Isn’t life wonderful? Just when I’d had enough of reality TV shows and their brain dead participants along came Tyson Fury, the self styled Gypsy King (please note Mr Fury does not refer to himself as a ‘traveller’).

I don’t know much about boxing so the three-part ITV documentary of Tyson Fury and his family was not on my radar. A friend recommended it to me and I am eternally grateful that he did.

It was obvious from the start of the programme that any attempt to make Mr Fury follow a script would prove futile.

The show gave us a fascinating insight into the life of this gentle giant who came back from the brink of self-destruction to become not only world heavyweight champion but also the most celebrated athlete on the planet.

Hollywood is beckoning but Mr Fury is not listening. His roots are firmly planted in Morecambe with his wife and extended family where he is a fully committed member of the local community.

I loved the posh Marbella hotel where the head waiter brought Mr Fury two fresh lobsters.

“They are still alive,” said The Champ.

“Yes that is how we cook them.”

On discovering they were 100 Euros each Mr Fury asked the waiter to bring them to the beach whereupon Tyson took both lobsters and threw them into the sea.

“Charge them to my room,” said Mr Fury to a bemused waiter.
The largest (6ft 9ins) heaviest (19 stone 7lbs) fiercest fighter on the planet did not like the idea of hurting lobsters. It was TV gold.

On a rare day off Tyson took his young daughters fishing for sticklebacks when a young boy approached and asked for a selfie. Mr Fury, realising the boy had some anxiety issues, chatted with him for some time recounting his own mental health problems and offering encouraging advice before the delighted youth went on his way promising to call Tyson and ‘keep in touch.’

“That’s the best thing about being a celebrity,” said Mr Fury stretching out on the river bank. “You get to help loads of people.”

Without doubt Tyson Fury has done more to improve the image of the travelling community than any other living soul.

A more caring sensitive individual is hard to imagine. 

Fortunately for The Champ he has a lovely down to earth wife and family who cherish him as much as he does them.

Hopefully with their help his rehabilitation will be permanent.

If you are in search of inspiration or feel the need for uplifting entertainment watch Tyson Fury The Gypsy King on ITV Catch Up.
   
HOW I CAN HELP CHESHIRE EAST SAVE THE PLANET

You may already know this but Cheshire East have had a new leadership team in place since the local elections last year. For the first time in the council’s history it has a Labour leader.

The Tories, who failed to win the day, are busy fighting and threatening to report each other to Boris for what? What do you think is exercising the minds of Tory councillors at this present time?

The state of our roads/ the size of the potholes, the appointment of another £151k chief executive, the absurd purchase of 21 state-of-the-art gritting lorries before telling residents their roads are no longer part of the gritting programme?

You will not be surprised to learn that Tory attention is not focused on any of those major issues but on their disagreement over who should become the next Mayor.
It’s probably the only issue in the county residents don’t actually care about. Clearly no lessons have been learned from their disastrous election campaign. Cheshire East Tories are as out of touch as ever.

Meanwhile, I would like to make a few helpful suggestions to the remaining councillors who do have other priorities.

Now, we know you have grand aspirations to single-handedly save the planet. No need to keep telling us we get it. We shall overcome, Kumbaya, and all that, we hear you loud and clear so here’s a thought.

We know budgets are tight, they must be because you never tire of telling us, so instead of shouldering the cost of planting 6,000 trees just stop bulldozing them down. Simples.

Residents hate to see beautiful, healthy trees that God has nurtured for decades ripped out of the ground in order for developers to build houses they want rather than houses we need.

If you, as sensible councillors, stop destroying trees, guess what? You wouldn’t have to replace them. In one swift move you would save money and gain the applause of voters. 

And here’s another thing you’re not going to believe. Do you know that a mature tree can absorb 15 gallons of water per hour on a hot day? That’s almost 200 gallons a day in the summer months. That’s 1.2 million gallons of water extracted every day from your 6,000 trees. It’s going to be a long time before the trees you plant today are performing like that.
You might want to bear that in mind when you are erecting houses on flood planes.