Page 18 - PBCMarch2014

18 Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 11 No.1 March 2014

Mr Justice Stareleigh then made mention of notable guests and absentees. He
apologised for the absence of Nigella & Charles Saatchi due to a minor domestic,
Prime Minister David Cameron and his fag’ Boris Johnson, and one or two TV &
Radio stars of alleged ill repute who were up before ‘the beak’. On a more serious
note our guests included former Commonwealth Games Cycling Champion, and local
boy –Ron Keeble.

Simon Lillestone, former National Cycling Champion who rode in both World and
Olympic events, and was of course head of cycling at the 2012 London Olympics.
John McClelland 2013 World Master Cycling Champion. Simon Brotherton the TV
& Radio commentator. Ex Professional footballer, Peter Kitchen, who scored over
200 league goals as he clocked up 520 games for Doncaster Rovers, Leyton Orient,
Fulham and Cardiff. Malcolm Andrews, professor of Victorian Studies at Kent
University and editor of ‘The Dickensian’ magazine, and other Dickensian books.
Charles McCulloch national and international world champion time trial cyclist in
age related events. And finally Lee Morris a builder of some repute who rode his
bike the length of the South Downs for charity – in less than twelve hours.

Then came the introduction of our Chief Guest – Fergus Slattery an Irish Rugby
player of some repute earning 61 caps -18 as captain. He was in the 1971 British
& Irish Lions squad tour of New Zealand although did not play in the Test
matches, but toured again in 1974 playing in all four Tests. He also played for
the Barbarians in the famous game against the All Blacks at Cardiff in 1973. He
followed this up with captaining the most successful eve Irish touring team to
Australia in 1979, and was a member of the Irish Triple Crown winning team of
1982. Fergus was inducted into the International Rugby hall of Fame in 2007..

Fergus kept us enthralled with the life and times of international touring rugby
players with as much about off the field activities as the achievements on the
pitch finishing to much applause, and concluding with the toast to the “Immortal
Memory…. and the Pickwick Bicycle Club”.

As always I guess the ability to hear speeches in the Connaught Rooms depends on
where you are seated and whether adjacent guests keep quiet – for my part this
year it was pretty good, but then I was sitting almost in front of our Chief Guest.
Maybe that’s the next thing on the agenda to discuss with the management.