happy birthday Richard!

hey everyone

in celebration of my dear brother Richard's birthday, i have decided to put some classic moments from his life and times up here. they are mostly for him to enjoy, but if any and all readers of this site enjoy them too, so be it!

one of the best Richard moments was from the days of his Rod Stewart look, which gives me all the excuse i need to put this pic here again!





at some point in the late 70s, or even 1980, we were driving home from Scotta House Farm. Richard, ever the stuntman, wondered what would happen if you opened the car door whilst you were driving. he then did this, thankfully whilst Dad was navigating the road out of Scotta very slowly. he soon closed the door, though, as Dad hit a puddle at the moment Richard had opened the door, leaving Richard with a face full of mud! i remember it being one of the funniest things ever!

now then, two years in Australia cannot pass without having some bearing or affect on your life. for me it was probably the discovery of music in general and Adam & The Ants in particular; for Richard it was most certainly the film Convoy.





i believe it would have been 1982 when we first saw that film, and ever since Richard has held it up as a guideline and a way of life; the character of Rubber Duck of course being his ultimate Role Model. Richard would, when not watching the film itself, spend his days recreating the film with his mates on their bikes; him at the front wearing his ace Evel Knievel gloves and brandishing a smart walkie talkie! i am sure i have a pic of him dressed like that somewhere, will try and find it!





as for other classic Richard moments, well, there are a web page and a half full of them, really. one of the best ones was when he came to spend a weekend with me whilst i was living in Cape Town. by the Sunday afternoon we were flat broke and busy nursing the last of our money in the form of a pint down at the River Club, watching the match. Richard grabbed the last few coins we had and disappeared. i didn't pay much attention to the sound in the background, but as it turned out with his usual luck he had a go on the "fruity" and had hit the jackpot! he came back proudly carrying a couple of hundred in coins in his shirt, dumped them on the table and thus we could remain well refreshed for the remainder of that afternoon!





to say that Richard is a chap with many strings to his bow is an understatement, unless you are speaking of the biggest bow with the largest number of strings attached in history. if that needed illustrating, consider this picture.





yes, that's right, Richard can master a mobile phone and a bottle of water at the same time! the trick is, though, if he so wished or was required to, while he was doing that he could also change a car tyre, win a hand of cards and recite the entire script of The Sword And The Sorcerer too!

so, what are the best things about Richard? well, beyond being the most supportive and helpful brother i could have ever wanted, beyond being a wonderful husband and father to his family, i would guess that it's that he is Richard, really. nothing gets him down or stops him, and if you try to do either of those things he's pretty good at switching off if he's not particularly interested in hearing it, as shown here!





hope you have had and continue to celebrate your birthday, brother! all the best!!!



that's a big 10-4, good buddy..............