Weekly Results/reports

On Monday the clubs mixed triples final was played and finished in dwindling light. The winners were Chris Tuffnell, Janet Northern and Barry Robinson beating Carol Rooker, Stuart Foulkes and Dave Northern by 19 - 13.
Tuesday saw the last final being played with the ladies pairs competition. The ladies pair was won by Shay Mumford and Janet Northern who defeated Margaret Potter and Jessica Ford by 23 shots to 11.
The finals were a success, with club Captain Barry Robinson and Janet Northern both winning three competitions.
Saturday saw the club play its final competition with 36 members playing for the Mal Lewis trophy which signifies the closing of the green. After a series of rounds the winners were Margaret Bucknell, Stan Spencer and Barry Robinson who beat Eric Copping, Stuart Foulkes and Bill Lamb in near enough complete darkness.
 
The club would like to thank Rosie Batcheldor for providing the teas during the season. Next year sees the club go unified with both sections joining together and forming one committee.

On Wednesday Mike Hammond beat Keith Giddings in the two woods semi final 21 – 19 to reach the final where he will play club captain Barry Robinson on Saturday morning.
Thursday eventually saw the ladies four wood semi finals being played in the afternoon. Maureen Nicholson beat Janet Northern to reach her second singles final. In the final she will play Sheila Brown who beat Marjorie Miles. In the evening the last outstanding semi final was played in the mixed triples. The winners were Carol Rooker, Stuart Foulkes and Dave Northern who defeated Bryan Heath, Moreen Stevens and Richard Ford to reach the final which is to be played on Monday evening starting at 16.30.
Saturday saw the start of the clubs finals with four games taking place.
It’s the first time the club has held a finals weekend in years and all went well despite the poor support of club members. Club captain Barry Robinson beat Mike Hammond 21 – 19 to take the two woods singles title. Janet Northern beat Maureen Nicholson 15 – 5 to win the ladies equivalent. In what was the closest final of the weekend John Batcheldor and Margaret Foulkes beat Dave Northern and Brenda Ford 20 – 19 to win the Adam and Eve. In the men’s triples it was a win for Bill Bond , Stan Spencer and Bob Nicholson who defeated Eric Copping, Chris Tuffnell and Andrew Peacock 21 -15.
Sunday saw three more finals taking place with Barry Robinson winning his second singles title when he defeated Keith Giddings 21 – 17 in the four woods final. Maureen Nicholson overcame her disappointment on Saturday when she became ladies 4 woods singles champion winning 21 – 10 against Sheila Brown. Keith Giddings got some consolation from his singles defeat when he partnered Andrew Peacock to win the men’s pairs against Ken Stevens and John King 21 – 12.
The finals conclude this week with the mixed triples taking place on Monday with the ladies pairs on the following day. Both finals starting at 4.30pm.
Saturday sees the closure of the green when the members play for the Mal Lewis Trophy ( Red Dragon).

On Monday the club held its ladies triples gala with 24 teams taking part in fine weather. The ladies played four games each and the eventual winners were L Gibson, M Mc Pherson and C Condron from Beech Hill and it was a good day for Beech Hill as they were also the runners up. The club would like to thank everybody who gave up their time to make the day a success as it was, raising valuable funds.
On Tuesday Captain Barry Robinson made it to his third final when he beat Richard Ford in the semi finals of the two woods 21-13.
The Bob Johnson trophy for the over 60’s was played for on Wednesday with 18 members taking part. In the final a three end play off the winners were Len Dolby, Margaret Gorringe and John King with Bill Bond, Derek Wilson and Mike Hammond finishing runners up.
Saturday saw the men travel to St Andrews in a six rink triples game and lost by 99 sots to 97. The highest winning rink consisted of Stan Spencer, Chris Tuffnell and Vic King. The ladies had no game.
Sunday morning was the final of the men’s champion of champions in the East Beds League and the clubs ‘A’ team lost to Sandy Town ‘B’ going down heavily on one rink and losing by one shot on the other. In the afternoon the club played Potton in a five rink mixed triples game and won by three shots. The highest winning rink was Ken Griffin, Peter Brown and Barry Robinson. The club would like to thank Potton for turning out five rinks despite the club being on tour

With the season drawing to a close there’s hardly any games going on but I have listed below those that took place last week.
Tuesday the ladies ’A’ team start their game against Henlow in the East Beds knock out cup semi final. The game was abandoned after three ends as the heavy rain flooded the green. The game continued on the Wednesday with Shefford having to make a couple of changes due to work commitments. Henlow ran out winners and went on to beat Flitwick in the final.
Saturday was disappointing for the men as Luton West End failed to show. The ladies had no game.
Sunday saw a full green being used in the afternoon when the club played Henlow in a six rink mixed game. Shefford ran out winners winning by 135 to 106 shots. The highest winning rink was Carol Rooker, Chris Tuffnell, John Batcheldor and Richard Ford.
Sunday 13th September sees the men’s ‘A’ team go in as underdogs against Sandy Town ‘B’ in the champion of champions final at Biggleswade Town.

With the season drawing to a close there’s mainly only club competitions going on and are listed below.
With the East Beds League finished, Monday was quite day on the green. Janet Northern beat Jessica Ford to reach the final of the ladies two wood singles final to be played on the 19th September.
On Tuesday the ladies ’A’ team lost against Ampthill by two shots to finish their league programme and they have a cup game tonight at Henlow.
Wednesday saw one of the ladies pairs semi-finals played with Margaret Potter and Jessica Ford reaching the final after beating Glen Jones and Brenda Ford.
On Friday one of the mixed triples semi finals was played and the winners were Chris Tuffnell, Janet Northern and Barry Robinson.
Saturday saw the men win at Lancaster Avenue in a five rink triples game by 7 shots and the highest winning rink was Derek Wilson, Mike Hammond and Barry Robinson. The ladies played a three rink game at home to Bedford Priory and had a comfortable win.
Janet Northern made it through to another final when she partnered Shay Mumford to reach the ladies pairs final beating Margaret Foulkes and Maureen Nicholson. The Club travelled to Wilstead on Sunday in a five triples mixed game and despite losing on only one rink lost the game by the narrowest of margins one shot.

The men suffered in the East Beds League on Monday night with the ‘A’ team losing at home to Sandy Town by one shot, this meant they are now relegated to division three after losing four out of the last five by  two shots or less. The ‘B’ won at Flitwick to give them a chance of promotion only to find out the other Flitwick side won at league winners Holwell to deny them. The ‘C’ finished their season losing at home to Stotfold and must now seek re-election.
On Tuesday the ladies ’A’ team lost at Henlow, while the ‘B’ team have finished their games in the East Beds league. On the club competitions front John King and Ken Stevens progressed to the men’s pairs final where they will play Keith Giddings and Andrew Peacock on finals day 19th September.
Thursday saw John Batcheldor and Margaret Foulkes reach the final of the Adam and Eve competition after beating Margaret Gorringe and Bryan Heath in a tense game.
On Friday the men’s ‘A’ team won at Biggleswade in the East Beds league Champion of Champions semi final winning by 32 shots to 30. The triples skipped by Brenda Ford lost in the Benevolent competition in the quarter finals And Maureen Nicholson lost in the Champion of Champions.
Saturday saw the men lose at Whitethorn heavily, but had a winning rink of Ken Griffin, Baz Gorringe, Alison Hammond and Bill Lamb. The ladies played a three rink game at home to Biggleswade and lost on all three rinks.
Luton - Coop were the visitors on Sunday when the club held a five rink mixed game. In a close encounter Shefford won by 93 shots to 87. They did have three winning rinks and the highest was Ken Griffin, Glen Jones, Brender Ford and Richard Ford.

The men suffered in the East Beds League on Monday night with the ‘A’ team losing at Holwell and the ‘B’ losing at Flitwick both by two shots. The ladies triple of Sheila Waggott, Sheila Brown and Brenda Ford progressed to the quarter finals in the benevolent triples winning at Langford.
On Tuesday the ladies ’A’ team did not have a game, while the ‘B’ team lost at Biggleswade in the East Beds league.
Wednesday saw the club host the County match between Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire in appalling conditions. With it raining most of the game it was a surprise the game was finished, but with the green holding up well the game was concluded and Bedfordshire lost by 4 shots.
On Friday the ‘A’ team progressed in the East Beds league Champion of Champions winning at Potton.
Saturday saw the men lose at Stevenage Town with a much weakened team losing by 32 shots. The game however was useful as it gave 14 year old Connor Hart his first game for the club and he ended up on the only winning Shefford rink of Connor Hart, Islwyn Jones, John Batcheldor and Dave Northern. The ladies played a two rink game at Langford and won by two shots, Janet Northern skipped the winning rink.
Ampthill were the visitors on Sunday when the club held a four rink mixed game. In a close encounter Shefford lost by 71 shots to 77. They did have two winning rinks and the highest was Ken Griffin, Sue Hale, John Batcheldor and Bob Izzard. With only a month to go the club competitions are catching up, the men have reached at least the semi final stages while the ladies are behind on their matches.

The men had mixed fortunes in the East Beds League on Monday. The ‘A’ team drew at Henlow; the ‘B’ beat Langford at home while the ‘C’ team suffered a heavy defeat at home to Biggleswade.
Tuesday was East Beds league night for the ladies with the ‘A’ team losing at home to Sandy Conservative Club and the ‘B’ team inflicted a defeat on top of the table Maulden in division three.
The rest of the week has been spent playing club competitions.
Weekend fixtures were a disappointment for the club. On Saturday the men lost at home to Norton by 79 shots to 57. The only winning rink consisted of Chris Hogan, Malcolm Clarke, John Batcheldor and Geoff Henry. The ladies lost at Henlow.
Sunday’s game against Potton was a five rink triples match despite Shefford winning on four of the five rinks they lost by 75 shots to 70.The highest winning rink was Glenn Jones, Dave Northern and Barry Robinson.

Monday started of badly for the club with all three men’s teams losing in the East Beds League. The ‘A’ team lost at home to Flitwick and the ‘B’ and ‘C’ lost at to Biggleswade and Henlow’ respectively.
Tuesday was East Beds league night for the ladies knock out cup and the ‘A’ team won at Flitwick to progress to the next round. Jessica Ford and Mike Sale run came to the end with a heavy defeat at Langford in the County mixed pairs. The club held the County men’s pairs competition and three pairs from Kent’s and one from Barton progressed to the semi finals to be played at Shefford on Friday.
The green was busy on Thursday with rearranged games in the men’s and ladies East Beds League. The men’s ‘A’ team suffered another close defeat losing by one shot to Biggleswade. The ‘B’ team recovered to snatch a draw with Sandy Conservative Club and finally the ladies ‘A’ team revenged an earlier defeat by beating sandy Town.
Friday saw the clubs ‘C’ team win its rearranged East Beds League game winning at St Andrews. County men’s semi finals were played at Shefford and Kents Athletic will play Barton in the final after close semi finals.
Saturday the men travel to Kingsbury and lost by 81 shots to 59. The only winning rink consisted of Chris Hogan, Yves Dorson, Mike Hammond and Andrew Peacock. The ladies defeated Stotfold by 67 shots to 34 winning on all three rinks.
Sunday’s game was cancelled as Letchworth Conservative Club could not raise a side. The club is now playing its club competitions but with some members failing to meet the deadline dates, there will be some members eliminated by the competitions committee

Shefford returned from another successful tour last Saturday. The club had 28 bowlers and 8 non bowlers to staying at The Haddon Hall Hotel in Eastbourne. The club was lucky with the weather and managed to play all 6 games scheduled. Shefford found it difficult to deal with the wind on most greens but came away winning three and losing three. Details of the games are listed below:-
 
Shefford     98              Gildredge Park             133
Shefford     119             Peacehaven                 105
Shefford     100             Eastbourne                   127
Shefford     106             Woodingdean               112
Shefford     147             Parade Marina             108
Shefford     126             Gullivers                         89
 
The competition amongst the Shefford bowlers resulted in Margaret Potter winning with a score of 57 followed by Mike Hammond on 47 and Janet Northern on 41.
The club would once again like to take this opportunity of thanking  Brenda Ford for once again running a successful tour and the members are already looking forward to next year.
During the week at home Bob Izzard went out of the County pairs on Tuesday losing by two shots. Andrew Peacock substituted for Bob Nicholson who was on tour. The ladies played a home game on Saturday and lost on both rinks to Barton Le Clay. Sunday saw Jessica Ford and Michael Sale progressed to the quarter finals of the County mixed pairs when they beat the Bakers from Wilstead by 18 shots to 13.

Another round of the East Beds league took place on Monday for the men, with the ‘A’ team winning at Fairfield. The ‘B’ team beat Great Barford at home and the ‘C’ team lost to Baldock, also at home.
Tuesday was East Beds league night for the ladies with the ‘A’ team losing at Flitwick and the ‘B’ team beating Stotfold at home. In the men’s County pairs the clash of the Shefford pairs saw the oldens of Bob Nicholson and Bob Izzard beat the youngsters of Richard Ford and Michael Sale by 20 shots to 16. Geoff Henry and Ralph Archer also progressed to the next round, beating a pair from Biggleswade Town.
The youngest lady member of the club Jessica Ford won both her matches in the unbadged singles games and is through now through to the final to be played on Friday at Barton.
On Thursday the men’s ‘A’ team went out of the knockout cup losing at home to Maulden ‘B’ who are top of division one.
 
Barton was the venue on Friday for the Ladies County finals day. In the unbadged singles final Jessica Ford from Shefford won the competition beating a lady from Ampthill 21-11. The game had to be stopped for a while due to the heavy rain / thunder but Jessica won on the first end after the restart.

 Friday was also the next round of the County pairs for the men with three Shefford teams taking part. John Batcheldor and Barry Robinson were at Sandy Conservative Club but had to concede the game as the green was deemed not fit to play and the pair of them went on tour on the Saturday morning. Geoff Henry and Ralph Archer suffered a heavy defeat at Ampthill in appalling conditions. The two Bobs, Nicholson and Izzard won at Sharnbrook beating the pair that reached the final last season.
 No weekend games as club went on tour on Saturday to Eastbourne

Monday started of with Maureen Nicholson losing in the County singles. In the East Beds League the men’s ‘A’ team and the ‘B’ team lost to Stotfold ’B’ and Holwell ‘B’ respectively and the ‘C’ team beat Potton ‘D’.
Tuesday was East Beds league night for the ladies with the ‘A’ team losing at home to Biggleswade and the ‘B’ team losing at Flitwick. Jessica Ford and Mike Sale progressed to the next round of the County mixed pairs beating a couple from Queens Works comfortably.
On Thursday John Batcheldor and Barry Robinson progressed to the next round of the County pairs after beating Terry Sturgeon and Bob Hirst from Henlow at home.
Friday saw another Shefford pair reach the next round of the County pairs when Geoff Henry and Ralph Archer beat a pair from Wilstead. In the evening the club held its BBQ with 65 attending and everybody had an enjoyable evening. After a tense battle the men defeated the ladies by 128 to 105. The club would like to thank Richard Ford and his fellow chefs for cooking the food.
Saturday the men had no game, while the ladies travelled to Luton _ Coop and lost.
On Sunday the men played in the first round of the Pell Shield and went out to Houghton Regis in a close game by 6 shots. In the afternoon captain Barry Robinson had his special day with 30 people attending and after a series of different games the winners were Moreen Stevens, Stan Potter and Richard Ford. The runners up were Margaret Potter, Baz Gorringe and Dennis Stevens.
 
Saturday the 18th July sees the club go on his annual tour, with this year’s destination Eastbourne.

Sunday saw Richard Ford and Michael Sale win their pairs game to set up an all Shefford clash in the next round where they play Bob Nicholson and Bob Izzard.
Monday started of with the men’s ‘A’ team and the ‘C’ team beating Sandy Town ‘A’ and Stotfold ‘D’ respectively both away and the ‘B’ team lost at home to Flitwick ‘D’. Marjorie Miles and Maureen Nicholson went out of the County pairs losing at Henlow.
Tuesday was East Beds league for the ladies and the ‘A’ team beat Biggleswade to progress to the next round of the knock out cup. John Batcheldor and Barry Robinson progressed to the next round of the County pairs beating a couple from Wilstead.
On Thursday the club lost its last male singles player when Michael sale lost to Graham white from Meltis Bowls Club.
Friday saw the exit of Stan Spencer and Mike Hammond despite gaining a hot shot against a pair from Queens Works in Luton.
Saturday the club took a depleted side to Kent’s and lost overall but did have a winning rink of Chris Hogan, Derek Wilson, Baz Gorringe and Richard Ford. The ladies won a close game against Wilstead.
Sunday was the end of the line for Maureen Nicholson in the champion of champions when she went down to a lady from Essex at St Neots. The men’s game in the afternoon was cancelled from lack of support by the members.

Monday was a good start to the week for the club with the men’s ‘A’ team and the ‘B’ team beating Holwell and Flitwick respectively both at home and the ‘C’ team had no game. Marjorie Miles and Maureen Nicholson won their County pairs match beating a couple from Langford comfortably, while Sheila Brown and Brenda Ford lost at Henlow.
Tuesday was East Beds league for the ladies and the ‘A’ team lost at Ampthill while the ‘B’ team beat Potton at home.
 Wednesday saw the ladies ‘A’ team lose against Henlow in a rearranged game in the East Beds League.
Thursday was a big day for the club with the ladies playing Bowls England to celebrate their 40th Anniversary. Despite losing heavily the ladies had an enjoyable day playing against opposition that included County players from nine different counties as well as Past England presidents. Despite playing against this strong opposition Shefford did have a winning rink of Rosie Batcheldor, Sylvia Lawrence, Joy Bland and Shay Mumford.

In the evening the club had a few players in the County Singles and only Michael Sale progressed to the next round.
Friday saw the men’s ‘A’ team play Potton ‘D’ in the East Beds League knock out cup and ran out comfortable winners. Maureen Nicholson and Marjorie Miles progressed to the next round of the County pairs while the other pair of Sheila and Brenda went out.
Saturday the club played a friendly at Russell Park and found the heavy green too much to handle and went down on all four rinks. The ladies game against Sandy Conservative Club was cancelled by their opponents.
Sunday was the end of the road for Maureen Nicholson and john Batcheldor losing to a pair at Bedford Borough. The club renewed old acquaintances when they played Aston at home, as it was the first fixture between the clubs since 1975. Aston won on three out of the four rinks winning the game 85 shots to 71. Shefford’s winning rink consisted of Peter Brown, Stan Spencer, Margaret Foulkes and Barry Robinson.
Next Sunday sees Maureen Nicholson play in the quarter finals of the regional champion of champions against a lady from Essex at St Neots.