THE indoor season at Isle of Wedmore is now in full swing with a variety of friendly and competitive matches being played by both men and ladies.

THE indoor season at Isle of Wedmore is now in full swing with a variety of friendly and competitive matches being played by both men and ladies.

The club has taken part in some national competitions where the men played at home and away against Bridgwater BCL in their first match for the Denny Cup.

They won two rinks, drew one and lost one scoring 80-72, which took them through to the next round to meet Victoria (Street). In this match, Eddie Payne’s team playing at home was the only rink to win, resulting in a 79-64 loss for Wedmore, who now go out of the competition.

The ladies played for the Yetton Trophy with the first match against Ilminster at home and away. The away teams managed a draw, but the home teams won by nine shots giving an overall score of 79-70 to go on to meet Taunton (Vivary) in the next round.

The home teams had a good result, but the away ones struggled to keep in touch with the game. Despite this, the combined home and away scores were level after the 18th end, but unfortunately Wedmore went down 83-86 overall to go out of the competition.

The men had more success this year when they played against the Somerset Under-25s. Past years have seen them being beaten by the youngsters, but on this occasion they improved on last year’s one shot defeat by attaining a creditable 37-37 draw.

They have had a tough time so far in the men’s Somerset County Indoor Bowling Association (SCIBA) matches this season, having played two and lost two against Taunton (56-89) and Ilminster 68-73.

Mixed friendly matches have had better results with games won against Paulton (57-26), Woodspring (38-35), Chew Stoke 54-26 with only one lost against St Andrews (27-47).

The ladies have also played and won two games against Prattens (53-31) and Victoria (WsM) 56-30.

Last visited in 2005, there was a welcome return to Cyprus in November by 26 members for this year’s overseas bowls tour. Staying at the Avanti Hotel in Paphos, four games were planned for the week. The first was against Aliathon, situated about five minutes from the hotel, but resulted in a loss for Wedmore.

The next game at Aphrodite in Limassol, Wedmore only managed to win one rink. A buffet lunch was enjoyed here before heading off to Limassol for some sightseeing at Kilossi Castle and fortress.

It was up again early for a morning match at Coral Bay, some 45 minutes drive away. Set in beautiful surroundings, this club has a brand new club house set on three floors and featured a luxurious rooftop bar area. There was a slightly better result here when Wedmore won two of the six rinks.

A free day on Monday gave an opportunity for sightseeing when some members went on an excursion to the Troodos Mountains. This trip included a visit to the at the tomb of Archbishop Makarios, former president of Cyprus and to the Kykkos Monastery, the highest monastery in Cyprus.

The last match against Louis Phaeton, a local club, on the Avanti Hotel green and was hosted by Wedmore, who only managed a win on one rink.

In spite of few successes on the bowls green, a friendly welcome was received from all the local clubs and the tour was much enjoyed by all who took part. Thanks go to the club co-ordinators, Clive and Jean Wheller, for all their efforts to ensure the smooth running of the trip.