Excerpt from Issue 369 – Winter 2024
Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, or as his legions of fans know him, ‘Blowers’, is a name synonymous with cricket commentary. He’s the man who brought to life the BBC’s Test Match Special (TMS) with his charming tales, oddball observations, and descriptions of life off the field— whether that meant pigeons, buses, or the art of cake-eating. With his distinctive Old Etonian style, he became a national treasure, retiring from Test Match Special in 2017. But did he take a peaceful step into retirement? Absolutely not. Four months of quiet life in Menorca with his wife, Valeria, left him “bored out of my mind” so, naturally, he returned to the stage, doing 200 shows a year, writing books, and commentating at charity events. When we met, he had just returned from a literary lunch with fellow celebrity authors Bill Wyman and Pam Ayres. Boredom? That’s not in Blowers’ vocabulary.
Can we start with your surname? Is it true that your father knew Ian Fleming, and was the inspiration for his infamous Bond villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
“Well, it’s true they both went to Eton, but my father was five years older than Fleming, and they didn’t cross paths at school. But my father was friends with Ian’s older brother, Peter, who married actress Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter). It was at Peter’s house that Ian and my father met, and that’s how the ‘Blofeld’ name was borrowed for the book. When Thunderball was published in 1961, they exchanged letters, all in good spirits — those letters are now kept in the library at the house in Hoveton. During a visit to Fleming’s Jamaican home, Goldeneye, my father met Noël Coward who became a family friend and we saw him whenever he came to England.”
Your family home is in Hoveton, Norfolk, and so where did the Blofeld name originate?
“The ancestors of our family came over to Norfolk with the Vikings. The name originates in Hamburg in Germany, and then, in the 9th/10th Centuries, there was a big migration from Northern Germany to Scandinavia and some of the Blofelds migrated to Helsinki in Finland and then thumbed a lift with the Vikings to Overstrand in Norfolk. In the 1400s my ancestors moved from Overstrand and acquired land in Hoveton, and in 1680 Thomas Blofeld, Mayor of Norwich, built Hoveton House, where we still have a family estate today, run by my nephew. Valeria and I have our own medieval cottage at Hoveton where we spend our time when we are in the UK.”
How did you first discover Menorca?
“I first came here over 20 years ago when Nigel Bett, Secretary of the Sussex County Cricket Club, invited me to speak at the Menorca Cricket Club’s annual dinner. That’s when I met some wonderful people—like Andrew Manners and David Sheffield, the founders of Menorca MCC—and discovered the delightful cricket club. After I got together with Valeria in 2009, we visited Menorca many times. I get great fun out of watching the matches between the local sides and the visiting teams and I have become particularly close friends with Bill Johnson. Bill played for Durham and I enjoy his company so much as he can really ‘talk cricket’. When Valeria and I decided to leave London, Menorca felt like the obvious choice.”
How did you choose your house in Mahón?
“In February 2018, we arrived with a mission to find a house within five days! Valeria loves walking and beaches, but I rather selfishly wanted to live in the centre of Mahón. After several disappointing viewings we found this house on the last day. Valeria’s wish list was to have a sea view and a large outside patio and although it had neither of these things, it ticked most of our other boxes. With the help of architect Nando Pons and builder Robin Norton we knocked out walls and reorganised the house to suit our needs. We had great luck when we found the original tiles, hidden under 4 layers of flooring. We have a lift but we added a spiral staircase to the bedrooms, which also acts a library ladder.” (No house of Blowers would be complete without books.)
How much time do you spend on the island?
“We come for holidays, two weeks at a time, when we mainly spend time catching up with friends. We also come for two months over Christmas, which is never as quiet as people think! We always find an awful lot of things happening.
I no longer drive and here it is perfect as we have everything on our doorstep: fresh, local food in Mercat del Claustre and the fish market, excellent local restaurants, and a bus stop right outside the door for easy access to the rest of the island. My favourite place of all in Mahón is the courtyard at Jardi de Ses Bruixes. I never like to waste a fortune dining out, so we spend a lot of time at Maxi’s hamburger bar in Plaza Miranda, and we love Marianne and Vedran at La Perla. More recently we have been enjoying Es Seus, the new wine bar in Plaça del Príncep, which has excellent paninis.”
Oh, and let’s not forget the wine. You once launched your own label?
“It was a bit of a gimmick—taking it on tour, signing labels, and selling it in theatres. But after a while, I got tired of lugging crates of wine around. Here I enjoy the local Menorcan wines, like those from Torralbenc and Binifadet, but for home use it’s a simple phone call to De Vins and they bring a crate of inexpensive, decent red.”
Your latest book is called ‘Sharing my Love of Cricket”. What inspired you to write it?
“Currently cricket is in turmoil and the traditional two-innings test match cricket is under threat from newer, faster versions like T20 and The Hundred, which are offering players big money. My book is divided into two halves, to illustrate the contrast between the cricket I grew up with and the modern era. I love the traditional game, with the fascinating balance between the bat and ball, which I believe is still the Gold Standard. The second half of the book describes the new attacking “Bazball”, introduced by Brendon (‘Baz’) McCullum and Ben Stokes to make test matches more watchable.
“Those at the top should not forget that the International test matches still attract big crowds. In 2023, taking into account all revenue streams, each of the 24 days of the test series between Australia and England brought in over £250 million, which is not small change. Now 49% of The Hundred is being sold and they expect to get up to £1 billion. I heard Mervyn King, now the President of the MCC, in a fascinating interview with Michael Atherton saying it was no good selling off the family silver to finance a losing product, the County Championship. I don’t know what will happen in the future, I do not believe that T20 will sustain interest for more than a few years as the bowler is cannon fodder, and it becomes boring. My worry is that cricket is in danger of going on a downward path and I found it the hardest book to write.”
What’s Next for Blowers?
Henry isn’t slowing down anytime soon. He’s still doing 60-70 shows a year, with upcoming gigs in Dorset, followed by a ‘Sporting Legend’ cruise with other cricketing icons, Graham Gooch and Jonathan Agnew. He does a few charity commentaries each year, and so while he’s officially retired from the BBC’s cricket coverage, Blowers always finds a way to stay in the game. He’s also planning a few more books —“19 written so far, the latest from my sofa in Mahón, and I’m already plotting number 20!”
Henry’s Life Philosophy: Never Look Back
Henry was a promising cricketer himself at Eton, but in his final year at school he was hit by a bus while riding his bicycle and he was in a coma for 28 days. He overcame this serious hurdle and is the epitome of resilience. He’s turned every challenge into an opportunity and, at 85, remains as passionate as ever about life, cricket, and storytelling. His philosophy? Never look back, and never feel sorry for yourself. As he says, “I’ve still got ambitions to fulfill.”
And if you like a good story, just ask him about the time he drove a 1921 Rolls-Royce from England to a test match in India, or read about it in his book. The stories are endless.
“Sharing My Love of Cricket: Playing the Game and Spreading the Word” by Henry Blofeld, published by Hodder & Stoughton, is available in bookshops and online
