I was born on 5 November 1969 in Newcastle upon Tyne, and spent most of my sporting life involved in athletics with Heaton Harriers. A love of grassroots sport saw me get involved in croquet and minigolf too, both with a degree of success. Being unable to travel too far away from the hospital means I have recently only been able to compete in local croquet events, but I have been out and about spectating at sports such as women's football, cycle speedway, lacrosse and roller derby. However, I have now had my liver transplant and hope to be competing again later this year.
The main sections of this site are based on my sporting pursuits:
Running, which was my main sport from the age of 14 until a few years ago. This section contains some of my PBs from years ago, and photos from a couple of overseas trips competing in Masters events. Also, in September 2003 I competed in the Great Gorilla Run in London.
I've been playing croquet since 1997, and have played in three Golf Croquet World Championships, including in Cairo and West Palm Beach.
The croquet success introduced me to the idea that finding a sport for which you have an aptitude may be a better route to success than finding a sport you enjoy and trying to become good at it. Attempts at curling and disc golf, among others, were short lived, but I took up minigolf in October 2004 after competing in the World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings. In 2006 I won the British Minigolf Championship in Taunton.
When it comes to watching sport, I used to be a big speedway fan. In 1990 I did an 1100-mile walk visiting British speedway tracks, and raising £35 for charity, which wasn't much money in those days either.
Away from sport, I like easy listening music and in May 2003 I went to Linz, Austria to see a Roger Whittaker concert. This is just one of the items featured in a section of general hobbies and passing interests I may see fit to include from time to time. Ceilidh dancing and the Heckington Show may be among the things to be added shortly.
E-mail me if you wish to pass any comments on this site.
In case any of my hobbies take your interest, I
have compiled a list of relevant links.