of panache which sets him apart from all other West Indian cricketers." Life in England Nelson During his time in Nelson, Constantine made a deep impression and remained a celebrity there even after leaving the town; his general community involvement was such that a regional historian described him as a "local champion". He appreciated the greater freedom he enjoyed in Nelson as compared with Trinidad and Tobago, where racial issues predominated. Although Nelson suffered from the effects of the Depression, Constantine's high earnings were never a source of resentment; of his time in Nelson he wrote: "If I had not come ... I could not have been the person I am today ... I am a better citizen for the time I have spent in Nelson." Constantine's first season was difficult; both he and the residents of the town were at that stage uncertain of each other. Few black people had been seen in Nelson, and although some residents wrote welcoming letters, the Constantines also received racist and abusive ones. He quickly established boundaries over what he considered acceptable, permitting and even sharing small jokes over skin colour but protesting strongly at outright racism. John Arlott wrote: "[Constantine] fought discrimination against his people with a dignity firm but free of acrimony." Although Constantine later attributed some of the initial uneasiness to ignorance, at the time he seriously considered returning to Trinidad and Tobago after the first season. His wife persuaded him otherwise, pointing out the benefits from remaining to complete his contract. From 1930 Constantine found life more comfortable; the family began to develop friendships and to engage in the social life of the town. They continued to visit Trinidad and Tobago in the English winters, but Nelson became the family's permanent home. In 1931 the Constantines settled in a fairly prosperous, middle-class area of Nelson, where they were to live until 1949. During 1932, they took C. L. R. James—who knew Constantine through having played cricket against him in Trinidad and Tobago—as a lodger; James had come to London but had run out of money. James was at the forefront of a growing West Indian nationalist movement, though Constantine had until then consciously avoided politics. Through James' influence, Constantine realised that his position gave him opportunities to further the cause of racial equality and independence for Trinidad and Tobago. He joined the League of Coloured Peoples, an organisation aiming