LYDNEY Bowling Club (LBC) members are celebrating this week following the successful launch of its new clubhouse and open day last Saturday (May 14).

Club captain and coach, Gordon Blake says: “Our priority was to open the new clubhouse, mainly funded by Gloucestershire Environment Trust with additional support from the Summerfield Trust. The refurbishment we’ve just carried out cost around £37,000. As well as the external funding we received, we raised a lot of this ourselves.

“We are also very keen to attract new members. ‘Bowls 4 Fun’ on Saturday was organised with the Bowls Development Alliance and we had a very good attendance. Five people signed up on the day and about nine other people have told us they want to join.

“We had 48 members originally, ranging in age from members in their early 40s up to our oldest member, Phillipe Dequillio who is 94 years-old and still plays.”

LBC was founded in 1926 and moved to its current home in Bathurst Park in 1952. The newly-refurbished clubhouse has a new kitchen, new changing rooms and toilets, improved access for those with limited mobility and has been fully recarpeted and redecorated.