Season 57 News

Life goes steadily on.  Retirement suits me rather better than work usually did.  It's good to be able to do what I want to do, although I sometimes miss out on those moments when having to do something I didn't fancy brought me unexpected rewards.  Like learning how to stand up and talk in front of about 100 people.  It used to fighten the life out of me, but I learned to quite enjoy it.  And when my mother-in-law died recently at the age of 94, and I was asked to speak at her funeral, my frst reaction was to run a mile, until I remembered that I could do that, and probably do it at least as well as anyone else who would be there.  And I did.

The cricket season is in full swing at the moment, and it's my second season umpiring for Twyford CC (Hampshire).  We get to visit some lovely picturesque grounds and the cricket is pretty good at times, as well.  My umpiring is still somewhat erratic but I think I am probably getting better at it.  Slowly.

And my bridge is probbaly improving as well, though after a long lay-off, my game has not yet returned to the level it used to be at - an probably never will now.  But my partner and I were pleased to be one of four pairs representing Hampshire at the Corwen Trophy a couple of months ago, and though we didn't cover ourselves with glory, we gained a lot from the experince.

The grandkids continue to be a joy.  Nico (4) is starting school in September and Zach will be 2 next week.  Lovely to be living near them and to see them on a regular basis.

Season 56 News

My 70th birthday arrived precisely when I expected it, and went soon afterwards, like a visit from a dutiful relative.

I have discovered a monthly jazz jam session nearby which is something I look forward to very much.  Occasionally my playing seems to rise above the mediocre, but not for very long...but those brief moments are still worth waiting for.  

I have also started playing with a new bridge partner, and am grappling with the delightfully complicated Polish Club system.  We've had a few small successes already and are hopeful of more to come.

Not long to the new cricket season, the weather is getting into practice....

And of course there's the grandchildren to enjoy.  Nico has turned 4, and seems to have emerged from his Thomas the Tank Engine phase to discover an interest in volcanos, dinosaurs and pirates.  Zach is 18 months and has it all to come....

Season 55 News

I enoyed my first season umpiring for Twyford Cricket Club, both on the ground and in the pub afterwards.  th...t has been necessary to accept that I will make mistakes, even though some players seem to expect perfection.  Consistency and impartiality are hard to achieve, and if anything I am probably guilty of bias against my own club in the effort to be fair.  I have taken on the mammoth task of digitising all the club's historical scorecards, which date back to 1950.  I doubt that I will get it all done before the new season starts but it's good to have a project, I suppose.

Christmas is coming, looking forward to the whole fmaily being together.  And shortly after that, New Year's Eve, my brithday.  My 70th...gulp...I may be forced to admit that I'm no longer middle aged....

SEASON 54 NEWS

Ah, the cricket season has started!  My Saturday afternoons are spoken for until September with a new club, a new role (umpiring) and a new range of local (Hampshire) beers to sample.  Attenndance at the pub isn't quite compulsory but when the club secretary emailed me to thank me for being there, I got the message that it's every but as important as turning up for the match.  My kind of club!

My wife and I are enoying our life down in the South of England, watching the grandsons growing up, handing them back when we get fed up with them.  We've just got back from Canada where we visited our younger son who lives in Ontario.  Lovely country!  Back in the UK, I get plenty of time for my musical activities, and to play bridge and other board games.

Now, if I could ust figure out how to play this game, my life would be complete....

SEASON 53 NEWS

Season 53 finds my wife and I in a new home, further from East Fife, in Fair Oak, Hampshire.  We are very pleased with our new house, in a quiet cul-de-sac on the edge of some wild woods which are enjoying exploring.  We are just a few miles from our older son and his family so we are able to spend more time with our two grandchildren, (Nico age 3 and Zach 6 months), though this is a rather exhausting business.  My hobbies have found fertile ground - on Tuesdays there's a local board games club, on Wednesdays a new bridge partner, and on Thursdays (and sometimes Mondays) I play piano in big bands.  And when the summer comes along I am expectig to do some cricket umpiring.  Enjoying my retirement!

SEASON 52 NEWS

Paul Cockayne swoops in to the EF hot seat September 2022....

I am returning to SESL after a break of some years, having previously managed Greenock Morton, Clydebank, Dundee and possibly a couple of others that I’ve forgotten about. 

I have recently retired (thanks to lockdown!) from work as a counsellor, having previously been employed in IT, and worked as a trainer, a civil servant, a surveyor’s assistant, a musician, a barman and a fairground operative.

I have lived in London, St Albans, Oxford, Manchester, Nottingham and now Wokingham – though not for much longer as a move to Eastleigh is imminent.  I am married (35 years), a father of two boys and a grandfather of two more, aged 2 and 0.

I don’t really support any football team, but I like watching whoever is most convenient.  Over the years that has found me at St.Albans City, Watford, Luton, both Manchester teams, both Nottingham teams, Wokingham and most recently Bracknell Town.

I also enjoy dancing, board games, bridge, playing piano and vibes, cricket, reading, eating cheese, and most especially drinking whisky. 

Good to be back!