THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — the Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain great stories from her home village of FINDON, West Sussex, U.K.    Everyday tales about real people...... in fact, a potted history of the village.   The topics today, are history tomorrow.

PATRICK MOORE AND PETER DAW

 — The Year 1985 in the Racing Calendar of Findon

Copyright Valerie Martin 2004

Sometimes little stories come to mind of the racing past in Findon.   The stargazer, Patrick Moore, visited Findon in July 1985.  He was the special guest in the village at a major fund raising event.  This was a charity cricket match at the Findon Cricket Club's ground at Long Furlong to raise money for the Norfolk House appeal for local spastics.  Patrick Moore joined the invitation X1 captained by Josh.   It was the third year that members of the Club and Josh had held the charity event.

Keeping to the month of July 1985, a Findon jockey was left stranded all night in London after his bus was late arriving at Victoria Coach Station and he missed his connection.

It happened like this.   Peter Daw aged 18 of Homewood in the village boarded a coach at Worthing Pier on a Sunday night to get to Newmarket where he had recently begun work as a jockey for a racing stable.

Heavy traffic on the road (however many times do we hear that) delayed his arrival at Victoria and the last Newmarket bus had already departed.  He had only enough cash to get from Newmarket Bus Station to his new stables.   When he tried to explain his plight, staff said there was nothing they could do.

The next bus did not leave until 10 a.m. the next day.   Moreover, he would have to buy another ticket for the second part of his journey because the original had now expired.

The jockey had to ring his father to forward some money so that he could purchase another ticket.   But that was not the end of his problems.   He could not kip down at the Bus Station because the police told him he would be moved on, so he spent the whole night wandering about Victoria.

Eventually he got to his stables, exhausted at 12.15 p.m. the following day when he should have started work at 6.30 a.m.

His father, Charles Daw, was furious with the National Express Bus Company.   They apologised and said that if Peter wrote to them they would refund the money for the extra ticket.

Continue to see.....Findon Racing — Valerie's Archive

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.