Job done

Thanks to the support of many, many magnificent people, Jamie's 12-hour spinathon to help fund his trip to next year's 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea was a huge success.

Indeed, it could not have gone better.

The sun shone, the flow of people to help with the pedaling and cheer him on never stopped - and neither did the donations.

If one major pledge of support materialises, it seems that at least £1,000 will have been raised, a simply eye watering amount.  We'll let you know a precise figure when everything is in. With £3,800 required for the trip, there is still a lot of work to be done but we are well on the way.

As well as the pedaling, Charlotte's cake sale was a stormer with every one snaffled well before the end.

Leaving Charlotte with time to do a bit of pedaling too.

Earlier in the day, my old mate Paul "Merv" Gail came along on behalf of the Coleraine massive, with lots of donations making their way across the Irish Sea throughout the day.

The most heart-warming moment was when the wonderful members of 15th Airedale Scouts arrived to support Jamie - and stayed for three hours.

Almost all had a go, including James who, along with Kathrin and Harry, have led the pack in such an inspiring way - despite the challenges of Covid.

Without their help, Jamie would not be going to South Korea.  He will be forever in their debt.

Thanks so much to them and to everyone who has supported him in any way with the spinathon and in other ways.  

A special mention must go to Rob Rattray at Syno Education, who was lead sponsor of yesterday's goings on, Chris Kempton for providing the extra kit needed for Jamie's bike, plus Guiseley AFC,  Wharfedale Observer, Ilkley Gazette, BCB Radio, Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Evening Post, Telegraph & Argus, Leeds Live and Bradford Zone who did so much to help us promote the event.  We are grateful to you all.

Thoughts have already turned to what comes next, with a couple of straws in the wind.  Full details will be revealed when everything is nailed down but fun will be the prime motivator in what we do.

In the meantime, Jamie's GoFundMe page remains open should you have some spare coppers to chuck in his virtual bucket.   

Thank you again, you're fab. 

In a spin

I wrote here late last year that Jamie had been chosen as a member of the UK Contingent travelling to the 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea next summer.

He'll be one of over 40,000 scouts from more than 150 countries around the globe.

One of the conditions of attending the event, in the best traditions of the movement, is that each scout must raise the costs of making the trip themselves.

Charlotte held a little cake sale just before Christmas to get the ball rolling.

Then, in April, Jamie fronted a jamming session at Aireborough Rugby Club with musical friends.  That's him on the mandolin beside Andy Smith (left), the brains of the operation. 

Act Three of the fundraising thriller will be written on Saturday when Jamie begins a 12-hour spinathon on our driveway.  

Thanks to Chris Kempton, who kindly provided the necessary equipment, Jamie and assorted others (yes, including me) will keep the wheels turning from 8am to 8pm with passers-by gently encouraged to chuck some spare readies into his bucket.  

And, as the good folk of Yorkshire may have read in their local papers, his sister has stepped forward again with the offer to sell more cakes. 

The media coverage - including a long radio interview with Jamie - has really helped to stimulate donations.

The wonderful Rob Rattray, the main man at Syno Education, has also stepped forward as Jamie's first corporate sponsor.   It is greatly appreciated and where Rob has characteristically led, hopefully other businesses will follow by getting in touch with me directly (Tel 07787 514324 or email barry@vanbarassociates.com) 

Jamie also has a GoFundMe page which has attracted support from friends and strangers alike. Should you wish to join them, you can do so clicking on to THIS LINK.     

Saturday should be a fun day.  I'll keep you informed.   

50-year old Virgin

Wednesday 2 July 1997 is a date I will never forget.

It was the day I met Richard Branson and John Major, and appeared on the BBC Six and Ten O'Clock News.  (Oh, and I also met my future wife but that's not relevant to this story).

Yes, Richard Branson.  He was hosting a Virgin Atlantic reception in Westminster that night and one of the MPs I worked for took me along as his plus one.

My experience of meeting my first billionaire was initially underwhelming.  First, he had broken his right hand which was in a cast and was reduced to giving guests a rather limp left hand to waggle.  Second, as he waggled my hand, he was actually talking to someone else and didn't look at me.  

Unperturbed, I was determined to have a word which I did after a couple of glasses of posh fizz.  

I wanted to tell him about the time he flew over our house in Coleraine in his big balloon in July 1987, after initially touching down in Limavady before landing with a splash in the sea off the coast of Portrush.  

My dad was in our back garden and saw Branson's stricken "Virgin Atlantic Flyer" drift overhead.  

Sadly, I was on the toilet at the critical moment and missed the whole thing, but chose not to share this anticlimactic fact with my host.  (To be fair, I'm not convinced this would have heightened his enthusiasm for my monologue which did not appear to be hitting its target).

We all had to put our business cards in a big bowl as we left (I had a homemade card I designed in the Post Office) and, about a week later, all attendees received a signed letter from the great man to say thank you for coming and what a wonderful company Virgin Atlantic was.

As the least important guest at the event (on the grounds that I hadn't been invited), I took it upon myself to respond to say thank you back.

To my surprise, I received a second letter from Branson about a month later, this time a handwritten job on notepaper headed with his home address. 

I make no apology for saying that I have written to him at least a dozen more times over the past 25 years although never received another reply - until yesterday.

Because last night, when I was celebrating my 50th birthday at home with Vanessa and the kids, a knock came to our front door.  It was a courier with a letter for me.

It was from a gentleman by the name of George Whitesides, Chair of Virgin Galactic's Space Advisory Board.  

Unfortunately Charlotte has taken the letter to school to show her classmates so I'll have to paraphrase.  But in short, he said that Richard Branson had told him of my many years of writing to him and he was aware that yesterday was my "special day" (i.e. I had turned 50).

And to celebrate this "momentous occasion" (I remember some of the phraseology) he was inviting me to "take a trip to the stars" on board one of his Virgin Galactic planes.  Goodness knows how much these flights cost but I suppose that's not my problem.   

It takes off and lands in New Mexico where I've got to go for two days' training with the flight on day three.  They will cover the costs of getting me there, plus accommodation - further details to follow. Sadly the flight won't be until 2025 - when I'll actually be 53 - but I'm not going to quibble.

Because for the next three years I can go to bed every night every night in the knowledge that I am to become Coleraine's first spaceman.  (Eat your heart out, Jimmy Nesbitt). 

Korea blimey

I started this blog in the run up to the birth of our first child, who turned out to be Jamie, and chronicled the early years of his life along with his sister Charlotte's.

I haven't updated it much in recent times because I think it best to let both of them get on with what they do without me publicly embarrassing them more than necessary.

However, less than an hour ago, Jamie received a letter to say that he has been selected as a member of what's known as the UK Contingent to travel to South Korea in 2023 to attend the 25th World Scout Jamboree.

We're just as proud - Charlotte included - as he is excited.

There is a lot of work to be done between now and his big trip but that journey has now officially begun.  

Well done son.    

Jab - Chop - Drink

A notable day today as I had my first dose of vaccine...  

...before getting a long-awaited haircut. 

Lots of others seemed to be following an identical itinerary.  

Getting vaccinated reminded me of going to vote.  I spent some time getting all built up and telling myself that what I was about to do was quite important.  And then it was over in a matter of seconds.

A dedicated vaccination centre in the centre of Bradford was my port of call, after booking myself in yesterday when supposedly healthyish specimens aged 45-49 were invited to join the queue. 

The mood was positive and the folks involved in providing the service were every bit as impressive as I imagined they would be.  

Their professionalism contrasted sharply with my local barber experience.  

I only go there as there's rarely a long wait, mainly because few other customers choose to visit and the act of getting your hair chopped only takes about 10 minutes.  In that short period, a random man who I've usually not met before hacks at your locks with an assortment of metal implements before requesting £9 for his efforts.  My rule is to hand over a tenner if I've avoided a blood injury, which was the case today but still a rarity.

That was the upside of today's styling experience.  The downside was that I now like a grey Gareth from The Office.

 Jamie had his hair cut today too, but he went to a proper barber..

And now looks like this.

Have had my jab and a hair assault, I now have a desperate craving to find a beer garden to complete my one day Covid triple crown.

I seem to recall that life used to be a bit more complicated than this.     

Marching On Together

 

It has been a "memorable" few days.

I was recently asked to write an article which was published on the same day last month by the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post.    

It was about a project called Leeds Tech Angels, dreamt up and piloted by my big-hearted genius of a friend Ben McKenna.

Helping kids without access to the internet or a suitable machine has become a huge issue around the country for reasons we all understand. 

However, Ben was already on top of this in the early weeks of the pandemic.  First, he helped establish  Digital Access West Yorkshire (DAWY) to acquire, refurbish and distribute unused IT equipment - preferably laptops - to digitally excluded children in the region.  In the four months from April, DAWY had given over 50 machines to those in need. That took us through until August when Ben gave me a call. 

Thanks to support from a gaggle of partners including  Leeds Community Foundation, Leeds City Council, Ahead Partnership, Zero Waste Leeds and DAWY itself, Ben was preparing to launch a new project which is now known as Leeds Tech Angels.  It went live at the beginning of December with the aim of encouraging employers and the public to donate any spare laptops and tablets for use by young people across the city who were without one. Ben's busy team of volunteers would then wipe them of data, install new software and get them out to the right homes. My mission was to help promote the good works, a task made easy thanks to incredible levels of support from the Yorkshire Evening Post and its wonderful editor, Laura Collins.   

And it was all going well, the highlight being a delivery - just days ago - of a large consignment of top notch laptops from Leeds-based financial services firm Hitachi Capital.  

But, on Wednesday morning, I received a phone call.  Around 40 Leeds Tech Angels laptops had been stolen overnight from a storage facility and the police were on the scene.  

It was a truly devastating moment.  40 laptops snatched from the hands of deprived kids.  Classy.

There was no way we were going to let the baddies win although, clearly, we couldn't do it alone.

So I contacted the Yorkshire Evening Post who ran a great story to help us.  We were also put in touch with Leeds United who had indicated a willingness to help.  Those conversations took place precisely 48 hours ago.

Yesterday morning, Ben set up a GoFundMe page and, at lunchtime, Leeds United's star striker Patrick Bamford tweeted this.

Since then (at the time of writing), £17,000 has been raised.  It would be good to get that total up a lot more by Monday when the draw for Patrick's shirt is likely to take place.  

But, after the draw, the appeal will go as we want to help as many kids as the generosity of the people of Leeds allows.

Once again, HERE is the link to the GoFundMe page.

Also, if you have laptops or tablets that you no longer need, we'd love to have them too and HERE is the link to explain the simple process.

Thanks if you've managed to read all of this.

And double thanks if you're able to help  

Bitter pills

I ran out of  vitamin tablets this morning so went to Boots to buy some more.  (I take them because I eat a lot of rubbish and not as much healthy stuff as I should, but don't tell the kids). 

They had a 3 for 2 offer so it seemed logical to go for that.  But I noticed that they only had two six-month packs of normal A - Z pills left.  The others were for old timers aged 50+ and I only turn a mere 49 next March.  Then I did some maths.

Given we're already into late December, it will be almost 2022 when I get through the two "standard" packs.  And at that point I'll just be weeks away from my 50th birthday.  How bloody depressing.  So I dried my eyes, added a 50+ pack to my basket and headed off to pay.

In happier news, yesterday was Charlotte's 10th birthday.  Quite a moment.  

She was delighted with her haul, with lots of family members and close friends being particularly kind to her.

This included her cousin Holly who produced another show-stopping cake with her own supremely talented hands.        

Fuelled by frosting and with little else to do, we decided to have some family fun.

This was the moment Jamie met his little sister in hospital  precisely 10 years and one day ago.

Yes, he was a little bit shocked.

A decade later, he remains baffled by who she is and what she's there for.  

No York, No York

Today's Amazon delivery just arrived.  It was a tub of screen wipes (which aren't particularly damp and don't wipe up much) and a stapler which is much smaller than I thought and therefore not what I was after.  

I wonder what I can order next?

In common with most other parts of the country, it's half-term here in Leeds.  But all of our best-laid plans have been scuppered.  Twice.  

The original idea was to spend half-term in Northern Ireland.  I haven't been back since March and we haven't been there as family since New Year.  The flights were booked in August but, a couple of weeks ago, Northern Ireland was hit with new restrictions including a ban on entering other people's homes.

Given that the whole point of going across was to visit people, there was no point in travelling.

So, as a mini-fallback, Vanessa booked for us to spend last Sunday night in York, arriving there at lunchtime.  But, late on Saturday evening, she received an email from Jamie's school to say that someone in his form had tested positive for you know what.  The result was a mandatory period of self-isolation for Master White until Wednesday 4 November.  (This has since been extended by an additional 24 hours).    

Hopefully we'll get to York another time instead. 

To his huge credit, Jamie is putting a brave face on the situation and keeping himself busy. 

But as someone who likes nothing more than to get outside and be active, another week and a bit of this will be a challenge for him.

Still, as has been the case so far with this blasted pandemic, there are so many more people coping with much bigger challenges than us and we will simply suck it up. 

I hope you're getting a bit of respite from all the bad stuff and, like us, looking forward to better times ahead.  

They will come, you have my word for that. 

Action Barry

Well, it's all got a bit crap again, hasn't it?

As Leeds folk will be all too aware, the city has become one of the latest parts of the country to have new movement restrictions placed on its residents.

We can't have friends or family over, not even into our gardens, and the rule could be in place for many months to come.  

Leeds City Council have also gone a step further than Bozo Johnson by advising locals not to go to pubs and restaurants.  It's not backed up by any kind of legal enforcement, it's the Council trying to take a lead and people can make their own minds up.  Fair enough.

In the meantime, we've got to try to keep ourselves busy.  My two pieces of physical activity today have been to go to the supermarket.  And then go back to the supermarket.

This was not the plan.   This morning's visit was to get what we need for tonight's tea.  Exciting stuff indeed.

The second trip was to get what we need for tomorrow night's tea (Charlotte and I are cooking a two-courser). But I didn't really need to do that today.

In truth, the only reason I went was to avoid reseeding the lawn. 

I bought the soil and seeds the weekend before the last lockdown, almost precisely six months ago. And since then I haven't been arsed to do the job.

But I'm determined to enter the next phase of nothingness not doing nothing.  

Nope, its Action Barry from now on.

Starting tomorrow.  Or maybe Monday.    

By the way, I saw this sign outside Morrisons. 

Really?!

Belfast gorilla

As is my habit on a Sunday morning (I'm a dull and predictable animal), this morning I listened to a recording of yesterday's Pick of the Pops on Radio 2.

It was special episode with not two but three charts from this week in years gone by.   (Exciting, I know).

It began with 1978 (when Grease was the word), 1987 (when the streets had no name according to Bono and the boys) and 1998 (when the Corrs wanted to know what I could do to make me love them but needn't have worried).

This was all good until Vanessa pointed out that, despite feeling like yesterday, 1998 was 22 whole years ago.  And then I did some maths.  I'm currently 48 years old.  If you had 22 to that, I'll be 70. What a heartwarming thought that was on a hungover Sunday morning.        

More merrily, the kids returned to school this week which was a positive development for all involved.

Let's hope they get to keep going for a few more weeks at least.

Meanwhile, the increased coronavirus restrictions have not helped people's moods over the past few days, necessary though they appear to be.  And it means we've never been in more need of a laugh.

So thank you to my tiny friend Jason Kyle for sending me this short video which has made me chortle ever since.

 

Flying the flag for Northumberland

It's the night before the big return to school, for Charlotte at least.  Jamie goes back for a bit on Wednesday in advance of his first full day on Thursday.  

Charlotte is still mildly hesitant about the prospect, but will hopefully settle in well.  Meanwhile, her big brother got up early this morning for a "practice walk" before returning to try on his uniform for the first time in more than five months. 

Leeds schools are amongst the last in the country to go back, which has only served to increase anticipation levels.

But, with time to spare last week whilst other kids crept back into their classrooms, we headed to Northumberland.  Thankfully our tent stayed locked in the shed with a nice caravan our living receptacle of choice.

I do love Northumberland.  My three years as a student in Newcastle in the early 1990s left me with a huge love and admiration for the people of the North-East.   I was also fortunate to be chosen to represent Northumberland in the 1990 rugby union county championship, pulling on the famous green, red and yellow jersey five times.  That gave me the chance to meet fellow teammates from other parts of the county and to visit different places for training and games. 

The Yorkshire Dales are fab, as is the Lake District which we visited last month.  But most tourists are well aware of them. 

In contrast, I regard Northumberland as a well-kept secret. It obviously varies from place to place but, in general, Northumberland is not as crowded as some destinations a little further south and therefore feels a little more relaxed.  

The natives also have a wonderfully laid back but self-assured attitude to life and, of course, there is no shortage of wondrous sights.

We stayed in Cresswell with its golden sands...

...breaking waves...

...and spectacular sunsets.

We visited Warkworth Castle...

...and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

We conquered the stepping stones at Druridge Country Park...

...went to Alnmouth to celebrate National Fish and Chip Day...

...and popped into Ashington because I've never met anyone from that famous town who doesn't have an interesting story to tell.

Us being the Whites, we obviously didn't completely miss the rain which fell hardest in Amble. 

We hoped to go on a Puffin Cruise...

...but Dave was forced to disappoint.

To stay dry, the kids bought some snazzy clothes from Amble's array of charity shops.

Jamie looked the part.

And Charlotte did too.  It was only later that Vanessa mentioned her "crop top and hairband set" was actually a toddler's dress and belt. 

And with that, summer 2020 was officially done.

Good luck to all kids, mums, dads and teachers for the big return tomorrow. 

Home alone

Three quarters of the White family are currently in Lytham on an overnight seaside trip.   Latest reports suggest that it's not raining there.  

Here in Guiseley - where this quarter of the family unit remains - the rain is about to restart and my plan to paint the garden shed is in tatters.  Excellent!

This "unfortunate" turn of events has forced me to watch the cricket, snooker, Moto GP and Formula One thus far.  

Later I shall feel compelled to tune into the rugby league, rugby union, baseball and football (plus more snooker if the player who's not called Ronnie O'Sullivan makes a fight of it).

Since my last ramble on here, we hired a motorboat on Lake Windermere and didn't capsize.

We embarked on our first "Rishi Dishy," taking advantage of the Government's uncharacteristically generous "eat out to get fat, then go for a bike ride" scheme.

We went for afternoon tea to fulfil a commitment Vanessa made to Charlotte at the start of lockdown.  (Plus she had a voucher).

I had two huge boxes of beer delivered.

Followed by another one.

And most excitingly of all, Charlotte had another promise kept when Vanessa finally allowed her to get her ears pierced. 

The rest of the clan are due back in Guiseley tomorrow afternoon, by which point I hope to have most of a day's work competed.

And then on Wednesday, we're due to back out on the road as a reunited four-piece band to cower in a tent in the middle of a field until Friday,  Heavy rain and thunderstorms are inevitably forecast.  With added lightning.  Can't wait.