LAST Saturday evening I donned the thermals and a fleece-lined jacket and, with the good lady also suitably attired, we attended the 20th Anniversary Celebra-tion Summer Ball superbly put on by Brighouse Juniors at their Broad Oak headquarters, Hove Edge.
While some very brave men and women were dressed for a ball in a dance hall going along with the Eighties theme, others pulled their sleeves down to act as impromptu gloves and others zipped their collars up.
I had arrived at 8.45pm with the the
rmometer in the car showing 9C, some 46F in old money, and when we left at 11.30pm it was down to 7C.
I remarked it would be cold enough for snow in Scotland and the Lake District and then lo and behold on Sunday morning there were pictures in the papers of people making snowmen in the Cairngorms and above 2,300ft in the Lakes. There was no way anybody could take a pleasant sightseeing climb or walk on an early June day as the snow lay deep, crisp and even.
The chill aside it was a lovely evening, superb company in the shape of former chairman and founder member Chris Wadsworth, his wife Marilyn, their good friend Anne Pitcher, Pauline King and her husband Jan, another founder member.
Chairman Ian Addy brought in his Leeds University catering team and what a great job they did with the savouries and multitude of sweets.
The band, Chicago Joe, was first class, former chairman and president Doug Tait did a sterling job as master of ceremonies and disc jockey and the bar staff were most efficient and polite.
There had been action all day at the ground, as reported on the back page with some 90 prizes and mementos handed out. This was followed by another full day on the Sunday with the giant slide always busy and two full car parks.
The time these people give up week in week out to provide for some 30 teams is enormous and can’t be assessed in terms of what it would cost.
They are running a huge junior and youth club and grants should be forthcoming annually to go some way towards the work they do in putting on matches, providing kit and the like.
Those not interested in sport do not realise what goes on at grass roots level.
Long may it continue as these boys and girls do at least grow up having been involved with sport, which is not only character building, but also provides an interest which keeps them entertained and busy.
I FOR one will be very sad if Setanta Sports goes off the air at the end of this week for failing to make its huge rights payments to the Scottish FA and the Premier League.
It will also badly affect the Blue Square Premier Division, the Conference.
