Chapter 18: Pebbles and Boulders
On 3rd January 2021, a 13 year old autistic boy, Olly Stephens, was stabbed to death in a field in Reading. In late 2025, his parents set up a charitable trust in his name, and shortly afterwards my wife and her friends were involved in a concert to raise awareness and funding for them. The event was a great success, and my wife was given a small token – a painted pebble – which contained a link to the trust’s social media site. Knowing that I’ve come across painted pebbles on pillars before, she asked me to take it with me on my next trip and leave it somewhere suitable, where it might be found and passed on... April 2026. Cannock Chase is a large area of forest on the wrong side of Birmingham which seemed to be home to some particularly spectacular concrete infestations, and the more I looked into mounting a trigspedition there, the more impatient I became to get back out on the road again. In particular, a very long road called the M40, which made f...