Those astute readers among you will realise that my South Wales Evening Post column has now been going since June, 2014. This is my 86th column edition.

When I was approached to become a regular contributor to this well-established local daily paper it was a total surprise and a privilege.

Up until that point, it was not something that I had even thought of adding to my repertoire!

Initially, I wasn’t sure that I could deliver content on a regular basis with rigid deadlines.

In addition to this, I was fully aware that the media eats up material at a tremendous rate of knots.

The technology was also an issue: how many ribbons a week would I need for my old typewriter?

I am so glad I took on the challenge. The amazing letters and positive feedback I get (not only off the readers in Wales but as far afield as Canada and America) makes it all worthwhile.

I meet so many fascinating characters with interesting stories on my travels, without them this space would probably contain Saturday’s lottery numbers.