May Well we are now in the month of May so here is Mays Gallery and my first RNLI station was :- West Mersea Diary update I managed to get the Southend Echo to send a photographer to the Lifeboat Station & meet me there & arranged for some Crew to be there too, on Fri 28th - actually a day off for me, so I'd be on time for the important day tomorrow. That was the 2nd Yacht Haven & therefore another 1,000 cheque (for the Crew Training Appeal) presentation to Burnham Lifeboat Station. Dan from Fambridge Yacht Haven brought the cheque and also his delightful daughter (about 6 or 7, I think) who was totally fascinated by the 2 inshore lifeboats we were shown over. Thanks to the guys at Burnham Lifeboat. Thanks also to the Ferryboat Inn at North Fambridge, knowing of my trip they gave me a free pint & then lunch as well. Lovely pub (with accommodation too) well worth a visit. Had a good rest at the Railway Hotel at Burnham - thanks to Yacht Havens. Had to pack up tent in pouring rain at Colchester, but now I can pack the inside of my tent away before I take the outside down, thanks to mum & her sewing skills. Near Ipswich live Christine & Richard - more distant relations who nevertheless I have to thank equally for doing all they could for me. The Lion Inn at Theberton (who do camping) helped with a free pint and, with donations of various types including quiz winnings, netted 30 for the Appeal! In Mundesley I found the road being resurfaced & and had to negotiate wet tarmac & loose stones! The Lifeboat Inn :-) granted me a large discount at Thornham, near Hunstanton, so I had a room to recharge my batteries! Thank you!   Clacton Walton & Frinton Harwich Aldeburgh Southwold Lowestoft South Broads Gorleston and Great Yarmouth Happisburgh Diary update On Sunday 7th I went thro a village with the silliest name yet... Clenchwarton (!) On the 8th, rounding the bottom of 'The Wash' I got a 20 mph headwind all the way to the Skegness area. Annoying and hard work! Having contacted Bob (who is a friend of Oliver, who is a friend of mine!) the night before, I arrived at Burgh Le Marsh and bumped into Robert, who is a friend of Bob's! I ended up staying at Robert's, though the bike/trailer had to stay at Bob's. Cheers guys! Robert even treated me and Bob to dinner - top chap! On the 10th I had to go quite a distance - I'd foolishly told Martin at the Withernsea Station I'd be there that day. I left the campsite, which was 6 miles south of Cleethorpes, at 7.30. At midday I was crossing the Humber Bridge and then trying not to get lost in Kingston Upon Humber! Having already done 35 miles at this point, I was beginning to wonder if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. Gulp! I had to go to the Humber Station first and that was right down at Spurn Head! Miles and miles away, plus I'd have to cycle back and up to Withernsea - was that possible? We'll see. It was about 4.30 when I got to Kilnsea, the last village before the narrow peninsula to Spurn Head. It was on the 'road' after that when I ran into problems. To start with, varying amounts of sand had been blown onto the road, making progress slow and difficult. Then the road ended and the track of carpeted small concrete blocks began. They were extremely bumpy to say the least. Thankfully they only went on for a third of a mile and not all the way as I had suspected. However it was well after five when I arrived at the Humber Station! And to my intense relief 'Spanish' Dave there, offered me a bed for the night in the station! Phew! Mind you I had done 73 miles by that point - and the cycle computer said that over the 7 1/2 hours riding time, I'd averaged 9.8mph. That may not sound much, but with a ten and a half stone trailer, believe me it is! The next day, I had a much shorter journey just to Withernsea, where Martin was expecting me (Dave had phoned to explain). This enabled me to get some of the things that had been waiting, done. I stayed at the Station here too, though there's no bed - I brought mine! On the 12th the silliest thing yet happened. It started a lovely day (except for a bit of fog), but by three o'clock I could see clouds - thunderclouds bubbling up not far ahead. Soon the Sun went in, a strong wind started to blow and I hurriedly stopped to put waterproofs on. Ten seconds later a large car pulled up and a lady offered me some money for the charity. "Thanks very much", I said and we had a quick chat about my trip. I mentioned something about the rain as I continued searching for my waterproof trousers. "Where are you going today?" she asked. "Just to Filey", I replied, "about 8 miles". "We could probably get your bike & trailer in the horsebox", she kidded, indicating behind. Now, with a huge thunderstorm about to descend on you, what do you think you would have done? Say no more! Well I had done over 40 miles already! Much thanks to Maureen and Tracey.   Dont forget to keep up todate with the very latest on the forum.