Fred Raffle - Glamorgan's Accidental Fan

Tell us what you think of this episodeIn this episode we talk to Glamorgan and England cricket supporter Fred Raffle.  He decided to follow Glamorgan at boarding school as another boy suggested he do so.  Not only did he go on to follow his favourite county to all the major county grounds as well as some of the out grounds, he has also followed the England cricket team on over 30 foreign tours.Such devotion and commitment would be surprising enough but when you learn that Fred has been blind since birth, his exploits demonstrate a strong willed and confident man whose love of the game of cricket has found him many friends and given him some wonderful experiences.Fred talks openly about his early childhood when the extent of his sight problems were finally diagnosed.  His quiet determination and intelligence won him a scholarship to a school for blind and partially sighted boys in Worcester.  There, his love of cricket flourished and, along with all the other boys, he adopted a first class county to follow.  He chose Glamorgan by accident, the suggestion coming from another boy at the school.  He talks about his boyhood hero Don Shepherd and his developing love of the game.After succesful careers in teaching he bumped into the Glamorgan team again, almost by accident and met Don who was accompanying the team as part of the BBC commentary team.  From here, Fred's zeal for following the Daffodil County grew.  He was also introduced to foreign travel watching the England cricket team.  He explains how this came about as well as the time he spent in the commentary box with both the TMS Team and the Sky Broadcasting team.Now in his 80s,  Fred looks back at the amazing experiences he has had and gives thanks to those that have welcomed him along the way.  He has nothing but praise for the game of cricket and all the experiences it has given him.