A hoe there

I had my first visit to Plymouth yesterday since 1978.

Naturally we visited the famous Plymouth Hoe from where the above photo was taken.

My previous visit was to take part in the Plymouth to Dawlish walking race. I travelled down from Manchester which I think was a 6 hour journey by train.

At the time I was studying for a Business Studies degree in Stoke-on-Trent but working for BRS (British Road Services) in Manchester. They used to call it a sandwich course - these days they would have to speak as if they were American and call it an internship - and no doubt it would have to be robust and leveraging the skills that we learnt at college! Mind you, even in those days the jargon was bad - I was doing a thin sandwich course (2 six month work periods in years 1 & 3) rather than a thick sandwich (one year).

I couldn't remember where the walk had started and I had to contact Chris Maddocks, who won that race in 1978 and who I met for the first time that day, to find out that it was in the Cidadel.

I had hoped to see Chris and his family whilst we were in the South West but unfortunately that has not been possible. The five times Olympic walker has a bigger family than when we met them at this time last year.

11 weeks ago, Chris and Fi became proud parents and I recently updated the website that I set up for them in 2009. You can see Ellie there. www.chrisandfi.com

The adverts for the Plymouth to Dawlish Walk used to highlight the free Devon Cream Tea at the end of 42 miles. I've had one or two of the Cornish variety in the last few days.