Charles bowled over at 100th celebrations

A former professional footballer who swapped his boots for bowling shoes and became a local champion has celebrated his 100th birthday at his favourite green in East Lothian.

Charles Hamilton, of Bonnyrigg, played for East Fife in the 1920s and 30s, where he earned £2.10 a week with the team, before going on to become a star player at Bonnyrigg and Polton bowling clubs.

He marked his centenary birthday with friends and family at Bonnyrigg Bowling Club last week, but resisted pleas from his old club to come out of bowls retirement and return to competitive playing.

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Charles, who has lived in Midlothian all his life, won numerous bowling competitions and in 1961 was champion at Bonnyrigg and Polton clubs simultaneously.

Born in Dalkeith in 1913, he trained as a weaver and worked at Widnell and Stewart’s carpet factory in Bonnyrigg, where he enjoyed a 40-year career.

During the Second World War, he travelled the UK building Anderson air raid shelters and clearing bombsites.

Among his trade achievements was his role in weaving the red carpet used during the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Scotland in 1953.

In later life he left the factory and got a job tending lawns for Bonnyrigg council. His work was instrumental in securing the Village of Britain title for Carrington in 1976.

The father-of-two, grandfather-of-four and great-grandfather-of-five said the secret to a long life is “having a good wife that cooks good food”. He advises a diet of “porridge in the morning and soup and vegetables from the garden at night”, for those who want to live to 100.

His wife of 72 years, Margaret, 91, with whom he entered ballroom dancing contests all over the world, added the secret to their long and successful marriage has been “dancing and lots of arguments”.

However, she did make one concession to her Hearts-fanatical husband’s interests. “He was always going on about the rubbish that was written about football, and I got fed up with it, but he told me to come and see for myself, so I did. And I kept on going until Hearts won the cup.”

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Residents have been keen to join in the birthday celebrations, but the biggest surprise came from newsagent Taj Mohammed, owner of Today News in Bonnyrigg High Street.

“I’ve been going there all these years to get my paper, and they told me especially I had to come in on my birthday,” said Charles.

“When I went in there was a beautiful cake and balloons, and then when I was leaving they gave me an envelope with some money in it.”

Asked what he was going to spend his birthday money on, Charles said: “I’ll give it to my wife. She’ll make it go further than I could.”

Mr Mohammed said: “We’ve known him for years and years and he’s a very popular character in the community, so we just wanted to do something to celebrate.”