On Thursday the 8th of August a team consisting of Sue Keaty, John Inman, Chris Fenner & Keith Young travelled from Devon to the Desborough bowling Club to compete on Friday the 9th August.
They stayed overnight at the Premier hotel where they met up with several other Masonic bowlers who had competed in previous years.
On the Friday they travelled to the club & after a grand opening proceeded to play four rounds of six end rinks against Dorset,Berkshire, Desborough & Bedfordshire.
They acquitted themselves well & I am sure made some new friends & enjoyed the day.
Mid way through the day they attended the presentation of a banner showing both a male & female bowler showing that all are accepted in the Mace Trophy .
The President of bowls England , the P.G.M. of the organising province & many notable people from 17 Provinces attended while 96 bowlers took part, in fact one of the ” leading lights” of Mace W.Bro. Ian Keech assisted Devon by taking part for the Devon team during the competition.
Looking to the future, Devon Masonic Bowling Association would welcome any Masons who are bowlers to join us ( details on the Masonic Web page). Also more attendance/ contact from those already on the members list.
Twenty-one Masonic Provinces, similar to Counties, sent 24 teams of bowlers to the beautiful County of Berkshire on Friday 9 August 2024. They were competing for the Masonic Annual Charity Event (MACE) Trophy. This fun bowling event has been running since 2011 and moves around the country. This is the first time Berkshire have ever been the hosts.
The very impressive Desborough Bowling Club in Maidenhead was full of excited banter and accents from every corner of the country, as competitors filled the club. This realtively newly built club opened in 2019; after they were 112 years in another part of Maidenhead!
After being welcomed to the event by Ian Keech (organiser for MACE), Anthony Howlett-Bolton OBE Leader of Berkshire’s Freemasons, Peter Woods Berkshire Masonic Bowling Association (BMBA) President and Frank Overton Secretary of the BMBA play got underway.
The ladies and gentlemen players had plenty to play for. As well as the 4 trophies up for grabs. They would be raising money throughout 2024, to support the two nominated charities for the year. In 2024 these are to be, the Berkshire Panto Project, a Berkshire-based event helping children who might not otherwise see a Pantomime to do so. The Panto Project has been arranged every year since 2005, with only Covid causing a break.
Lastly, Action for Children, a national charity supporting children and young people across the UK.
Halfway through the event we were joined by Tony Allcock OBE, Chief Executive of Bowls England and Russell Race, Past Deputy Grand Master of Metropolitan Grand Lodge. Whose original support for the event set it on this 14 year-long fund and friend-making journey. In the 14 years it has been running MACE has raised over £70 thousand pounds for charities.
And probably as many new friends for those taking part in this competition.
The new MACE flag that will be flown at the competition going forward was also unveiled at the halfway break. It was hung alongside the Berkshire Masonic Bowling Association flag throughout the day. The artwork now includes a lady bowler on the flag!
Anthony Howlett-Bolton OBE said:
“The Panto Project is a very special event arranged annually in Berkshire. The hard work of the organisers all come together to bring a joyous experience to children who otherwise would miss out of the magic of pantomime.”
Laura English Rose, Senior Fundraising Manager at Action for Children said:
“Thanks for all your generous support. The contribution you are making to Action for Children will help us provide vital funds to services working hard to help children have the safe and happy childhoods they deserve.”
Action for Children protects and supports vulnerable children and young people by providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. With 426 services across the UK, in schools and online, in 2022/23 they helped 765,905 children, young people and families.
The teams played across 8 rinks, with 6 ends played. The number of ends in the second half of the day reduced to 5.
Provinces that sent teams to take part in the 2024 competition (alphabetical order) and the results were:
- Bedfordshire x 2 (4th place)
- Berkshire x 2 (1st place)
- Buckinghamshire
- Surrey x 2
- Cambridgeshire x 2
- Devon
- Dorset
- Essex (3rd place)
- Gloucestershire x 2
- Leicestershire
- London
- Suffolk
- Sussex
- Warwickshire x 2
- Wiltshire x 2 (2nd place)
- Northamptonshire
(and we had a Desborough Bowling Club Team assist to even up the numbers)
Liam Kenny, Press Officer, Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire
Email: press@berkspgl.org.uk