On Sunday 10th July, I am hosting a charity cricket fixture at the Islip Sports Field (Toll Bar Road, Islip, NN14 3LH), involving a House of Commons XI vs a local side, starting at 11am. Hopefully, it will be a sunny afternoon, rain clouds will be nowhere to be seen, and our community will come together to support the fixture and maybe even cheer on the MPs - well, we can but hope!
The fixture is being held to showcase the brilliant Islip Sports Field and its fantastic pavilion - a wonderful local facility that provides tonnes of sporting opportunities for people of all ages, plus so much more. It really is an impressive community hub, in a stunning setting, here in rural East Northamptonshire.
We are also going to be raising funds for the superb Mintridge Foundation - a local Corby & East Northamptonshire charity that provide taster sessions for many sports in schools across the country, all led by household name sports stars we have seen on our television screens. The sessions are inspirational, as I have regularly seen for myself - they instil the right values in the young people involved, hopefully get them hooked on sport for life, build teamworking skills and encourage healthy lifestyles.
So in that spirit, alongside the match, Mintridge will be laying on various taster sessions for local youngsters throughout the day to try new sports and hone their skills, all facilitated by leading sports stars. To book places for these sessions for the young people in your life, which will include Fil Kamps (Deaflympic Footballer) and Laura Sugar MBE (Paralympic Gold Medallist in Para Canoe & Paralympic 100m and 200m Sprinter, Athletics), please go to: https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/MintridgeSportsDay.
We will also have a BBQ on the go and drinks and ice creams available throughout the day and are keen to really ensure that this is a truly community event. We would love to see you there, even if only for an hour, for what should be a fun afternoon of summer sport and all for a good cause - all are welcome and any help you can provide in spreading the word further would be hugely appreciated too!