Malcolm Alder in Sydney

Post date: 09-Sep-2014 10:38:40

Dear Andrew and other fellow SOA members,

Firstly, thank you for continuing to invite me to the Annual Dinner all the way down here in Sydney.

Secondly, apologies to anyone who I have replied to who has no idea who this is coming from. It’s Malcolm Alder; played fairly regularly around 1990-91 then sporadically when back in the UK visiting from Australia (often around Ashes time though thankfully not the last series!) and hosted quite a number of you when the Tour came Down Under.

I hope at least some of you will be impressed to hear that I’m typing this whilst a little the worse for wear having been at my own cricket club’s Annual Dinner last night; the Nondescripts who are over 110 years old which is very venerable in terms of Oz cricket clubs.

It is particularly disappointing to have to advise that I shall again miss this year’s Annual Dinner because a) I shall be in the country and b) I have a fond, personal connection to Eynsham Hall and surrounds.

I arrive in the UK on 16th September then after a couple of days in London fly to Belfast where a meet up with a group of friends for a golf tour of Northern Ireland before catching the ferry to Scotland to go and watch the Ryder Cup (as well as play some more golf) – I’m very excited about that as you can imagine. I then return to London on Monday 29th before leaving on Sunday 5th. Aside from the golf, the reason I’m back in the UK is for my mother’s 80th birthday and on Friday and Saturday 3/4 we are going en famille to a hotel in the New Forest hence neither Chris nor I will be at the dinner which is a real shame. As Miles well knows, I stayed for extended periods whilst studying for my Chartered Accounting exams at Eynsham Hall – I have no idea if it’s still used for that purpose but it’s a lovely part of the world and there are many fine pubs nearby.

So may I wish you a wonderful evening and I’m sure Chris and I will raise a glass together to SOA on that evening.

With my best wishes to all of you. Miles and Margaret – I will be in touch!

Malcolm