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| The Coat of Arms of Derbyshire County |
Day 234 of my BRIT 2012 mile walk took place in both Derbyshire and
Rutland.
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands and a substantial portion of
the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The city of Derby is
now a unitary authority area, but remains part of the ceremonial county of
Derbyshire.
My morning started with a visit to the Headquarters of Norton Motorcycles http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/
in Donington Park. Stuart Garner, the Chief Executive, is a great friend and a
BRIT Advisor and Norton Motorcycles have been great supporters of BRIT since
our very beginning.
Norton is an iconic British motorcycle manufacturer. The company was
founded in Birmingham in 1898 as a manufacturer of "fittings and parts for
the two-wheel trade." By 1902, they had begun manufacturing
motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908, a Norton-built engine was added to
the range. This began a long series of production of single and eventually
twin-cylinder motorcycles, and a long history of racing involvement.
Known as “Pa”, James Lansdowne Norton, formed Norton to build motorcycles
with French and Swiss engines.
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| Rem Fowler with his twin-cylinder class Norton in 1907 at the Isle of Man TT |
In 1907, a Norton ridden by Rem Fowler won the twin-cylinder class in the
first Isle of Man TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until
the 1960s. The Isle of Man Senior TT, the most prestigious of events, was won
by Norton ten times between the wars and then every year from 1947 to 1954. The
first Norton engines were made in 1908, beginning a line of side-valve
single-cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s.
In 1913 the business declined. R.T. Shelley & Co., the main creditors,
saved it. Norton Motors Ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint
directorship of James Norton and Bob Shelley. J.L. Norton died in 1925 aged
only 56, but he saw his motorcycles win the Senior and sidecar TTs in 1924.
After fifteen years of US ownership the Norton brand was secured by Stuart
Garner, UK businessman and owner of Norton Racing Ltd. Stuart has been
developing a new Norton factory at Donington Park to produce the 961 Commando.
There are three versions of the 961 Commando;
Norton is now developing the race
bike, the Norton SG1;
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| The Norton SG1 Race Bike at the Goodwood Festival of Speed |
It was a pleasure to see Stuart
again and to spend time talking to Stuart and KJ about the BRIT Strategy and
listen to advice, guidance and to chat through ideas.
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| With my great friend, BRIT Advisor and Chief Executive of Norton Motorcycles, Stuart Garner, on the SG1 |
I value the support of my BRIT
Advisors immensely and I am very lucky to have good such friends. I caught
up with many of the Norton Team today and it was great to see them again.
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| The Norton Motorcycles team at Donington Park on Day 234 of my BRIT 2012 mile walk |
From Donington Park I travelled
to Rutland to meet and walk with students from the Rutland County College http://rutlandcountycollege.com/
Rutland County College http://rutlandcountycollege.com/ is a post-16 (or
sixth-form) college, based mainly in Oakham, Rutland. This month it
opened on a new site in Barleythorpe on the outskirts of Oakham where I went
visit today.
It was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to speak to the whole college
about BRIT and the BRIT 2012 mile walk. Following the talk, I was delighted
that many of the students opted to walk with me to Oakham and back again,
rather than go home as it was nearing the end of the college day.
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| With some of the young people from Rutland County College that I walked with on a wet Day 234 of my BRIT 2012 mile walk |
I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to the students about the courses they were
attending, their future aspirations and their thoughts on BRIT. For more
information on the Rutland County College prospectus, please click here; http://www.rutlandcountycollege.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Rutland-County-College-Prospectus-2012-13.pdf I also discussed the concept of the
future BRIT Social Media campaign on Facebook and Twitter and was excited to
hear that the college are keen to give their full support to the campaign.
The weather deteriorated very quickly this afternoon and despite heavy
rain, many of the students continued to the end of the walk, returning to the
college campus to dry off.
My sincere thanks to the staff and students for welcoming me so warmly and
for hosting me today.
The hotel is surrounded by 500 beautiful acres of Capability Brown
landscaped grounds and the estate sits in the heart of Leicestershire, near
Melton Mowbray and close to Rutland Water.
To support the BRIT 2012 mile walk, BRIT and I, Stapleford Park have been
extraordinarily generous to accommodate me and look after me. As I have
mentioned in previous blogs, the support I receive to assist with accommodation
reduces costs of the challenge. I remain humbled by the kindness I receive
throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland on my BRIT 2012 mile walk. My
sincere thanks to everyone at Stapleford Park for looking after me and for their
wonderful hospitality.
Battling an awful Urinary Tract (Bladder) Infection this week, I have not
felt good at all. The infection causes a great deal of discomfort and poor
sleep, so the quietness of Stapleford Park and the understanding of the super
staff here have helped me considerably.
I talk as openly as possible to young people about my internal injuries
including amongst other medical issues, my lack of bladder function and my use
of catheters. I believe it is vital to share, where appropriate, information on
medical conditions so that young people understand a little more about the
areas that can often be embarrassing topics of conversation. I hope that by
talking in a matter of fact and positive way, I can leave those young people I
speak to with a greater insight and perhaps a little more understanding of some
of the issues they may not be aware of.
As I was browsing the internet and researching information on catheters to
assist young people, both in pictures and diagrams, I was surprised that there
is not better information. I’ve made a note on this and added it to my list of
things to do and will speak to my catheter manufacturer and supplier to see if
we can work together to provide more improved information for young people.
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| The best diagram I could find on using a catheter-I've made a note and added it to my list of things to do, to approach my catheter manufacturer and supplier to ask them if we can make the information available easier to understand and much more detailed to help young people |
Fortunately I have antibiotics with me at all times and I am hoping that
they will kick in now I have been taking them for two days. Fingers crossed
they will fight the infection and I will regain some strength and return to
normal as soon as possible.
It has been a great day in Derbyshire and Rutland.
I am finishing Day 234 with 507 miles to go.
Best wishes,
Phil