It has been a while since I wrote last and it has been an absolutely jam packed time with plenty going on, so look forward to an extended read.
I left you last after our week at the Olympics and showing Aaron around Bovey. Since then I have held two summer holiday cricket courses for the children around bovey interested in cricket for three days, 9am-3pm. As tiring as these days were, they were a great opportunity to spend some time forging a relationship with those who turned up and spend three days teaching them the basics of cricket. This also presented many challenges which I was to work through, with another coach in the first course, and by myself in the second. Coaching has always appealed to me and therefore to have such an intense period of coaching was fantastic and opened my eyes to what exactly is required. The enjoyment and improvement seen in the kids was reward enough for the effort put into it.In between these two courses, I travelled to Brighton and then further on to Eastbourne to experience some of what Aaron's life had been like, living, working and playing in this area. This was fantastic to see another part of England and meet the people that he had previously talked about. I was shown around Brighton on the monday and tuesday before heading to Eastbourne for a training session and a day of exploration; seeing the boarding house where he had lived and the cricket ground as well as the surrounding area. We made a rather impromptu decision to travel up to london at the end of this week. I saw Thriller in London's west end with James, Eliza, Adrienne and Aaron before living a childhood dream on the friday, watching a test match at Lords Cricket Ground, the home of cricket. This is a particular highlight of my entire trip and to spend a day in a sold out Lords watching high quality cricket is something I will never forget.
This past week I travelled to Scotland. It coincided with the end of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where Matthew Barker and his drama colleagues in Gravity Boots performed. Unfortunately I was unable to see their performance but the place was absolutely buzzing and I was able to see a show at 12:30am on the last night. Edinburgh is up there as one of my favourite cities seen on this trip so far. How the city is planned with the old and the new town separated was brilliant as you were able to experience either the relatively untouched old town or the modern new town separately. After a walking tour of the old town on the first afternoon, James, Eliza, Aaron and I hired a car and travelled out to St Andrews; the home of golf with 7 golf courses, the beach from Chariots of Fire, and a beautiful ruin of a cathedral and castle, before heading further on through Cairngorms and Loch Lomond National Parks on our way to Loch Ness and returned to Edinburgh via Stirling. Done instead of a bus tour, this day was great as it allowed us to do what we wanted and wherever and whenever we liked and allowed us to experience more of the phenomenal Scottish Landscape than would have been possible on a bus. After some shopping and visits to friends James and Eliza were off and Aaron and I did some further exploration of the Royal Mile, Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh castle in the sunlight before boarding a plane back for our final days in Eastbourne and Bovey.
Unfortunately when it comes to Cricket Bovey has not finished the season as we would have liked. We suffered 3 straight losses in the league, effectively killing off our chances of winning the league and also lost in the Devon Cup Final to Sidmouth. With one game left tomorrow however, there is still the opportunity to finish off what has been a great season on a high note. Irrespective of performances, I have still thoroughly enjoyed playing with the boys in the 1st XI, Sunday XI and the Devon Senior Cup team and will be very sad to leave them behind. I have a lot to be thankful for from the last 6 months, and the way that the cricket club, its players, supporters, volunteers and parents have looked after me has made this trip so incredibly special and memorable. I only hope that my presence has made it a worthwhile experience in return.
As I said, I have my last game tomorrow and a celebration at the club after the game before leaving Bovey on the Sunday to meet Aaron at Gatwick Airport to start the rest of our travel first thing Monday morning with a flight to sunny Santorini. This next month is poised to be an incredible month and no doubt the sights, experiences and people we meet will provide a great finish to what has been an amazing trip. After travelling to Greece, Croatia, Spain and Germany I will be returning to England for 4 days to regroup, watch an EPL match (Arsenal v Chelsea), visit family and tour Oxford and the Cotswolds with Sightseeing Tours London (http://www.sightseeingtourslondon.com/) before boarding a plane home to Adelaide.
Look forward to more regular blogs over this next month to keep you in the loop on my travels.
Until then,
Watch this Space,
Dillon
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