The Decade in Review....................2000

The New Year of 2000 has to be the biggest of them all. When going into the year 2000, we celebrate that it's a special round number, a new century, a new Millennium, and that it's passed 2000 years since year 1 started. Pretty awesome when you think about it! Another reason to make the New Year of 2000 a defining moment was that it was to be the first new year I brought in with my now beautiful wife Nikki. We brought in the new year at the Millennium Square in Leeds to a countdown on the big screen followed by a spectacular fireworks display.

At this point in my life I was studying my Business and Marketing Bachelor of Arts degree at Humberside University and in addition to that I was working at Miss Selfridge in Leeds on the leather concession called Talc part time as a concession manager. I always remember my first couple of months at University not knowing if this was the right thing for me. I had chosen to go to the University in my local City of Hull.

The main reason for this was to keep costs down as Universities just started charging per semester. Not knowing if student life and further education was for me I pursued my real interest of work and in the year of 2000 I got a promotion whilst working part time from the concession in the Topshop branch in Hull to the Miss Selfridge branch. This was to b one of the most defining moments of life and where and I would meet my lifelong future soul mate and wife. My degree consisted of 6 hours study a week so on the back of this combining my studies with real life work experience and getting paid for it gave me two benefits. The first one was the feel for money and what you could do with it and the second was that I realised that I didnt want to work in the retail industry. Dont get me wrong, I would never change my time doing this, it gave me a great deal of exposure to working with different people but also working in Leeds which is something I always wanted to do. Working in a busy environment and combining that with a busy social life was great.

Works nights out included me and 20+ girls, awesome!

This picture was the first taken of me and Nikki at the Miss Selfridge branch in Leeds! Nikki was a Visual Merchandising Manager for Miss Selfridge and used to visit the store once every other week and this is where I met her. It all started with a trip to the cinema to watch the film the Beach followed by nights away with Nikki when she was working away in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Derby. It was love at first sight really for me. There was something about Nikki, her personality, her looks and drive to be the best she could. We really did just connect instantly, we had the same interests in traveling, working out and going to the gym, and enjoying the simplest of things like going for walks and having bbq's in the back garden. As they say the rest is history..........

July 2nd 2000

This date is certainly a defining moment not just in the year 2000 but over the last decade and will continue to be. This is the date when Joey Dunlop one of my biggest peers / idols passed away. He is not someone I had ever met, but having seen him been interviewed, the way he approached his sport, the way he raced competitively over a period of 4 decades and to see his achievements was ore inspiring.

Joey was regarded as the worlds greatest ever road racer, the King of the roads.

Joeys phenomenal record of achievement is endless:

1/ Five Formula One World Titles

2/ 26 IOM TT Triumphs in 25 years

3/ The undisputed king of Dundrod with more Irish National road race victories than any other rider.

4/ 13 North West 200 victories, the list is endless

Its not just his list of achievements that inspires me but the way he went about it and his values. His Modesty, Combined with his natural ability it was his humility which made him so special. He treated success with equal modesty whether it be the biggest race of the race or a race in his back yard. He had a real passion for his chossen sport of road racing which is essential to be successful.

Joey was also a family man, from footage I have seen we shared the same values. He adored his family and they played a vital role in supporting him through his racing.

He was awarded the MBE in 1986 for his services to the sport, and in 1996 he was awarded the OBE for his humanitarian work for children in Romanian orphanages. Joey would often load up his race transporter and deliver clothing and food to the trouble spots of Bosnia and Romania.

His humanitarian work undertaken was tireless and was done without drawing attention to himself.

In my eyes to summarise my hero,

I would say he was a gentlemen who worked hard to get the success that regarded him as the best in his field. With this accolade, he never let stardom change him and remained as genuine and grounded as ever.

Alot of the over rated, over paid sports personailities and footballs could learn alot from the king of the roads, Yer Maun........

For me, "Great" is a much over-used word. Joey wasn't simply great he was the Greatest.

RIP JD

21st Birthday

In 2000 I also celebrated my 21st Birthday. It was qiute a surpirse when I went out for chilled out drink with Ben, Sarah and Nikki to the Beech Tree. After a few beers and thinking we where setting off in the morning I was greeted by a surprise party at my mum and dads when we got back from the pub! Totally unexpected and a real treat to end the day with the family and friends. Me and Nikki then drove down to London the following day to stay at the Marriot for a couple of nights. We had a great time and it made my 21st a real special occassion.