Bank Holiday Monday, 31 May 2010

The day of the annual Clavering Village Fete  fete. Sadly,  what was 50 years ago, when we first came here,  a small typical village affair, where rolling for a pig meant that the winner actually took home a little piglet and a tug-of-war was fought valiantly between teams from the two local pubs, has changed into a vast trade fair with noisy music and a beer tent, attracting thousands of people from far and wide — it has totally lost its charm and indeed its attraction for us me at least. Is it just that I am getting old?

In the end England has a handsome win against Bangladesh by eight wickets, although not without a struggle. The Bangladesh batting was tenacious.

My friend Paul pointed out, in an e-mail yesterday, something which I believe is not widely known,  that  Chris Broad’s (the England cricketer) wife, Miche, is suffering from a virulent form of MND. Chris, his son Stuart, and a number of his cricketing pals, many of them hopefully household names. are running a fundraising event Chris and Stuart Broad’s MND 6-a-side, cricket tournament at Wellesbourne CC in Warwickshire on July 19. All spectators are welcome. Turn up, give generously and thank your lucky stars that you have been spared this insidious disease.