Wolves fan's US escape

Riding, shooting and sailing. PETER RHODES tells how the American dream has come true for a Black Country lad.

Tom Page was an English boy abroad, loving the good life in Ohio but desperately missing some of the finer points of Black Country culture.

"Some relations were coming to visit one time," he recalls with a smile. "

They asked my if there was anything I wanted. I asked them for a packet of salt and vinegar Hula Hoops. We couldn't get them in Ohio."

And don't ask how much he misses his beloved Wolves.

"Until last year, because of school and university commitment, I could never come to England during the season. I'm a lifelong Wolves fan but the last match I went to before we left was in December 1997. We were away to Port Vale.

"It was a cold, rainy day and Wolves won two-nil. It was one of my final memories of England."

And then, passing through England in January 2008, Tom was once again surrounded by that sea of gold and black.

"It was fantastic to be in the Molineux again after 10 years with the fans supporting Wolves. They pulled through with a last minute goal to beat Sheffield Wednesday two-one."

But Hula Hoops and Wolves apart, the United States has fulfilled all Tom Page's dreams. For him the Mid-West has become a land of cheap pastimes, endless sport and wide, open spaces.

Now he has launched his own holiday company specifically aimed at showing off his adopted Ohio to Black Country trippers.

This transatlantic tale began in 1998 when Tom was 12. Tom's father, Roy, was an engineer and salesman with Wyko Equipments based in Dudley, the firm was sold to an American company in Ohio which head-hunted him for a 12-month contract in Ohio.

So Roy, his South Korean wife Sue and their only child Tom, family packed their bags and left, planning to return to Dudley. But it never happened. They fell in love with the Ohio culture and outdoor life.

"We have a wonderful life and the weather is fantastic," says Tom, now 23. "Life was very different and it took some getting used to."

And so did the space. Back home in Lambourne Way, Stourbridge, Roy Page had a garden pond with a few koi carp. In Ohio he built his own huge house with a swimming-pool size lake full of catfish.

In the Black Country he flew model aircraft. In Ohio he flies the real thing.

"Recreation is so cheap compared to Britain," says Tom. "I've been able to pursue things like tennis on level where I became a nationally ranked player. Doing all that simply wasn't possible in the UK because it is so expensive.

"My father always wanted his pilot's licence. Back in the 1980s he had lessons at Halfpenny Green Airport. But after a few hours of instruction he had realised that it was just going to be too expensive.

"But in Ohio he was able to take flying lessons and get his licence for about a third the cost in England. Dad flies around the American countryside. He's got a Harley Davidson bike, too. It's not exactly a rags-to-riches story but you can do an awful lot more on a normal, middle-class income."

Tom, who was educated at Heathfield School in Wolverley and Stourbridge's Ridgewood High School, graduated in economics and philosophy on a tennis scholarship at Ohio University.

Friends and relatives always enjoyed visiting the Pages in Ohio and the youngster decided to build on this experience with a travel company.

This is his first year in business. He aims to attract groups of between four and eight on fully-escorted £1,100 - £1,500 tours of Ohio with activity packages including flying, sailing on Lake Erie, fishing, watching a major league baseball game, riding the world's biggest rollercoaster and getting first-hand experience of the American fascination with weaponry on an assault-rifle range.

"We have harsh winters but the summers are absolutely fantastic with temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s," says Tom.

"We don't want to re-invent the wheel but this is something different. British tourists tend to go to Florida, New York and maybe Las Vegas. Ohio is very different and this is a special, niche market."

If the Brits enjoy Ohio, he says, the Ohioans find the Brits fascinating. This is small-town, unsophisticated America. Most of the locals have never left the United States. They know little about Britain but are eager to learn.

Tom Page smiles as he recalls one conversation with an Ohioan who asked: "We have relatives in England. Would you know them - the Smith family of Preston?"

Back home in the Black Country for a few days he recalls the things he missed when he first moved to the States.

"It's the silly little things. I miss going for a carvery meal. I miss going to the Newbridge Pub on the Tettenhall Road.

"I miss fish and chips. When I was 17 I came home on a visit and as soon as I got the the airport, all I could think about was the chippy.

"When you only see a chippy every two or three years, believe me, you really miss it."

Tom Page's company is at www.GreatAmericanEscape. com and on 01384 897434