After almost a decade of service at the Camrose, the moment has come to take leave of my positions of Press Officer and PA Announcer with Basingstoke Town.

Prior to taking on the roles, I courted controversy though the club's fanzines "Get Lawrence On!" and "Roundabout Town" which proved to be a worthwhile fundraising adventure while it lasted - raising more than £1,000 for the club.

While the majority of the articles provoked laughs among the hundred or so people who purchased the fanzine whenever it was published, one particular letter which I chose to print proved to be inappropriate, and I duly resigned my position on the club's committee of the day, while bringing down the curtain on the fanzine.

After the appropriate cooling-down period, I was invited by Mick Edwards - latterly programme editor - to take over the microphone at home games from Chris Habgood.

Having had a penchant for public speaking, and indeed broadcasting, it was an alluring offer, and my voice was to become familiar with the Camrose regulars for a little short of 10 years.

Even away fans became used to my voice - the Aldershot Website Shotsweb referred to me as "Mr Basingstoke Town" after my car crash last year - a nice tribute from our local rivals.

That considering I had once made the faux pas of describing Mark Butler's 87th minute strike in a 1-4 defeat by Basingstoke at the Camrose as a "consolation goal."

With the arrival of major sponsor Centerprise International, Rafi Razzak became club president, and with Dave Knight stepping into the chairman's role, I took over his role as press officer.

My first season as press officer went like a dream. Not only did we actually make it to round two of the AXA FA Cup, but there was unprecedented interest in the football club from the media.

There were replays galore in the qualifying rounds, and some close scrapes before we reached the big time. As the first round draw took centre-stage in the clubhouse after we had dispatched Braintree, imagine my glee as we were drawn against Wycombe Wanderers - their manager then was my cousin John Gregory.

No-one expected us to go to Adams Park and get a result - yet we did. A visibly unhappy Gregory grudgingly said "hello" as he headed towards the players bar after the first encounter. The elation at the second-half fightback by the boys was as intense as any I can remember in my years at the club.

Then it was time for the equally nailbiting replay on our much-maligned Gridiron Pitch - so-called following major drainage work.

Dean Beale's penalty save saw us through to round two for only the second time in the club's history. John even thought I'd come to gloat when I went to watch Wycombe in a league cup game at Fulham a few months later!

My biggest regret was not being able to join in the celebrations on the pitch after our win. Sitting in the press box, I had to stay put to make any safety announcements which were necessary, but it was still an honour to be able to swap notes with respected BBC sports reporter John Hughes.

Round two saw us drawn away at Northampton. By this time, Sky Sport was heavily involved, and showed extended highlights of the first game at the Sixfields Stadium - as did Match of the Day. Alan Carey ensured another replay with a second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw. John Champion visited a training session at Down Grange to do his homework.

The replay was live across the nation on Sky Sports, and first-choice commentators Andy Gray and Martin Tyler were chosen to do the honours. Tyler - a real aficionado of non-league football as well as football in general - also came to watch a training session while I briefed him on the players' backgrounds. He was a real gent, and couldn't wait to have a kick-around himself!

Our cup dreams ended with the disappointment of that lottery known as penalty kicks on a freezing evening, but the financial windfall, and the kudos which the club gained from our success, was great. Add to that the second in back-to-back Hampshire Senior Cup wins, and we were at our highest point for a number of years.

The following season saw us reach round one again. This time Mark Stein's fluke winner denied us more cup glory in a game where draw would have been a fair result, and a rampant Hendon beat us 4-1 in the Full Members Cup Final at Chesham.

The season ended on a sour note when Toby Redwood had his leg smashed in the Hampshire Senior Cup Final - to add insult to injury, 10-man Aldershot took the trophy 1-0 with a late Gary Abbott strike. Still, eighth place equalled our best-ever return in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League.

Year three as press cfficer had more than its share of nail-biting - not least as everything boiled down to a home game against Hitchin on the last day of the season when a draw proved to be just enough to keep us up on goal difference. Cup success was conspicuous by its absence.

Last season's exploits were less spectacular, but an amazing run at the end of the season saw us not only survive a horrendous fixture backlog, but also pip Aldershot to third place in the league - an achievement unparalleled by any Camrose Blues side.

My final season started with an excellent run, which ended as soon as I was injured in a car crash back at the end of August. We suffered a number of successive defeats while I was forced to sit and watch video footage (kindly provided by current programme editor and webmaster Mike O'Neill) as I recuperated after being confined to quarters for a month.

I'm not sure which was more painful - watching the games or the injuries I received! Either way, anyone who knows me will tell you that missing any Basingstoke game is a real disappointment - and missing a month's worth was enough to send my stir crazy.

With the finishing line fast approaching, I can rest in the knowledge that I will still have plenty of joyous hours watching my home town club in action to look forward to in the coming years, and will cherish the many wonderful memories of my time as a club official - which even included a brief appearance for the reserves at Hendon in a Suburban League match at the end of the 1999-2000 season.

I'd like to thank everyone at the club who has helped make my time as a club official extremely pleasurable, and I hope that my successor will enjoy his time as much as I have mine.