Last week saw the annual Jacob Bailey / National Express softball match get into full swing (pun intended). It’s not so much a versus battle as a friendly game in the park with mixed teams, a fully-loaded picnic hamper and lashings of cold beer!
Well, I say friendly…
It always starts out that way, but then the competitive natures of certain people (you know who you are) start to take over and it becomes something akin to Game 7 of the World Series!
Particular highlights were… My first touch of the ball, catching out Shaun, our venerable leader (probably not my smartest career move)… A feat completely undone a few innings later when I attempted (and completely fumbled) an ill-advised one-handed catch, not once but twice, much to the chagrin of my teammates! Our Studio Manager Pete summed it up best, “The first one was ambitious, the second was just cocky.”
There were also a couple of meaty bodychecks that are worth mentioning. Firstly, Colin on Shaun as he raced towards home base having just hit the first home run of the evening, then by far the most acrobatic (or should it be aerobatic!), Mark our FD on Mark (affectionately known as little Mark) our Senior Designer. The Superman tagline springs to mind… “You’ll believe a man can fly!”
I’m sure both were completely accidental. Ahem.
So after three hard-fought innings, not to mention a bit of creative scoring, the match was tied at 19 points each. It might not have been the “actual” score, but the general consensus was that it was the “right” score and time to adjourn proceedings to the nearest pub. The ice bricks in the coolbox had melted by then and warm beer simply isn’t cricket… or softball come to that.
But not before a testosterone-fuelled wager… The innocent phrase “‘ere Will, I bet that branch won’t hold your weight for 10 chin-ups” sparked a competition amongst the alphas the like of which has seldom been seen in Christchurch Park!
Anyway, it was a great opportunity to bring together friends, family and former colleagues for a bit of fun in the sun – the Great British weather actually smiled on us despite the forecast – so we’re all looking forward to a more decisive encounter next year.
I’m definitely going to get in some catching practice between now and then!
