Book of Remembrance

 
Photos 
·by Luke 
·by Al  
·Lurkers 
·more Lurkers 
·Nationals 99 
·Team Shirts 
·Trent Park 
·Parkers Piece 
·Strange Blue 1 
·Girton 
·James's Spirit Trophy 
 
Memories 
·from John 
·Olivier 
·David M 
·Andy 
·Ian 
·Chris M 
·Matt R 
·Phil 
·Tom 
·Dave McN 
·Mike 
·Mike F | Rik 
·Adrian 
·Alice 
·Tina | Mike J 
·Lucy 
·Kevin 
·Sander 
·Graham 
·Natalie 
·Simon | Stef 
·Luke 
·Paul 
·David & Van 
·Ico | Steve 
·Dora 
·Chris Mosier 
·Leigh | Toby 
·Al | Roger | Miles  
·Patch | Ken+Maria 
·Peter 
·Teri 
·Michel 
·Arfon 
·Hayley 
·Jason « 
·Daniel 
·JD 
·Ken M 
·Chris Palmer 
·Tournaments 
·Trish 
·Sonja 
·Parade 
·Katherine 
·Rohan 
·Paul Blacketer 
·Alex King 
 
·Why? 
 
Funeral 
 
·copyright (c) 

From Jason Mattingley

I never really knew James, but I will always remember him. When I look back at our team photo from 1994, he's sitting right in the centre with a huge grin on his face. Typical.

I was an occasional member of Strange Blue during my time as a post-doc in Cambridge (1994 -1997). James was only 13 years old when I joined, and I remember being amazed that he fitted right in with us grown-ups. In fact I envied him. Everyone talked to James like he was an old friend.

I was new to Ultimate, and never really developed an aptitude for it. I remember attending the Nationals in 1994 as a member of Strange Blue. I suspect my inclusion in the side was more a gesture of sympathy than a genuine desire to have me on the team. I remember it was incredibly cold and windy that day, and I couldn't feel my fingertips. I dropped every pass that came my way. I missed the easiest of interceptions. My incompetence made be feel very conspicuous. James was a star.

Right at the end of the final game of the tournament, and with the scores level, I found myself with the frisbee. It seemed like every player on the field was in the endzone - us trying to score and them defending. I waited an eternity for someone to pass to. Eventually I just tossed the disk toward a pack of players. It wobbled widly in the wind, before diving sharply at the ground. A skinny arm flicked out of nowhere and made the catch. It was James. I don't know whether he saw the frisbee or just divined its presence. Either way, he scored the winning point. I was so elated I ran over and gave him an enormous hug. It felt like a natural thing to do - he was just a boy after all.

Jason Mattingley.


Site last modified Tue Jun 17 09:00:36 BST 2008