A quick snow flurry seemed to have only minor impact on our November 2023 meeting, which included our now celebrated AGM – famed that is for its brevity.
Our chairman offered due thanks to Maggie, Ian and Brian for their work, and all the officers were re-elected unopposed.
Maggie outlined our past and future speakers before Brian commented on the accounts, which covered a three-year period from October 2020 to September 2023.
We made a small profit over this period and our finances are strong.
After falling from a high of c.100 in March 2020, our numbers are growing steadily, with a warm welcome extended to many recent new members.
Our successful raffle makes a vital contribution, while our first all-pay summer special, with Barry Richards, raised our profile and paid for itself.
Then we were into the meat of the evening with author and historian Jeremy Lonsdale.
Although resident in Maidstone, Jeremy is a Hornsea lad by birth and had visited Beverley Town before, playing for Hornsea Seconds.
He began writing to find out how a game as strange as cricket ever got started, then went on from there.
Jeremy introduced four of his five books on cricket in Yorkshire.
A Game Taken Seriously centres on the Victorian era, highlighting the role of newspapers and railways in developing Yorkshire's cricketing power and the modern game.
A Game Emerging takes the story back to the eighteenth century and the local roots of a game that was originally more of a southern pastime.
Reference to the auction of a 250-year-old cricket bat found in Ripon was fascinating. This book also shows that cricket – then focused mainly on betting – was a year-round game in the 1820s.
A Game Sustained covers the period around the First World War and the dilemmas involved in playing sport in a time of national trauma.
Finally, A Game Divided examines the all-conquering but unpopular Yorkshire side of the 1920s, which fielded 10 professionals and an amateur captain at a time of change in cricket's class divide.
It says much for my own knowledge – or rather lack of – that I was aware of some of the consequences of this distinction (for example, the different naming conventions on the scorecard) but not that amateurs and professionals used separate dressing rooms and entrances to the pitch.
Harking back to the role of newspapers, this was also the time when photos started to appear of players, making some of them off-field 'celebs'.
After the raffle raised £113 – for which thanks to everyone who contributed – Jeremy touched on his latest book, No Picnic: the Historic First MCC Tour of India and Ceylon 1926/27.
This first official tour of the sub-continent was a gruelling affair – though grandiose off the field – which took some organising before and during the event.
From Jeremy's telling it was clear that several participants needed diplomatic as well as batting and bowling skills to handle the context of Empire and rising Indian nationalism.
Jeremy is also Deputy Editor of the quarterly County Cricket Matters, founded and edited by Anne Chave.
Published as a labour of love, the magazine covers cricket of all kinds and has now reached Issue No. 17.
You can subscribe via the website for £15 a year and also purchase back issues.
After an interesting, diverse and entertaining talk, Simon Foster gave the vote of thanks.
As your reporter may I wish everybody a Happy Christmas and a Good New Year.
Cathy Rennison