On the 30th of April at 10 o'clock in the evening, I arrived back from Sarajevo in Bosnia after what I can only describe as an amazing trip visiting the wonderful Saving Strays shelter there alongside Rachel, who is also a patron, and the wonderful Peter Egan and Maria who is the co-chair and powerhouse behind the charity.
Rick with Peter Egan and Maria Slough
The shelter is a very happy place and currently we have 82 dogs there all in varying stages of being ready for their forever homes although sadly, some will not get that opportunity and will live their lives out there, safe, well fed and loved by the wonderful family team there headed up by Mersad and Melissa who are simply amazing. Mersad is truly a dog whisperer...
Rick playing with a dog
The shelter is constantly being improved whenever we have the funding to do whatever we can and we have some wonderful volunteers as well and we all spent many wonderful hours playing with the dogs of all shapes and sizes and it was interesting to note that there was no sign of any aggression, just lots of waggy tales! Not every dog is brave enough to come up to us to be stroked or tickled but many are and they are all getting used to people more and more by the day. All the dogs are thoroughly checked over and vaccinated before they start their journey to whatever country for their forever homes are and it was great to meet with some who in fact are leaving next week for their new homes in England.
Rick with shelter volunteers
Whilst in Sarajevo I also met up with Vlado Podeny who is a tremendous keyboard player from Bosnia and is also a supporter of Saving Strays having saved a wonderful dog who had been run over and is called Daphne. We visited the beautiful theatre in Sarajevo and put some initial plans into place for a concert there in either May or June of 2027. We would make this a very special event and I would love it if people were able to travel to see the event in aid of Saving Strays and also see the beautiful city.
Rick with Vlado Podeny
Quick health report… I went to see the brain surgeon who opened me up and actually found my brain and he was very pleased with the recovery, and I don't have to see him again until early next year. I can't thank him enough. Being able to walk again, get out of a chair unaided and to walk up stairs… just wonderful.
It's a real mixed bag this month. On the 4th I am attending the Blue Cross open day at Wherstead in Suffolk for their 10th anniversary. The Blue Cross do fantastic work for dogs and cats in particular so I'm looking forward to visiting.
Now here's an interesting one… I am putting three cars into the Bangers and Cash auction in June and they are being collected this month. Going under the hammer are The Rolls Royce Silver Seraph, my XJS V12 convertible and the wonderful Dodge RAM that I drove all around America on the Union tour. More details on the website at a later date.
Now here's a cracker. A very close friend of mine has donated 2 cup final tickets for Man City v Chelsea on Saturday 16th May… and so we are hoping for some really high bids for these with all the money going to Saving Strays. If you are at all interested, please keep your eye out for how to bid…
I'm also going to see a wonderful team called Level 2 who are based in Felixstowe as they are going to be a part of a big Suffolk Celebration spearheaded by Oliver Paul the new Sheriff of Suffolk and it is hoped we can combine with a musical contribution.
Just a couple more meetings now with Ian Gittens who is putting the new book together for Random on House. I think it's going to be rather long… but I guess that's because I'm rather old!
I also have a lot of music to sort out for numerous projects plus Return to the Red Planet is due for release very soon and I have to admit I'm pretty excited to see the finished package.
Well that's it for now although I know they'll be lots of updates as the month progresses. Enjoy the month wherever you are in the world and stay positive…
Cheers Rick
Previous Editions
September 2026
August 2026
July 2026
June 2026
May 2026
April 2026
March 2026
February 2026
January 2026
December 2025
November 2025
October 2025
September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009