Saying goodbye to the Outwell Swifts

It was with the utmost saddness that today I made the decision to quit my beloved Outwell Swifts FC. I joined the Swifts shortly after moving to Norfolk from London last year, enjoyed a difficult 2010/11 season and now leave them after a tough start to this season.

I discovered the Swifts after interviewing the then chairman of Wisbech Town FC Paul Brenchley, who is also the Swifts manager. After explaining I had just moved to the area, was looking for a new football team and that I was in the Wisbech area, he snapped me up for the Swifts and the rest, as they say, was history.

There were plenty of highlights for me throughout the 2010/11 season like captaining the side on the final game of the season away at Debden, beating Ely City "A" away in a hard-fought game to keep our relegation hopes alive and scoring in our 2-2 draw away at Fulbourn Institute after coming from 2-0 down.

There were a few low moments too like the opening day defeat at the hands of local rivals Wisbech St Mary, losing 8-0 away at Longstanton and losing 5-0 away at Saffron Crocus.

But the lasting memory I will have of my short Swifts career was when, after so many of our games had been called off because of frozen pitches, we went training in sub-zero temperatures just before Christmas and it was decided it would be a good idea to do it in our boxers. It was perfect for team morale and we started the New Year in higher spirits.  Click here to see how one newspaper reported this mad training session.

For me, joining the Swifts was one of the best decisions I have ever made because it helped me settle in Norfolk and make new friends in an area which is very different to the one I grew up in.

I have explained my various reasons for leaving the Swifts to the gaffer and the core of first team players. I hope they do understand that I am gutted to be leaving and that I wish I could be back in the side helping them out of their current situation. I can't thank them enough for welcoming me into their team and I will be keeping an eye on their fixtures every week and their latest news on Twitter (@OutwellSwiftsFC)

Unexpected delivery is the perfect way to kick off the working week

It's not very often that I get post at work so I was already excited when I saw a large envelope sat on my desk on my arrival this morning. But I was over-the-moon when I opened it and a certificate (pictured below) and a cheque for £2,550 for the Bobby Moore Fund fell out of the envelope.

The certificate and cheque were from my employer's charity matched funding scheme (Archant Gold) after I raised more than £4,000 to take part in the Bobby Moore Fund's Project Namibia. I had applied for matched funding shortly after I arrived back at work following the 10-day project in June and completely forgotten about it until today!

I am delighted that those on the committee decided to match the amount I raised which went directly to the charity and I cannot wait to tell founder Stephanie Moore and the rest of the Bobby Moore Fund team about this because I know they will be very pleased.