Gareth Clennell is back in cockfield for a couple of weeks before he jets back to Australia. Looking fit and healthy, (but with a strange mark on his left cheek) I had a chat with him in the Middle House.

Gareth set off to Australia last January, taking in Thailand and New Zealand on the way. A couple of lads went with him including Paul Kipling and Nick Collingwood, on a year long working holiday. Garath and Nick love it that much they are staying out there for some time yet.

“What happened to your cheek?” I asked him. With a grin on his face, this was his explanation !

“Over the last year I’ve been up to all sorts” He began.

“I’ve snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef, parachuted from a plane at 14,000 feet, been chased by a kangaroo and woken up to find a massive Red Back spider crawling up my chest. All without the slightest bit of bother!”

Graham (Grampus) Lamb interrupted at this point. “Been cased by a kangaroo ? Got the clap off it more like !”

“Anyway” says Gareth. “I’d been back in Cockfield for two days and me and Ben Parnaby were getting ready to go out, Ben was ironing a shirt and thought it would be funny to ‘brand’ me with the iron. I don’t think he meant to make contact, (I do!) but that’s how I got the mark !”

Like Grampus says “Cockfield youngan, Its an OPEN AIR ASYLEM !

Grampus reminded me of the long gone Bill Gypp.

“What a character he was” began Graham.

“Someone once asked him a maths question at a quiz.”

“If you had 12s and six in one of your trouser pockets and 10s and six in the other pocket, what would you have?”

“Some bugger else’s trousers on !” came Bills reply