Mike's memories - Mum and cricket

My mother was greatly influenced by Victorian standards and morals and it was these virtues that were drilled into me from an early age. As part of this regime I was taught and had to learn by heart Kipling’s “If” and another poem that she told me her father had written. He had died when I was about six so I never really had the opportunity to ask him, as I remember him he was a pretty insular type anyway. I have no idea if it had a title but here it is my mother’s mantra for raising her boy.

Life is a test, give of your best,

Fight with your back to the wall,

Never say die, laugh and don’t cry,

Get up again if you fall,

Help where you can woman or man,

Stranger, lame dog or friend

Don’t stop to whine, never repine,

The longest lane turns in the end,

Hang on to that, keep a straight bat,

Grin if you’re bowled all the same,

Smile and stick it, remember it’s cricket,

Whatever you do play the game.

For my American readers cricket is an English game played with eleven a side, a bat and a ball over five days, vaguely like base ball but much, much longer!