he humorous humble wordsmith

Despite his quiet demeanour, he has a knack for telling jokes, which invariably end in peals of laughter from his amused audience. As a seasoned Scrabbler boasting a playing activity spanning over thirty years, he obviously has a way with words. 

This, in a nutshell, is Alfred Xuereb (shown in photo), a man who loves playing with words and who has just won the title of Sportperson of the Year 2016. 

While some of his fellow Club members wear their heart on their sleeves when the going gets tough during play, Alfred's statement at the moment of the presentation of the award that he "grumbles in his heart" was a revelation to all those who have never heard a whimper of frustration from him in all these years.

This does not mean that he suppresses the frustration but that this is so softened by the gentleness of his heart as to lose all its force before it can be externalised. A great lesson from a true master of sportsmanship!

(penned and published by Nicky Vella Laurenti)