With 15 Test caps for England, 817 first class wickets and another 192 victims in one day cricket, former pace bowler John Price always had plenty of bounce and he’s continuing to enjoy life to the full since his move to Churchill’s Chiltern Lodge in Princes Risborough.
During his peak playing days John is described as a “solidly-built right-arm fast bowler with a distinctive angled approach to the wicket and an exceptionally long run-up”. He looks back fondly on his tours to India and South Africa with England in the 1960s and his many appearances for Middlesex at Lord’s.
Now aged 85, John still enjoys the occasional visit to Lord’s to see the England and Middlesex teams in action. Most weekends however, John and a couple of fellow residents will be found watching club cricket on one of many pretty local grounds. “I prefer Test matches to the newer shorter formats,” he says. “We’ve been winning Test matches in tremendous style recently although our limited overs teams are doing less well.”
John recently made the decision to downsize from his 5 bedroom family home, where he’d lived for nearly 50 years, to a more manageable retirement living apartment. Also he and his wife, Margaret, can spend more time with a daughter and family who live nearby.
“I’m enjoying it very much,” he says. “The Chilterns are very much on our doorstep, we’re close to an attractive high street with everything we need and my wife enjoys the social side of living here. We meet up with our new neighbours most afternoons in the Owners’ Lounge or in the garden when the weather’s good.”
John’s impressive sporting career may set him apart from the other owners at Chiltern Lodge, but you wouldn’t know it to meet him. As part of the warm and friendly community he fits in ‘seamlessly’.