TEST OF CHARACTER, the story of the life of Barbadian-born former county cricket professional and international cricket umpire John Holder, had its local launch on Thursday night at the Fontabelle headquarters of Cricket Legends of Barbados before an audience that included family members, childhood friends along with a cross-section of the local cricketing fraternity.
The book, written by Andrew Murtagh, which had been initially launched at the Barbados High Commission in London on July 13 this year, traces the triumphs and trials of a Barbadian “country boy” who, like thousands of his vintage, embarked on a journey to the “Mother Country” where the prospects of a “better life” beckoned.
The ceremony, organised by Beverley and Erica Hinkson of Chattel House Books, a local company that specialises in promoting works of local, regional and international Caribbean authors, featured the reading of excerpts from the book by master of ceremonies Michael King, former ambassador of Barbados to the United States.
King, in his opening remarks, described the book as “a wonderful journey, from that aptly-named place in St George called Superlative, through St Jude’s, Combermere School, to his first job with London Transport, to Hampshire, to the north of England then back to London, and also as an international cricket umpire who was well respected but not always treated fairly in terms of the few internationals that he officiated across the globe”. (WH)
Please read the full story in today’s Saturday Sun, or in the eNATION edition.