A most unusual auction took place in Wentworth on Saturday at the beautiful home of Mr and Mrs Jordan. The Chelsea football team, which included John Terry and Frank Lampard, arrived with the First XI to support Right to Play - a charity that raises money to send their ambassadors all over the world to help children play different sports and learn their skills from the experts. In addition to the 100 happy children who had the opportunity to play football with their heroes, were Ieuan Evans, former Captain of the British Lions, Mark Foster, Olympic swimmer, Sir Steve Redgrave, five times Olympic Gold medalist, Will Carling, former Captain of England, and Ugo Monye the British Lions wing, but the real shock came when I noticed who was behind the camera putting together a film of the event to be shown to the United Nations. Standing next to the cameraman, giving firm orders as to how he wanted things done, was 5 times Oscar nominated producer Frank Marshall (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Colour Purple, The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Like all the others present that afternoon, they had given their services for nothing, and the auction added £80,000 to the day's proceeds - the most popular item being the chance to be the mascot at a Chelsea home game which fetched a bid £22,000.
Back in the car and on my way to Cambridge, I listened to Australia piling on more and more runs with every mile I covered. It was clear that by the time I arrived at the Old Vicarage, and the Australians had declared 676 for 6 and England had replied with 20 for 2, that a draw would be a miracle. On Sunday Mary and I lunched with Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, which meant I could listen to the ball by ball commentary in the car, and when I sat down for lunch and England were 70 for 5, I assumed the Australians would win handsomely before the tea-break. Not a bit of it. Back in the car, I had to suffer the marathon of batting by Collingwood, Swann, Anderson and Panesar, and arrived back at the flat in time to watch the last ten overs. A magnificent effort, marred slightly by the unnecessary sending on of the physio, and someone pretending that Anderson needed another pair of gloves. Whoever sent the two men on should be ashamed of himself, as he allowed Ponting the chance to accuse us of cheating, and with some justification. Nevertheless, I can't wait for Thursday when I'll be sitting in my place at Lord's before the first ball has been bowled.
Back in the car and on my way to Cambridge, I listened to Australia piling on more and more runs with every mile I covered. It was clear that by the time I arrived at the Old Vicarage, and the Australians had declared 676 for 6 and England had replied with 20 for 2, that a draw would be a miracle. On Sunday Mary and I lunched with Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, which meant I could listen to the ball by ball commentary in the car, and when I sat down for lunch and England were 70 for 5, I assumed the Australians would win handsomely before the tea-break. Not a bit of it. Back in the car, I had to suffer the marathon of batting by Collingwood, Swann, Anderson and Panesar, and arrived back at the flat in time to watch the last ten overs. A magnificent effort, marred slightly by the unnecessary sending on of the physio, and someone pretending that Anderson needed another pair of gloves. Whoever sent the two men on should be ashamed of himself, as he allowed Ponting the chance to accuse us of cheating, and with some justification. Nevertheless, I can't wait for Thursday when I'll be sitting in my place at Lord's before the first ball has been bowled.
10 Comments:
Another GREAT Charity event Jeffrey and, an interesting comment of yours on cricket which reminded me of some thing I heard about, a few days ago...
"A seven year old boy was at the centre of a courtroom drama a few days ago, when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents. So, the judge initially awarded custody to the boy’s aunt.
However, the boy surprised the court when he then proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him.
After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life amongst them, the Judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.
After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the England Cricket Team, who the boy firmly believes are "not capable of beating anyone"."
dear mr archer
i wanted to write something about the "magnificent" efforts of 19 players covering that of six from australia but charlie's story made that redundant. a wonderful story
Hello there! I just wanted to tell you that you are one my favorite writers. I read Kane and Abel when I was 9, plucked it off my grandparent's bookshelf - and was hooked on you (and big fat books you can't put down) from that moment on...not to mention being hooked on writing.
I just finished Paths of Glory - another masterpiece. I savored every single word.
Thanks for writing and for sharing,
Julie
Charlie, that same story is currently doing the rounds here is Australia...replace the English Cricket Team with the "New South Wales State of Origin Rugby League Team"...and you've got it. Final of the Queensland vs New South Wales State of Origin is Wednesday night. I'm not a League fan, but I am a Queenslander and the rest of the State is hoping for a 'clean sweep' with tomorrow night's game. I would much rather be at Lords!
Diane
Diane
Charlie, that same story is currently doing the rounds here is Australia...replace the English Cricket Team with the "New South Wales State of Origin Rugby League Team"...and you've got it. Final of the Queensland vs New South Wales State of Origin is Wednesday night. I'm not a League fan, but I am a Queenslander and the rest of the State is hoping for a 'clean sweep' with tomorrow night's game. I would much rather be at Lords!
Diane
Diane
Dear Mr Archer
Any comments on 200 million POUNDS that Real spent on Kaka, Ronaldo, Albiol and Benzema?
Guess what...after reading KANE AND ABEL at least umpteen times, I am now reading the same in Malayalam- translated from English to Malayalm in 2002. (Pen Books, Kerala).
Sir
With some deft editing, some neat twists and with your unique style, I beleive the anecdote Charlie above said- woudl make a wonderful short story.
What do you (and Charlie) think
Respected Sir
As a part of our curriculum, we have to come out with a Journal. Our topic for the Journal is “Literary Adaptation”. For our academic journal we have to interview prominent authors and we kindly request you to grant us your time to answer our questions. We eagerly await your reply.
nidhi - Jeffrey is away at the moment, but if you email him your questions to questions@jeffreyarcher.co.uk he'll be able to answer them on his return to London. Regards, Jeffrey's PA.
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