{"id":90,"date":"2014-03-03T21:54:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T21:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/?p=90"},"modified":"2014-03-04T18:39:52","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T18:39:52","slug":"how-did-i-find-myself-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/2014\/03\/03\/how-did-i-find-myself-here\/","title":{"rendered":"How did I find myself here?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn five days I will meet up at Heathrow with seven others, two of whom I've never met, and board a plane bound ultimately for Cameroon, sometimes referred to as "the armpit of Africa" apparently!<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOf the eight travellers, I am a complete novice. Many have been to Africa before, a few previously to Cameroon. I have never ventured further than a Greek beach, courtesy of Thomas Cook!\n<\/p>\n

\n\tChristmas 2012. Pottering in the kitchen, listening to the radio, more than likely avoiding the Christmas special of 'Call the Midwife' or 'Strictly Come Dancing', and enthralled by a short documentary on Radio Five Live following a cricket charity in Africa, spreading the game of cricket whilst aiming to stop the spread of HIV infection, through sport, health education, and above all inclusiveness.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHaving recently started coaching cricket myself I listened with great interest. Once finished I undoubtedly pinched some leftover sprouts or sausages, or both, and forgot about Cricket Without Boundaries…..or so I thought.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMarch 2013. Late at night. Surfing the internet out of boredom and I stumble across the CWB website. I don't know how I got there but there I got. After perusing almost the entire site I was intrigued enough and completed an application form and pressed 'send'.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMid-life crisis? 43 years old and in need of an adventure?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tApril 2013. CWB interview. Birmingham. A gloriously sunny day, albeit with snow piled up on the sides of the M5. The welcome from CWB was warmer than the weather and the interview was conducted by Mr. Booth. Looking back I can't remember saying much, or understanding anything he said. That though, it appears, is normal for a conversation involving Mr. Booth!\n<\/p>\n

\n\tA few weeks later an email confirming my place on the Spring, Cameroon 2014 trip came through! I must have smiled and nodded at interview in all the right places?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tUnfortunately the seasons coaching did not go altogether to plan. Whilst results were good and the team reached a quarter final and a semi final, issues with individual behaviours, and a lack of club support in dealing with issues (KP-esque at u13's?), I quit.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tCWB has therefore become more than just a mid-life crisis to a far away land. This trip for me will hopefully re-ignite my passion for coaching, bring the smiles back to coaching, provide smiles for the participants and provide friendships for life. There is also a small part of me that wants to enjoy the trip so much that I do it again, and in future with my son too!\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWith the fundraising just about there, and the visa stamped (thanks David), we're good to go. I have not placed too much energy on wondering what to expect beyond the CWB messages and coaching as I'm looking forward to discovering Cameroon for myself, making friends and enjoying the whole experience.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tStarting with a 4:45am bus ride from Bristol this Saturday!\n<\/p>\n

\n\thttp:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/mangotwm<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThom, aged 44, Downend, near Bristol<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In five days I will meet up at Heathrow with seven others, two of whom I've never met, and board a plane bound ultimately for Cameroon, sometimes referred to as "the armpit of Africa" apparently! Of the eight travellers, I am a complete novice. Many have been to Africa before, a few previously to Cameroon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/96"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/cameroon14\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}