Given what is going on in the world ( and my world has shrunk to the microcosm of my office and its immediate surroundings ) my missus did a brilliant job for my birthday. First, I must apologise to anybody who felt left out by not getting an invite to have a cuppa and cake on my front drive, but as I am still shielding we had to restrict number to six ( including us ) at each sitting and the number of sittings to two! So not a lot of room to manoevre. I will make it up to you on my 80th, I promise.
Not sure the neighbours appreciated something like six hours of Springsteen, Dylan etc being blared out, but it was my birthday and I got to choose the music. Shame we held it at the front of the house or else it could have been pay-back time for The Noisy People. Some lovely presents and thanks so much to those of you who gave me gifts whether you dropped by or not. My wife got me a very large and very expensive bottle of Balblair whisky. And a “It’s My Birthday Badge “ ( didn’t add I can cry if I want to like the song and truth to tell, I didn’t feel like crying. I even smiled for some photos. Rare for me. ) My sons and daughter in law got me a cricket book “ That’s England gone “ by Michael Henderson and a scented candle ( also a very expensive one ) to relax me in my office when working… or possibly to set fire to the whole house given my ineptitude in lighting the one birthday candle. If my wife had gone for a cheaper whisky and bought me a bottle of Bell’s that would have been “Bell, Book and Candle “ Which I looked up on line and it was a 1950 stage play turned into a film in 1958 starring James Stewart and Kim Novak all about a witch who conjures up a good looking guy and then actually falls in love with him. No wonder nobody can remember a thing about it except the title.
I got an England cricket cap from Anthony and Rhonda ( Rachel’s parents ) and having donned my Barmy Army t-shirt for the day ( bought in what seems like a different century at a cricket match in Jo’burg when the Army were knocking out the shirts on a two for one basis as the series was coming to an end) After the England display over the weekend I am awaiting the call. ( More about South Africa and nineteenth century Apartheid … yes I meant to type nineteenth century … later. )
What I didn’t mean to type when talking about Prince Charles and pop music was The Supremes when I should have said The Three Degrees, Well, spotted Andy near Manchester… I have readers everywhere. I like to keep you on your toes.
But I am not finished with my presents yet. Nice bottle of wine from my fav niece and nephew, Michelle and Rob. Mind you they don’t have a lot of competition as they are my only niece and nephew. Another super bottle of wine and kosher chocolates from my old pal Xabi. I won’t print his name in full as it really is unpronounceable. Met him in a very odd way. Was in a line outside the Open Air Theatre. I always have to be first in line to grab a picnic table and got chatting to the person second in line who knew Xabi and knew he was a sports lawyer looking for somebody to work with and the somebody was me.
Sis in law Val and brother in law Howard bought me two books that I had pre-chosen ( the new Michael Connolly and the new Jeffrey Deaver ) and added a bonus of a football Engladn legends t-shirt . The legends included Jack Charlton so neat link there. Not done yet. Bottle of tequila from Jon and Naomi from Fortnums. You are beginning to get the picture of my life. Books and booze with a bit of sport thrown in for good measure! Oh, and chocolate too and Isabella aged ninety four and a half gave me a lovely hand drawn card with a footballer in Newcastle colours and a cricketer and also bought me a huge bar of Cadbury’s fruit and nut. In return she did get a big glass of wine on our front drive. We all know how to party in Southgate.
Speaking of books, Sam has a very mature taste in them for an eleven year old. On my recommendation he is reading “ The Day of the Triffids “ by John Wyndham and loving it. So I thought I would treat him to two others by the same author. “ The Midwich Cuckoos “ and “ The Kraken Wakes. “ Decided to leave “ Chocky “ to another day. Went on Amazon and got a copy of “ The Midwich Cuckoos “ without any problem. Normal price for a paperback. But for the penguin edition of Kraken they wanted £25. I love Sam very much but think I might wait to trawl some second hand bookshops in the Cotswolds. But, if you have any old original Penguin books on your shelves you are sitting in a nest-egg. And if you have The Kraken Wakes then please feel free to send it to me.
Then, last birthday mention ( although my boys do say there is another bit of their present coming on Friday… I told you we do birthdays well in our family… ) is that my missus made it clear that I wasn’t looking for presents from friends and they should do what I did for her birthday and donate to my son’s Royal Free Hospital Group charity and that they did. He’s raised well over £2m now and still going.
Now, enough of celebrations and let’s get down to something meaty. Yes, it involves cricket but please don’t switch off. ( Naomi said she stopped reading at Jack Charlton yesterday because it was about football ) Because this story is much more than that. South Africa is having a hard time at the moment. Big V numbers rising, lack of oxygen for patients in rural areas and now they have hospitals overflowing. Not all with Big V victims, but with victims of violent crime caused by alcohol fueled abuse. So, it’s back to lock down and a curfew for South Africans and back to a ban on the sale of alcohol. I did ask my friend Daphne if she had laid up a good stock, but as she had sent me a video of appalling weather in Seapoint with giant waves crashing against the shore and visibility when driving severely impaired I think she had other problems.
But, let me talk for a moment about Krom Hendricks. The England cricket team toured South Africa in 1891/92 and Krom, who was born to a mother from St Helena , but who lived amongst the Malay community, played against them for a South African Malay XIII. ( they obviously wanted to balance the odds by playing a couple of extra players ) Krom, or to give him his full name, William Henry, was the fastest bowler the English team had ever seen. He would have been an asset to any South African National team, but as he was deemed to be black, he had no chance of ever playing. And this was some fifty years before Apartheid became a political norm.
The most outspoken opponent to his selection was one…. yes, you guessed it… step up Cecil Rhodes and take a bow, Or something.. Maybe a long walk on a short pier would be better. Krom continued to play segregated cricket until his sixties ( hope for me yet then ) and never gave up the fight against the system. But for those of you who could not understand why the statute of Cecil Rhodes had to be removed maybe you now know. There is a new book out about Krom called, “ Too Black to Wear Whites “ and I, for one, can’t wait to read it.
Anyway I’ve a gigantic backlog from yesterday’s revelries so have to call it a morning there. Hope you don’t feel too short-changed.
Stay safe and if we are spared see you all tomorrow.