Time for some fish & chips - Then take off!!

(Fries to those following in the USA!)

So I have done my last bike ride before my travels begin, finished the packing process and thinking about all the good things I’m leaving behind for 6 weeks!:

• Let’s start with my wife, Elaine. Incredibly she continues to allow me to disappear for weeks on end to ride a bike. Her support is fantastic and given that we took on a puppy at Christmas time 2023, and her request to take on the majority of the training, she certainly has her hands full!!

  

  
  

• Then we have ‘the boys’ - Robson and Hank, our dogs. They are hard work but wonderfully rewarding. I will really miss Hank, a rather elderly 13yr old, and we are really attached to each other and I do most of the ‘Hank’ walking.

  

  One of our favourite walks in Beacon Hill Woods

• Then there is the fact that our house is on the market and leaving this responsibility with Elaine is tough. However, we plan to keep in regular contact with each other and I can review the market for potential properties whilst in the States. So far, we have not had an offer on our property so it is difficult to look for another property until we know how much we have to offer ourselves. One step at a time.

  
  

  So what’s this all about Fish & Chips you ask?? Well, I did a music gig at the local ‘chippy’ to try to raise more funds for charities. I set up my piano and provided some entertainment while people waited for their food to be prepared at the only local business that has consistently supported my fundraising efforts. Whitestone’s in Westfield, just down the road from us - (thank you Lee & Emma). We raised just under £100 - good news!

So there you have it! All the preparations done - Time to go to the USA 🇺🇸