about me

Born in Sussex in 1963, David grew up near Hayward’s Heath and, from an early age, showed a great passion for sport.  Earning his gold standard swimming award at the age of seven, he went on to claim Daley Thompson’s scalp over 800 metres as an 11 year old. After coming 17th in the national junior cross country championship as part of the winning Sussex team in 1978, he became increasingly involved in his local rugby club in Hayward’s Heath. As a junior, he played under-19 rugby for his county and later captained the Hayward’s Heath side for three years.

With the recession of 1987, David, a bricklayer by profession, was struggling to find work. An offer of a job and a chance to play rugby in Northern France sent David off on a new adventure which included three years in Argeles-sur-Mer, which instilled in him a lifelong love of ‘la vie française’. A serious back injury ended his rugby career and necessitated a return to England. While undergoing an operation to fuse the vertebrae, David contracted MRSA in his hip during the bone graft procedure. Delays in the diagnosis resulted in serious damage to the hip and a close brush with death when he was hospitalised suffering from septic shock.

After a five-year ordeal but newly married to his wife, Christine, the couple decided to fulfil their dream and move to France in 2005. David went ahead and, while working in Castelnaudry, he spent his days off travelling round the area to look for property to buy. On one of their forays, David and Christine passed through the medieval bastide of St. Clar in the Gers and drove into the village square. Opposite the church, at the entrance to Place d ‘Astros was a house for sale.  It was love at first sight and they bought the property. After 18 months of hard work they opened Le Tournesol, a chambre d’hotes run by Christine who is a professional chef. David meanwhile started a small building business.

In 2010, David began unaccountably to lose weight, 22 kilos in all. Initially he thought it was just his advancing years and perhaps a change of diet. Like so many he delayed going to see his doctor for a year. When he finally saw the doctor, he was sent immediately to a specialist. After a series of tests he was hospitalised and underwent an operation to remove three large polyps from his colon. Happily they proved to be non-malignant. David was lucky, but many are not so fortunate. The tests also revealed that he was gluten intolerant which meant significant changes to his diet.

Throughout this period, David expected the worst. However, a death sentence had been lifted and, as a measure of thanks, he decided to do something to celebrate his new lease of life. It was out of this experience that the idea of a cycle ride around the periphery of France was born. A fifty day adventure to raise money, raise awareness about cancer and meet new friends as well as to cement ‘l’entente cordiale’ between England and France was David’s idea of celebrating his new–found health.