Don Hale Blog

* Welsh karate champion Ioan Beards (*above) promotes the Italian event. British and Welsh Karate Champion Ioan Beards set for top international date in Venice... Special report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Ioan Beards is an award-winning teenage Karate champion from Deganwy, in North Wales, who is all set to take part next month in the Parakarate Cup Championships, which is a prestigious international tournament, being staged in the stunning Italian City of Venice.   This talented and inspirational 16-year-old will be competing in the  Autism category , and he is already both the Welsh and British champion, and has high hopes of further success on 3rd December, but realises he will face some stiff competition from many keen rivals.   Ioan’s event will be held at the  Palazzo Turismo,  which is the location of the ‘Karatei Youth League,’ at Jesolo, Venice, and this latest venture follows hot on the heels of his recent victory as the British Champio...

Buster Crabb was author Ian Fleming's favourite spy and the real inspiration for his fictional character JAMES BOND. LIONEL 'BUSTER' CRABB was a drinker, a gambler, a womaniser and a lover of fast cars and gadgets. On top of all that, he was a spy, an acquaintance of Ian Fleming and the inspiration for James Bond. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 This latest book, BUSTER CRABB, published by the History Press, this is the fascinating story of Buster Crabb, the naval spy who disappeared in bizarre circumstances in 1956. Entitled -  Buster Crabb - Ian Fleming's favourite spy and the inspiration for James Bond,  was released in Spring 2020 - originally to coincide with the launch of the new Bond film - which was later delayed due to the Covid-19 restrictions. A British naval frogman and bomb disposal expert, Crabb worked directly under Fleming during the Second World War at Naval Intelligence and went on to conduct covert operations for both SIS and MI5. Elements from Crabb...

AN INCREDIBLE PERSONAL STORY ABOUT THE TWIN TOWERS’ ATTACK: *See the YouTube video and order the exclusive book about this dramatic event. https://youtu.be/xj17ZHGzuOM?si=g7dfW_CHftJWwDIQ 9/11 GROUND ZERO: ENGLISHMEN IN NEW YORK - AFTERMATH Don Hale reports on one of the world’s most dramatic terrorist attacks ever. 9/11 GROUND ZERO: ENGLISHMEN IN NEW YORK - AFTERMATH – BY DR SAM ALLEN. Now available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4egiLc0 Some years ago, I heard from Dr Sam Allen, a well-known, and highly-respected doctor and a global specialist on highly infectious diseases. I have known Sam for about 40-years, and we both ran for the same Derbyshire athletics club in Matlock, when I was editor of the local newspaper. Just a few weeks after I left the paper though, Sam became unintentionally involved in a daring rescue attempt to help the victims of the world’s worst-ever, and most horrific terrorist attack on New York. The following statement is from my original archived introduction t...

Destination Conwy – have a look this unique special promotional video promoted by Conwy Council in 2010 to encourage people to visit this unique part of North Wales. This is now available to view and for our current generation to examine and compare. Promoted by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Visit Conwy in North Wales: Now available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ue91Ra4ic9o?si=6vh07oqmx-4lVA9V via @YouTube   Flashback to about 15 years ago when Conwy Council produced a short promotional video  highlighting the many benefits of visiting this popular holiday destination... Take a fresh look at North Wales, could you pack all this into your last holiday destination? The all-new Destination Conwy , promotional video.  Visit us at http://www.visitconwy.org.uk

*Pictured above - Practice nurse Emily Carr and Practice manager Sarah  Corkish-Brown are shown at the end of their charity trek. Surgery pair Emily and Sarah complete their amazing 100k Sahara Desert Trek for St David’s Hospice. Exclusive  report by Don Hale donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Two determined members of the hard-working Bodreinallt doctors' surgery team at Conwy have just completed their extraordinary 100k Sahara Desert Trek and helped to raise  over £42,000 so far for St David’s Hospice. Practice manager  Sarah Corkish-Brown and Practice Nurse Emily Carr  signed up for this huge undertaking some time ago and finally celebrated their success over the past couple of days, and were part of a group that fundraised for this essential local organisation. The trek organisers claimed that entrants would ‘r ediscover true adventure in the awe-inspiring Sahara Desert.’ Their five-day trek covered 100km passing through Morocco’s forbidding landscape...

*Pictured above - Sarah Ferguson Hudson and her husband Ben at the ultra. Wedding anniversary on the run for Ben and Sarah at a ‘Beautifully Brutal’ 60k ultra Coast to Coast race. Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   North Wales endurance athletes Ben and Sarah Hudson went on the run last Saturday during an unusual way to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary by competing in the ‘Beautifully Brutal’ Pen Llyn Coast to Coast Winter Ultra race. This extremely tough event followed a highly challenging and undulating course over a distance of some 60km (37.5 miles), and this experienced pair of endurance runners ran together, and despite Sarah suffering from a heavy cold, they both finished well in 10 hours 53 minutes and 41 seconds.  The event attracted a wealth of top international ultra runners, and the NWRRC members eventually shared joint 147th place overall. Ben was also the 91st male and the 86th British finisher, with Sarah the 54th female and the 87th Bri...

*Pictured above - Harry Driscoll (Meirionnydd) finished third at the Conwy parkrun. Fast pace and good weather for a change at most NW parkruns - full results round-up  ... Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Pat Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 A total of 242 finishers enjoyed the unusually bright sunshine and moderate weather conditions last Saturday morning at the picturesque Conwy 5k course, which again attracted a large number of mixed ability athletes and visitors. The pace from the leading pack was fast and furious right from the start on Conwy Cob with the first eleven finishers all dipping well under twenty-minutes, and just ten seconds separated the first two men home. Visitor  Robert Foster  eventually confirmed his top placing with a fine debut run in just 17 minutes and 22 seconds, and he finished narrowly ahead of  Cai Curtis-Roberts , who was second in 17.32, with  Harry Driscoll  (Meirionnydd RC) third with a new course PB in 17.41....

*Pictured above - Welsh Master athlete Arwel Lewis at the awards ceremony. Arwel Lewis given special Services to Athletics award by Welsh Athletics... Special report by Kay Hatton from the NW Regional Athletics Council. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Huge congratulations to Arwel Lewis who was presented with the Services to Athletics Award at the Welsh Athletics Awards evening last weekend.   Arwel competes regularly for Eryri Harriers in all disciplines and has competed for Wales on the road, cross country, trail and mountain. He also puts in a huge amount of time as a volunteer for his club, is a race adjudicator and a race organiser.  Arwel is also the fell/trail representative on the NWRAC and WA General Council, Welsh Athletics  mountain/trail secretary and team manager as well as Welsh Ultra representative and team manager. Such a well-deserved award! A modest Arwel later acknowledged:  “I am very honoured and feel very privileged to have received the Welsh Ath...

  Joe Cocker set to be honoured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles… Report by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Sheffield’s famous late rhythm and blues/rock star JOE COCKER is amongst a unique group of prestigious top music performers set to be honoured at the 40th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday 8th November 2025. This year’s Inductees included: Bad Company, Chubby Checker , Joe Cocker , Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Salt-N-Pepa, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins, Carol Kaye and Lenny Waronker. A brief extract from Joe singing a recording of ‘Georgia on My Mind’ will also be used by the event organisers during his induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was fortunate to have been able to record some amazing facts about the early days of Joe Cocker’s stop/start career with  Terry Thornton , who was Joe’s first manager, and the person who b...