Hi friends and family,

As many of you know John Flavell turns 40 next month on 6th May. He is notorious for NOT wanting to celebrate his birthday. I have tried as hard as I can to persuade him to mark the occassion in a memorable way but he is adamant he does not want a fuss. The only thing he has mentioned he would like to do is to go on a biking holiday somewhere abroad later in the summer. He plans to go with a few friends and find a mountain to climb. After hurting his knee a couple of years a go he had to give up running and got in to road cycling last year; he joined East Hull Cycling squad in a bid to make some friends in this part of the city. He has loved the cycling and plans to continue.

John works so hard for our family and our church that I would love to give him a gift that he will enjoy for years to come. He has had his eye on a new road bike and we are planning to save up for one. He mentioned that if any friends or family were planning to get him a gift for his birthfay he would, in fact, prefer money towards a new bike. I don't really like asking for money, but since it is a special birthday I wanted to give you all the option to donate a little cash if you wanted to. But please feel under no obligation to do so.

Love you all very much

Abi