About bloody time too, but I’m sorry me muddy chums but I have been a bit distracted. Really ever since about September 2018 when I peed blood 3 times. I went to me doctor and he said, “it’s probably an infection, but just to be on the safe side I will put you on the Cancer Pathway at the local hospital”. So, after some short stays in hospital where they take a look inside me bladder, they tell me I do have bladder cancer, and I take a 12 week course of treatment called BCG. I drive in one day a week for 6 weeks, and they fill me bladder with living TB virus. After 6 weeks I go back for another look inside (they call them cystoscopies) but it aint worked. Now as luck would have it, my local hospital Medway Maritime has a top urology department run by my consultant Professor Sherriff. Further they have one of only 8 Davinci robotic bits of kit in the UK. Next up despite me age they check me fitness as I tell them I’m a serious mountain bike rider, and I’m passed fit to have this operation to remove bladder, prostate, lymph noads and appendix etc using the Davinci. This means no hands inside me and faster recovery. Anyway, it was all done on 28th May and today 23rd June I am home recovering. This Davinci is a fascinating piece of top engineering and if you do a search Davinci Robot you can see it sewing a piece back onto a grape on film, and some pictures of the apparatus being used, nothing gory mind.

MISSING BILLING

Despite asking the team to get me in quick I had to wait me turn, and I was the 3rd person and the oldest by far to have this operation done in the UK. So, they filmed the op which took 10 hours and they told me it will be shared internationally. Touch for Charlie fame at last, I’m waiting for me invite to the Cannes Film Festival. Enough about this nonsense main thing is Boo Hoo I can’t go to Billing this year. I am a bit fragile Ive lost 2 stone in weight and it would be too risky to come along, but I know Barrie, Matt, and the team will do me proud.

Down at the off-road course I manage Happy Valley 4x4 in Kent we are doing fine. We have 335 followers on our Facebook page and with our 3rd Sunday in the month open days and club bookings, after a slow start I am very Happy at the Valley. We have been doing some off-road training and some of the team have done their City & Guilds NVQ Level 2 at the site in off road vehicle preparation, off road driving and use of vehicle winches.

ON ME BIKE

I went into hospital on 28th May and 4 days previous to that I had my last ride, and did 22 odd miles on the Heron Trail around High Halstow, Cooling, Cliffe, Higham, Wainscott, Stoke and back to High Halstow to pick up the car to go back home. Me bike carrier on the back of me Ford Edge has been a boon has cycling is not allowed in the Medway Tunnel near me. Its gonna be a long time before I’m fit to ride but when I get out again, I intend to use the bike rack to try some of the other cycle tracks around Kent and Sussex. Has old Arnie love him once said “I’ll be back. Finally, my friends across the road Karen & Darren kindly bought me a book to read about Land Rovers, and first thought was “oh not another one”. But I can recommend this one written by Ben Fogle. He has a good writing style and its very informative, and there was even e few bits about expeditions way back that I had never come across before. My new website redesigned by Richard Jenkins is now up and running at charliethorn4x4.co.uk and he has done a fine job for me, so if you are ever thinking of having a website give him a call. Cheerio for now. Be safe out there Charlie.XXX kisses for the ladies, not you rough boys