Lossie bowled over by clubhouse revamp
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Work has taken place to upgrade Lossiemouth Bowling Club following a £10,000 national lottery award.
Founded all the way back in 1878, the club has experienced one of its most difficult years ever because of the pandemic.
No competitions were allowed during the outdoor season, while the bar has had to close.
Due to social distancing, the number of indoor carpets have also been reduced from two to one.
Bur despite everything the club has still been there for its members.
Margaret Stewart, who's the first lady Club President in its 142 year history, said: "We're just glad that we were able to keep the facility open as a lot of our members depend on it for company and a bit of light-hearted sport in the afternoons."
The present clubhouse, which was built in 1983, needed to be refurbished and made more energy efficient.
Margaret said: "A couple of years ago we put in a new central heating boiler but we were still feeling the cold coming off the windows as they were single glazed.
"The club's secretary, Alan Smith, suggested trying for lottery funding to replace the windows and doors.
"We were delighted to be awarded the full £10,000 grant earlier this year.
"With a generous discount from Pinefield Glass in Elgin we were able to replace all the clubhouse's external doors and windows and also put a feature glass door on the outside changing room to let in more light.
"What's more, one of our members who's a retired painter generously gave his time to repaint the whole interior.
"The upshot is we now have a much-improved clubhouse which is a much more appealing facility for the local community.
"We're hopeful that in the future we'll be able to continue with our refurbishments which would include the roof and the toilet facilities."
The club has also recently started renting out the clubhouse to the Lossiemouth Slimming World group for two sessions a week.
