Such Fun! NEWPORT 2010
Article by Charlie Wood
When I arrived this year at Ham as a club coach, the Chairman mentioned something about keeping me in mind for going to Newport at the end of the season. I completely forgot about it until a couple of weeks before and suddenly we were off.
So the three youths of the team, Ben de Rivaz, Benjie Davis and I set off on a chilly September morning. We had been briefed about the potential antics we may be involved in by Annie prior to leaving, but ultimately I think we had no idea.
We were picked up from Boston International by our host, William Crisp, an ex-pat, ex-polo player and dear friend of Annie and Nicholas, who found his happy place in Newport, and we could very quickly see why. That night we met William’s wife Lowie and we got to meet a few of the other players from the club at the famous Zelda Café, although I believe I fell asleep at the dinner table and being the so called ‘Nipper’ of the team I could get away with it.
Day 1 Thursday We got to watch some quality American TV, which was quite a novelty for Benjie and I as we hadn’t been to the States before. What else would one want to do in a day? Well de Rivaz went surfing with the notorious JK, Benjie and I did a WALMART trip and then we all met up for a fantastic lunch at a private beach club.
Evening chukkas were then on the menu so we could get a run in before Saturday’s big match. I think everyone had the same idea as us and so we all missed the ball a lot. Well it was a good excuse for playing badly when we said after, “Oh no, we were just pretending so they would take us lightly at the match.”
That evening the Crisps hosted a BBQ at their lovely house for all the players and families, which was fantastic. It was at that point that the ‘6 day bender’ was to begin.
Annie and the Chairman arrived that evening and after dinner ushered us off to into downtown
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Newport where we were to find a place at the ‘Boom Boom Room’ with a Hen Party going on, which wasn’t your typical dancing night out but we did our best to blend in. ‘Eagle’ Jim Garner got us strongly on a local favourite beverage called ‘Dark and Stormys’ and we even got the notorious Dan Keating dancing, which we were told was quite rare. On the way home we decided to go off-roading through a few small parks to get a good look at the urban deer population. Such fun.
Day 2 Friday We were then faced with the threat of a huge Hurricane (Earl) coming toward the East Coast and everyone started panicking and taking billions of dollars worth of yachts out of the harbour.
The Chairman proposed a shopping trip as it was raining properly so Benjie, Ben (now known as Dick Rivaz) and I thought this was a good idea. Unfortunately the Sat Nav didn’t take us the quickest route there, so more time was spent in the car than shopping. If you are one of those people who goes to parties in any coloured trousers except black or beige, then this outlet shopping complex is for you. Benjie and Ben, much to my disgust, were interested in the brightest coloured pairs of trousers on the market which I really couldn’t understand, but at the end of the day we are from different sides of the world!
Ben de Rivaz also seemed to be
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