It’s our cricket tour next week. If you have never been on one of these, they are a bit ‘special’. Sixteen fit athletes, packed into a minibus with the kit on the roof, all set to play the honourable game, spreading Worcestershire bonhomie to all parts of the known world.
Drinking, gambling or chatting up barmaids, never, ever comes into the mind.
There are some things that happen on cricket tour that are rarely spoken of, other than in the company of fellow tourists.
But it has to be said we are always ‘fairly’ well behaved, have never been asked to leave a hotel and have never had anyone arrested, as has happened with some touring teams.
As I’ve said many times, the game of cricket has no boundaries – except for sixes and fours.
You can be old or young, tall and slim, short and fat, fit or unfit and there’ll be a game of cricket somewhere you can play – not at New Road of late but somewhere else maybe.
I have to say a word for everyone at Worcestershire who has put in a great effort to get games played at Kidderminster and Himley and, of course, trying to get it all sorted for Sunday at New Road.
I went to the ground on Monday morning. What a mess, and it makes you realise what people’s homes must be like after having them flooded for days on end.
While in Kidderminster last weekend I took the opportunity to look at Ray Mercer’s tree.
It stands by the wall at Chester Road near the Old Pavilion.
Ray was a great Kidderminster character – Harriers secretary for many years, town councillor, contributor to the Shuttle, and many other things as well.
One afternoon at a county seconds game, a group of us were standing talking and watching, and Ray offered to buy us all tea and cakes – and he was not a man known for throwing his money around. The group of six or seven were somewhat surprised but accepted his offer.
That evening I was working at Pebble Mill and got a shock call to say Ray had collapsed and died.
We had a smashing memorial service at Aggborough to celebrate his life, and those he had treated to tea and cakes had a whip-round and bought a tree which we planted at Chester Road, so every time I go there I like to have a wander over and spend a few seconds thinking of Ray.
Flooding was the general topic of conversation in the Barmaid’s Bosom last weekend and it’s amazing how memory can be stretched with a good story.
Electric Ted says he remembers when Pitchcroft last flooded in July and the Three Counties Show was called off. That was in the 1920s and he reckons he’s only 65.
l Dave Bradley is the BBC Hereford & Worcester sports correspondent.