Carter's Column

In my last blog I touched on the subject of secrecy, lying and trust. Judging from the reaction I received from all quarters about it, it seems to have touched a nerve in many ways. Friends who have been lied to themselves said it really summed up how they felt about their friends and partners, and in a way that satisfied me. Not necessarily because other people have suffered at other people's lies too, but because it means that what I said actually reached someone, or even multiple people. I wouldn't say I've been particularly respected by many people other than the Macquarie University Cricket Club players during my two seasons there, especially the year I was Captain. So to hear people not only take notice of what I've said, but to agree with it is very humbling. I do see myself as a leader but in order to lead you have to have the respect of your followers and be a big enough character to actually lead. I had dreamed of Captaining the 1st XI at Bovey Tracey CC sin...

It's a question that has a multitude of answers but when asked is still meant rhetorically: Why do people LIE? It could be to gain an advantage over someone or something, it could be to make yourself appear better somehow, it could be to gain sympathy, it could be to cover yourself from something you shouldn't have said or done. But one thing is undeniable; If it is ever found out to be a lie, it's hurtful and incites all sorts of negative emotions. I heard on the radio a fantastic sound-bite which perfectly sums up how I feel. " If you don't lie, you don't have to remember anything." If you tell a lie to someone and they remember what it was you said, then you give them a different version of events at a later date, it will ring an alarm bell in their head. They'll lose trust for you. In a relationship that can be the start of a downward spiral. In a working relationship it could cost you a customer, supplier or even result in someone getting phys...

The final few weeks of 2012 are upon us. So much has happened this year it is difficult to remember it all clearly! For Jess and I the year began in London and while Jess is back home in Sydney there is a possibility I may end 2012 in London as well. We've had the Olympics, the Golden Jubilee, floods, the Ryder Cup, a brilliant season of Formula 1 and more recently the news of a new addition to the Royal Family and an almost immediate prank from an Australian Radio show and extremely saddening circumstances following that. Christmas Day 2006, Mount Donna Buang, Victoria AUSTRALIA! Personally I have had a busy year too. Starting the year with my Fiancée in London was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us both and to meet up with two friends from my childhood was fantastic. We had our first Valentine's Day spent together, we went to see Spurs play for the first time (possibly only time together), I had my final season at Bovey Tracey Cricket Club, my grandparents 60...

It's England. It's raining. Should we be surprised? Actually, yes we should but not the fact that it's raining, rather the sheer volume of water falling from the sky. The ground is saturated and every shower brings the chance of flooding ever closer. It's funny how the phrase "Global Warming" has been altered to "Climate Change" because any theory that we may actually get "warmer" weather on a regular basis in the British Isles has been blown out of the water. No pun intended. When I was young it always used to be that we had hot sunny days in summer, ice and snow in winter. These days we seem to get year-round rain with occasional short spells of sunshine. Every few months there seems to be somewhere else with flood damage. Mill On The Exe, Exeter with Press and TV coverage As someone who predominantly plays summer sports I was excited by the prospect of England being a hot country! For the last 5 years our summers have been wet and ...

Me with Faisal Iqbal, Pakistani International Cricketer This week, I shall be mostly going on a rant. Especially about a lot of things in the news at present. Given that I have just had the misfortune of watching my team get embarrassed AGAIN by our most hated rivals, let's start with football. I'll leave my growing dislike of Andre Villas-Boas' transformation of Tottenham from Champions League contenders to mediocre minors out for a moment. The big subject in football at the moment is Racism; Be it a former England Captain, a referee, or a foreigner misusing his own language, racism has come to the fore again. I don't know with absolute certainty what happened in any of those instances but what has me riled is the presence of a Society Of Black Lawyers and the potential formation of a Professional Black Footballer's Association. Jess and I with Glenn and Satchi (Japan) Campaigns to get rid of racism, such as Kick It Out in football, will be undermined as...

So here we are, Saturday 10th November 2012. A day off both of my jobs at last! Even if I do say so myself, I have worked bloody hard since I got back from Australia two weeks ago and I think I've earnt this rest. Except, I've not really been resting, I've been heavily editing my video diary from Australia, and I've been packing. This is all far too early, surely? The conversation I had with my Migration Officer when I last spoke to them was to confirm that my visa will not be granted until 9 months from the date of application have passed, and so my target date is 12th April 2013. Coincidentally, my mother's birthday. When I received this news, I was a mixture of disappointed and relieved. Extremely disappointed that my life with Jess cannot be expedited at all, but relieved at the news that they have everything they require in order to grant me an Australian Visa. I hadn't heard the result of my medical until this point but I am told there are no problems ther...

My last blog entry a few weeks ago was less than inspiring, but this time I am coming off the back of two brilliant weeks in Australia. That in itself was an uplifting experience, but even as I sit here looking at the rain falling in Bovey Tracey and struggling to keep warm enough I still have a stupid inane grin on my face thinking about all the things that happened in those two weeks. Before I left I met with a few school friends for a drink up in the Cromwell Arms in Bovey; Garry Styles, Chris Towell, Liam Berry and Fiona Squire. It was good to catch up and at one point Garry told me I could use his video camera and make a video diary, the only requirement being that I left some adult material on there for him when I gave it back... I'm afraid I've let him down on that score. But I do still have the Wagon Wheel that he gave me! And I decided that a video diary might be quite fun too. Me with Concorde G-BBDG again! The journey to Heathrow with Chris and his girlfriend...

I'm going to apologise in advance because this is a long post... I've never previously subscribed to the theory that things you experience as a child have a bearing on things you do as an adult. My mind could never see a link between being smacked as a child and growing up to be a violent criminal. If you broke the law or did something bad it was because you made the bad choice to do so, not because your parents struck you for taking extra chocolate from the cupboard. Recently though I have begun to understand that it's not the big behavioural traits that people refer to, but the subtleties of adult life. I have a tendency to look backwards to my past rather than ahead to my future and that has proven to not be a good thing for me. About a week ago I had an awful day. I went to bed the night before fairly early and was more than ready to sleep. After sending the usual Goodnight / Good Morning text to Jess in Australia I began drifting off. I hadn't quite drifted whe...