RETROSPECTIVE

WALK THE TALK ON HADRIANS WALL;MAY 2006


After an eternity in the internet wilderness, three happy trekkers found themselves landed, sweaty, but fully pleasured in wondrous Wallsend,pearl of the North. Six days after take off from far western Irish waters , a joyous trio skinny dipped in the North Sea having conquered The Hadrian Wall Footpath. The following pages capture just a few of the adventures of the `three men and their goat`,as they dabbled with barking mad landladies, farting horses, deviant bikers and `happy` boys. The fuller account will be published and in the shops just before Christmas 2006, so be prepared for a shock-filled festive thriller (you can reserve your order in advance-I would, via posting your comment at the bottom of this blog,or go direct to us at ; georgetortoise@fsmail.net .
Nothing too filthy please.Note: stocks will sell out !).

The journey is described retrospectively (for the hard of hearing that means you will read about the final day first and the first day last) so if you wish for a chronological description of the events, go to the end of the blog and read from there. As for why we did it, well I hope these introductory photographs give you some sort of impression about the answer to that. And of course, the prime motivation behind the project was to raise money for the charity KidzKlub Leeds.

For those wishing to donate, please go to the blog for Wednesday, 3 rd May, for details.

Mussolini outside Kendal Castle,addressing the walkers.The next day we travelled from our hostel at The Doherty Towers, Kendal, to the starting point of the walk at Bowness. Walking in a full Roman body armour was to prove a mixture of both pleasure and pain,

Stunning Scenery at the midway point along the Walk; The Great Whin Sill and the Wall

Don`t look down Vicar ! Views north toward Kielder Forest and Scotland, from behind the wall

A Roman Milecastle. One of the 25,000 you see on the walk

Inside the The Temple Of Mithras,as featured in The Da Vincii Code

Who ate all the pies ?

Two men confront a bull. What happened next ?

One man placed by bull on top of tree

Donald, the `Famous Farting Horse Of Denton Dene`

Apologies about the blurry nature of the picture, but I was concerned for the safety of Nick (in red), who appeared to be just within the line of fire.

And finally, just in case you wondered what happened to `Mr Dandy` in the three O` clock at Hexham. Well it was `pulled` on the morning of the race and didn`t run. Another horse with suprisingly poor form but very long odds, won at a canter. No money changed hands.

Oh, and as for Roger the goat, after a promising first meeting (where he ate two 1:25,000 maps and tried to mate with Dave`s leg), it was decided reluctantly, to leave him behind.

WHAT`S NEXT IN THE CHARITY FUND-RAISING STAKES ?

Well just in case you hadn`t been approached;

1. The team will soon be on tour presenting `Three Men And A Goat;A Charity Stumble Across England (The Thin Bit)`,supported eventually of course , by their christmas block-buster.

2. The Darden Smith Gig .

The American Singer-Songwriter www.dardensmith.com ( "a brilliant reminder of the power that one man with a guitar and great songs can have" - Phil Jones, Glastonbury Official Site) is being promoted byDave and Ash at The Broadway, Stourbridge, on Saturday 15 th July, 2006.Tickets are £10 in advance, and are available from www.wegottickets.com, or via www.the-broadway.com (Tel; 01384 394267), or by direct request to Ash and Dave @ georgetortoise@fsmail.net (Tel; 078806 92657) for free postal delivery.

All profits will go to KidzKlub Leeds,Registered Charity No 1084977 www.kidzklubleeds.org

Confused, or need to talk about this ? Contact us direct at georgetortoise@fsmail.net.