About the Author

I moved with my parents and brothers to North Yorkshire when I was 7 years old and apart from brief periods when I've worked away I have spent most of my life in the Richmondshire area. Surrounded by the Yorkshire Dales and with a history that links to William the Conquerer, french settlers, monks and friars to more modern personalities such as Robert Baden Powell and King Olav of Norway, the area is a fantastic place for families to live in and to visit. The area has hosted a Tour de France stage as well as the starting point for the second stage of the Tour de Yorkshire in 2018, world class athletes have been produced such as Jo and Nicola Jackson, and there are links to film and screen (A woman of substance, All creatures great and small, The Fast Show and Horrible Histories), where many productions have made use of the georgian town with its theatre, medieval castle and abbey. The area is fantastic for walking and cycling activities, arts and crafts are well catered for and the market place has seen a growth in cafe culture over recent years.
After a relatively slow start and not being particularly interested with school, preferring to kick a football around over anything else, I eventually decided that my working life was not what it should be and that I was not using my abilities to their fullest, having moved from job to job that involved labouring, driving vans or working in call centres. I enrolled on a foundation degree course at Teesside University eventually studying construction management and after 4 years and armed with my BSc (Hons) found myself working in Leicestershire as a site engineer. Fast forward a few years and I am married with two children (boy and a girl) and currently work as a Contracts Manager for a building & civil engineering company.
I have had many interests over the years, some of which I hope to cover in my blog. As a family we go for the occasional walk and a notable achievement for my wife Mandy and I was to reach the top of Helvellyn last April. I have studied karate alongside my son Jack, and was a member of Catterick Golf Club for many years. In 2015 I was diagnosed with Diabetes and my life took on a new direction that involved a change of diet and more exercise in the form of cycling, starting with short wheezy rides on a mountain bike to completing the Coast to Coast, the Ride London Surrey 100 twice, raising funds for Diabetes UK in the process, along with many other long distance sportives.
In December 2018 I was awarded a Masters degree in Quantity Surveying after 2 years of tough study and it was with immense pride that my wife and kids were with me to see me graduate from Salford University.
Looking at what I have done over the years, the places I've been and the people I've met, there is lots I can write about and I'm only just scratching the surface. Hopefully, there'll be enough content to inform and entertain and all feedback will be welcome.