My Responsibility To My Family History

Already copying Grandad's
crossword habit!

Last week I had my grandparents visiting from Cheshire. Every time I see them it reminds me of my childhood and to me it feels like they are exactly the same now as they were when I was five. They probably have changed but it doesn't feel like it and because they have always lived some distance from me it feels special every time I see them. Sounds corny, doesn't it?

I envy people who have lived in the same house or town their whole lives, but at the same time I'm glad I haven't. It's not like I haven't had stability. I don't remember my two years in Germany, the eight years I spent in Oxfordshire seemed a long time to a 10 year old and I have lived in Bovey Tracey for the last 16 years. We moved here in 1996 so I class myself as Devonian. If ever asked where I'm from, it's easier to just say "Devon" than to say "Born in Germany, Dad is from Cheshire, Mum is from Devon but grew up in Buckinghamshire, I grew up in Oxfordshire before moving to Devon." My family history interests me too, and the first place I always look is to my Father's side because that is the one that bears the family name, of course.

Family at Nanna and Grandad's 60th Wedding Anniversary

It has been made clear to me by my Grandfather that our branch of the Carter tree relies on me to continue to grow. He fathered three sons and two daughters. Tragedy struck at an early age as the first daughter passed away as an infant. Of the surviving sons, one had a single girl, another had no children and the youngest son fathered a daughter and son (my sister and I). Dad's sister had two girls and a boy, so I'm not the only male grandson to him, just the only Carter. My sister gave birth in 2010 to a beautiful girl and I am loving being an Uncle, and the good news for Grandad is that I cannot wait for the day that Jess and I can bring another Carter into the world, I think I'm made to be a father. I've always thought that. Being an Uncle to my niece, and a Godfather to my cousin's (on my mother's side of the family) beautiful girl(s), and being part of other families in Australia has been a nice preview to what to expect, but I'm told nothing can prepare you for the actual feeling.

My Grandfather has always had words of advice, always shared his opinion if he thought it necessary and while he may repeat himself from time to time, his approval has always mattered to me. I've always wanted to make him proud of me, possibly more so than my own father. He is the most kind hearted, gentlemanly and humble person I know, and I aspire to be like that and the fact that their marriage has lasted 60 years (and counting) is something I aspire to with Jess. Grandad has always shown trust in me and that kind of faith is more powerful than people give it credit. I'm sure I'm not the only one, I'm sure it's not exclusive but I've mentioned in previous blogs that the one thing in life that really gets me down and upsets me is being spoken to like an idiot. Grandad has NEVER done that. He may not have always agreed with what I have said or done, but has never made me feel like an idiot for it.

My Grandad

Grandad also has a knack of being right. Experience is also a powerful tool. One of the advantages of him repeating stories is the lessons that you learn from it become engraved in your mind. However, the topic isn't always uplifting. He is quite right to say that no-one will live forever and he seems to have accepted his fate, which I hope is many years away yet. Same for my Nanna too, she has done incredibly well considering a horrible bout of cancer in the late 80's and early 90's. Strangely for me, I have no recollection of this happening to Nanna which is even stranger when you think that I could remember insignificant things like the kerbstones I jumped my bike on when I lived in Fringford as a boy. When Grandad speaks about the future, there is a hint that he thinks he might not see it, and that includes the fate of the Carter name.

Having a family is something that I believe I couldn't do unless I was with the perfect woman to have my children. There is no one more perfect for me than Jess. There are still no words that can adequately describe the sheer joy that ran through my body when she accepted my proposal of marriage. Having a family was the furthest thing from our minds at that time. I lived in England, Jess lived in Australia... How could it work?! Well, it has worked out better than we could have hoped so far, and the final step towards being able to achieve this goal is my visa coming through. The Australian Immigration department have all they need from me, now it's a waiting game. Potentially a nine month wait...

Now that Jess is back in Australia, I am reflecting on a lot of the things we have done together and I am so happy that my grandparents got to meet her on two separate occasions. They happened to be visiting Devon in 2010 around the time my niece (their first Great-Grandchild) was born, which was also when Jess first came to the UK. They also invited Jess to their 60th Wedding Anniversary in July this year and the fact they approve of her and us means more to me than anyone else's approval. Nothing would make me happier than to have them at our wedding but they have already said that there is no way that they could make the journey to Australia for it. I really hope it can happen somehow.

My Nanna

Even though we have always lived some distance from them, I still feel that my Grandparents have had a big effect on me. My Nanna has always taught me the importance of being humble and generous, and has always shown trust in me and has always offered advice and encouragement. She is generous almost to a fault and I think she enjoys having someone different to talk to when we visit. Not that there's anything wrong with anyone she usually sees, just that sometimes a different point of view is nice. In all of her life she has never been to London and has always wanted to. Again, I hope that can happen, and I hope that I can make it happen.

Three Generations of Carter's
on Concorde at Manchester
December 2004

My Grandfather's influence has been enormous considering the things in life I enjoy now. He's always liked his cricket, he's always loved his planes. Almost every time I visited growing up we had a trip to Manchester Airport to watch the planes. He taught me how to identify the different types, and he took me to see Concorde flying in and out on a few occasions too. When Concorde retired in 2003, it was somehow fate that Concorde "Alpha Charlie" was retired to Manchester Airport. This is the same Concorde that did a flypast of my first cricket match as Captain, a video of which is in a previous blog entry. All airports have a 3 or 4 letter identifying code, and the airports in the UK start with "EG". Manchester's code is "EGCC". My initials are CC. My Concorde, at my airport. Does it get better?

Grandad has a passion for Flight Simulator which he gradually passed on to me, and through this I decided I wanted to do it for real and I wanted to become a pilot. Part of me wishes I had gone on and finished my flying licences but I can't imagine how my life would have been without Jess, and I don't want to. I still hold the desire to be a pilot one day, however there are a few more pressing priorities at this stage in our life!

Grandad and I on the Flight Deck of
Concorde G-BOAC at Manchester (2009)

Call me old fashioned, but I want to keep some of our family traditions going. 3 generations have had some professional involvement with aircraft, I hope our children may follow that path. But one of the lessons learnt is that you cannot force offspring to do what they don't want to do. My parents have been very supportive of my goal to be a pilot, but they were less than enthralled with my idea to go to play cricket abroad in 2006, especially my Mother who was very vocal about me not going. Originally I wanted to go to South Africa, then it was New Zealand where a few of our other guys had played. Then I was told by our (Aussie) overseas that if I wanted to improve my cricket, go to Australia. She kept telling me it was a pipe dream and that I was stupid for wanting to go, which only made me more determined to go. Even more so when I decided to go back for a second time in 2009. I did what I wanted and while there are prices I am paying for that financially now, look what became of it. My chance to have my own family couldn't be any better, I dread to think how things would have turned out had I not temporarily left my troubles in England at the time.

My Grandparents and father came to watch me play cricket.
This day I took 6-39, my first 5 wicket haul. (2008)

Some of the names that run in my family have appeared more than once, and I hope that we can bear that in mind when we choose names for our kids. There are some truly awful names out there, for example one of Jermaine Jackson's children is called "Jermajesty"... What the hell is that?! Jermaine Jnr I could understand, but the kid is not royalty! I want something more traditional but still in keeping with the family name, something that fits the name "Carter". Perhaps that is the best tribute that I can give to my Grandparents, and the promise that I will not be the last Carter on our branch. As Grandchildren, it's rare to ever do anything than receive. The day I become a Father is the day I feel I have given something back to my Grandparents, and kept a promise. It seems that no matter how old we are, that juvenile desire to make someone proud of us never really leaves.

I Saw The Sign!

Spending days and days on the British roads leaves plenty of time for contemplation, and plenty of time to notice things you might not have noticed before on routes you have driven several times before. I have no idea how many miles I've clocked up this week, but including when Jess flew home I've driven to North Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Heathrow and back to Devon down the A303, Looe in Cornwall for the first time ever; Okehampton, Tavistock, Holsworthy, North Bovey; Exmouth, Cullompton; Taunton, Bridgwater, Pawlett; Bideford, Instow, and Torrington. This week I'll be in Liskeard, Holsworthy, Totnes, Paignton, Bridport, Ilminster, Chard, Taunton, Bridgwater and Burnham-On-Sea. I wonder what I'll see this week!

"The Gook"

So I did a few miles last week and along the way I learnt some new and perhaps some slightly questionable names of places and pubs. How do places get their names?! Some are simple, some are just astonishing. I have seen a few signs and bumper stickers that I have found amusing, usually in Australia, but here in the Westcountry it's just as prominent!

Bordering on racism, the first to catch my eye was a 15th Century pub called the "Finnygook Inn" in Crafthole, on the approach to Torpoint, affectionately known as "The Gook". For those of you that are unaware the word "gook" is a highly derogatory term for East Asians, a phrase originating from American soldiers in the Korean and Vietnamese Wars. I'm still yet to find an answer how that is linked with a small pub in Cornwall.

Surely not racism...?

In West Devon, I drove past a street called "Darkey Lane". As with the "Gook", I am sure there are no racial links with this name but these days people would be offended by a fart if it sounded bad enough so I'm surprised that these signs survive given the level of censorship in this country. Although I'm completely 100% not a racist, I must admit the signs made me giggle slightly if only for the fact that they were there. These signs aren't particularly humorous, but still I laughed...

I didn't think it was THAT bad

Across the UK there are several names that raise a smirk; Crapstone and Cockwood in Devon, Shitterton in Dorset, Bell End in Birmingham, Fingringhoe in Essex and of course the Shetland's and Orkney's each have a Twatt. These names were obviously in place long before the meanings that make the juvenile inside us smirk, but that itself begs the question of how they came to mean what they do in modern culture. In Devon Cricket, when a fielder uses his foot to stop a ball that he could have used his hands to stop, it is seen as "village" (of a low standard) and the call goes out, a local village... "CHAGFORD!"

Mind your head!

Some signs that I have seen over the years have appeared to be downright stupid. In Central London there are 50 or 60ft high trees that have signs attached warning "Low Trees". On the M5 I have passed several gantries that say "Sign Not In Use". How many documents have we seen that have a page that was left "Intentionally Blank" save for the text notifying us of that falsity?

It is ingrained in the British humour and psyche and I guess that is how words and phrases come to exist. Cockney rhyming slang being a prime example.

"I went up the apples 'n pears to see the trouble 'n strife because I owed her an Ayrton Senna. Then she told me how her China Plate saved her Vera Lynn last week and I thought she was havin' a giraffe..."

Translation: Apples 'n Pears = Stairs. Trouble 'n Strife = Wife. Ayrton Senna = Tenner = £10. China Plate = Mate. Vera Lynn = Skin. Giraffe = Laugh.

There are literally thousands of examples of cockney rhyming slang, and even more examples of local dialects in the UK. In Devon we curse Grockles but rely on them heavily to boost our local economy, to the rest of the country they are known as "tourists". If you're not from Devon or Cornwall you're seen as a "Northerner!" Brummies are from Birmingham, Geordies are from Newcastle, Scousers are from Liverpool, Mancs are from Manchester, Cockneys are from London, Scottish people are Jocks, Welsh people are Taffs, Irish people are Paddys. What do Devonians get tarred with? "Oh, you sound like a farmer!" Brilliant(!) Did your Northern humour come up with that on it's own? Or did you see a tractor once and thought everyone in Devon has a farm? Don't go out on the moors...

Ooh arr...

Even foreigners can't escape the nicknames, some are offensive, some are not. The French are frogs, Germans are krauts, American's are Septics (another cockney rhyming slang... Septic Tank = Yank), Australian's are Convicts (almost as original as Devonians being farmers), New Zealanders are Kiwi's, and it's not just one way. To the Australians, South Africans and New Zealanders, we are "Poms", to the Yanks we are "Limey's", the Germans call us "Inselaffen" which translates to mean "Island Apes". Interesting... And of course, to the French we are "le Roast Beefs". Well, I guess there are worse things we could eat... Frogs, for example.

The Past In Front Of Me...

Crossing the Australian coast

Unbelievably, the past 15 months have flown by. As I cast my mind back to May 2011, I visited my good mate Chris McPherson in Steyning, Sussex where he had come from Australia to play cricket. To me it was poignant that I was visiting the man who introduced me to the woman I am going to marry on my way to pick her up from Heathrow. Two Aussie's that played a massive part in my life, both in England at the same time, both whom I would see within a few hours of each other. The excitement was palpable, and this time Jess was coming with her parents, who would stay in the UK for 6 weeks.

Even then we were saying how time had flown for the previous 18 months from the time Jess and I had first met in December 2009! I have very fond memories of The Ranch pub in Sydney because that's where the Mac Uni Cricket boys and I would go after a training session or a match in both of my seasons for the club. During a club gathering at The Ranch where partners and friends were also invited, Chris McPherson brought his then girlfriend Lisa (They shouldn't have ever split and even now I think they would be good together, but that's a completely different story) who brought her good friend, Jess. A simple meeting outside of a pub driveway, who would have thought it would lead to what Jess and I have now? After I came home in April 2010, Jess visited for 6 weeks in May/June 2010, went home for her 21st birthday, came back for two weeks over New Year 2010/11, I visited Australia for a month in March/April 2011 and here I was, standing at Heathrow waiting for my fiancée and her parents.

Qantas A380 landing at Sydney

Now I sit here writing this entry as Jess is fighting her way through customs at Sydney Airport with her 50 kgs of baggage! It is literally more than she weighs! At 8pm BST (5am Sydney time) we watched and listened to QF2 land at SYD through the wonder of modern technology. FlightRadar24.com and LiveATC.net are fantastic for plane-spotters and aviation buffs like myself, and invaluable if you want to keep track of someone you know when they are flying. It doesn't seem too long since I was meeting Jess and her parents at Heathrow, taking trips into London, Edinburgh and Bath, showing them around Devon, settling Jess into life in Devon and saying goodbye to them in our kitchen.

Jess and I at
White Hart Lane

Since then Jess and I have been to Bristol to see The Darkness, London to see Tottenham play, Land's End with her visiting Aunt and Uncle, Cheshire for a family function, and Ireland for a fantastic holiday (see earlier blog entry). We've been all around Devon together, Jess has almost become a local. It's been great for me to show Jess where I am from and the way I've been brought up and how different it is from her upbringing in Australia. And on Sunday during our bimble up to Heathrow we stopped by at a few places from my childhood and my childhood was there in front of me.

First stop on the way up was the small village of Fringford in North Oxfordshire. My father was in the RAF, based at Abingdon and latterly Brize Norton so this was why we were in that area. To look at our old house was a strange experience, mainly because the trees and bushes in the whole road had overgrown so much! To me it looked a little untidy but this reaction is probably because it had been so long since I had seen them. When we left in 1996 our front garden had "trees" that were about 3 feet high and didn't hide the house, and the surrounding properties had similar height bushes around their fences. Now they are almost completely hiding the houses and have grown so tall the telephone lines go through them! What I could see was that our house still had the same front door and the same glass artwork, and the road didn't seem to have been worked on at all since we left. The same potholes, the same dips in the tarmac and the same markings in the kerbs where we used to play football, cricket and tennis. Even the same raised kerb that I used to jump my bike from. How do I remember little things like that 16 years down the line?!

The "hill" in the playing fields at Fringford Primary School that seemed so huge when I was a child now seemed little more than grassy mounds. The same water stains ran down the walls of the school, the different brick colourations that marked the goals while we kicked around a tennis ball were still recognisable. Further round the road, a friend's house... An American family that lived in the village were good friends of ours, we are still in contact with them to this day. I am a couple of weeks younger than Bryan Good, and we regularly used to go over each others houses, Bryan's brother Jason there too to share the toys out. Their parents, Joan and Mike, were the first to feed me hot dogs, a favourite of mine today! Mike was also the first person to take me ten-pin bowling! Amazing to think that is the same Michael Good who has completed two flights on the Space Shuttle, one of which was the last mission to the Hubble Telescope. When they returned to the USA I knew he had got a job with NASA, but it was still a pleasant surprise when we got the card and photo of him wearing his space-suit.

The Jolly Boatman sits alongside
the Oxford Canal

Everything about the village seemed so much smaller than I remember, perhaps a consequence of growing up. I have been before, but the Butcher's Arms pub is obviously not somewhere I frequented as a child! Jess and I stopped for a quick drink before we headed down to Thrupp, near Kidlington and the beautiful Canal-side pub "The Jolly Boatman". In 1993, aged 7, I had a holiday for a week with Dad where we had picked up a narrowboat from here and taken it up and down the canal. It's too late for us to do it now, but I hope that when Jess and I return to the UK in the future we can maybe go out on a narrowboat for a few days.

Although I had visited Fringford a few times since we moved to Devon, the next destination was emotional for me as I hadn't been there for 15 years. Widmer End in Buckinghamshire was where my Mum's parents had moved to when she was little. They had been the caretakers of the local primary school and lived in the house at the school. For my sister and I this meant every time we went to visit we had a playground and more to ourselves. I used to kick a football against a wall, or mark out a set of stumps to bowl quickly at, pretending to be Darren Gough! When we got there the gates were open and the first thing I went to look for was a plaque that had been left in memory of my Grandad, who passed away in 1994 when I was just 8. The plaque wasn't there and this upset me greatly. I don't have much to remind me of my grandfather and I had hoped that along with my memories of him at this address there might be a solid reminder of him, but it had gone for whatever reason. I had to keep my emotions in check in front of Jess because I knew that any show of emotion would have set her off as she came to leave this country.

Despite the gutting feeling I had there, it was great to be able to show Jess most of the pieces of my life while she was here. I would loved to have gone to Germany with her and shown her where I was born but the truth is that I haven't been to Germany since I was 2 and have no memory of the place. That will be an emotional pilgrimage that I hope to make in the future with Jess.

As much as we should always look to the future, I don't want to forget my past. The fact is that what happened in the past can also shape your future. I had some of the worst things you could ever say about a man thrown at me in 2008/09 and that led to the worst time in my life and things that I wouldn't ever wish to experience again. From those awful events came the decision to go back to Australia in 2009/10 and that led to the BEST time of my life, and fate saw that I met Jess. By far and away she is the best thing that could ever have happened to me and for just under 3 years she knows more about me, understands me and accepts me for who I am more than I could ever have wished for. She knows the truth about me, she has been the main reason I have been able to turn my life around and rescue myself from the demons of 2008-09. I have a future to look forward to because of her.

To think that Jess and I already have a past that consists of Paris, London, Dublin, Belfast, Newcastle, Melbourne, Sydney, Chester, Bristol, Bath, Edinburgh as well as getting engaged and living together for this last 15 months is a testament to the strength of our relationship. As soon as my visa comes through and I can get out to Australia, we can build more of our story. In 33 days time I will be back in Australia for the 4th time, and Jess's sister Sarah will be getting married. After that it'll be time for Jess and I to plan our wedding, and one day we will reminisce about that part of our past. Our past is in front of us.

(I will add pictures from Fringford and Widmer End to this blog within a few days)

Thank you and goodbye, Bovey Tracey Cricket Club

On Saturday 1st September, I played my last ever game for Bovey Tracey Cricket Club. When we arrived back at the club for the end-of-season drinks, the second team were there having been crowned 2nd XI Premier Division Champions, and the 3rd's were already E Division West Champions. With our win over Heathcoat the 1st XI secured 3rd in the league, a slight disappointment having led most of the season but still a fantastic season.

BTCC 1st XI Captain Peter Bradley, myself, and Devon Captain Chris Bradley

The legend that is David Elphick

It's not very often I'm lost for words but I was left choked up a few times during the day by words from Peter Bradley and Chris Bradley in the changing room at the match, and by Nigel Mountford at the club. When it came to my turn to say a few words I could only just force out a "Thank you, you're the best, I love you all." So I'd like this blog to be a record of what exactly I wanted to say on Saturday night before the lump in my throat prevented me from doing so.

My biggest influences at the club have been David Elphick, Neil Davey, Julian Stephenson, Rod Hokin, Nigel Mountford and Chris Bradley. Dave Elphick was the first person I met at the club when I was 11 years old and throughout the age groups gave me sound advice, supported me, coached me and was ALWAYS friendly. To this day whenever we see each other, we give each other a warm greeting and I always put an arm around his shoulder, shake his hand and smile. The man is a legend to me, and I have the highest amount of respect possible for him, in spite of the fact he supports Arsenal! He has supported me through the darkest times of my life and I hope that I can be half as good a man as he is.


Neil Davey was almost always there as a coach when I was a colt. He was a first team stalwart and a larger than life character and I tried to take on board all the advice he gave me, not always succeeding. One thing he ALWAYS used to tell me is that I can play any shot in the book but would put his index finger to my temple and tell me "It's just up there with you!". At the time I didn't fully appreciate what he meant, but hindsight being the wonderful thing it is, he was spot on. And still is! If I had the temperament of some of the others in the team I probably could have represented the county. If only I could go back and do it again.

Bovey Tracey Cricket Club Chairman
Nigel Mountford

Nigel Mountford is a man I hold in the same regard as David Elphick, and is another Arsenal fan! While Nigel was never my coach, he was a senior figure in the team when I first started playing competative adult league cricket in the 2nd XI, and he helped me progress, especially when he became chairman and I began to force my way into the 1st XI. Nigel was the biggest pillar of strength at the club to me during the horrific personal events that ruined my 2009 season and for that I will always be grateful. He has always shown great faith in me as a person and a cricketer and I am sure I owe him a lot.

Devon CCC Captain
Chris Bradley

Chris Bradley spent 5 seasons Captaining the 1st XI from 2005 to 2009. I had broken into the 1st XI in 2004 and became more of a regular in 2005 under Chris's captaincy, and I took on board a lot more than I thought. Chris was a brilliant skipper and overseas players commented how he was the best Captain they played under, which is a huge compliment. Although he gave up the Captaincy at the end of 2009, he FINALLY made the full Devon side in 2010 and after deputising a few times in 2011 as Captain he was awarded the Devon Captaincy for 2012. The lessons I learnt from Chris certainly helped me out in my second season in Australia as I was appointed Captain of Macquarie University's U24's side and we had the most successful season in the Club's history. The club had never won a match a Final's match before, we won both our Qualifying Final and our Semi-Final, therefore booking our first ever appearance in the Grand Final. Unfortunately we lost that game but my Captaincy was based on a lot of the theories and practices I learnt from Chris Bradley.



Julian Stephenson and Rod Hokin were both Australian overseas players that came to Bovey from Gordon CC in Sydney. Jules was the one who installed the idea that I should go to improve my cricket in Australia, Jules's father Paul was the man who started the ball rolling and got me a place at Mac Uni CC. Jules also worked hard with me at my game in his two seasons with us in 2004 and 2005 and as a fellow fast-bowler and aggressive batsman he was a great help and someone I looked up to a lot. On 7th August 2005 I scored my first ever hundred against Old Olavians (batting with Chris Bradley when I reached 3 figures) and the first message of congratulations I received was from Jules. He also was the one who picked me up from Sydney Airport when I first arrived in 2006, took me out to Gordon CC, took me to the SCG for nets and took me for introductory beers with his clubmates.

Rod Hokin and I in Australia 2010.

Rod 'Rocket' Hokin played for BTCC in 2006 and was extremely popular, and also showed me around Sydney in 2006/07 while I was there, helping me gain a Cricket Australia Level One coaching badge and coaching me through all aspects of my cricket, always there to have a net with if needed. Rocket was the most technical of the coaches I ever worked with and was very straightforward with his coaching, you either passed the goal of the session or you didn't. If you didn't, you worked until you did. Perhaps I didn't appreciate that at the time but Rod's technical knowledge of the game is outstanding and I would like to work with him again.

The inimitable Ben Ayres

Since 1997 I have lived for the game of cricket and the one person in the world I have played alongside every single season of my life is Ben Ayres. We shared the Captaincy through the age groups at the club and Ben represented the county a few times, deservedly so. Although I was never to do the same, I like to feel that I learnt a lot from Ben. I've always played aggressively, especially with the bat and Ben has the self-confidence to play his own way regardless of the situation which is probably why I try to do the same, I was always trying to compete to be as good as Ben and I know I wasn't the only one. Thank you for your support, mate, and I hope you go on to represent the full county side because you are one of the best glovemen in the county.


Chris Bradley, Pete Bradley, Ryan Bougourd, Andy Fairbairn... you are all top blokes and I regard you all as good mates. I sincerely hope that our paths cross in future and I hope that you help to take BTCC to the top of the Devon Premier League in seasons to come. Sam Wyatt-Haines, you have the potential to go as far in the game as you want and I really hope you do so. Lewis Hammett, you have the potential to be a solid opening bat for years to come and your future is in your hands. Best of luck. Neil Hancock, you were one of my first ever coaches when I was 12 years old and to have played alongside you this season after all you've done for Devon Cricket has been a pleasure. I have learnt a lot and I hope you are a BTCC player for as long as possible.

There are simply too many people to write about to thank individually, but I do wish to thank you all. I've been blessed to play alongside so many talented players over the years as well as some great mates. Two of my closest mates, Dean Pring and Matt Pascoe, may not have played for as long as I'd have hoped at BTCC but I have great memories of that time. To have played alongside people that have represented their country in U19's such as Ali Imran Pasha (Pakistan) and Dan Childs (South Africa), or the "Emerging Players" for their country (New Zealand's Andy De Boorder and South Africa's Farhaan Behardien), or even full internationals like Faisal Iqbal (Pakistan, nephew of the legendary Javed Miandad) has been incredible. It really speaks volumes for the level of quality to be found in the Devon Cricket League.

I have made lifelong friends through cricket. I have met so many amazing people and I cannot emphasise enough just how thankful I am to each and every member of Bovey Tracey Cricket Club. Groundsmen, tea ladies, umpires, scorers, supporters, players, coaches and sponsors have all been fantastic to me. I hold you all in the highest possible esteem.

I hope that this is not the end of my link to BTCC. I will be returning to my Australian side, Macquarie University Cricket Club and I really hope that Bovey players will come over in future and play for the Mac Warriors. I hope this is not the last you see or hear from me, please don't be strangers. I will always welcome BTCC visitors to Australia and just 2 days after life at BTCC ended for me as a player, I already miss it like crazy. Once again, I find myself at a loss for words other than this.

THANK YOU, BOVEY TRACEY CRICKET CLUB. I LOVE YOU.

Back Row: Nigel Mountford (Chairman), Matt Kidd, Dillon Mullins, Neil Hancock, Sam Wyatt-Haines, Chris Bradley, Geoff Coish (Scorer)
Front Row: Lewis Hammett, Ryan Bougourd, Charlie Carter, Peter Bradley (Captain), Charlie Hill, Ben Ayres.