Racket Boy

Do you marvel at people who seemingly have it all only to drop everything for life in a remote village? Have you wondered about leaving your roots for migration to the unknown?

‘Fit only for climbing coconut trees.’ The mockery invented by Philip’s father because he was badminton-mad and useless (said father) at all else, lingered with him through school in Malaysia. It travelled with him on an Aeroflot to England in 1970, aged 18, functioning on adrenaline. It stuck through his navigation of parochial middle England – washing backsides in a mental hospital, law practice, sports, and professional and personal relationships.

Toughened by an Indian father and a Chinese coach, lifted by a messiah-like Englishman and grounded by a Labrador soulmate, Racket Boy – Where’s My Country, explores Philip’s life over six decades. From being ordered by the British government to leave England, accosted in Bombay, mugged in Barcelona to horse-trading with a petro giant in Ecuador and thrilling in a World Cup in military-ruled Argentina, to list just a few. Philip is now a spectator in the hills of Tuscany, more than just fit to be climbing coconut trees!