22 Jun DENNIS HIRST’S 90TH ACHIEVEMENT

On Tuesday 17 June I had the pleasure of presenting an HVBA Certificate of Achievement to Dennis Hirst of Milnsbridge Bowling Club. The occasion was a Division 2 game Thongsbridge vs Milnsbridge. It was some two weeks since Denis’ 90th birthday on 2 June.

This was my fourth such presentation this year and it’s one of the most pleasant aspects of my role as President. I think it’s particularly pleasing when the subject is still bowling at the top level and is still competitive, Denis is one such subject. Within the last month I’ve presented him with a semi-final appearance in the HVBA Pairs Comp where he came through two tough qualifying rounds and a quarter final with his partner Roy Sutton, the combined pairing had 179 years between them! Dennis represented Huddersfield in our inter-district team and has been a top bowler for many years.

The match draw had Dennis and his partner George Henry against myself and my partner Robert Schofield. At 11-1 up I was feeling a tad embarrassed but Dennis and George rallied and Dennis showed some guile in advising George where to lead. The final score was 21-9 and it was Thongsbridge’s day winning 7-2.