Retired businessman John Nicholson is raising funds for LMRUK, visiting every one of the 55 cities in England by train and enjoying a drink in a pub or a visit to a cathedral in memory of his brother, Bill, who died from blood cancer
John, 75, from Romiley, Stockport, toasts brother Bill with a half pint of beer, wherever he can find a pub owned by the Nicholson’s pub chain. If there’s no Nicholson’s he lights a candle at the cathedral in memory of his brother, who lost his battle with Leukaemia in 2022.
He decided to embark on the epic trip, criss-crossing the country by rail, as a way to remember Bill. The two of them used to take regular train excursions together before Bill fell ill with Leukaemia, three years before his death.
“When he died I wanted to do something,” John says. “I’m not a fitness fanatic, I was never going to run a marathon, but I do like rail travel and I thought it would be good to get around all of the 55 cities in England.”
Although fundraising was not his priority, John chose to invite sponsorship from family and friends in aid of our charity to support others who fall ill with blood cancers. He is well on his way to reaching his target of £1,000.
The first city he visited was Newcastle where he found a Nicholson’s pub, The Victoria Comet, with the JW Nicholson sign outside. Although there is no connection between John and Bill’s family and the Nicholson’s pub brand, he was touched by the link with their names.
He says: “I saw it was J W Nicholson – well I’m John and Bill was William – and I thought: ‘Wow, how funny is that!’” He has since discovered there are around 50 Nicholson’s pubs across England. The majority are in London but of the ten or so in cities outside of the capital, John hopes to visit them all.
He says: “My brother always liked to have a half-pint in the pub and so I am having a half-pint for him. Where there is no Nicholson’s pub I call in at the cathedral and light a candle. It makes me feel better and keeps his memory alive.”
John, who spent five years as a junior football coach with Manchester City Academy and regularly attended home games with his brother, was a director of a packaging business. His brother was an internal manager at the Brookside Garden Centre in Poynton, Cheshire, for many years.
John believes it will take him at least a year to visit all of England’s 55 cities. He’s planning trips to the South and West next having almost completed the East and West Midlands. He sometimes gets to more than one city in a day. His Newcastle trip also took in Sunderland, Durham and Carlisle.
He, wife Clare and sister-in-law Janice, Bill’s widow, are planning a holiday to Barcelona in September. But while Clare and Janice fly to the Spanish city John plans to take the train to London. He will visit Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s cathedral, have a drink in a pub and then jump on a Eurostar to Paris and on to Barcelona.
He had no plans to extend his city tour to Europe, however, and has been delighted to find so much about England’s cities to enjoy. He says he has met some fascinating and helpful people, some of whom have even made a donation to his fundraiser, via Just Giving.
He said: “One lady, who must have been in her 80s, was struggling with her case and so I helped her off the train with it. She said how pleased she was that someone had helped her and when she heard what I was doing she donated £20 to the charity!”
John admits that the adventure will cost him around £2,000 by the time he has finished but he’s enjoying seeing more of England. “Everybody moans about our weather and flies off abroad for their holidays, but I have discovered there is so much to discover here – and you don’t need to get on an aeroplane,” he said.
To support John and our charity, go to his Just Giving page at: John Nicholson is fundraising for LEUKAEMIA & MYELOMA RESEARCH UK
