And the Rains came..

Christ - the rains were slightly overwhelming over the Saturday night.. and continuing on the Sunday morning. Phone calls started trickling in too as of 9h30am.. are the matches on..? From 10am to 10h35am, I wasn't allowed to leave the flat for the stream of phonecalls coming in from managers, the referee agency, etc.. And then I got to Barn Elms, and saw..

All games ended up being cancelled - pitch 1 at Barn Elms and the Barnes Common pitch due to lakes on the pitch, yes lakes.. pitch 2 & 3 at Barn Elms due to waterlogged pitches which would prove too dangerous to play on... coupled with torrential downpours and lightening - guess its not a good idea to play soaked to the bone with lightening crashing all around you..

The only game that took place was that of Auckland and Madras who found a pitch the referee was ok with playing on (only had a 6ft square 8 inch deep puddle in the middle of one of the halfs), with proviso, of clean ('ish) tackling.. no need to detail the ball movement when played on the ground.. or lack of.

Result Auckland 0 Madras 2

All other games will be rescheduled for end of season..

Another bit of news.. Nellie's Rangers have changed their name to Cosmopolitan FC.. and have found a lucrative contract in the guise of sponsorship from L'Oreal and Chanel 5..

Here's hoping the rains decide to leave us alone next Sunday.. and in fact, lets be greedy.. for as many Sundays as possible.

Oh and you will find a new kit being paraded next week by the Groovers - a lovely shade of orange.

New addition to the world

Samir Rizk, from WKK, who has been involved in the Barnesalona league since its conception, and was a very close friend of James, founder of the league, has entered the world of fatherhood.

Her name is Mia (Frances Rizk) - she was born at 14.38 on Wednesday 1st November 2006, weighing 6lbs9oz

Barnesalona welcomes her to the world.

Congratulations to the proud parents, Samir & Samantha...

... I think James would be saying that he will wait for her to grow up... she is so cute ! :-)

Well done to the both of you !

BarnesAidlona Update Nov 2006 Part 2

The story of a donkey, a Jordanian, and a BarnesAidlona donation
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 have 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

BarnesAidlona Update Nov 2006 Part 1

Preface
It’s been on my mind for a long time now that no update has been given on BarnesAidlona since October 2003 – the last update. Hence this soliloquy you are about to read.. well, only if you decide to carry on reading obviously..

We had all these dreams to complete James’s journey to Kenya, and had shared these with you. Your donations have been more than sufficient in showing your generosity, caring and understanding towards our family. There have been some developments in our thoughts on completing the journey, some changes to following James’s path, which, I feel we should share.

Some Home Truths
The aftermath of a close one passing away and, perhaps because one so young, seems to mean one’s own life takes a step back in importance – all your actions revolve around fulfilling that missing person’s life - guess its looking to keep them alive – which makes sense in hindsight. There is also the aspect of dealing with all the administration and bureaucracy required after someone passes away – your life is almost put on hold as you deal with your own promises to fulfil his or her wish.
In this instance, we were left with a rather large legacy – BarnesAidlona being the main thrust – we had to find those kids in Kenya, find the Barnesalona bus, source other football equipment, find a way of getting it there, of storing it, finding people willing to set up coaching school for these kids, and keep this premise alive...

You come to realise that all the barriers you need to confront and solve in meeting these wishes start eroding your own life - only in so far as your own wishes and way of life take a back step - you eventually realise that you need to get on with your own life, there is a need to find your own new self – this own self starts taking on more importance..

Why am I saying all this..?

Simple reason is that we have made a decision (not an easy one at that), not to pursue the exact wishes James was working to – we have decided to touch upon as many aspects of his wishes without compromising too much of our lives. We decided on the following more general premise:

“Using Football as a Means to Improve People’s Life’s in Kenya”.

I am glad to say I believe we have found the best medium to meet this premise and more will be told further down the page..! In the meantime.. some other stories..

The Barnesalona Bus
A very fortuitous moment meant my mother met a young man, around March 2004, at the Barnes Rugby Clubhouse – his name is Patrick Forbes and he was then a PR to Prince Hassan of Jordan. The result of this meeting was that on his return to Jordan, he found the Barnesalona bus, its location, a Bedouin village called Little Petra, based near Petra itself; the bus was still sitting outside Khelil Kathi’s house where James had left it. All the football equipment James had left in it was still there – footballs, kits, boots, etc..

Patrick also “tour guided” and looked after my parents on their trip to Jordan in June 2004, helped in deciding and managing the best way to use the bus (included setting up introductions to 3 local charities), and so it goes on.. needless to say that without Patrick, the Barnesalona bus story would still be incomplete. Much debt and gratitude goes to him. I would need another 10 paragraphs to explain exactly how much he did – this should happen in another forum.
The outcome is the bus was donated to a community living in a village called Bir Abu Danah (literally “the Well of the Father of a person called Danah”), near Petra, in order for it to be used to take children to school, the sick to hospital, and for the elderly to be driven around – a communal bus in essence. Try and imagine a red bus with Barnesalona logos, driving around the desert regions in and around Petra…

The football equipment was distributed to the children of Little Petra – there is a nice video my parents took of the kids in oversized football tops and oversized boots, running around the bus, kicking footballs. Wish I had been there, but, I myself, was gallivanting around SE Asia, looking for my own little bit of the world !

Contd on another section above "BarnesAidlona Update Nov 2006 Part 2")

BarnesAIDlona – “Bringing Footballs to Africa” – Newsletter Oct 2003
___________________________________________________________________
Where does one start - the first thing that comes to mind is a quote from Magnus Magnusson “I’ve started so I’ll finish” except in this case it seems more appropriate to say “He started so we’ll finish”… So many people since James’s passing away have rekindled my faith in mankind’s ability to look after not only their life but also that of others, as they are ready to give up their time and dedicate much effort to the cause James’s had worked so hard for. I am sure the reason for giving up their time and help is solely due to their knowing and meeting James. It seems to me that it’s not only the aim of the charity but also the person that started it that has brought people together. His enthusiasm, his dedication, his will, his spirit, his craziness, his dream, his “baby”, his friendship all shone through and for those reasons, people have responded in the most generous manner. This will enable us to complete his dream – and for that I am sure he is looking down thinking “I’ve done some good, people are coming together and looking to fulfil my dream to give to the under-privileged kids, to Bringing Footballs to Africa”. I want to thank you on his behalf.

Thank those of you who, in any shape, way or form have given something to the cause – from attending, playing or helping during the initial 5-a-side tournament in September 2002 (where I also donated my right knee cruciate ligament..! luckily, tendons are not too precious and one has since found a new lease of life – I digress), from the unbelievable amount of money raised from donations on the day of his funeral and later weeks (£5900), from those attending those initial meetings on the infamous barge in Little Venice on how to go forward in keeping the dream alive (Louis, Penni (great spag bol !), Marie-Helene, and Samir), to those who have spent time on research into finding Diani Beach in Kenya (thank you Emma !), into the possible costs, the regulations, the time factors, the political equations, the offer of help in contact seeking, networking, the means to get the equipment to Kenya, the list is almost endless. The dilemma is now putting it all together and deciding on the best course of action. But I need only look at the list of those helping, to realise with confidence that the right manner in which to manage the decision process on how best use the money donated will be made.

I won’t go into the details of Jame’s trip as you will be able to find James’ diary on the new Barnesalona website, created by Hamid, a Barnesalona player and friend of James’s, whom I thank for doing such a great job.
James bought a 12 seater red Mercedes bus, sprayed it with Barnesalona logos, converted it into a mobile home, collected all sorts of football equipment - footballs, kits, bibs, cones, etc,, - and drove off into the sunset (… not very sunny in December though it is a picturesque romantic vision, so I would ask you to indulge me ..), with the target being Diani Beach in Kenya. Why?

Because he had promised the kids he had met there the summer before that he would be back with equipment. It is this promise we are trying to keep alive. James found a new love for driving… as he pursued his dream by travelling through France, Italy, Hungary, Lebanon and, (skipping a few other countries as their spelling frighten me), ended up in Jordan where his trip ended. The Egyptian authorities would not let him pass through the country unless
a small fortune was handed over. His funds had run out. He could no longer continue, he came back to London in January. His intent was to amass enough money to return and try again in September. He unfortunately never managed to complete this journey, his own ending one month later. A loss we are still trying to understand. A journey we are trying to complete.

We have our first fundraising event on the 1st November organised by one of James’s oldest friend’s Marie-Helene to whom massive thanks are called for.
Thank you Marie-Helene. James’s video diary of his trip will be shown, there will be live music (yours truly will be playing and expecting many donations to get me off stage!), DJ’s and food. Should be a good night.

So, what are the next steps and why do we need donations, and how are we to use these in an effective manner? I touched upon this lightly at the beginning of this rambling, but it will not hurt to tell more.

The first objective is to fulfil James’ promise to those young kids. This we will do. The decision is how?
There are many variables.

• 1st is finding the bus with the equipment. We have found it - James had left it with a family in Petra, Jordan - we have been in touch with the family.
The bus is apparently in their front garden, the carburettor needs fixing/changing and the windows don’t open. They are happy to keep the van as long as it takes. Again, generosity exudes.

• 2nd is finding the contacts in Kenya that James had made. This will obviously be a crucial aspect. There will be recce undertaken in the next couple of months. We only have names to work with, and will need to hope that people out there remember the energetic football coach who was out there all that time ago. I don’t think they can forget!

• 3rd is the cost of relocating the goods from Petra, Jordan to Diani Beach, Kenya. It is apparent this will be a very costly exercise. in terms of shipping and customs. There is a time scale issue to take into consideration as it could take months to take second hand goods into Kenya. We are looking at other angles from which to surmount these cost barriers. Should it then look viable, we will complete his journey. Should it not, the decision will be whether to spend money on shipment and customs anyway or simply buy the equipment on site.

• 4th is looking to the future for BarnesAIDlona once the above promise has been met. There are avenues being looked at. Nothing is set in stone. We have strong links with a member of an organisation called Truce International who is helping us. Truce was set up by its patrons Sven-Goran Eriksson and Nancy Dell'Olio and part of its mission is using football to help underprivileged kids in Africa. They are both also aware of BarnesAIDlona. Although I'm told we can't donate the money directly to Truce due to its set-up, Truce have pledged to try and help us set up a football scheme in Kenya to start with and if necessary helping to find local partners over there. They are also working on helping us to get the football equipment from Jordan, where James left it, to Kenya"
One thing we are sure of is continuing the charity and keeping it’s donors informed of any news pertaining to the cause. There will be further fundraising events in aid of BarnesAIDlona next year. We will post any details and developments on the Barnesalona web page for those interested in the future of BarnesAIDlona “Bringing Football to Africa”. I would also like to invite you to express your thoughts and emotions on the “Friends of BarnesAIDlona” page on the website. The website is “barnesalonafc.co.uk”.

So, again, it remains for me to thank you for all your support and generosity in the past, present and future, and to thank the sponsors for their time and contribution to the cause. Thank you.

There is one last thing I feel the urge to end on – it is a quote, a mantra James had adopted for his football club Barnesalona FC – and that is:- LIVE IT – LOVE IT – PLAY IT!

It sums up what James was about. The quote can be linked to any facet of life, and I feel it sure was his philosophy on life. Perhaps some of us will take it on.

Perhaps some of us already have.

Cedric Rettie

The Barnesalona Story - written by Samir Rizk

The Barnesalona story

Having graduated in the Summer of 1996, from Middlesex University with a degree in Economics, James immediately took on a job as a money broker. His dream while at University had been fulfilled, a jet-setting life-style working in one of the most competitive environments in the world. Europe’s financial hub, “The City of London”.

He was an immediate success entertaining prospective clients at all the major nightspots around London. But this was only during the week. His passion, as all his friends knew, was football. Spontaneously joining in a game with strangers, which he did on numerous occasions while walking through a park and spotting a kick-around being played.

He decided that he needed a bigger stage for his competitive instinct honed in the City, to be used. He applied to join the West Fulham Football league and invited his close friends and workmates to join the team. After getting hooked on a football manager computer game he decided he wanted nothing more than to be the team manager and live the dream every Sunday instead of seeing it on a computer screen.

The first season was not a great success but the long-term plan was already rolling.
1997/98 season saw the foundation of Barnesalona (he had inherited his fathers’ gift for pun making) But this time there were 3 teams in total: two of them in the West Fulham football league and one an elite team in the Wimbledon & District Saturday league. The players were made up of football enthusiasts that James had met and poached from the parks around London the previous summer. They had, I guess, caught the enthusiastic bug that James had when it came to football.

Life was good at that time: the Saturday team got promoted to the Premier Division at the first attempt; James got headhunted to a more successful money-broking firm, which brought with it a substantial raise. But after a few months, the long hours spent behind a desk was no longer what James wanted. The money was great but he might be burnt out by the time he was 35 years old, besides which his dream of expanding the Barnesalona club would need more time if it was to be a success.

After securing a loan to buy a property, and doubling his entries in the West Fulham football league to four, he decided to quit his job and start to find backers for his dream as well as start to prepare to pass his FA football coaching exams.

The 1999/2000 season saw the Saturday team compete at a new level in the SSEFL following another promotion, and saw an additional team join the West Fulham football league bringing the total amount of teams under the Barnesalona club name to 6. James also bought a bus to take his teams to their away fixtures as now the Saturday team had to compete throughout the whole of the South East of England.

The dream began to take shape. A few more successful years and the Saturday team would be competing as Semi-Pro level and be only 7 promotions away from the football league! James used the 6 other teams to screen out the best players and promote them to the Saturday squad. In doing so he needed to continue the search for football fanatics and new players. Therefore James elected that for the following season he would actually start his own league and call it the Barnesalona league.

He rented Barns Elms Playing fields from Richmond Council, created a web page, placed adverts all over Richmond and Fulham and ended up with 8 Teams.
James’ success was entirely due to his sheer determination and will power to make his Barnesalona football club a success story.

But James also had a big heart. He wanted to share his passion with others. He completed all the FA coaching exams and became a football coach during the day, coaching at Fulham FC, Wimbledon FC and lately at the Harrodian School, l’Ecole Jacques Prévert in Brook Green along with the French Lycée in South Kensington.


In July 2001, James went to America to coach in Children camps. He loved kids. But the American trips proved too easy, James had to have another challenge. In December 2001, he took a backpack, a camera, some traffic cones and a football and headed for Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania. He didn’t know a soul but, through his enthusiasm for football, he survived several difficult encounters. He red-carded a Masai warrior player for wearing a knife! He loved the African kids and promised them he’d come back in 2002 to bring them football equipment and get them trained.


The 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 seasons brought the total entries to the Barnesalona League to 10 and also saw a cup competition, The Rettie Cup. A complete success, this will carry on again next season his brother, Jean-Cedric and best friend, Dorian, having elected to carry on living the Barnesalona dream and keep this friendly league together.

League games 12th November 2006

A nice day for football again - how long will this last... lets keep pumping those CO2 emissions hey.. :-(

Some more antics this weekend.. and some more silly shenanigans on the pitch again.. when will people get it in their thick heads that its only football and there are far more important issues than treating eachother in a disrespectful manner - take a chill pill, have a think about your actions, understand your opponents point of view, SHAKE HANDS, we all have jobs, families, girlfriends, boyfriends?, to go back to. And surely, we want to play football with smiles on our faces, before, DURING, and after the game. Help yourselves - you have the forum to do so.

Enough.. for the time being.. until the next act.. be very very happy to hear that things go well next weekend.. very happy..

Results this week:

Madras 2 WKK 2
Auckland 2 Barnes 2
Loko 2 Groovers 0
Nellies 0 Bob 7
Hendrix 4 Celtic 2

The Bobs are top now with help from a great result for Hendrix against Celtic which pushes them into 3rd spot, with Celtic now lying 2nd. Good results for Madras (or should I say REAL Madras) who are still up near top of table in 4th position with that draw. And Loko keep their 5th spot, 2 points behind Madras. These teams have come up leaps and bounds from previous seasons, and its nice to see them up there. WKK dire league run continues, not much change for Auckland and Barnes whose draw leaves them still in the same spot 7th and 8th respectively. The Groovers are still finding it difficult to get 11 players on the field and their position reflects this (last). And Nellies are still looking to find their second win in the League.

Still a close and open league this season which is a pleasing aspect.

A Quick Laugh

Update on racial slur incident

Just want to update on the racial abuse incidence - I have since spoken with the manager of the team concerned - the player in questioned had already been reprimanded by the team itself, banning him from the team altogether - which again, is condonable and which pleases me immensely. The player was a new player to our league, which is no excuse, but which means I would like to allow him a chance to redeem himself... I stated the reasons in the blog below.

The result is that I have set a 4 week ban (obviously, the next false step would ban him for good), and asked that he apologies in writing to the referee as well as in person. The manager himself would like the latter to take place. I hope the player will play ball if you pardon the pun.

I hope you will accept my decision.

And thank you to the manager for his help and support in this matter.

Racial Abuse

Thought it would be good to add the comments I have received or seen following this racial abuse from last weekend.

"Throw the scum bag out as far as Im concerned...."

"That is really bad news about the abuse of the referee especially when it is of a racial nature. Hope the guy concerned is thoroughly ashamed of himself and makes a full apology."

"This last weekend, there was two unsavory incidents in the Barnesalona League which have involved somebody being struck by a fellow opponent, and a referee being racially abused by a player. I do not believe either incident involved Lokomotiv, however the club will stress that this is a friendly league and no incidents of this kind will be tolerated. Let's continue to ensure that we as a club always set a good example, as we have in the past, and let us continue that trend in the future."

"100% supportive of comments on any such slur"

5th November 2006 - Cup Games

A beautiful day for football - fresh breeze, bright sun and blue skies.. stained by a couple of incidents I personally HATE to hear of.

The 1st : a punch to the head of a player lying on the ground - I was glad to hear that the team itself took it upon themselves to ban their own player for 2 matches. There was no need for me to do so. Well done that team.

The 2nd: racial abuse towards a referee - I only heard of this after speaking with the referee agency last night, and so do not know who this individual is.. I will need to find this player, ban him, and ask him to apologise to the referee. Whoever you are, you have been warned.


Racism will not be tolerated - not in my time, not in my league. It is the second time I see a reference to racism this season - I dealt with the first one my way. The FA ban players for life for any racial abuse; I take another stance, as I believe in people learning from life, from mistakes (I am probably completely wrong in this statement, but like to give people a chance to reflect, and realise implications, etc..). We are all the same, we are all adults - no one and I mean no one is better than anyone else - I can't stand the arrogance of some people in resorting to racial undertones - I feel sorry for them; we are playing football; we are given the chance to play in a league that hopes to make football competitive but FRIENDLY. It upsets me when the opposite occurs.. and saddens me. Don't people understand that we all belong to one club, we all have the same home pitches, the same dressing rooms, the same club house - why do we have to resort to selfish bullshit. I hope you will all talk amonst yourselves and help improve the club for what is should represent to all of you.

OK... scores for this Cup week are:

Auckland 0 Nellie's 2
Groovers 0 Bob 7
Madras 0 WKK 2
Loko 1 Barnes 3

I don't feel like making any comments on the scores - the above 2 issues having left a sour taste in my mouth..

To end on a positive note, its was good to see Allan from Barnes FC back at the Club house, looking good after his operation on his broken jaw - well done on a good and quick recovery! And hope to see you back on the pitch.. in your own time !