Me Me Me

Yes, it's me, Simon Mulholland!

Since I am writing this about a concept I invented on which I have worked for seven years, it shouldn't surprise anyone there are a lot of Is (and how on earth do you write the plural of I, because in this instance it certainly isn't We. We is me and anyone I happen to claim to be speaking for, not the plural of I.) Have you ever tried writing in the third person? You get throttled by your own syntax until you admit defeat and let the Is have it.
Ignoring the linguistics, the capitalised ninth letter is appearing incessantly, hiding the massive contributions of my family, the ponies and horses I have worked with, my friends and customers and the many businesses and organisations who have helped me along the way.

Family first. Kate, Jessica, Hilary, Caitlin and Isobel have lived with, and supported, an obsessive inventor for seven years. Invention isn't fun and it isn't easy and for those living with the process it is worse, because they miss out on that intense personal satisfaction when you know it works, but they have to commiserate with the bad times, the personal attacks and abuse that inventions attract. Build a better mousetrap and the world won't beat a path to your door, they will go to a chat room and insult you. However since that is better than attacking innocent members of my family, I will just have to learn to live with it.
Kate's, and my, extended family have also been brilliant, and again, without their support, the saddlechariot would have gone nowhere. Charlie and Jeannie, have been invaluable guinea pigs for new ideas, and John has tried to inject some common sense into the design.

A quick back track to linguistics, it is boring to write pony/horse/donkey/mule and he/she/gelding so can we assume pony covers the equids generally, and that he includes all other options.

Henry thinks he deserves his own page , and since he tends to get his own way, he can have one, since without him the saddlechariot wouldn't exist and I would be enjoying myself mucking about with boats. But I have learned from over a hundred saddlechariot horses and ponies, learning while teaching them and their owners. Rory, Storm, Tango, Natasha, Astra, Starburst, Eusi, Dreamer, Brian, Buzz, Scoobie, Thor and Rodney to name a few. Tilly and Blue for the long eared brigade, and Molly, our Connemara X................I have learned from them all, different lessons, in different ways.
I have learned that they all have characters, and attitude, and opinions and that any concept of a right way lasts until you meet the next pony. I always say the pony is the customer and if the pony likes the Saddlechariot, all he's got to do is persuade his owner to buy one.

My customers are massively important to me..they give me money....but they have taught me and supported me and believed in me when it mattered. I try to repay this, but i am not wildly organised or wildly efficient, but believe me, I am grateful.

I have kept faith by ensuring my design work can be retro fitted. I can take the earliest saddlechariots and upgrade them to the 2008 specifications on safety, and to be honest, safety is the only design consideration i have ever worried about. So if any of you out there with old vehicles want to upgrade, just give me a call on 01768 351380.

And finally the businesses and organisations who have helped me over the years. The whole engineering community have been one of the pleasantest surprises to someone who came into this business as a cook and a writer. To give some idea of my cooking, the high point of my career was roasting peacock for the Hell's Angels and I was the dog mess expert for Shooting Times.
But back to engineering, I love the fact that all the engineers I have met want to help. There is this instinctive response to a problem, "let's sort it!". From the kite Buggy specialists who helped me source the wheels, my foam suppiers who gave me Steve Brown's Jetline, liquid laser guys, to Lancaster University who show me how to turn ideas into engineering and Andy Gatward at Camsteel who got me into Stainless steel, Keith Ruffel, a traditional metal basher in Brightlingsea,

Tony and the guys at Camelion, Andrew Tinnion at Fenland Sheepskin and Clive Rawden who knows the answer is normally another drink, I have received a vast amount of help, advice, encouragement and friendliness. This page will expand as I add names and links, but I hope every careers master in the country will persuade kids that solving problems and helping people are a NICE way to earn a living, and fun, and frequently lucrative, but above all rewarding because there is an actual product.