Legendary columnist Peter Rhodes writes his last words for the Star, after 40 years of keeping readers informed and entertained. Here are his reasons why

Peter Rhodes, one of this newspaper's best-loved writers for more than 40 years, is finally packing away his pen after revealing he has been diagnosed with cancer.

Peter, whose time with the Express & Star and Shropshire Star has taken him to (almost) the North Pole, the Falkland Islands, the last days of British Hong Kong and South Africa as apartheid started to crumble, celebrated his four decades with the paper in August this year.

The same month he agreed to take a test for prostate cancer, which revealed he actually had cancer in the kidney and blood clots in the lungs. He says doctors have told him his condition is terminal.

Peter retired from his 'day job' as the newspaper's chief feature writer in 2012, but continued to write his popular weekday column for both the Express & Star and Shropshire Star until October this year.

To begin at the........

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