Letter from the Rectory - June 2025

Dear Friends,

As we get older, opportunities narrow and increasingly there are things that we can no longer do.  It’s always encouraging to hear the stories of those who buck the trend; and for some of us, the recent spell of glorious mid-May weather conjures up images of the crack of leather on willow.

Sally Barton made her international debut in Gibraltar’s second T20 team against Estonia at the age of almost 67, making her the oldest debutant in international cricket. Since lockdown, wicket-keeper Sally has been living on ‘The Rock’ where her husband Ian Tarrant is the Anglican Dean.  Previously they’d been missionaries with CMS (Church Mission Society) and spent 10 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Sally enjoys Gibraltar because “we can see Africa out of our apartment window … and remember our time there … which was brilliant.”

The Gibraltar team won a three-match series against Estonia in what was the first time the British Overseas Territory had played a woman’s T20 international.  Sally told the BBC, “The words ‘too old’ just aren’t in my vocabulary. I never thought I would play international cricket in my sixties, but it goes to show that you shouldn’t let anyone tell you it is time to stop playing sport. I might not be as fast as I used to be, but my endurance and everything is still there. My overriding memory of my debut, though, is the efforts of my team-mates to get that win.”  The grandmother of three said she caught the bug from her cricket-mad Yorkshire-born Dad.  His “idea of heaven was going to the West Indies, watching the MCC on tour with a glass of rum in his hand.”

A recent newspaper headline pronounced, ’70 is the new 50 … so keep on working.’  According to the International Monetary Fund, those aged 70 in 2022 had the same cognitive function as the average 53-year-old in 2000.  The  research was based on detailed surveys of over one million people aged 50 and over in 41 countries, testing functions such as memory, orientation and basic maths.  As well as living longer, most people are ageing in better health, the report added: encouragement for those of us who’ve passed this milestone. 

For the Christian, the challenge is not just to keep going, but to stay focused on our Gospel priorities.  In Matthew 24:13 Jesus said, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved". 

James Campbell