Ten Facts
1. Allergy to Garlic
I can’t stand the smell of garlic. I abhor the taste and if I am unfortunate enough to have eaten something laced in garlic I am left feeling ill and it irritates my stomach. It drives my wife mad because when out shopping for groceries I read all the labels to see if the product contains garlic. That limits what we can buy, especially readymade meals. She loves the stuff.
2. Chocolate
I love chocolate especially milk chocolate. I can hardly walk past a sweet shop without at least thinking about going in. It used to be impossible for me to walk past so I would go in and buy several bars because I could never just buy one. These would be devoured in double quick time. These days I’m a little more restrained, the frequency of my sweetshop visits is less and now I only buy two bars at a time.
3. Red Wine
Red wine is divine. I have a custom made wine rack that I made myself, it holds over fifty bottles. I buy wine by the case from a local wine merchant and store it in a cupboard under my stairs, which is now known as The Wine Cellar.
4. Favourite Colour
My favourite colour has always been red. I love all shades of red from orange to a deep blood red.
5. Marathon Running
I used to run marathons and ran the London Marathon in 1996. I have competed in many road races; half marathons, ten milers, ten kilometre road races. I have run in France, Belgium as well as England. I then discovered the triathlon and loved the three disciplines. It got me into long distance cycling and swimming. I have always been a good swimmer competing in swimming galas at school. I also played rugby for my town club; my position was Number Two or Hooker. I coached the under sevens at my club for almost twelve years before retiring from sport in 2002.
6. Gramophone
I bought a gramophone in the spring of 2013. It’s an HMV 101 portable model, built in 1928. I love playing those old 78’s, the lyrics in some of the songs are hilarious. It always puts a smile on my face whenever I play it.
7. Spiders
I absolutely hate spiders. I loathe them so much that even seeing a picture of one in a magazine sends me running from the room. I’m a first class arachnophobic.
8. Books
I’m an avid reader of fiction. I adore historical fiction although I don’t only read that genre. I’m not so keen on war books or science fiction, but when I was younger I read a lot of Arthur C Clarke. I have always considered his books science fact rather than fiction. Last Christmas I was given a Kindle. At first I didn’t think I would like it but how wrong I was, now half the books I read are down loaded onto my Kindle.
9. Riding Motorcycles
In 2000 I enrolled on a motorcycle riding course and passed my test. I have always ridden motorcycles but these were restricted because I didn’t have the appropriate licence to ride larger machines on the road. At one time I owned three bikes; a Suzuki Bandit 600s, a Suzuki GS 500 and a Honda 125s. I sold both Suzuki’s a couple of years ago and my Honda remains in the garage. It needs some restoration and a few new parts.
10. On The Road
I passed my driving test when I was seventeen and bought my first car, a 1967 Triumph 1300. I was an apprentice sheet metalworker at the time studying at the local technical college whilst employed by a local steel fabrication company. I currently drive an Audi A3 and also own a Mazda MX5.
1. Allergy to Garlic
I can’t stand the smell of garlic. I abhor the taste and if I am unfortunate enough to have eaten something laced in garlic I am left feeling ill and it irritates my stomach. It drives my wife mad because when out shopping for groceries I read all the labels to see if the product contains garlic. That limits what we can buy, especially readymade meals. She loves the stuff.
2. Chocolate
I love chocolate especially milk chocolate. I can hardly walk past a sweet shop without at least thinking about going in. It used to be impossible for me to walk past so I would go in and buy several bars because I could never just buy one. These would be devoured in double quick time. These days I’m a little more restrained, the frequency of my sweetshop visits is less and now I only buy two bars at a time.
3. Red Wine
Red wine is divine. I have a custom made wine rack that I made myself, it holds over fifty bottles. I buy wine by the case from a local wine merchant and store it in a cupboard under my stairs, which is now known as The Wine Cellar.
4. Favourite Colour
My favourite colour has always been red. I love all shades of red from orange to a deep blood red.
5. Marathon Running
I used to run marathons and ran the London Marathon in 1996. I have competed in many road races; half marathons, ten milers, ten kilometre road races. I have run in France, Belgium as well as England. I then discovered the triathlon and loved the three disciplines. It got me into long distance cycling and swimming. I have always been a good swimmer competing in swimming galas at school. I also played rugby for my town club; my position was Number Two or Hooker. I coached the under sevens at my club for almost twelve years before retiring from sport in 2002.
6. Gramophone
I bought a gramophone in the spring of 2013. It’s an HMV 101 portable model, built in 1928. I love playing those old 78’s, the lyrics in some of the songs are hilarious. It always puts a smile on my face whenever I play it.
7. Spiders
I absolutely hate spiders. I loathe them so much that even seeing a picture of one in a magazine sends me running from the room. I’m a first class arachnophobic.
8. Books
I’m an avid reader of fiction. I adore historical fiction although I don’t only read that genre. I’m not so keen on war books or science fiction, but when I was younger I read a lot of Arthur C Clarke. I have always considered his books science fact rather than fiction. Last Christmas I was given a Kindle. At first I didn’t think I would like it but how wrong I was, now half the books I read are down loaded onto my Kindle.
9. Riding Motorcycles
In 2000 I enrolled on a motorcycle riding course and passed my test. I have always ridden motorcycles but these were restricted because I didn’t have the appropriate licence to ride larger machines on the road. At one time I owned three bikes; a Suzuki Bandit 600s, a Suzuki GS 500 and a Honda 125s. I sold both Suzuki’s a couple of years ago and my Honda remains in the garage. It needs some restoration and a few new parts.
10. On The Road
I passed my driving test when I was seventeen and bought my first car, a 1967 Triumph 1300. I was an apprentice sheet metalworker at the time studying at the local technical college whilst employed by a local steel fabrication company. I currently drive an Audi A3 and also own a Mazda MX5.