My office at Abbotsford Convent was renovated the other day and I uncovered the first piece of writing I ever had published in a book. It’s called ‘Believing in the Impossible’ and it’s still my favourite read-out-loud thing I’ve done, just because the swearing in it is very fun.Sadly, the main protagonist, Shaun Dockery suffered a brain injury in a car accident in the 1990s. His glistening muscles and terrifying black mouthguard will never leave me.

The book was a collection of anecdotes from 3/4 time coach’s addresses. Mine was Doc, the Hawthorn Under19s back pocket, being thrown the whiteboard by a frustrated Russell Greene.

But the best piece in the book is this one paragraph wonder by Martin Flanagan – ‘History in Reverse’. As it is no longer in print, I don’t think anybody will mind me posting it in full.