OARSOME BRAVERY
Blast Para to row Channel
SOLDIER Al Hodgson thought he was a goner when he triggered an IRA booby trap.
The blast took both of the 21-yearold’s legs and shattered his pelvis.
But the bomb had only half-exploded – and three brave pals ignored the danger to charge in and save him.
Fellow Parachute Regiment members Matt Hellyer, Kenny Davidson and Ian ‘Ilch’ Illidge got Al to a helicopter near Cappagh, Co Tyrone, on May 12, 1992.
And now, Al and Matt are part of a 10-strong team rowing the Channel, from Poole Harbour to Cherbourg and back, for charity Pilgrim Bandits, which helps injured squaddies.
Al, now 51, of Kendal, Cumbria, said: “Matt and I will be rowing side by side, attempting to set a record.
“When I think back to that day, one of the things that stands out and fills me with so much pride was seeing those three boys running towards me, through danger, with the sole intent of keeping me alive. It was like a movie moment, when you watch something incredible on a cinema screen.
Honour
“I try to live each day in honour of being given a second chance of life and their heroism that day.”
Matt, the boss of the charity, said of that fateful day: “We started working on him, then realised the
device was only halfdetonated and it was still smouldering under him.
“Your priorities take over – we were never going to leave him.”
Al added: “I remember telling Matt, ‘I feel really tired.’ He said, ‘It’s going to be OK.’ They all did their bit to save me.”
Since then, Al has honoured his pledge to live life to the full, becoming an international skydiving champ. He added: “When Matt asked me to join the team I thought there’s no way I’m going to miss it as I owe Matt, Ilch and Kenny – who passed away from illness a few years ago – everything.”
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One thing that stands out from that day is seeing those three boys running towards me, through danger, with the sole intent of keeping me alive
Bomb was still smouldering but we’d never
leave him
BEAMING Ines Joy squeals with delight when she goes on a trip... and that’s a lot of SMILES for a tot who has covered 7,000 MILES.
At just eight months, Ines has seen nine countries. And another five are on the schedule within the next month.
Travel-mad parents Lauren Bate and Alex Joy have hit the road big time since their daughter was born.
Egged on by friends who suggested they “would never travel again” once they became parents, the couple decided to tackle the #12in12 challenge – visiting a dozen countries in a year.
And Lauren, 28, believes Ines will be the youngest British baby to have completed the challenge.
Husband Alex, 30, has used paternity and annual leave from his job as a maths teacher to fit in all the trips in their Toyota Auris hybrid car... with pet dog on board.
Counting England as one of the 14, the family have already been to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Wales and Spain – where they co-own a holiday home.
There have been wonderful highlights, particularly in Paris and Barcelona.
Lauren, who lives in a village near Leicester, says: “The first time we heard her say a word we were at the Eiffel Tower.
“The lights had just come on and she said, ‘Wow’. That was at the beginning of February, so she was just over three months old. Alex was just crying behind the camera.”
Ines’ middle names are Lucerna Joy – taken from the Swiss city of Lucerne, which the family have visited too.
Lauren believes the challenge has already been a positive influence on Ines’ development. She adds: “We are trying to immerse her in different languages.
“We want to raise her bilingual. I mainly speak to her in Spanish and Alex speaks to her in English. We were on a ferry and there was an announcement in English and Spanish and French and she pulled a face at the French because she hadn’t heard it before.
“We are also doing baby-led weaning and she’s having fun with her palate.
“Her favourite thing to eat is tostada con tomate y atun, which is Spanish toasted bread with tomato and tuna. She loves it.
“When we were in France she had raclette cheese, which she really liked, and no doubt she will try something new in Austria when we visit.”
The couple also believe Ines first saw colour during a road trip to Barcelona.
Lauren explains: “We were at Park Guell, looking at Gaudi’s artwork.
“She had only been seeing black and white and had shied away from colour a bit up until then, but when the light hit the artwork she reached out and was mesmerised by the colours.”
Wings
The clan are off on their travels again soon, visiting Italy, Vatican City – the world’s smallest state – Slovenia, Austria and Croatia.
Their 7,000 miles covered includes 6,000 by road and the rest by sea.
Before Ines arrived, Lauren and Alex loved road trips with their King Charles cavalier spaniel, Rio, in tow.
And parenthood wasn’t about to clip their wings.
Lauren adds: “I got pregnant in January 2021. People were saying, ‘Oh, it’s a shame you won’t be able to travel any more’.
“When people tell you you can’t do something, it just makes you want to do it more. You hear a lot of ‘you can’t do this and that’ and ‘do you know how much you will have to pack?’
“There are a lot of negative people out there and I just wanted to prove them wrong. It is so much fun now.
“We aren’t as tired with our road trips as we used to be because we take it so much slower. We plan everything in advance and know exactly where we are going to go. Ines wakes up at the same time each day – 6am, which makes it easier.”
After breakfast at their hotel the family head off to see city sights before midday.
Then it’s nap time for Ines, who snoozes blissfully until 3pm.
That makes it the perfect time for her parents to hit the road for the next destination.
Lauren goes on: “We tend to plan somewhere that is between two and four hours away. If it’s four hours we will stop for a proper break, take her out and give her something to eat before getting back in the car.”
Once at their destination, the family check in, find somewhere to have tea and put Ines to bed at around 7.30pm.
“We find that as long as we have a room with a balcony we can sit on while she sleeps, it is really no different than sitting out in a bar watching people go by,” says Lauren.
Teetotal Alex will typically enjoy a fizzy drink, while Lauren will have a glass of wine or mojito.
Now the #12in12 challenge is almost done, she and Alex are already planning future adventures.
That could include Disneyland Paris in October. And, says Lauren: “We intend
Ines wakes at 6am, we see city by midday, then hit
the road again
to do something long haul next year.”
That means yet more stamps in Ines’ passport. Lauren, meanwhile, aims to trawl through their travel videos and upload them to her Instagram account @imlaurenbate so that people can follow their journey. Which will be cheaper than sending postcards!