When James found himself in a rather tricky position atop a “mountain”, just above the Monastery high place in the Petra hills, lost and screaming for help, a local guide called Nasser heard these screams. He saw James’ jacket hanging from a juniper tree at the foot of the “mountain”, and by way of a Bedouin goat trail, climbed up to where James was (atop a sheer cliff face), and brought him down, James shaking with fright… While James was recovering on terra firma, they shared a cigarette under the shade of the juniper tree (amazing how good a cigarette can be after
stress levels are set high !).A year or so later, after the infamous meeting my mum had with Patrick, the young man mentioned above, Patrick actually managed to find Nasser, recognising him through videos that James had taken... Nasser was introduced to my parents whilst on their trip to Jordan, and it came apparent that this guy had indeed saved James life. He is a poor fellow, and lives simply. My parents decided they would like to help this young man by buying him a donkey (and yes they did confer with me !)… in Jordan, a donkey is a good source for money. Again, Patrick was there to sort out the ins and outs of finding a donkey, purchasing a donkey, negotiating the price for this acquisition, loading it onto a pickup truck, only to deliver it to an unsuspecting young man, whose look of surprise and joy is immeasurable. It will now be easier for him to live a better life and to look after his family. This could only have been done with the money you donated and the amazing help and time consecrated by Patrick. Need I say more.
Barnesalona Football League – quick update
James had created Barnesalona in 1997.. almost 10 years ago now. Its history up until he left us has been summarized brilliantly
by his friend Samir – you can view this on the Barnesalona website (www.barnesalonafc.co.uk) or blog should it be of interest (link to the blog can be found on the website). The club is still in existence, although now it only exists as a league - with 10 teams competing to be the Barnesalona League Champions, playing for the James Rettie Cup, and for the Barnesalona Shield.It is comprised of many nationalities, is based on friendly competitive football, with all games taking place at Barn Elms Playing Fields, on Sunday mornings (Kick Off at 10h30am if interested !..). We now have qualified referees, corner flags, use of the Barnes Rugby Clubhouse, and teams are very generous and donate any old kit to BarnesAidlona.
Many of the 150 players knew James and still mention him fondly, of his passion, his football prowess (if only they could see me play ! J), of his charity. Every season, we hold a minute silence before kick off on the nearest Sunday of his passing away – 4th February 2003. You are more than welcome to join us should you wish to!
Barnes Pond Bench – donated by neighbours of Ullswater Road, SW13
For those of you that happen to be in Barnes, hovering round Barnes pond, between the Sun Inn and the old Sorting office, you might come across a bench upon which is inscribed James’s name. We hav
e the Ullswater Road neighbours to thank for this immense gesture of kindness, love, compassion, and above all togetherness, and a special thank you to the Pattinson family for having organised and arranged it. Thank you so much.On a personal note, it is simply humbling to be able to have a pint sitting on that bench overlooking the tranquil setting that is the glorious Barnes pond. Thank you once again. Thank you.
BarnesAidlona - in cahoots with Excellent Development, a regstd. charity
Does luck, destiny or simple coincidence work together..?
I received an email from Sophie Bown one day; Sophie is a sister, as her brother William is a brother, close a unit both Rettie’s and Bown’s are (sounds like Yoda talking there..) – we have known each other since we were so high, been on numerous family holidays to France, spent too many x-mas’s together to remember, and so on..
She had just started working for a charity organisation - Excellent Development - (http://www.excellentdevelopment.com) – that look to help people in remote areas of Kenya to build dams, terraces and plant trees, teach the villages these skills in order to create an environment where they can farm the land, feed themselves, and hence reduce malnutrition and famine. They were looking into the possibility of using football to spread this knowledge to all villages in the surrounding area.. would we be interested in using BarnesAidlona money to fund this project?
How amazing it is that such a close person is able to propose such a project that captured exactly the
essence of our premise - “using football as a means to improve people’s life’s in Kenya”.Without getting into the nitty-gritty, we funded a trip that took place in August – where football equipment such as footballs, kits, pumps, goalkeeper gloves, etc.. – was distributed to local villages; and also for the purpose of looking into the viability of promoting this ethos of information sharing via inter-village football. The feedback painted a picture of resounding success. Well done BarnesAidlona ! And well done and thank you Sophie !
Excellent Development have a film launch evening on the 6th December 2006, which we will attend, to illustrate the work undertaken in Africa and the benefits it creates for the communities in question. These and other films will be made available after the evening, on their website, should you wish to see them.
The future?
I believe we will continue down the route of Excellent Development, as far as we can. We will also be open to other possibilities of donating money for other close causes. At present, we have enough capital in the BarnesAidlona account that means there is no real need for any real event so soon.. famous last words ! Watch this space..
A Thank You to all those who donated to BarnesAidlona
It is because of you that we are able to help those people in Jordan and in Kenya. It is because of you that we have been able to continue James’s journey. It is because of you that I am writing this bloody update ! (only joking!). There are so many people to thank, but too many to list here. But you know who you are: Friends, Family, Ullswater Road residents, and Barnesalona Players.
Thank you.
Until the next time..
Cedric
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