by Clarkson Wroe

Created on: August 27, 2008

Three Men at the Races. another certainty for my writing masterpiece!

I have not mentioned for some time my continuing difficulties in trying to come up with an idea for my writing masterpiece. The reason being that I do not want to burden my loyal reader, with my lack of progress, whilst he is preoccupied in Pentonville Prison doing solitary confinement.

However having recently re-read the absolute classic "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K Jerome and then perchance discovering in a second hand book shop a 1989 sporting parody by J.S.Finch entitled "Three Men at the Match" a journey through the English County Cricket Season I ventured to think that a similar theme could be the answer to my problem.

My main dilemma being that most of my activities invariably involve four people. I could of course blow out Simcock or Biddercome or Spicer from Friday tennis but "Three Men on a Court" is a bit pointless. Alternately I could re-take to the road and write "Three Men on Golf Tour" but that would mean setting forth without either Spicer who's 4 by 4 we travel in, Fat Al who organises everything and of course provides the trophy or Offenbach who puts us all to bed when we are unable to do so ourselves.

Then as luck would have it Canute my long lost business partner rings and asks if I am meeting him at the forthcoming Chester Races, whilst informing me that he has invited his father along.

"Three Men at the Races".

Perfect.

Canute informs me that he is fitting a few "Blue Ribband" sporting events into his schedule between a month on the French Riviera and a couple of weeks in the Dutch East Indies and thinks that it would be useful if we have a bit of a "Board Meeting". He is gracious enough to ask about my recent trips to Pontefract and Wolverhampton where I met with "our" clients and then asks if I would not mind picking his father up on the way to Chester. I agree to do this before actually asking where he needs picking up from. South Sheffield is not, for me, normally en-route to Chester but unfortunately Canute is very persuasive.

I am given, by his son, the telephone number of Canute Senior and thus ring him and arrange the pick up time and point and on the said day arrive and pick him up. In the true spirit of Jerome K Jerome I decide to make the journey an adventure in its own right and so from my bookshelves arm myself with "The Readers Digest Book of the Road" 1967 edition, another second hand bookshop offering.

In 1967 the UK apparently, according to the Readers

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