'As we laid a pennant by his headstone, we reflected on how thankful we should be'
Colin Higham, Kevan Ball and Rob Taylor are in the middle of cycling 634 miles along the Western Front Way this month, with Russell Jones providing support.
The trail follows the historic frontline of the First World War, from the French-Swiss border to the beaches of Belgium.
The quartet reflected during a poignant moment, stood by the grave of Richard Nelson in the middle of rural France, hundreds of miles away from his home on Lee Lane, Horwich.
They said: "We thought this challenge was one of the hardest things we would have ever done, but then we met an English lady in our hostel who was walking from Canterbury to Rome, which put our task into perspective.
The lads at the grave of Richard Nelson (Image: Submitted) "Then we thought no matter how tough either challenge was, they pale in comparison to what those lads faced along this front in the First World War.
"On Monday we all stood together in a graveyard in the middle of rural France next to the remains of a lad who lives in a butcher's shop at 201 Lee Lane, Horwich, a shop we have all walked past hundreds of times.
Read more: Bolton schoolfriends' epic journey to pay tribute to those who died in the Great War
Read more: 'Successful' charity music festival set to return to Bolton
Read more: Free cat welfare clinic to take place at shopping centre
"As we laid a Rivington and Blackrod School pennant by his headstone, we reflected on just how thankful we should be for the lives we now lead."
The grave of Richard Nelson (Image: Submitted) The quartet are also raising money for three charities - the Royal British Legion, Children in Need and St Ann's Hospice. To donate, click here: https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/alan-parkinson
As of Friday, June 16, they have completed 566 miles of the journey and have raised £2,455.
For more information on the Western Front Way, visit the Western Front Association's website: https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/
The quartet, who will all turn 65 this year, met when they were schoolboys at Rivington and Blackrod School, and will visit the graves of 16 of the 24 young men from their old school who died during the war.
Colin Higham was struck by the idea after reading The Path of Peace: Walking the Western Front Way by Anthony Seldon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ryanair sets monthly passenger record despite air traffic control strikes
Airline Ryanair said it carried a record high number of passenger last month despite French air traffic control (ATC) strikes. The Dublin-based carrier announced 20.7 million passengers travelled on its flights in July. That is up 3% from 20.2 million during the same month last year. Its load factor – which represents the average proportion of seat filled on its aircraft – was stable at 96%. Ryanair said it operated more than 113,000 flights in July and cancelled 680, mainly because of French controller strikes. French ATC staff took industrial action on July 3 and 4 in a dispute over working conditions. As well as disrupting flights to and from French airports, the walkouts affected flights scheduled to travel over French airspace. This meant many services to or from UK airports were delayed or cancelled. EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis previously described the French strikes as 'very, very disruptive' as they forced the airline to cancel 660 flights and cost it £15 million. Around 70% of easyJet's flights either fly to or from a French airport, or over the country's airspace. European air traffic management body Eurocontrol estimated the strikes affected more than one million passengers. Meanwhile, a radar fault suffered by UK ATC provider Nats led to more than 100 UK flights being cancelled on July 30.
Vogue
18 hours ago
- Vogue
Finding F. Scott Fitzgerald: My Journey Retracing the Writer's Steps Along the South of France
The Fitzgeralds came to the south of France to write, but the couple didn't spend all their time shut up in a villa. So despite the fact that I too am on deadline, I venture forth in their honor. One of the sites most associated with them is the iconic Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The Fitzgeralds visited several times on previous sojourns through the area. In Tender Is the Night, it's immortalized as the Hotel des Étrangers. It has a fictional feel even IRL, as if gardens this perfect and vistas this glamorous must have sprung from someone's imagination. Rates start in the four figures, but a meal is cheaper. You can visit for lunch and experience the environs at their sparkliest. I prefer the humble spread dished up at the minuscule, cash-only Bistrot du Coin in Antibes. On select afternoons, tables groan under the weight of boiled vegetables, fish, and aioli so luscious I saw someone at the next table eat it with a spoon. Bold, given the number of garlic cloves whipped into it. Fitzgerald described 'breathing dreams like air' in his writing, but I did not want to exhale in a social setting until I had a toothbrush in hand a few hours later. Perfect, delectable, fragrant repast. Back at Belles Rives, one of the best meals in town can be had a stone's throw from Bar Fitzgerald at the hotel's La Passagère restaurant. Michelin-starred French cuisine with a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean. At one point during the dinner I eat there, a waiter points to an island in the distance (past the green light). It's Saint-Honorat, where almost two dozen monks live in the Cistercian Congregation of the Immaculate Conception and produce ultra-limited wine with a spiritual flavor. The waiter has a bottle open and pours me a glass. Not a religious experience, but I would call it transcendent. Photo: Courtesy of Hôtel Belles Rives Photo: Courtesy of Hôtel Belles Rives The next morning, I visit the masterworks of Pablo Picasso, who traveled in the same circles the Fitzgeralds did. The Picasso Museum in Antibes doesn't have as extensive a collection as the Picasso Museum in Barcelona does, but seeing his Joie De Vivre in person is worth the price of admission alone. Later, I wander through Old Antibes where vendors in the Marché Provençal sell cheese, olive oil, fruit, vegetables, and all manner of straw products to tourists and locals alike. Fitzgerald would not have known what to do with the iced matcha latte for sale a few doors down a winding, cobblestone-paved sidewalk, but a gaggle of teenage girls make quick work of their drinks before loading up on French soap. Over dinner at Jeanne in Antibes, I am so engrossed in conversation that I lose track of my belongings and leave a hat I did quite like on a chair in the corner. As the characters in Fitzgerald's novels have no choice but to learn, there is perhaps such a thing as too much 'joie de vivre' after all. The hat is not returned to me.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Warning to tourists as power outage cancels Eurostar journeys
Eurostar passengers travelling to and from Paris are facing severe disruption and cancellations on Monday, after a critical section of the French rail network was temporarily shut down. France's railway company, SNCF, attributed the chaos to a power outage near Moussy, approximately 50km north of Paris. The incident, which began around 8am, necessitated "major repairs". It is expected to cause delays until late evening. A Eurostar spokesperson said that passengers could "exchange their tickets free of charge or request a full refund." Travellers are being advised to postpone their journeys if possible. Eurostar's online timetable showed six trains from London to Paris were delayed on Monday, some by up to two hours, and five others were cancelled. Meanwhile, five journeys from Paris to London were delayed and four were cancelled. Routes connecting London to Amsterdam, London to Brussels, and Brussels to Amsterdam remain unaffected by the French network issues. The widespread disruption impacts one of Europe's busiest international rail corridors, occurring at the peak of the summer travel season.
