CHRIS WAINWRIGHT GENTLEMEN I GIVE YOU...

GENTLEMEN I GIVE YOU...

Hello again Chartered ONE readers, roars our very own Chris Wainwright.

I have been a regular contributor over the last years and your Editor, Martyn has given me yet another opportunity. Maybe he is hoping I will come up with something interesting this time.

Over the years I have submitted accounts of my (lamentable) efforts to complete the London marathon, swim the Mersey and cycle for charity.

Recently I have diverted my charitable efforts to the computer and I have written a book. I have actually done this before but never published. I used to sit down and write, not often and generally in the middle of the night and any school teachers would go mad at me: I never made a plan!

Like all those past efforts I was ready to consign this latest effort to an aging hard drive somewhere when Martyn read it. He liked it and he insisted that I publish it! I couldn’t face this so he did it for me.

Thank you, Martyn – and we wouldn’t now be raising money for charity had you left me in peace with my under achieving.

BUT – what’s the book, and what’s the lucky charity? The book is called ‘Gentlemen I give you’ and is about yes, gentlemen I have met over the last 30 years and more often than not following an introduction from Andy Pritchard formerly of Arthur Young. He left AY/EY to take up a serious role at Iceland Frozen Foods retiring very comfortably, far too young and far too early a few years ago.

The inspiration for the book finally came to me at a lunch one day when guests to said lunch were getting their copies of Malcom Walker’s book ‘Best Served Cold’ signed by the great man himself.

The whole gathering consisted of other successful business people, and me too (though not very sure why I had actually been invited), and the thought occurred to me that I should spend a little time with each of them and record the results. This formed the main strand of the book together with some Ronnie Corbet like ramblings off on tangents.

Seriously though, folks – the heroes of the book are some fine professionals and business people who have helped restore the fortunes of our city since the low point of the 1980’s and who have left a lasting legacy.

As to the chosen charity, as a former rugby player I was very touched when former Scotland and British Lions rugby union legend Doddie Weir announced his MND diagnosis. His pal, my cousin Rob Wainwirght, also an international and a Lion almost immediately started raising funds for research into this ghastly disease.

From the day I saw Doddie on Sports Personality of the Year unable to take the Helen Rollason award from Princess Anne we decided that the profits would all go to the big man’s charity.

Some of you will already have bought the book, but if any more can help then the link is:

“The inspiration for the book finally came to me at a lunch one day when guests to said lunch were getting their copies of Malcom Walker’s book ‘Best Served Cold’ signed by the great man himself. ”

www.chriswainwrightbooks.com

Thank you for listening, err, reading and err, contributing. PS – I have been told that I will be the subject of the new Chartered ONE BIG interview in the next issue.