
" It has been said that man first climbed a tree three million years ago. I can still recall the very first time I climbed up a tree. I was aged 8 years and only managed to get half way up the chestnut before the branch upon which I stood decided to snap and end for me, what would otherwise have been a glorious day. There have been a few occasions in life when other things I was depending on 'snapped' and left me up the creek. The most embarrassing was a clasp holding up my belt-less trousers when I was a teenager in Blackpool at the age of 18 years and had just met an attractive lass who wanted to go dancing. Most of my embarrassments however, occurred between the ages of 17 and 22 years of age when, like a bear with a sore head, my temper would snap frequently and lead me into numerous fights with other hot heads. I stopped climbing trees after 12 years of age when a traffic accident left me unable to walk for three years. When I stopped climbing trees, my younger brother Peter started and, at the age of 61-years, he still climbs one particular tree on some land he owns and perches in the top branches where he reads for hours on end. He gets his hip replaced soon so it looks like he will soon have to retire from his tree climbing. Then his lovely wife Linda will have to find a new 'naughty mat' for him to spend some 'time out' on whenever he has one of his tantrums!" William Forde: March 25th, 2013.