Early Life

I was born in Bolton, Lancashire in 1957, being the only child of Peter and Carol Boardman. I attended the local primary school until the age of eight, after which I travelled further afield for my education.

My parents ran the newsagency kiosks on the bus station in Bolton (where I am pictured at the age of 26!!) I spent many hours helping out in the kiosks, as well as proof reading comics and testing the confectionery.

My Mum sadly died in 1973 as a result of having Multiple Sclerosis . I continued my education, interspersed with running the newsagency business with my father until 2000. During that time, I indulged my passion for racing sailboats, being fortunate to compete at national and international level in a variety of boats, most enjoyably the International 470 dinghy.

Later Life

In 2000, I moved to West Yorkshire, marrying Judith and settling in Halifax. After spending several years teaching adults, I worked for a few years for a local charity for the blind until retirement. I currently volunteer as a helper for the local branch of the RSPCA.

I still enjoy sailing and racing sailboats, currently owning a Laser dinghy and, with a eye to the future, I have a radio controlled boat, an RC Laser, which I enjoy racing against fellow enthusiasts of a similar age at Delph Sailing Club, where it all started many years ago.

Family

After graduating from Liverpool University with a degree in English, Judith was a journalist with the Wakefield Express newspaper before leaving to start a family, raising daughter Amy and son John in Bradford. She re-started working life as a tutor in ESOL to adults. After retirment, she became interested in writing for well-being, running a blog on that theme.

I enjoy cycling locally on my Boardman! bike, and with Judith on our tandem, both locally and elsewhere (see Gallery). We attend ballroom dancing classes and hope to move on to social dances soon.

In her spare moments, Judith is still quite creative, literary examples of which are her tandem bike poem and her modern age poem.

My stepson John lives o'er t'hill near Lancaster with his partner Nichola and son Otis (see Gallery), working as store manager at the Matalan stores in Kendal and Barrow. My stepdaughter Amy is married to Eliezer and lives in Baildon (north Bradford) with her four children; Isabella, Seth, Ineza (usually called Naya) and Noah (see Gallery).