Last Updated on: 28th January 2022, 05:24 pm
“The story starts in June 2011, the setting Havana Night Club, Luke having drunk his fill in Coors Light and double Vodka Lemonade with a little bit of lime in. He took to the dance floor with his highlighted blonde hair and salmon jumper to show off some of his very average moves. Whilst shuffling about he caught the eye of an of an extremely attractive women in her late 20’s/early 30’s. He shuffled over to the young lady.
Now what was said to this day we are not sure, not because we have forgot but because Luke struggles to talk when he is sober. But whatever was said she obviously liked it as they proceeded to eat each others faces off and swap numbers. She left with her friends and Luke decided to message a group of use at 3.30am that he had met a girl called Lisa (name changed ) and was in luv… Having exchanged messages over the coming days they decided to meet again, this time within a more social situation where they were able to commutate without any old school garage in the background. Over a few drinks Luke and Lisa shared stories and life experiences. Luke being the well travel man that he is was a bit stumped after telling her that he was a recruitment agent, lived at home with his mother and was a Tottenham season ticket holder since the age of 5.
Either way Lisa ate it up and proceeded to inform him that she was a teacher at a local school and was in the process of a divorce. This was of no consequence to Luke who was so besotted with Lisa that he would have followed her across the world!! Over the following weeks and months Luke and Lisa met a number of times in what can only be described as libidinous encounters. Two that string to mind was the night I was asked to book a hotel room in St Albans and the ‘only’ one that I could fine was the honeymoon suite within the Quality Inn on Holywell Hill and Luke’s young cousin turning up unannounced one morning in Abbotts Langley to find Luke still in bed, not alone and with his form tutor. In September Luke received some devastating news from Lisa, her divorce papers had come through and she felt that she couldn’t stay in the area any longer. Luke was a bit disheartened that Lisa left this was but could understand that St Albans is a bit incestuous and with all that had gone on she needed a fresh start. But he was completely devastated when Lisa said that she was moving to Singapore to teach. They met each other a few more times before Lisa departed on her new adventure but from the breaking of her imminent departure things just seemed to lay low.
The evitable happened and Lisa said good bye to Luke and boarded that plane and had left England for good. A few messages were exchanged and a couple of FaceTime conversation were had. This exchange culminated in one drunken FaceTime conversation in early October, in which Lisa being the nice girl she is suggested that it would be nice if Luke came out to see her sometime. I personally think this is one of those empty points that people sometime say from one to another. Luke whether it was his intoxicated state or just letting his heart lead his head (maybe it wasn’t this organ which was leading the thought process). He took Lisa up on her offer immediately and proceed to book a ticket to Singapore leaving later that month. I’m not sure that Luke really recalled much of this conversation but come the morning one thing he did notice was a confirmation email from Virgin and flight details on his forth coming trip. Well you can only imagine our response when he told us that he was off on his travel to see Lisa. But I don’t think anyone was as surprised as Lisa who would be accommodating Luke for his week long trip.
I think we laughed pretty much until he got on the plane and we realised that he was serious. We then proceed to laugh harder when he sent us a picture of the menu that he would be eating on the flight which hadn’t been translated into English. So, he arrived in Singapore to be greeted by his former flame. Having never been to Asia and having never been since… Luke took in the local culture in the only way he can and got obscenely drunk at the local beach didn’t put any sun cream on his fair skin and burnt badly! This was first 24hrs of Luke being within Singapore so as the start of a trip goes, not off to a great one. Added to Luke’s hungover sunburnt state was that Lisa had also met someone else out in Singapore and had been on a few dates! OUCH!! Worse still she was going on a weekend break with this other guy whilst Luke was there. Sunburnt, hungover and heartbroken Luke sat and looked out the window of Lisa’s apartment complimenting over a delivered McDonalds. Which to this day is the only positive thing that he took away from his visit to the culturally rich nation.
There was only one thing for it. Now some argue that this was a rather rash decision but they clearly have forgot that this was the decision made by a man who travelled 6,800 miles on a drunken suggestion. He was changing his flights and he was returning early. A number of us woke to the message “Coming Home Lads”, there is still some mystery surround the creation of the group but I like to believe that Daler being so fond of creating a WhatsApp group made a new group including 8 of Luke’s closest friends on the 26th October 2011 entitling it ‘ComingHomeLAD’. In that moment the CHL was born. Following a number of poor form seasons last season we won the league and were promoted from the bottom division to the heights of Div 1.”
Martin Doyle – Chairman, secretary
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