Monday 1st October 2018 Planning for my North Wales tour began when I realised that for the first time, I had the chance to cycle in each of the four UK countries in one year, having toured in England in March, Northern Ireland in June and Scotland in September. OK, I haven’t quite got to […]
Monday 3rd September 2018 Day one of my Fife tour with Jim started off wet, on both the English and Scottish legs. The plan to ride out to North Berwick was abandoned due to the wind and rain. We got as far as Longniddry before heading back. The spare time gained was usefully spent in cafes […]
With Laurence, Rob, Kat, Dean, Netty, Jim, Dave, Terry and Dan (who provided the initial idea and the planning behind it all) Thursday 28th June 2018. After work today, Dean and I collected a hire van from Easirent in Preston at 5:30pm before driving back to Warton to load ten bikes and luggage before a […]
Day 0. Wednesday 6th June 2018 I’m just about to leave for another cycling adventure, this time a charity ride with a bunch of Scottish pals. Oddly enough, we’re heading to Ireland (North and South) cycling from Larne to Galway. The Prestwick Cycle Challenge is an annual fully supported charity event which began in 1997 […]
I’m late writing this letter, but since it goes out with the Christmas cards, you won’t notice, but I am usually better prepared than this. The lateness is due to things being busier than usual recently, but after the events late last year, I’m pleased that this is the case. You will recall that a […]
In mid-November, I enjoy taking a day off work on my own when I carry out a few jobs in preparation for Christmas. I look through all the photos I’ve taken during the year and compile a photo-book for the year, I write this note (which, for the past 15 years has acted as a […]
When I started with British Aerospace in 1986, I actually took a drop in pay, seeing this as a necessary sacrifice to start my new career, and move away from the uncertainty at Royal Ordnance. I had worked there for eleven years, but I felt that the opportunities at British Aerospace were greater. Within five […]
I love listening to Radio 4, and have done since the mid 1980s when I decided that I was too old for Radio 1, too young for Radio 2 and not quite posh enough for Radio 3. I couldn’t put up with the adverts on commercial radio and I’m not a sports fan (ruling out […]
About two miles from Brindle is a stately home called Hoghton Tower which was built in 1565, although the family can trace its ancestry back to the Norman conquest. In March 2002, the owner, Sir Bernard de Hoghton, made an appeal for more tour guides, since many of the present ones were almost as old […]
Both children took part in the St James’ Players pantomime for a few years, and in 2005 it became my turn, not on the stage, but behind the scenes. I was asked to help by the stage manager, who was a friend, and the first job I did for him was to make a couple […]