Close this window				Boyhood Memories Clive Mantle I get very nostalgic returning to Alconbury as my Mum and Dad used to run the Post Office Stores in Alconbury Weston for the best part of a decade, and the whole area means a lot to me, having been to school at St John’s, Cambridge and Kimbolton. What I really remember though is the footpath from one village to another, and the fact that I dragged our suspicious Labrador out for ten walks a day along the path, as I soon learnt you could smoke two ‘No. 6’ on the way to Alconbury and two, or if you stopped, three, on the way back! The cricket pavilion was then but a gleam in someone’s eye, and I remember my Father fundraising for the building, along with many others. Not many villages are better served by such a splendid ground and facilities, long may it continue. However, there’s a real dip down by mid-wicket, and as I ran around desperately trying to reach such a breathtaking catch, the ground fell away and eventually so did my lumbering 17 stone frame. My rather average cricket career ended due to the sustained hamstring injury and I ignominiously sat on the balcony with an ice pack wrapped round my leg for the rest of the match. There’s nothing worse than a 40 year old throwing himself around trying to pretend he’s still 15!!! Good luck to all who play this year, and thanks to you all for supporting such a good cause. Just mind that dip at deep mid-wicket chaps!