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"Lie Back and Think of England"
Land's End to John O'Groats - the book of the ride
Written with thanks to Matthew King, Southport & Ormskirk Hospital
NHS Trust.
EVER thought about riding from
Land's End to John O'Groats? Ever thought about publishing a book?
"No?" Well you're not alone. Ian Stallard, Clinical
Technologist in the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital
hadn't either until the Unit took delivery of a recumbent tricycle.
That's a three-wheeled bicycle that you sit on and pedal with your
feet out in front of you.
When the tricycle arrived, someone suggested it might be good to do
long rides on, and one thing lead to another and before he knew it
Ian had volunteered to ride from Land's End to John O'Groats. This
he did in May 2004, completing the 1035-mile ride in 18 days.
"The original plan," said Ian, "was for me to do it
with Howard Massam, a Technical Instructor in the Physiotherapy
Department, but due to the pressure of other commitments we ended up
doing it separately. So, in an attempt to stave off loneliness and
retain my sanity, I kept a diary of the journey and took lots of
photos of the interesting things I saw on my way."
The diary and photos have now been published in a book called
"Lie back and think of England - and parts of Wales and Scotland
too!"
Ian raised over £5,000 from the ride and he is selling them to again
raise funds for the spinal injuries unit. If anyone would like a
copy of the book, which sells for £10 (with over £7 going to the
unit), contact Ian on extension 01704 704444.
The money raised so far has been used to buy a revolutionary partial
weight-bearing treadmill system for our patients with spinal cord
injuries, to help with their early rehabilitation. |
ANGELS HOST NETWORKING LUNCH
AS PART of the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s (NWDA)
commitment to supporting new and growing businesses in the region,
TEChINVEST is opening its next Investor Club meeting to would-be
private investors, so that they can see for themselves what makes a
real-life angel tick and the sort of young and growing companies
they invest in.
In addition to a series of individual presentations from Northwest
companies seeking seed or equity finance, a speaker from the North
West Business Investment Scheme (NWBIS) will also discuss “Valuing
Potential Investments and Appropriate Deal Structures”. The idea
is to provide first-hand feedback on how to make a deal work, as
well as giving delegates an informal networking opportunity over
lunch and a chance to chat with some of the region’s
long-established angels and serial investors.
Commenting on the event TEChINVEST founder Vivienne Upcott-Gill
said:- “We are keen to encourage new members to attend one of
our Investor Club meetings as a day delegate and get a genuine
insight into how the process works. This is a format which combines
valuable information-gathering with social interaction and
networking to provide our guests with a clear understanding of how
this type of investment works.”
TEChINVEST is one of the UK’s most successful equity advisory
services, with a business angel network that has been active across
the Northwest for almost 15 years. It also provides a single gateway
to the raft of new seed and venture capital funds created or
administered by the NWDA as a means of stimulating new business
growth.
At the service’s bi-monthly Investor Club meetings, up to five
different Northwest entrepreneurs or companies have the opportunity
to present a detailed business cases to a roomful of potential
investors. On average, at least 1 in 3 of these companies raise some
or all of the finance they seek as a direct result of these
presentations.
For further information on the TEChINVEST service, or to register
for attendance at the 14 February 2006 event, please contact the team
direct on 01925 400301/2/3 or visit their website at:-
www.techinvest.org.
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