on provided the Covid rules are relaxed at the next important date.

2.6.21

Thame Bowls Club weekly match report 1.

Thame Bowls Club has restarted playing this year after a very lengthy pause following the lockdowns of 2020. A number of hardy members were able to complete rollups last year with strict social distancing measures in place together with a multitude of cleaning rituals but it was not the same as playing in competitive matches.

The delay however enabled the brand, new clubhouse to be fully completed and with the green being exceptionally well preserved from both builders and weather by a few heroic volunteers led by Greenkeeper, Chris Shannon, the new season was eagerly anticipated by over 100 players.

The opening matches have all been away from home to date, so the new bar area has yet to be christened, but it will not be long before the members return to enjoy both the sport and the hospitality.

Thame ladies won their first match on 17^th May, against Hazells by 14 shots with the best rink played by Terri Blackburn, Jill Brooks and Deidre Page. The men’s league opened on 20^th May away at Woodstock and they lost by 54 shots to 61. Thame’s best rink was played by Vic Webb, Colin Feltham, John Ashfield and skip Adie Twinn.

The first mixed triples took place on Saturday 22^nd May away at Hagbourne despite the inclement weather and Thame narrowly lost by 52 shots to 54. The best rink was played by Colin Feltham, Deidre Page and skip, Ian Rutherford, so a good week for both Deidre and Colin. The Sunday match against Henley was cancelled.

So although a mixed beginning competitively, Thame’s bowlers are looking forward to a fine Summer of bowling in the months to come.

23^rd May 2021

Thame Bowls Club weekly report no. 20

The Green has now closed, as the Clubhouse is under refurbishment, and the final matches have all been played away from home. Unfortunately, the majority of these matches were defeats but there was a creditable draw with Oxford City and County 78 points apiece.

A heavy loss to Bassetsbury Manor 60 – 101 was followed by a good win over Cheddington 80 – 75 with the best rink played by Jane Kimber, Adrian Wilcox, Leonard Grimshaw and skip Bill Giles.

The final two matches were against Hazells (73 – 115) (highest winning rink Paul Youens, Marion Keal and Ray Plested) and a strong Marlow side (93 – 99) who were celebrating their Centenary season. Thame presented Marlow with an embroidered pennant to mark this superb achievement. Thame’s own centenary will (hopefully) be celebrated in 2024.

The Club’s AGM will be held on Monday 21^st October at the Chinnor Rugby Club.

Mike Ralls

23^rd September 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 19

With all matches now being played away with the demise of the Clubhouse, it has been a difficult time for Thame’s bowlers. Two heavy defeats against Chessvale and Aston Clinton were followed by a defeat against Adderbury 55 – 75 and a loss against Bassetsbury Manor 43 – 93.

The best rinks against Adderbury were played by Keith Brooks, John Wheeler, Jill Brooks and Jesse Matthews and against Bassetsbury were played by Alfred Jochum, Frances Goodyear and Dave Holland.

The only saving grace was another win by Thame Ladies against High Wycombe 49 – 45 with the highest winning rink played by Marion Keal, Frances Goodyear and Sandy Webb. This completed the season for the ladies who have had only one loss and one draw throughout the season.

Now that the Clubhouse is being demolished, the Presentation Evening will be held at Chinnor Rugby Club on Friday September 20^th at 7pm and the AGM will be held on Monday October 21^st at Chinnor Rugby 6:30 for 7pm.

Mike Ralls

2 September 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 18

Thame Ladies were once again on top form in the past week, firstly beating Wendover Ladies 59 – 29 and then Aylesbury Town Ladies 49 – 48. The best rink against Wendover was Jan Sargeant, Jackie Emberson and Doreen Penn and the best rink against Aylesbury was Margaret Boynton, Frances Goodyear and Caroline Walker. Regrettably the match against Thame Gentlemen had to be cancelled because of the weather, otherwise, the men would have had a thrashing.

The mixed team against Long Crendon was a narrow defeat by 86 shots to 88 but the highest winning rink was played by Carsten Jochum, Marion Keal and Jane Kimber.

The annual Potter Cup was won by Ron Duncan and Ken Calcutt after a fine afternoon of competitive bowls and everyone taking part enjoyed the occasion. The day was completed by hosting the sponsors evening where the members and sponsors were able to mix and socialise before the Clubhouse is closed down for refurbishment. There are a few pictures in the gallery.

Mike Ralls

21 August 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 17

Thame men’s last league match of the season against Chadlington could have determined either a promotion to League 2 or strangely a relegation to League 4! The end result of 62 shots to 70 meant a points total of 2 against Chadlington’s 4 and a final position of 4^th equal on points with Shiplake and Bloxham. The top two sides are promoted and bottom two sides relegated so the three teams in the middle stay there for next season. The Club Captain, Ron Duncan, is going to stand down at the end of this season and the Club have expressed their many thanks to him for his professional, efficient and sociable efforts throughout the year.

The two mixed games this week had mixed results with a fine win against Tring (68 – 58) with the best rink played by Ray Lewin, Terry Emberson and Ron Duncan, but a heavy defeat against South Oxford (78 – 118) with the highest winning rink played by Jane Kimber, Jan Sargeant, Leonard Grimshaw and Jess Matthews.

The Club is now planning the many tasks that will be required before the Clubhouse is redeveloped and it will be all hands to the pumps for the rest of the month.

Mike Ralls

13^th August 2019.

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 16

Thame men’s bowlers came strong against a Bloxham side competing for the second league place and won 72 – 63 giving them 4 league points against Bloxham’s 2. The best Thame rink was Graham Watson, Ian Rutherford, John Timms and Paul Costin. Thame have one last game to play on this coming Thursday against second from bottom Chadlington and a 6 – 0 scoreline could see Thame promoted to League 1. Equally a 0 – 6 score could see them relegated so there will plenty to play for.

The friendly against Bicester was a defeat by 64 points to 100 but the highest winning rink was played by two newcomers Keith Brooks and Geoff Roynon with skip Leonard Grimshaw. Frances Goodyear and Jane Kimber both played for Bicester as that team were short of players and Jane was on the highest winning rink.

Although the friendly against Watlington had to be cancelled as Watlington could only field 7 players, the new bowlers competition continued on Tuesday 6^th August and it came to a very close finale. Teams B and D eventually went through to the final with 15 points apiece but were closely followed by Team A with 13, Team E with 12.5 and Team C with 11.5 points. Team F brought up the rear with 8 points.

In the final Team B won by 5 shots to 2 which with 1 point for each winning end and a bonus point for the highest number of shots, gave them a winning margin of 4 points to 2. The winners, who were presented with the trophy by Sharon Heafey, were Sandra French, Samantha Carnell, Barry Green and Geoff Roynon.

Mike Ralls

7^th August 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 15

It has been a fairly quiet week for Thame’s bowlers when compared to their usual full program but they still found time to meet Didcot and Bicester as well as playing the second round of the Paul Heafey Cup.

The mixed team lost 53 – 73 to Didcot but the best rink was played by Jackie Emberson, Pete Southam and Terry Emberson. The men’s league match against Bicester was a loss of 56 – 76 resulting in 5 points to Bicester and 1 point to Thame. Thame have now dropped to 4^th position but are on equal points with Shiplake and just 4 points behind Bloxham in 2^nd place who are Thame’s next opponents.

The second session of the Paul Heafey Cup saw 24 new bowlers battle out another two matches and the current league positions are : -

Team B (Sandra French, Samantha Carnell, Barry Green and Geoff Roynon) 14 points

Team E (Denise Manger, Colin French, Keith Brooks and Val Sawyer) 11.5 points

Team D (Terri Blackburn, Maureen Gidley, Phillip Dodd and Mike Sawyer) 11 points

Team A (Mac Warner, Peter Woodman, Peter Gibbons and Peter Dawe) 10 points

Team C (Claire Lewis, Maggie Gibbons, Colin Feltham and Vic Dawe) 7.5 points

Team F (Barbara Lewin, Mary Taylor, Ken Lewis and Paul Youens) 6 points

The last game will be played on Tuesday next followed by the final and a social evening to discuss where things went wrong!

Mike Ralls

31 August 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 14

The ladies of Thame did not have quite such a good week with their first defeat to Aylesbury Town by 40 – 53 although Thame’s highest winning rink was played by Margaret Boynton, Jill Brooks and skip Doreen Penn.

The Top Club semi finals against South Oxford were also a loss overall but it was a very close 58 – 61 but there were wins for Caroline Walker (21 – 2) in the singles and for Ann Ashfield, Margaret Boynton, Barbara Waters and Frances Goodyear (17 – 15) in the fours.

The mixed team versus Wendover also lost 78 – 87 with the best rink played by new bowler, Keith Brooks, Alison Wilkinson and skip Graham Watson.

The Paul Heafey Cup

On Tuesday 23^rd July, the first round of this new bowlers competition took place and all six teams played two games of 4 end rinks. Team B consisting of Sandra French, Samantha Carnell, Barry Green and Geoff Roynon have taken an early lead but only by 1 point ahead of Team D who consists of Terri Blackburn, Maureen Gidley, Phillip Dodd and Mike Sawyer. Teams A and E are not far behind on 5 points each but Teams F (3 points) and Team C (2 points) have work to do. With another three games before the final over the next two weeks, with five points available on each game, there is all to play for and the positions can change dramatically.

Mike Ralls

24^th July 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 13

Thame Men’s bowlers were back in action last Thursday and easily beat a Shiplake team that struggles to perform away from home. Thame won by 79 shots to 61 and will receive 5 league points to Shiplake’s 1. This takes Thame back to second place in the league behind Bicester. The highest winning rink was played by Paul Costin, Leonard Grimshaw, George Andrews and skip Robin Jenner.

Gordon Taylor, the Club’s President, sponsored the annual President’s Day on 13^th July and 33 bowlers took part throughout a keenly contested day, with the eventual winners being Barbara Lewin, Mike Zakaszewski and Chris Shannon. The match was completed by a meal and the Narrowgate Competition prize of a bottle of whiskey, was won by Derek Goodyear, who promptly donated it back to the raffle. Gordon donated the monies raised on the day to Sharing Life Trust and Thame Youth Project.

There were also two friendlies during the week; Woodstock at home was a win by 50 – 43 (highest winning rink John Sear, John Walker and Jesse Matthews) but Loudwater away was a defeat 48 – 68 (highest winning rink Ray Lewin, Pete Southam and Sandy Webb).

The Hawker Cup was completed last Friday but the results are not yet in.

Mike Ralls

17 July 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly report 12

Thame Ladies have continued to dominate their opposition over the last few weeks with good wins over Watlington and Wendover.

The game against Watlington was three triples, finished 56 - 30 and the highest winning rink was played by Ann Ashfield, Jill Brooks and skip Frances Goodyear.

The match against a reduced Wendover side was won by 39 shots to 25 with the highest winning rink played by Ann Ashfield, Jill Brooks and skip Caroline Walker.

Thame’s Men however were defeated by their bogey side, Banbury Central in the Oxfordshire County League fixture by 57 shots to 74 giving them just 1 league point to Banbury’s 5 and dropped Thame to third.

There were two defeats for the Club’s mixed teams over the weekend although the final scores are not yet in.

Some 18 new bowlers have signed up so far for this year’s Paul Heafey Cup which will be played over the 23, 30 July and 6 August. The number reflects the very healthy 2019 recruitment campaign and the Club is bucking the current bowls trend elsewhere in the district.

Mike Ralls

9 July 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly match report 11

The weather has been kind to Thame bowlers this week and has helped to improve the results.

Although the mixed match against Hagbourne was a defeat by 62 – 75, (the highest winning rink played by Jane Kimber, Mac Warner and Graham Watson) the games against Didcot and High Wycombe were wins 65 – 62 and 62 – 56 respectively. The winning rinks were played by Roger Mackreal, John Walker and Frances Goodyear against Didcot and by Janet Shannon, Terri Blackburn, Graham Watson and Jesse Matthews against High Wycombe.

The mixed match against Wendover was a narrow defeat 91 – 95 but the highest winning rink was played by Gini Williams and Mike Zakaszewski (both new bowlers) and Jane Kimber (who was skipping for the first time).

Thame ladies progressed in the Top Club competition by beating Hanborough on all rinks. They will play South Oxford next on 21^stJuly 2019.

Mike Ralls

4 July 2019

Thame Bowls Club weekly match report 10

Although matches against Long Crendon and South Oxford had to be cancelled in recent weeks (as the opposition were unable to get enough players), vital Oxfordshire League men’s fixtures went ahead as planned and proved successful on both occasions.

First a comprehensive defeat over Chadlington 103 – 46 with wins on all rinks gave a useful 6 points to the league total; the highest winning rink was played by Ron Duncan, John Ashfield, Les Canfield and skip Bill Giles. Then a closer game against Hanborough ran out 73 – 54 giving 4 points to Thame and 2 points to Hanborough; the highest winning rink was played by Graham Watson, Mike Ralls, John Timms and skip Chris Shannon.

The mixed friendlies against Loudwater (an easy win at home) and at home against Didcot (a closer win 65 – 62) were enjoyed by all sides and the highest winning rink against Didcot was played by Roger Mackriell, John Walker and Frances Goodyear. 

Finally the Club’s own triples competition, the Purser Cup was played  on 23^rdJune and the final between Dave Holland, Jill Brooks and Janet Shannon against Tony Adamson, Jane Kimber and Chris Shannon, saw a win for Tony, Jane and Chris.

Mike Ralls

29 June 2019