In the last week, I’ve been unable to complete a range of tasks flowing out of the Fred Pearce Relay and its shenanigans. Stupidly I’ve suffered mild sunstroke as a result of attending hatless an emotional and dramatic military funeral in our Cretan village. One of the pilots killed in fighting the fires on Evia, Greece was Christos, the son of our dear friends, Tasoula and Vangelis, who run the ‘Arismari’ taverna. We remain somewhat stunned.

However, a fillip to the spirits has just arrived in the shape of this message from Dave Ainsworth at  dave_ainsworth@yahoo.co.uk

For all  race walkers 

Please find the time to watch this exceptional film of the July 2023 Moulton Open 5 Miles and an undercard Youngsters 1 Mile. It’s better than TV – so take your phone off the hook or switch to silent, pour yourself a cup of tea, settle down and enjoy the show.  A number couldn’t make Moulton this year, so this is the next best thing. It’s interviews with participants, villagers, officials and helpers + action shots plus archive footage of some at Mouton taken from their heydays. Len Ruddock is an accomplished filmmaker with his own mobile studio, who has made many such films based on a local Football League of which he’s Chairman.  This 37 minutes is a wonderful entertaining watch – so get the family in to enjoy the show.

Having raced there in 2021 I can vouch for the special atmosphere of the event, at the heart of which is our very own Ron Wallwork. As underlined in the film the Moulton Five is almost the last living expression of the vibrant tradition of Open races held on British public roads. It would be very sad to see it disappear.

Perhaps Lancashire could send a team next year.