RICHARD GODBOLT                                             Role: Footpaths Secretary

 I moved to Narborough from Harrow just as the pandemic was breaking. My wife had died at the end of 2019 and we had already bought a bungalow near our younger daughter. Covid was spent exploring all the footpaths within a three-mile radius; and then I joined the Ramblers. I had been a member in the 1960’s, doing all day walks in the Peak District from Nottingham. I subsequently joined a cycling club in Nottingham and a hill walking club in Lincoln, where I was teaching at the time, driving up to the Lake District on a Friday night, arriving about four am, before we set off for all day expeditions into the hills.  Later, I used to take my elder daughter backpacking from hostel to hostel in the Lake District.

Most of my working life was spent teaching in Further Education where I became a Union Rep. doing case work and negotiating conditions of service. I retired from my permanent post in 2008 but continued with a few part time hours for 3 more years.

I have found my own walking routes along footpaths all my life and was delighted to take up the job of Footpaths Secretary when it became available.

My interests include photography, engineering of all sorts, gardening, cooking, model sailing boats, and clocks.  When walking with others I enjoy listening as well as talking and having the ability to break off and have time for my own thoughts, as this makes appreciating the countryside with others such a rewarding experience.

My favourite conversations: meander inexorably from one topic to another in completely random and unexpected ways.

History on the Committee:      Footpaths Secretary since AGM 2022.