Carter's Column

Frederick W Carter 1929-2016 The loss of a family member is a pain that I have been fortunate in my 30 years to have not had to deal with very often, but on 30th October 2016 I learnt of the death of my Grandad; Fred. The loss of the person whose approval means more to you than anyone else on the planet is a pain that is immeasurable, and added to that pain is knowing that I would not be able to attend his funeral and say my goodbyes while also being there for my family. On Sunday 30th October I was, as usual on a Sunday, at the Australian Reptile Park. We knew in the week or two before that Grandad's condition had worsened significantly but when the call came it still shook me. We were packing for the afternoon show, I had a Burmese Python in one hand and a giant bag to put it in at the ready and I felt my phone vibrate. Deep down I knew it wasn't right, and when I saw that it was my Dad calling from the UK I got a lump in my throat, knowing it was about 3am over...

Anniversaries are curious things, aren't they? Birthdays and Wedding Anniversaries are the obvious ones we highlight, yet now we are continually reminded by social media that on this day 5 years ago you were angry about a sporting event, or on this day last year you had a pasta salad at an upmarket bar in the city (Guess which one of those was mine). But what is the fascination with anniversaries? What do they actually mean? It is a source of constant amusement from Jess and her family that I can remember dates, phone numbers, addresses, postcodes and things like that from as long ago as I can remember. I can remember people's birthdays that I went to Primary School with, whether I like that person or not! I can remember phone numbers from places I lived 20 years ago, for friends I haven't seen in over a decade, and I have no idea why. April is a month heavy with all sorts of birthdays and anniversaries, with my Mum's birthday, my Nanna's birthday, my wedding an...

I have mixed feelings about the coming fortnight. This time tomorrow, Jess and I will be on Emirates 413, climbing out of Sydney on our way back to England. This will be the first time we have ever made this trip together, and the first time I have travelled with anyone between the UK and Australia. I've flown from London to Sydney via Hong Kong and Singapore, and London to Melbourne via Singapore but this time we are flying from Sydney into Manchester (via Dubai), an airport that aside from Exeter (where I worked for 5 years cumulatively) and maybe now Sydney I have spent more time at than any other. Yet this is the first time I will fly into Manchester, and on an Emirates A380. This should be exciting to an Avgeek like me, but in truth there is apprehension because of what this trip is actually for. My Grandparents and my Dad at Bovey Tracey CC in 2008 I won't go into detail, but my Grandparents aren't well. It's an undeniable fact of life that it is not everla...

Somewhat inevitably after 3 months of marriage I have lost count of the number of times I've been asked "How Is Married Life?" There are plenty of jokes and anecdotes floating around about how everything gets worse after your wedding day, particularly from my ever-positive colleagues! However I am yet to fully comprehend that point of view because quite honestly I think things have got much much better since April. Family time at Copacabana Now before you cry out that it's only been 3 months I am fully aware of that! But it has been 3 months without the stresses of planning every tiny detail for a massive day, planning for visits, entertaining people or worrying about cricket selections and matches. There is now less arguing, less stress and we have both relaxed into our lives as Mr and Mrs Carter. We both thoroughly enjoyed having my family and friends over from England and we wish they were here permanently though we realise the reasons why this is not the cas...

(Written 28th April 2015) We've been told it a million times; " Every girl dreams about her wedding day".  B ut I'll let you in on something; Most guys do too. Although the planning of our big day involved a great deal of stress, little disagreements, unforeseen circumstances and difficulty in even getting to this stage I can safely say that it has all been worth it. It has only been a week or so since I married my bride and I am still riding the wave of euphoria that comes with it but with hindsight I don't think I'd really want to change a thing about it. Finally getting married Sometimes you have to sit back, take stock and really think about what you have done. I have found myself doing that in the last few weeks as it really beggars belief the journey I have taken to get here. Aged 20 my visit here seemed like nothing more than a gap year to go play some cricket and have plenty of fun like a 20 year old should, it turned into the best time of my l...

Is anyone really surprised at England's dismal showing at the Cricket World Cup? Did anyone really expect England to be world beaters? The self destruct button has been firmly glued down since the beginning of the last Ashes series, and rather than look around for examples of solutions the good old ECB have decided they will do things their way. Well, look where that's got them. It's been expected of many England sporting sides over the years that we can compete with the best, but crash to inexplicable defeats. England's cricket sides however, have always been expected to lose the plot at any moment. Test match series defeat to New Zealand in 1999 left England bottom of the rankings. The same year England exited the World Cup on home soil in the group stage. In the 2003 World Cup, the same again. The World T20 has seen embarrassing losses to the Netherlands amongst others, the 2011 World Cup saw Ireland topple England and that's without mentioning two chastening 5-0...

My last blog entry touched on the tragedy surrounding the death of Robin Williams and the depression he suffered, and today we have learnt of another tragedy and one that will affect many people I associate with. Phillip Hughes, just 3 days short of his 26th birthday, has died after being struck in the neck by a cricket ball 48 hours before. Tragedy is an overused word, but this more than qualifies. Especially when you take into consideration that he was on the verge of being recalled to the Australian Test side to face India next week on the back of Captain Michael Clarke's injury and his own excellent form. I won't go into the details of Phil Hughes' career as they will have been covered in the press several times this week and will continue to be as the full story emerges. Here in Sydney the news has come as a complete shock and is made even more devastating by the fact that not a single person has a bad word to say about the bloke. What makes it even more difficult to...