I'd had the fortune/misfortune to go to Redcar before, so I knew what to expect (excellent skatepark, crap town), however it all came as a shock to my work colleagues who instantly fell into a state of depression at their surroundings. Our mission was to build a new spine ramp at the park which already boasts an excellent array of obstacles, and in my opinion is one of the most interesting/entertaining parks in the UK. My basic routine was work all day, skate all night, sleep, repeat until friday. If it sounds ok that's because it was, add to that the fact that Nicky and John who own the park are quite possibly the friendliest people involved in skateboarding, and that the supply of food and drink was never ending and you'd be right in guessing that I had a great week.

The only downside to it all was Redcar town itself, it's a depressing looking place to say the least, and the fact we were staying on some pikey old caravan site. The skyline was dominated by what i assume was a refinery, the air was filled with fumes and there was a constant smell of burning plastic. Wingy, Ches and Paul vowed to spend the week away from the town, however one night we cracked and headed off to the pub. Whilst watching a pretty shit band we got talking to some girls who recommended the local nightclub called 'KUDOS' saying "it's shit, but it's a good laugh". This was like a red rag to a bull for Wingy and off we set. When we got in I felt like we'd gone 10 years back in time, there were plenty of fake tanned chicks and lots of fat men covered in tattoos. The drinks in there were dirt cheap, including Shag lager that was going for £1 per bottle. Seeing as I was driving I opted to sit on the sidelines and watch the other 2 perform (Ches had gone home like a bender). Wingys dancing was amazing and was soon attracting the attentions of several local fat birds (including one that was definitely old enough to be his mum), Paul took to performing front flips onto his back on the dance floor (which rendered him pretty useless for work the next day). I was sat there minding my own business, laughing at my compadres drunken stupidity, when I felt a lick on my ear. I turned to see a girl covered in tats looking at me longingly she then announced to me "I really want you to fuck me". What a way with words, it was like poetry in motion, unfortunately due to my shocked state I was at a loss for a witty comeback and just said "OH" at which point she left. Ten minutes later she returned, pulled a comical lapdancing routine and asked "I really want you to fuck me, are you interested?", once again i was like a rabbit in headlights and could only manage a response of "No thanks I'm fine" and off she went again. A while later whilst standing on the edge of the dancefloor watching the Wingman at work I was summoned by a doorman, assuming I was about to either get thrown out or hit or both, I reluctantly approached him. He pointed to the aforementioned girl and said "That girl really wants to fuck you, i suggest that if you're any kind of man you go over there and deal with her". By now I was scared for my life! One of the girls we met earlier in the pub informed me that she was the well known local hard case and was well known for beating both women and men up, great I thought!

I was glad to get out of there alive, we gave the girls from the pub a lift home at which point Paul turned into Evil Paul and hurled abuse at them, the most comical being the stick they copped for living in a Barrat house. I think they were glad of the lift, but even more glad to get away from Evil Paul. On the way back to the caravan I was foolish enough to stop at a red light, this made Evil Paul so angry that he got out, smashed it up, and ordered me to drive on. Evil Paul spent the next day looking very ill/white, if you play, you pay!

On my last night we had a lock in at the park and Nicky got the beers in, i was refreshed after my siesta and ended up skating for about 6 hours non stop (the most I've skated in years). I had the best fun, but suffered the next day when had to sit in the van for 12 hours or so.

Massive thanks to everyone at R-Kade, especially Nicky and John, thanks for all the coffee and food.

Check out www.r-kadeskatepark.com

Readers: Make a note to visit R-Kade at some point, it's a good place to stop on the Livi journey too.