Page 15 - Demo

MY LIFE AND OTHER TOURS
By Edelgard Hart
(with help from 4 other XL ladies)
K enya 1992 was the rst tour that I went on with Ron, and therefore the most memo- rable one. It was the foundation of over a decade of cricket tours around the world
with The Forty Club, generating a world of memo- ries never to be forgotten.
In the early days there was the Spring Tour and
the Autumn Tour, one long and one shorter. And where did we travel to? South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Chile, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Malaysia, Namibia, Kenya, Japan, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Some of these countries we have toured multiple times.
There were always a group of “us ladies” on tour,
- adding panache and charm to what could have been far less interesting! - and all of the countries we visited had a charm and a beauty of their own. Landscapes were varied, interesting and beautiful and so were the people who inhabited the
cities, towns and villages.
One country we never thought of connecting with cricket was Japan. Tokyo was overwhelming in size and population, buzzing with business but also full of culture. The markets were laden with goods and huge varieties of vegetables, mostly unknown to us. Tea is still the most important beverage and a ceremonial event. I remember the Japanese players being so polite and courteous.
There were also a number of tours within Europe, - Denmark, Holland, Italy, Malta - often in connec- tion with the Triangular Tour which has latterly extended to become Quadrangular as Spain
was welcomed into the group.. We became well accustomed to visiting di erent cities in Holland and Denmark over the years and always tried try to organise similar interesting trips when the tournament came to England.
Malta has also been visited a few times and Valetta is worth exploring every time. Italy has also been visited twice: be prepared for some very interesting cricket facilities. I well remember a ground with no grass just a few weeds here and there! That said, Tuscany is a beautiful region with good food and wine. Rome of course was another highlight.
XL crowd watching the Lamma match
With two or sometimes three tours each year, so many friendships were formed, forgotten and rekindled on the following visit.
Ron and I also went on 2 tours with the Dutch, SGS Holland, once to Sri Lanka, and once to Surinam which had in former times been a colony of the Dutch. The capital is Paramaribo. In Surinam we made a trip into the jungle which was an unforget- table adventure, staying in long huts. We struggled across ooded areas on at boats to isolated areas which were occupied with one or two wooden houses for sleeping and eating. All our food had to be brought with us. From there we journeyed to another island which was still inhabited by local tribes. They had built new huts primarily to encour- age brave tourists to experience the simple life! We actually ran out of food whilst there but still had bread and jam for breakfast, plus the inevitable rice. The odd sh was caught whilst waiting for the next delivery by small boat. It was indeed an adventure.
Ron Hart leads the XL team o after the Hong Kong CC match 2006
Age has caught up with Ron and is ever encroach- ing on me too. Cricket has been left to the younger generation with the main interest of playing the beautiful game. As far as I know not many ladies are taking part any longer. Nonetheless, The Forty Club is alive and well and in good hands, and no doubt hoping by summer that the batsmen can return to their crease, the bowlers to their mark and the elders to their positions to catch that ball!
15 years of touring with the Forty Club, 12 of them with my husband Ron as the organiser, have left in- delible memories of joy, adventure, friendship and cricket overseas. I would like to thank everyone who was involved in arranging these wonderful tours, particularly Bob Munn and of course Ron.
The Forty Club 2021 Yearbook
17