MEMBERS of Wellington Bowling Club attended President's Day and the Closing of the Green event on a pleasant Saturday afternoon.

It was a sad occasion in one way because there will be no more outdoor bowling games now until the spring of next year but in another way it was a celebration of a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile bowling season.

Vice President Diana Dagg and Bowls Coordinator Graham Brown organised the event extremely well and their efforts were very much appreciated by everyone.

The occasion began with the “Spider”! This was a bowling game where everyone gathered around the green and with one foot in the ditch, bowled one bowl to see who could get nearest to the spider and jack in the middle of the green.

The spider was a very large black hairy creature with eight legs and staring eyes. It was nearly three feet across so it was a very clear target to aim at.

Everyone put a pound in the charity collection bowl before bowling at the spider. Everybody bowled at the same time. The bowler who got nearest the spider was Jane Hayes who was awarded a bottle of malt whiskey. The whiskey was kindly donated by club chairman Paul Kelly.

Next there were a number of bowling games for everyone to play. The matches were not played to the usual rules. Diana and Graham told everybody in advance that the nearest bowl to the jack each end would score four points, the next nearest 3, the third 2 and the fourth nearest, 1.

The competition was a fun match between teams made up of ladies against teams made up of men. Six rinks were played and the result was 3 wins apiece. When the scores were added up it was the ladies who came out winners by 301 points to 290. Altogether it was an enjoyable afternoon of bowls.

When all the games were over, everyone settled down to enjoy a barbeque which was organised and run by Nick Channon with help from Sue Channon and Peter White.

The food was all kindly donated by the club and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who came along.

A lot of money was raised for the President's charity. A total of £285.46 was raised for the Beacon Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton. The barbeque was not the end of the afternoon's celebrations however.

One match final had not been played the previous weekend because of bad weather. So Pete Nichols and Jay Merrell took on Alan Mark and Ian Hollingsworth to see who would be the Men's Handicap Pairs Champions.

All the members watched as the two pairs of very good bowlers set out to do battle for the Pairs Championship.

The early game was very close indeed and after five ends only three shots separated them. Jay and Pete just had their noses in front.

As the game progressed it was Alan and Ian who found themselves chasing the game. Pete and Jay were on top form and they gradually pulled ahead to take a good win by 21 shots to 10.

Alan and Ian congratulated the winners on their excellent bowling and becoming the 2025 Men's Handicap Pairs Champions.

A very pleasant afternoon was enjoyed by everyone.