MEET THE TEAM
MANAGEMENT
PATRICK ARNOLD
Managing Director
I play cricket for my village Eynsham, and for Oxfordshire Over 50’s. I also play hockey for Oxford Hawks (previously Wimbledon). I have always loved sports and used to organise all the club tours at university. When I started working for HSBC in London I got into watching England cricket overseas and was there when the Barmy Army launched in 1994/5. Following further trips to South Africa and the West Indies I then got to play cricket in South Africa for my club and Croatia and Austria with the MCC. This experience pushed me toward starting Living With The Lions in 2001 and well, here we are today! What makes us different? We are still just a small team but every person here loves the sports that we follow and adds their own personality and enthusiasm to each trip that we run. I have been married to Sarah for 17 years and we have three sports fans, Freddie, Hana and Eve.
JOANNA RADWAY-MOWATT
Business Manager
Throughout my career and education to date, sport has always played a major role. I joined Living With The Lions after 8 years’ service with Gullivers Sports Travel within their worldwide schools and clubs department. I have always been involved in sport, enjoying gymnastics and hockey in my early years, which I later put to good use whilst employed as a Lecturer of Sports Science in Gloucestershire. These days, although I am still an avid follower of sport, I am more of a participant of the arts with dance and music being keen interests. I have been fortunate enough to have travelled to a number of great destinations during my years in the travel industry, with South Africa, Australia and the Caribbean being some of my favourite destinations. I have also been lucky enough to Tour Lead Supporters Tours overseas which include the British & Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand 2005 and Cricket World Cup to the West Indies in 2007.
ANDREW WATERS
Finance Manager
I joined LWTL in January 2024 as Finance Manager. I worked for 26 years for a global manufacturing company, and since 2017 have worked privately for a handful of clients.I’m a keen club cricketer having played for Hitchin, Cheltenham and now Colwall, a picturesque ground at the foot of the Malvern Hills.
I’ve held various posts on cricket club committees over the years, including 8 years Junior Chairman at Cheltenham CC, where my
2 sons started their cricketing journeys, progressing through Gloucestershire County & District representative cricket.
I currently play for Herefordshire Over 50s, which is a much gentler pace than Saturday league cricket. Away from work and cricket, I enjoy walking the Malvern Hills and fishing the beautiful River Wye
SUPPORTERS TOURS
GAIL GIBSON
Head of Supporters Department
I have been involved in Travel for quite some years now. After studying languages (French, German & Italian) at Leicester University, my first job took me out to the French Alps as a chalet girl. 3 winter seasons, two summers in Turkey and a season of walking tours in Italy later, I set up a small ski chalet business in Les Deux Alpes where I lived for 4 years. I then moved back to England to work in Reader Offer Travel, then more recently for another Sports Tours Operator as Operations Manager for their Clubs & Schools department. My work has taken me to some lovely parts of the world including South Africa, Namibia, New Zealand, South America & the Caribbean. Italy though is one of my favourite destinations! In 2014 I took a self-imposed and hard earned 6 month break, then joined LWTL initially to work on Incoming groups for the RWC in 2015. I now work exclusively on the Supporters Tours which included the Lions to New Zealand in 2017, and going forward events such as Six Nations games, Hong Kong Sevens, the England tour to South Africa and England Cricket Tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies. I have played Tennis since I was 4 and have skied extensively; I really enjoy watching England play rugby and cricket, and in recent years, I have spent endless hours watching my daughter play cricket professionally for her regional team Western Storm and in the Hundred for London Spirit.
MIKE PYRGOS
Supporters Tours Sales
I was a teacher for 37 years and taught at Bryanston School in Dorset for the last 30 of those where I was Director of Rugby and Head of Economics as well as being Senior Teacher. Whilst teaching I ran over 30 school tours and I hope I can bring some of that experience to LWTL. I was a tour manager (during a sabatical from school) on the 2013 Lions Toour of Australia and I stayed on afterwards because LWTL had organised an excellent Rugby Tour for my school following the Lions Tour. I work in both the schools and supporters departments at LWTL and am putting my experience of extensive touring to the test in both departments. I played rugby for Harlequins and my son, Henry, is the Glasgow Warriors and Scotland scrum half and he captained Scotland during the 2015 World Cup, my daughter Alice also plays hockey for England. I love all sports and am an ardent Tottenham Hotspur supporter. I am lucky enough to have hosted LWTL’s British & Irish Lions Tours in 2013 and 2017, rugby tours to Italy and Scotland and cricket supporters tours to the West Indies and the Ashes in Australia.
JESS PITT
Event Operations Assistant
I was born in the UK but was lucky enough to move to Australia at a young age and as a result, now have dual citizenship. I lived in Sydney for five years and during this time I developed a love for horse riding. It started off as just a hobby but soon became my whole world and I took it up competitively. I joined the local Pony Club and represented them in many competitions. As well as this, when I joined secondary school, I was fortunate enough to join the school Equestrian Team which enabled me to represent them in competitions all over NSW. I have travelled extensively throughout my childhood, going to some amazing countries like Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York. Australia and Thailand were definitely at the top of the list for me and my love for travel is what drew me to LWTL. I am from a very sport-orientated family, particularly rugby, which has meant that I have had the opportunity to attend some amazing games like the British & Irish Lions, the Autumn Internationals and the Guinness Six Nations.
SCHOOL TOURS
CARRIE ROBERTS
Club & Schools Operations Manager
I’m a born and bred South African with a passion for travel and sport and have happily carved a 18 year career in the Sports Travel industry. I studied Marketing and Advertising and Business Finance at the University of Natal in South Africa, followed by travel abroad before commencing my career as a Tour Operator. My jobs, having worked at Bundu Bashers Travel in South Africa for ten years, followed by Edwin Doran Sports Tours for three years and LWTL for five years, have allowed me to combine my interests and I have been fortunate enough to travel around the world, exploring countries such as Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and the USA. I love all sports (I play most racquet sports and have completed 2 Half Marathons) and supporting rugby and cricket are definitely high on the list. I am based in Ely, Cambridgeshire – where I represent LWTL in the East Anglia region in both Sales and Operations.
ROB DICKSON
Club & Schools Sales Manager
Born in Lancashire but raised in Gloucestershire, sport has been a huge part of my life to date. The travel bug then started in 2005 when I decided last minute to follow the British Lions tour to New Zealand. It was an incredible experience and something I was keen to repeat. I completed my degree and was then committed to seeing more of the world. After saving for 12 months which involved a 12 hour shift working alone on Christmas day, I left the UK in Sept 2007 on a flight bound for New York. I worked my way across the states to LA, onto Fiji, New Zealand and then onto Australia where I saw in the New Year and eventually stayed for 6 months, working in both Sydney and Perth. I then made the long journey home via Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. On my return I started work for PGL travel which was great fun but my heart was set on sports travel. After 4 years, I joined Gullivers Sports Travel and have had the opportunity to experience some once in a lifetime events such as New Year in Cape Town with the Barmy Army to a World Cup Football Semi Final in Moscow. I have been extremely fortunate to have experienced some amazing destinations and cultures and I now enjoy sharing my experiences with groups looking to take their team overseas. What attracted me to Living With The Lions is the personal approach and attention to detail they provide that is missing in a large corporate business. There is not a high turnover of staff so our customers know exactly what they are getting and really buy into the LWTL family ethos..
ANTHEA BARRINGTON
Club & Schools Tours Sales
I am back to my old stomping ground having stepped away from LWTL during Covid times which was not easy time for the travel industry. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to join the Hockey Wales team, managing the Senior and Pathway activity. During my time I have learnt a lot more about sport, as well as developing as a person both in the office but on the pitch having been selected to represent the O35s Welsh Hockey Masters team. It is extremely exciting as we have a summer of activity coming up including a Home Nations tournament as well as the Masters World Cup. Born in South Africa, I have always been surrounded by sport and the incredible values that it brings and the experiences that can be shared both on and off the pitch. Travel has also been a passion of mine, so to have the opportunity to combine the two whilst providing players and supporters with an all-round experience is very exciting. Outside of the work, you will mostly find me on the pitch myself otherwise I am out exploring and finding new adventures with my two boys, black lab, family and friends.
DAVID MCLAUGHLIN
Club & Schools Tours Sales
I’ve always had a real love for sport, from a young age I tried my hand at everything available to me, before finally settling on rugby and becoming a proud member of the Front Row Union. I’m very grateful that being involved in the game has given me the chance travel and see the world, with South Africa and the South of France being my favourite tour destinations. I’ve been lucky enough to turn my passion for sport into a career and enjoyed two years at Chaka Travel working in golf and school tour sales, before joining the team at Living with the Lions as our sales representative in Ireland. From a fan perspective, my sporting highlights would be being in the building to see local boy Carl Frampton beat Scott Quigg, following Northern Ireland at Euro 2016 and being in attendance for the incredible schools’ rugby derby in Paarl, where 25000 spectators get to see the number one and number two ranked schools in South Africa go head to head. From a work standpoint my highlight has undoubtedly been being in New Zealand for the 2017 Lions Tour, and most recently taking in four of the five Ashes Tests and seeing Cook’s 244 in the MCG.
KATIA CARDIN
Tour Coordinator
I have always loved sports and, from a young age, got involved in as many as possible, from netball and horse-riding to swimming and triathlons. I continued playing a range of sports throughout my education, where I enjoyed studying Physical Education at both GCSE and A Level. At university, I represented Royal Holloway in the BUCS and LUSL Competitive Leagues. I also had the privilege of being voted the Raise and Give Representative on the clubs committee, where I organized several fundraising events and tournaments.
Travel has always been a huge passion of mine. I first got the travel bug exploring Malta (where I was born) and while visiting family in Australia when I was 9. Since then, I have jumped at every travel opportunity, with highlights including a school expedition to Peru where we walked the Salkantay Trek and climbed Machu Picchu, island hopping around Greece for two months, and more recently traveling in Australia for six months.
REN LAWRENCE
Tour Coordinator
I was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, but have lived in Johannesburg for the last 15 years. I have a 16-year-old son who is my pride and joy, and I enjoy gym and playing padel. I am a Springbok rugby fan and support the Women’s Barcelona soccer team.
I’ve always had a passion for travelling, and apart from travelling extensively throughout South Africa, I have also been fortunate to travel internationally to the UK, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and more recently, Portugal and Spain.
I completed a diploma in travel and tourism after I matriculated from Girls’ High School and was also awarded the Certificate of Travel Agency Competency (COTAC 1) by The Travel Education and Training Authority of SA (TETASA).
Planning and organising are two of my key strengths – I have a decade of working experience in the travel industry, which includes being the Assistant Manager at Bundu Bashers Travel, as well as a Senior Reservations Consultant at Thompsons Africa.
I was looking to join a challenging and dynamic environment and team where my planning, organising and creative skills could be utilised. I have fortunately been afforded this opportunity by joining the Living With The Lions team – where I am responsible for co-ordinating tours for the school’s department.
SUE BRIGHTON
Tour Coodinator
The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page”. I have been fortunate enough to have read several pages and have been involved in the Travel and Tourism Industry for the past 20 years, both on a local and international level. My 15 odd years spent with Bundu Bashers Travel, SA, allowed me to form the basis of my passion for travel giving me the opportunity to explore countries such as Argentina, New Zealand, Singapore, Maylasia, China, Egypt, Europe and African countries. Having been born in Durban, South Africa, raised on a farm in the Midlands, studied Business Administration, lived in the UK and China, travelled extensively, I now call our farm and the small town of Boston, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, my home. When I am not arranging exciting tours in the role of Sports Tours Co-ordinator, I spend my time on horseback with my furry friends, exploring the beautiful KwaZulu Natal Midlands.
Experience
With over 21 years experience in both the sports and travel sectors.
Guaranteed Tickets
We guarantee all flights, transfers, match tickets and excursions.
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