Ciao!
This platform is dedicated to all things Racket Boy, covering my journeys as a sportsman, wanderer, lawyer, lover of taking things to the limit. The thought of working on my memoirs took shape as I was plodding towards my 69th birthday in 2021.
I’d settled down to a vibrant routine in a deeply inspiring medieval mountain village in Europe’s dream destination yet was feeling aimless. Something needed to be done for me to hit my seventh decade with characteristic pace and the Covid 19 lockdowns dangled the perfect lifeline. While watching a BBC Radio 4 discussion on the importance of maintaining positivity to avoid pandemic-induced negative effects, I experienced a major light-bulb moment – ‘Set a new goal … gives you focus and a sense of control’ was all the motivation I needed.
A phone call to a childhood friend in Malaysia landed me a co-writing partnership with a writer I straightaway knew had what it took to unlock my travails, triumphs and travels across Asia and the west, following the themes of migration and belonging through recognisable historical events.
Hours of frenetic FaceTime sessions between two continents; revisiting paths I’ve travelled through my childhood playgrounds in Malaysia; a trip to Thailand’s Death Railway; pitching Racket Boy at the Frankfurt International Book Fair 2022; doing a radio podcast in Lancaster … the making of Racket Boy has truly been a unique mission.
As we pull the curtain back, we want the reader to see more, understand more, and ‘get’ the stories most people don’t usually get or struggle to get.
We’d love this space to be a conversation between you and us.
Our Team Members
Mia was born in Lancaster in the UK and has always had a passion for filming and video editing ever since childhood, from making videos on Windows Movie Maker to stop motion animations on their iPad.
After graduating from university with a First-Class degree in Film and Television Production, Mia applied and completed Beyond Brontës, a screen diversity programme aiming to address the under representation within the screen industries. Mia has gone on to pursue an editing career doing various editing jobs for external clients, including directing, producing, filming and editing the independent artist Sweet Goose’s first music video for his song ‘Burn It To The Ground’ and doing sound editing for ‘Take My Sunshine Away’, a short film about postnatal depression.
The experience from both university and Beyond Brontës gave Mia extensive knowledge of practical elements, from being on set, and knowledge on current technology used in the film industry. Mia is creating ads and films relating to Racket Boy.
Mia
After graduating with a Bachelor of Communications (majoring in Digital Media) in Australia, Kransi began her career with a Public Relations internship in Brisbane, where she was trained in brand marketing and content creation (specifically for social media). This was also when she discovered she enjoyed the thrill of working in a fast-paced, creative industry. She then joined the not-for-profit Cure for Brain Cancer Foundation (CBCF), as a Marketing and Communications Coordinator. Although the work was similar (managing, coordinating and creating content), the work environment and style at the foundation were entirely different – calmer, with more room for mentorship.
She is currently working at her alma mater, the University of Queensland, as a Network Coordinator for a research network and a Seminar Coordinator to the Deputy Heads of School (Business).
Kransi believes that curating social media profiles is one of the ways she can exercise her creative flair. She’s collaborating with the team on creating the Racket Boy brand.
I was born in Barga, a small village in the province of Lucca (Tuscany) surrounded by spectacular nature. This close, constant contact with nature has nurtured my passion for mountains and free spaces.
It was against this backdrop that I met Philip years ago.
Our first meeting was during a casual job I undertook with the Bufferdalo adventure park in the village of San Romano in Garfagnana where Philip lives, and from that moment, it’s been plenty of sharing, mainly about the pleasure of living in the Garfagnana area.
After graduating in Economics at the University of Pisa, thanks to which I obtained a study period abroad, in southern Spain, I moved to Florence.
I’m currently working for a multinational company that provides banking back-office services, in particular anti-money laundering and banking investigations, which have enabled me to develop all-round knowledge in various fields such as legal, banking and IT.
The 2020 pandemic allowed my company to experiment with remote working, and I too decided to ride the wave of smart working and have since moved back close to my home area, in the small town of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.
New technologies and collaboration are what I’d like to contribute to the Racket Boy team.
‘Fit only for climbing coconut trees’
The indelible mockery invented by my father because I was badminton mad and useless (he said) at all else, stuck with me through school in Malaya. It travelled with me on an Aeroflot to England in 1970, aged 18 with 20 pounds in pocket functioning on adrenaline, dreaming of meeting John Lennon. It stuck through my navigation of parochial middle England – washing backsides in a mental hospital, law practice, sports, travels …
The game isn’t quite over. I’m now a spectator in the hills of Tuscany, more than just fit to be climbing coconut trees …