Page 18 - Demo

THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND
WE HOPED THEY’D NEVER END
WE ALL COULD TOUR FOR EVER AND A DAY
FROM COUNTRIES EAST TO WEST,
WE ALL ENJOYED THE BEST
WITH CRICKET EVERYWHERE TO PLAY.
Both teams at the XL vs Kyoto University match
Greta Groves
hanks to 16 albums of various size I have just been on a world tour, COVID safe, among friends and remarkable memories.
turned to Queenstown by light aircraft. Now we saw the landscape from above with its lakes and hiking tracks. Then the kiwis and mischievous kea parrots. There was even that match near Arrow Town when it snowed brie y.
In Australia we rode on trams in Melbourne and walked in Albert Park where preparations for the F1 were in progress. Up country there was a ground with a white picket fence surrounding it and an ‘English’ pavilion with roses planted and tea ladies with generous tea for all, plus a scary trip at dusk in a tractor trailer to see the local wildlife.... kangaroos. On to Manly and the ferry ride across The Heads, arriving in the harbour to see the QE2 moored one side and the Opera House on the other, with all the local ferries busy in between, coming and going.
Malaysia, where it rained so much early on that if the ball went into a puddle, 6 was scored! Penang and gracious living, the butter y aviary, pulses laid out to dry by the roadside, and the delicious slice of pineapple bought from the proud farmer’s wife wielding an enormous knife.
I’ll never forget the wonder of Malta’s Valletta Harbour and a touching conversation with an elderly man gazing down on it beside us, who told us of how relieved he had been to see the Royal Navy steaming in during WWII. On another day, while golf was being played we walked through the Medina, and fell totally silent, what an atmosphere it had.
Whichever country we toured in, I remember the young people, smartly turned out in their uniforms, whether returning home from school, or group specially brought to the match. In Namibia they
had all been orphaned by parents with HIV. All the children seemed to be smiling broadly, eager to play cricket on any space available with a minimum of worn-out kit.
Our last tour was to Namibia in 2009. Beginning in Windhoek we stayed in many di erent hotels and landscapes. Walvis Bay, the ock of amingoes and neat seaside cottages nearby. Our coach took us through fascinating countryside, across the Tropic of Capricorn, via spectacular dunes and beside an- cient desert plants that survived the harsh climate. We visited a cheetah sanctuary where puppies were
T
Whenever I make contact with former XL tour members they invariably ask if I went on their ‘best‘ tour. Usually these were named as Zimbabwe, the rst time to New Zealand or India, - the ones I didn’t go on! It doesn’t matter one bit as I did go to Alfas in Spain, South Africa several times, Japan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Italy and Namibia. The memories come ooding back.
Ron Helyar had retired and so we decided to
go whenever we could. On the rst trip to Cape Town, spectacular mountains could be seen from every ground, we went to Robben Island and were guided by a previous inmate who had been incar- cerated with Mandela. Very moving. We viewed the town from the top of Table Mountain, walked among penguins and visited the Cape of Good Hope.
Our rst match in Japan was played on a sandy baseball ground and the changing room was a tarpaulin spread on the ground. What a contrast to the trip on the Bullet train with its ‘automatic toilet’. We all took photos of that! We travelled on double decker motorways and at one car park along the way our coach shared it with numerous red and yellow Ferrari’s taking part in a rally. Another game was played on a car park but afterwards we all went to a reception at the British Embassy, - such contrasts.
New Zealand in 2003 was memorable for many reasons. The Art Deco Festival in Napier, with the cars and clothes worn by many as well as the architecture. There was a trip on the Shotover Jet along a canyon; we went to Mount Cook and the Frank Josef glacier; the gardens at the Hermitage; Milford Sound on board a ship and some of us re-
20
https://thefortyclub.play-cricket.com
ARTICLES