Carter's Column

The Pride of North London It's May 2017, and Tottenham Hotspur have played their final game at White Hart Lane, a stadium that they have called home since 1899. 118 years of legendary footballers like Jimmy Greaves, Bill Nicholson, Ricky Villa, Glenn Hoddle, Teddy Sheringham, Jürgen Klinsmann, David Ginola, Gareth Bale and Harry Kane fast approaching that list, if not already firmly cemented in it. Tottenham have waited 22 years for this season, their best ever in the Premier League since its inception in 1992 because for the first time since 1995 we have finished above our greatest rivals; Arsenal. When I started supporting Spurs at the age of 8 years old, I was unaware of the scale of our rivalry with Arsenal. Supporting what was a mediocre team (being generous) in the late 90's I always thought the biggest game of the year was against the dominant force at the time; Manchester United. In 1998 I had got bored of Manchester United constantly winning and was pleased that...

The tragedy of a human death brings a pain to those closest to the individual that cannot be expressed. Even more so when the death is of a young human with all of the potential joys of life ahead of them, stolen before it had even begun to develop. When the death is unexpected it makes it even more painful. Everyone can imagine, if not understand, how horrible a situation that could be. And yet in every situation there will be someone who tries to exploit it. I read an article today by Fred Pawle of The Australian, and I come away from the read feeling a little angry at what has been written, and I am going to address parts of the article here in the hope that Fred Pawle will read it, take it on board and perhaps see an alternative point of view. This week, a 17 year old girl was killed by a Great White Shark while surfing off Esperance in Western Australia. An unspeakable tragedy, my heart goes out to her family and friends who are suffering from her loss, and nothing we can do or ...

Although I haven't posted a blog in a while, I have four drafts written which I haven't quite finished and one of those probably won't get published (Far too controversial, wouldn't want to get counter-sued!). The intention has been there, however it has been a tumultuous few months again with the atmospheric highs of new life events and the dramatic lows of family bereavements. Plural. In a nutshell, my Grandfather passed away last October followed two weeks later by my wife's Grandfather. Over the Christmas period we had a mortgage application approved, viewed some homes and placed an offer on a brand new apartment which was accepted. Then while preparing everything for the move my Grandmother passed away in mid January, leading to an emotional game of cricket and exceptional support from my friends and family alike. Then the move... inevitable trips to IKEA for furniture. There really is nothing to make you feel more Australian than driving your European car to...

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...