For the love of the Game – Woolridge Travel Video duration – 6.26 minutes A conversation with the Hon. CV “Jim” Woolridge Travel Video Bermuda’s “Voice of Summer” Most fortunate man in the world. You know, I’m a very fortunate fellow, actually. I came from humble beginnings. My father’s mother died when he was five. My (not clear)died when he was five years. Raised ten of us, gave us the world - go out there and get it. But I did a number of other things. I was a bulldozer operator. I drove a truck. I was a waiter. I was a bartender and of course, in 1968, I became a Member of Parliament. I was a Member of Parliament for 33 years and during that period I was the Minister for Tourism for 14 years, Minister for Labor and Immigration 7 years, Minister for Works and Engineering 3 years and the deputy premier for four years. So I had a very exciting and illustrious career. The joy of living… Love every bit of it. You know, I’ve said many times; anyone that didn’t grow up with the benefit of a big family missed the joy of living. And, you know, my father was an unbelievable man. He used to tell us, we guys, we’d want to get out and play cricket in the evening, “if you’re not here by 6.30, you won’t eat”. Literally he didn’t mean it but what he did insist that we all sit down at the table, because that’s where he had his form. And it wasn’t uncommon, 9.30 – 10 o clock at night and we’re still sitting there and meanwhile, if some music came on the radio, he was the first up to dance with one of my sisters. He was a marvelous man. The influence of the British Commonwealth I do. I grew up with it and during that period it wasn’t forced upon me. It’s just that I admire all the great qualities. The quality of service, the dress... I mean, I I I don’t have all my shorts today. This is what we inherited from them, which was our standard dress – our long Bermuda socks and shorts and we adopted that from the regiment, from the navy when they came here. There are some very noble – you might say, habits and whatever that be adopted from them and I enjoyed every bit of it. Discipline is the thing; it starts the day your born and stops the day you die and we grew up under that type of a thing. The effects of tourism Tourism was our main source of revenue. So everybody who came here was a potential visitor, you know. I mean, the years I was there, 1980 was my best year ever for the island. And there is 650,000 visitors came - what did that give to us? Gave us one of the highest standards of living in the world, one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and when you consider that we don’t have sufficient soil to feed ourselves for three months, it says volumes, it says volumes. Going to London to visit the Queen.  Yes, in fact I have photographs of me with her. I met her several times and I went to Buckingham Palace five years ago where I received my CBE. I am a Commander of the Saxon order of the British Empire, yeah, for my services to tourism and to the country in general I guess. But then, when I went to Buckingham Palace, I took my three granddaughters. I took them because I wanted them growing up knowing what the British government and what the British Commonwealth stood for. And I’ll tell you, if you ever get the opportunity, when they knight you, don’t let them send it by a bus boy. Go to Buckingham Palace yourself. Because it is the most fabulous experience that you’d want, that you’d ever want to meet. The voice of summer  Well. That title was given to me some years ago by a Royal Gazette reporter. Well this is my forty year-fifth year of broadcasting cricket to the people of this island. I’ve enjoyed every bit of and you know, interesting enough, during that period, when I first became a member of the Cabinet, there was one other cabinet minister that said to me “Now that you’re a minister in the government, I hope you’re not going to be doing those ridiculous cricket commentaries.” Well, I said “I beg to differ.” I said that “I believe there are a lot of seniors out there who have helped to give us a good life through their contribution and sacrifice and they deserve to have this brought into their homes, the sick and those shut in their hospitals but your point is well taken” And I had the benefit of talking to my good friend, Lord Martomayor who was a great governor , a wonderful man and he was a keen sportsman and I said, “ Lord Martomayor, you, on the advice of the premier, appointed me to my high office and I wouldn’t want to do anything to detract from it. But I’ve been told that I should not be continuing with my cricket commentaries. He said, “Jim, had you not started, it’d be a mistake to start. But the fact that you do it, it’d be a mistake to stop. I and who I jolly well listen to…