24/04/2020
Dear Touch Player
Please excuse the long message but I felt we all have a bit of time on our hands 😊 so I could take the liberty of being a bit liberal. If you feel it is too much reading, feel free to skip to the last bits of the “essay” for the main part of the message minus the philosophical side!
It’s been just under 6 weeks since our last official communication and suspension of all leagues. Hard to believe the time has passed so quickly (although at times in this lockdown, it certainly hasn’t felt so quick). It was always our goal to complete the Summer league before Ramadan and that time is upon us, however the league isn’t complete ☹
I think whilst we initially called for a 2-week suspension for the leagues, we may have realised it would be longer, however not many of us could have foreseen the way this whole situation has played out.
Whilst during this time, we have sometimes selfishly slated the situation and criticised and hurled abuse at anyone who we could find to release our frustrations on (many a referee are very happy there is no league on at the moment 😉), the reality is there is absolutely nothing we can do…
As with most of the people I have spoken to via WhatsApp/skype/zoom/telegram/Facebook/Instagram and every other social media tool out there, emotions come in waves; positively and negatively and it seems the only way to get a grip of things; Is to breath really deeply and accept that we have no control outside of our little enclaves, we can only control the controlables! Another reality is that many are far worse off than ourselves and we need to be sensitive to this and try wherever and whatever we can, to assist them…
We have been playing with some ideas as to involving some sort of charity/donation/challenge but as yet have not come up with something unique enough to inspire people to contribute! We are therefor encouraging you all in the meantime to search through the number of welfare organisations online and give whatever you can to be able to try and effect some sort of change in the people’s lives who are most affected!
Having spoken to a number of you directly, we know how much you are missing not being able to be on the field. The opportunity to run in open spaces and let your bodies and minds just breathe in that freedom or enjoy that competitive spirit with friends and opponents… We are missing it unbelievably!!!
At this stage, we have no indication as to what or how things are going to turn out in the short, medium and long term, and making any sorts of plans (trust me, we come up with a new one every 2/3 days around finishing the Summer season, starting Winter, having shortened Summer and Winter with doubling up game nights etc…), is not only a waste of time but often highly de-motivating! We have therefore decided to be as positive as we can and just believe that when things eventually start to happen, we will implement the best plans at that time!
Many people have sent us some amazing Touch Footage over the past few weeks including old clips dating as far back as 2003. To fill up some time, we will be posting a few of these and some other touch content in order to keep us all a little reminiscent and together in these tough times! If you have any clips, please feel free to send them through to [email protected] or 0824923683 and we will add them to our social media content!
Wishing all our Muslim players, coaches and supporters all the blessings of the holy month and a Ramadan Mubarak. Have a good weekend ahead! Stay safe!
Regards
Grahame, Niel and Andrew
