Tomorrow, Friday, at 12.30pm in Aldborough Church we say farewell to Ron Dobbie. This short note is meant as a personal ‘thank you’ to him, not just for what he has done for Aldborough Cricket Club, but for the game as a whole.

I was asked earlier in the week to put something on the website to announce  Ron’s passing away. I admit I should have done it sooner. Equally, I know it would have been nice to have recorded some facts about the man but, to be honest, there are plenty of others who knew him for a great deal longer, are therefore far better qualified, and can (and will) do it better. However, I am fully aware that, had it been in Ron’s hands, he would have made sure this happened properly and on time, although I am not sure his own blogging skills were quite up to it!

However, and inevitably on occasions such as this, one’s thoughts do take over and it got me thinking, not only about Ron’s impact on our game, but what his involvement means to us. In a reflective moment, I thought back to the village club in Kent where I grew up. A club with a history to compete with that of Aldborough. The village was smaller than Aldborough, and even combined with the neighbouring hamlet it couldn’t match the population. And yet, with few exceptions, everybody in the team could claim a long standing connection with their home club. Quite something given that our nearest competitor was only two miles away, and the next only three - each of them being able to make the same claim. Loyalties were so strong that, whilst the occasional sharing of players was accepted, transfers were rare. League cricket was shunned, yet the standard was good and friendlies were (usually) friendly.

But times change. People move on - myself included. Others move in to take their place- more often than not with little interest or time to indulge in the game. In such a small community, with a population increasingly mobile, and the village no longer able to support a pub or the post office, the club sadly folded some ten years ago.

I know Aldborough Cricket Club has had its own ups and downs over the years. So what is the difference between that fine line between survival and failure? Well, in my view it is continuity: the continuity that is provided by those who persevere. In particular, those people who continue in the background doing those jobs that few really ever notice, until the time when they don’t get done. Ron as secretary, treasurer, groundsman and player for how ever many years it was did just that. His continuity and devotion to the Club and the game were the backbone that have kept this small community club thriving and provided us with the inspiration and drive to keep the Club moving forward. These days we all have our lives to live and personal and professional commitments to fulfill, and I can’t see anybody ever filling the role Ron did in the way he did. But we will do well to remember what - and how - Ron did things, and continue to support each other as we do by doing our bit when we can, to ensure the long term health of our Club.

His legacy is one that should live with us for many years, and be passed on to future generations of cricketers on Aldborough Green.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 10:54 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.