Cricket, trees and memories...

Leaving Dorking, we’ll also leave behind that sense of personal history that is also part of a place. St Barnabas’ church on Ranmore hill is on the North Down’s way and my grandfather used to play the organ there in the early 20^th century. It is an unusually gothic style of steeple and sits, surrounded by large oak trees, a clutch of bluebells and the North Downs Way.

Judy, Paddington and I have had many walks up on the North Downs, rambling along the paths and amongst the trees, and, increasingly as Paddington got older, inevitably, much slower. He used to love sniffing and rustling through the bluebells at this time of year. At one particular, favourite spot amongst the beech trees of Whitedown Lease is an enormous tree in which a simple carved inscription reads ‘1785’.

We’re off to the cricket today before our busy family weekend, and, if we’re lucky, there will be no rain.

Nicholas

Cricket!

Yes, I know….shouldn’t baseball be the choice of an American girl choosing a bat and ball sport? Probably, but…well, I can’t quite explain my passion for it. I love the game, the sound of the willow connecting for a boundary, the strategy of declaring (or not) during a test match. I even love that teams can play a 5-day test match series that ends in a draw and be happy about it! (that is definitely a stretch for an American!) It is like chess, only much much better!!!

And today, good friends have invited us to Lord’s Cricket Ground (Americans…think Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee stadiums), where it all began, the game, the laws of the game, the spirit of the game….it is cloudy and slightly cool-but that is irrelevant, it just means the batsman will have a tougher time and we will see some wickets taken with some good spin bowling!

This is a welcome diversion from all of the packing and sorting and clearing…we shall also have family with us for most of the weekend and then, next week-time to get serious about the final push before the movers come for 3 days!!!

But, for today…just for today…4’s and 6’s, LBW’s, 'no balls', long legs, slips, silly mid-ons and silly mid-offs will blissfully occupy my thoughts and my energy.

Judy