My awards night with Sir Michael Parkinson at a star-studded presentation event in London.

By Don Hale

*Sir Michael Parkinson (*above) with Don Hale OBE at an awards ceremony in London.

My awards night with Sir Michael Parkinson at a star-studded presentation event in London.

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

It was sad to hear of the loss of Sir Michael Parkinson this week. I was fortunate to have met Sir Michael, some time ago, and he was a keen follower of my former justice campaign. He presented me with a top award when I was Journalist of the Year for the first time in about 2001. I was on the top table with him at an awards do, we chatted about lots of things and afterwards, he presented my wife Kath with the table flowers. It was a great star-studded evening at some rather posh place in London. RIP Parky!

Don Hale is a former award winning investigative journalist and now a best-selling author who has created a very popular blog post linked to numerous social media sites. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most recent posts

Mixed emotions but a great experience for athletes at the London Marathon...plus other results and updates.

By Don Hale
Image
*North Wales Road runner Mal Preece (*above) at the London Marathon. Mixed emotions but a great experience for athletes at the London Marathon...plus other results and updates... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Seven North Wales Road Runners competed in the televised London Marathon last Sunday amongst a mass participation of some 50,000 runners, who raised tens of thousands of pounds for various worthy charities, with many athletes recalling mixed emotions and personal best times! Mal Preece  was the first NWRRC member home with an excellent time of 3 hours and 20 minutes, and he celebrated following a great new PB time. Afterwards he confirmed:  “Very pleased with a new six-minute PB. I ran my first marathon back in 2011 at Chester, and to date I’ve knocked 20 minutes off that time. Looking to chip away my latest PB again next year with GFA time. My goal was to get my qualifying time for Berlin next year, which I ac...
Read more

World 5k record title hope for Swansea Harrier and Welsh Master Alan Davies

By Don Hale
Image
*Swansea Harrier Alan Davies (*above) crosses the finish line at the recent Cardiff 5k - Race for Victory - event to set a new record. (Photo  courtesy of Paul Stillman Sports Photography). World 5k record title hope for Swansea Harrier and Welsh Master Alan Davies. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Subject to official confirmation, Welsh Master Alan Davies of Swansea Harriers is another top veteran who may well have smashed the VM70 category World Record for 5k.  Running in the Cardiff 5k – Race for Victory - on Sunday 5th May 2024, 71-year-old legend Alan clocked a chip time of 18:01. This is a notable improvement on the 18:17 that he recorded at the Tri Hard Harriers 5k On the Bay in Swansea in August last year. Alan also holds the joint 5k M65 Welsh Masters Record at 18:04. Like fine wine, he is improving with age!  *Pictured above - Swansea Harrier Alan Davies - competing in the West Glamorgan cross-country league earlier this ye...
Read more

Back to the mud and hills for the first cross-country fixture at Bangor

By Don Hale
Image
*The NWRRC ladies team at Bangor (*l-r) Cheryl Frost, Gwennan Charlton and Kay Hatton. Back to the mud and hills for the first cross-country fixture of the season at Treborth, Bangor. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery and Lesley Goodson. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Five members of North Wales Road Runners entered the first North Wales Cross-Country League fixture of the season, well-organised by hosts Eryri Harriers at Treborth, near Bangor, last Saturday, and staged over a rather muddy, hilly, and challenging series of varied courses. With different distance routes offered in respect of ages, and male and female races, ranging from juniors to masters, the general feedback was most encouraging with many runners welcoming a positive return to some sort of normality following an enforced period of uncertainty. NWRRC members ran in either the senior women’s race, or the senior men’s event, over approximate distances of 3.5-miles, or 5.5...
Read more

Parkrun boss finally makes a belated statement about the latest controversy to remove important records! But ignores the real reason!

By Don Hale
Image
Parkrun boss finally makes a belated statement about the latest controversy to remove important record! But is it just a smokescreen to cover up a previous row over transgender athletes? By Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   It's taken about a week for Russ Jefferys, the CEO of parkrun global to belatedly make a statement about last Thursday’s controversial decision to remove male and female, first, and fast finishers, plus age grades, and age category records from their website. It is something that has naturally attracted strong debate up and down the country, and no doubt at numerous parkruns across the world! But I still question whether this latest debacle is just a smokescreen to try to hide, and hence remove any existing records relating to transgender athletes! Parkrun came into being many years ago following a great idea by several like-minded runners, who organised a timed 5k run in their local park, and so from a small acor...
Read more

North Wales Road Runner Jonathan Kettle wins the Pervolia half-marathon in Cyprus.

By Don Hale
Image
*NWRRC member Jonathan Kettle takes the top-spot on the podium following his excellent victory at the Pervolia half-marathon In  Cyprus. North Wales Road Runner Jonathan Kettle wins the Pervolia half-marathon in Cyprus. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk North Wales Road Runner Jonathan Kettle claimed an incredible victory at the Pervolia half-marathon in Cyprus last Sunday with a superb performance in a fast time of 1 hour 16 minutes and 28 seconds. This was the veteran athlete's first-ever international win, and he also won his respective VM45 age category, and topped the podium at this prestigious sun-drenched event. Afterwards, Jonathan, who is also a much respected athletics coach, was obviously thrilled by his efforts, and especially with the win, and confirmed: “I did the 27th international race – the Pervolia half-marathon in Cyprus - and won it! I finished first, and this was the only position I wanted today! This was my fi...
Read more

FROM THE AMAZON RAINFOREST TO GROUND ZERO - The extraordinary story of Dr Sam Allen – an unexpected first responder on 9/11

By Don Hale
Image
FROM THE AMAZON RAINFOREST TO GROUND ZERO The extraordinary story of Dr Sam Allen – an unexpected first responder on 9/11 A remarkable true story of courage, compassion and a life-saving journey, told through the personal recollections and photographs of a British doctor who found himself caught up in one of the most devastating days in modern history. Special Coast & Country feature by Don Hale coastandcountry.blog donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 Some stories stay with you for a lifetime. Others become even more poignant when they involve someone you have known and respected for many years. This is one of those stories. I first met Dr Sam Allen in the 1980s, when I was editor of the  Matlock Mercury  in Derbyshire. We were both members of Matlock Athletic Club, along with the local MP, Matthew Parris. Over the years, Sam and I remained friends, and I have followed his remarkable life and adventures with considerable interest. But nothing could have prepared me for the extra...
Read more

COAST & COUNTRY EFL FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS - Saturday 14 November 2026.

By Don Hale
Image
Don Hale & Alex Irving – Coast & Country Football Predictions. EFL Weekend Special. coastandcountry.blog donhaleblog.blogspot.com The Premier League and the Championship is paused this weekend, but League One and League Two have a full programme on Saturday 14 November. There are also EFL Trophy group matches on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November.  So we are making this a League One and League Two Weekend Special, with a short midweek EFL Trophy round-up if you want to include those games. A couple of fixture changes are also important: Peterborough v Oxford United and Luton v Cambridge United have been postponed because of international call-ups. Bromley v Notts County is also listed as postponed in the latest fixture information I found.  Weekend EFL predictions — Saturday 14 November These are my early score calls, not bookmaker odds, and they are purely for FUN. The Championship and Div 1 & 2 matches are also harder to predict, but I've include...
Read more

Medal succes for North Wales quartet at the Commonwealth Karate Championships

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above - Brothers Ioan and James Beards - who both won prestigious  medals  for Wales at the Commonwealth Karate Championships in Glasgow. Medal success for North Wales quartet at the Commonwealth Karate Championships Report by Don Hale. coastandcountry.blog. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 Several North Wales athletes - including two brothers - celebrated medal-winning success after competing for Wales recently at the Karate Commonwealth Championships in Glasgow. Ioan Beards  won a prestigious gold medal in Para, and his elder brother  James Beards  was also on top form and he too deservedly won a bronze medal in his Under 21 age category. Meanwhile, colleague  Emmanuel Major  won a silver medal in the Junior age category. This trio are all from the Llandudno dojo, whilst their Welsh teammate  Ben Hughes,  is part of the club’s Shito Ryu Wales team, and he received a bronze in the Kumite category.  Emmanuel  has now been nom...
Read more

The amazing story of UK runner and doctor Sam Allen, and his recollections and photos, as a first responder at 9/11 Ground Zero

By Don Hale
Image
  9/11: How an English doctor, returning from an Amazonian adventure, was caught up in the events of 9/11. The amazing story of UK runner and doctor Sam Allen and his recollections  and photographs as a first responder at 9/11 Ground Zero. * Check out this list An incredible true story from an unexpected first responder at Ground Zero from SPECIAL AMAZON OFFERS - Coast and Country online magazine https://amzn.eu/d/0aenc5sJ #amazonfinds via @Amazon * Pictured above - the horrific scene at Ground Zero in New York. Introduction by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog N EW 9/11 BOOK BY SAM ALLEN MD:   This is the true tale of two distant members of the same family who were brought together through the audacious terrorist attack on New York’s Twin Towers on what became known as 9/11. *Published by North Wales firm  Coast and Country  and now available on Amazon. 9/11: How an English doctor, returning from an Amazonian adventure, was c...
Read more

Colin Smith – A life of wildlife adventures and discovery - A Coast & Country author spotlight feature

By Don Hale
Image
COAST & COUNTRY AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT Colin Smith – A life of wildlife adventures and discovery Report by Don Hale & Alex Irving – Coast & Country Features. coastandcountry.blog donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 What inspires someone to travel across the world in search of some of its most remarkable wildlife? For Norfolk-based author Colin Smith, the answer is a passion for nature, a love of adventure and the pleasure of sharing unforgettable experiences with his wife, Susan. Their travels have taken them across 19 countries, providing the inspiration for Colin’s book,   Tales of a Wildlife Tourist: A Global Journey of Adventure and Discovery . From jaguars in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands and the spectacular Resplendent Quetzal in Costa Rica’s cloud forests to tigers in India, Colin’s account brings readers close to wildlife encounters that many people can only dream about. The journeys have also included mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Impenetrable rainforest, Kenya’s famous Big F...
Read more