Miles for Matthew Smiles for Smithers

Matthew, Smithers to his friends, liked many things. Progressive rock, especially Yes and Queen, the BBC, especially Radio 4, most things Japanese, in particular Muji, anime, and the music of Yoko Kanno, pretty much anything made by Apple Apple, the NHS, nuclear power Nuclear power and science in general. But most of all he loved his family and friends.

Matthew believed in the scientific method and in the potential of technology to benefit us all. He realised that without science there can be no civilisation. He was a most civilised and gentle person, and a committed blood donor. He felt that the simple act of giving blood for the benefit of someone we'll never know, without any thought of personal reward, is one of the most civilised things we can do.

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HAVE PHYSICS DEGREE
CAN DO CALCULATIONS

Matthew studied for his masters degree in physics at Imperial College London and afterwards worked for AREVA in Stafford. In his memory we have completed a walk from Imperial College to AREVA. Details of the walk follow below. There is a facebook group which all are welcome to join, and where updates on our progress have been posted. Many people posted messages of encouragement and joined the group. Please feel free to post further messages if you wish. Most of all, if you are a regular blood donor, thank you. If not, but you are able to give blood, please consider starting. If you are unable to give blood then you may like to support us by making a donation to The NHS Blood and Transplant Trust, registered charity number 1061771. We received donations to the value of £600 which have now been forwarded to the trust. I'm sure that they would be pleased to receive further donations directly.

I am Andy Smith, Matthew's dad. I did this walk with my friend Mike Young, who has done such things before and knows how to prepare and avoid too many blisters. The walk was done in two phases with a week in between, starting from Imperial College on Sunday 13th June 2010. We walked between 11 and 23 miles a day, sticking to canal tow paths, the Thames, and the Oxfordshire Way, and stopping overnight at suitable pubs and B&Bs. The first week saw us as far as Napton, leaving us a shorter second week which began on Saturday 26th June and ended at at AREVA on Wednesday 30th June. Many people joined us on segments of the walk. We had a great send off from Imperial, a lovely reception at AREVA, and some very fine hospitality along the way.

Please drop by the facebook group if you are a facebook user. You'll find many photos and even a video or two.

Imperial College London       Bloxham School       Areva T&D                   Self-drawn avatar used online by Matthew

Week 1 - Imperial College to Napton

The Google maps show pubs where we might have stopped along the way, but I never did figure out how to tell Google maps to show we are walking along a canal or river.
  1. Sun 13th June - Imperial College to Yiewsley - 18 miles
    North from Imperial to join the Grand Union at Little Venice, then along the Grand Union westwards, stayed at The Oakwood Guest House.
  2. Mon 14th June - Yiewsley to Bourne End - 16 miles
    Rejoined the Grand Union Canal near to Yiewlet Station and followed the towpath to Cowley Peachey Junction where we took the Slough Arm of the canal into Slough where it meets the B416. We then headed south to the River Thames and took the Thames Path through Maidenhead to Bourne End, staying at Hollands Farm.
  3. Tue 15th June - Bourne End to Pishill - 16 miles
    Rejoined the Thames and carried on westward past Marlow to Henley-on-Thames. Took The Oxfordshire Way north to Pishill, staying at The Crown Inn.
  4. Wed 16th June - Pishill to Moreton - 12.5 miles
    Continued along the Oxfordshire Way. Staying at Elm Tree Farmhouse.
  5. Thu 17th June - Moreton to Weston on the Green - 23 miles
    Continued along the Oxfordshire Way. Staying at Weston Grounds Farm.
  6. Fri 18th June - Weston on the Green to Aynho Wharf - 14 miles
    Continued along the Oxfordshire Way joining the Oxford Canal at Kirtlington? Stayed with John and Jacky Ekers. John was Matthew's house master during his time at Bloxham School. We had a great game of skittles at The Great Western Arms at Aynho Wharf in the evening, followed by a lovely meal prepared by Jacky, and a football match that did not do the meal justice, prepared by Mr Capello.
  7. Sat 19th June - Aynho Wharf to Cropredy - 11 miles
    Continued along the Oxford Canal. Stayed at home that night.
  8. Sun 20th June - Cropredy to Napton - 18.5 miles
    Continued along the Oxford Canal. Stayed at home for a week to recover ready for the second stint to Stafford.

Week 2 - Napton to AREVA Stafford

  1. Sat 26th June - Napton to Rugby - 15.5 miles
    Stayed at Premier Inn next to the Bell & Barge.
  2. Sun 27th June - Rugby to Nuneaton - about 16 miles
    Stayed at home that night.
  3. Mon 28th June - Nuneaton to Tamworth - about 16 miles
    Stayed at The Belmont Guest House.
  4. Tue 29th June - Tamworth to Handsacre - 16 miles
    Stayed at The Old Peculiar.
  5. Wed 30th June - Handsacre to AREVA, Stafford - 15.5 miles
    Arrived at AREVA in the afternoon to a very nice reception with refreshments.

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More about Matthew

Stylised self portrait by Matthew

If you didn't know Matthew and would like to read a little about him then a good place to start would be this tribute from someone who only ever knew him as an online friend. There is an obituary on the Imperial College Alumni pages (search for Matthew Smith in the Physics department). At Matthew's funeral we heard some moving tributes from friends and Matthew's sister Abigail. There was also a tribute from myself and Matthew's mother Kate. The order of service includes some of Matthew's art work, although the pages are out of sequence as it is designed to be printed as an A5 booklet on A4 paper.