SIX months on from a devastating fire that threatened the club’s very existence, Dorchester BC is back with a bang.

An arson attack left the county town outfit, located on Armada Way, in ruins last March as the first-floor meeting room, toilets and three of the club’s six bowling rinks were severely damaged.

However, this Saturday marks the official reopening of the club’s indoor rinks and president Sylvia Lawley admits it is a “huge relief” to see the venue back in action.

She said: “It’s a huge relief to get the indoor rinks open for the start of the season, especially as at one time we didn’t think it would be possible.

“We’ve had a few members go to other clubs because they were unable to bowl here.

“Bowling is a huge social thing for people as there aren’t many places where they can come down and feel at home. It’s like a family and for many of them it’s been a real blow to their lifestyle not being able to play here.

“Thankfully we will have more than 60 people coming back and with around 40 finishing their outdoor season it’s great for us to have the carpet ready. We’ll also be able to run the usual competitions as we’ve got everything up and running for the start of the season.”

Reflecting on that awful night in March, Lawley added: “It was a terrible thing and really unnecessary.

“I just wish the person or people who did it could have seen the damage they caused, not just to the building but to people’s lives.

“It’s so sad that people can do things like that because we also lost a lot of valuable stuff, such as club records going back a hundred years.

“We have struggled in terms of income because we haven’t had people playing or spending money on sandwiches, drinks etc.

“It’s been a tremendous struggle to get it ready but if we had not done it then we would have lost a lot of members. There is still a little bit of work to be done to some of our meeting rooms but the Bowls is the most important thing and it’s looking beautiful.”

Following this weekend’s ceremony, Dorchester Bowls Club, formed in 1906, will be holding an open day on October 1 (10am-4pm).

For more information contact Pat Gore on 852359 or Sue Lofthouse on 265374.