Stuart Slack was a top cyclist and author from the Isle of Man.
He attended the Douglas High School for Boys from 1946 to 1951, and was a promising swimmer. When he left school he worked as a telegram boy for the post office on the Isle of Man, then as postman, and ended up as Director of Postal Services with Isle of Man Post.
Slack met his wife, Jean, in 1957, getting married in 1962. They had two sons, Colin and Gary. He won a bronze medal in the 120 mile road race at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Cardiff when he was 23.
Slack composed many popular Manx folk tunes, including "Laxey Wheel", "Laxey Girls", and "Foxdale Miner", and had a couple of songs banned from the local radio station, Manx radio, for their risque lyrics.
Slack published a book about Douglas called Streets of Douglas, Old and New. After his death in 1998, this was followed by a previously unfinished book, Manx Milestones, which was completed by his eldest son Colin and his wife Catherine.
His aptitude and fascination with statistics and records made him an ideal person for working all the handicaps out for the now-defunct Isle of Man International Cycling Week.
As of October 2012 there has been a Facebook page "STUART SLACK - THE SONG WRITER" available, where a selection of his songs are available to listen to, including some rare ones, along with lyrics and other bits of information. Hopefully a dedicated website to follow.
Famous quotes containing the words stuart and/or slack:
“Who originated that most exquisite of inquisitions, the condolence system?”
—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844–1911)
“In marriage, a man becomes slack and selfish, and undergoes a fatty degeneration of his moral being.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)