Hi.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. It's dedicated to my Dad - Nodrog, Gog, Bampa, or just plain Gordon, as he was variously known in family circles.

May 3, 2011,  marked the second anniversary of Nodrog's passing and this seems like a good time to try and raise a few quid as a thank-you to those who helped care for him in his later years.

What better way than to take part in a fund-raising challenge for the Alzheimer's Society, an organisation leading the fight against dementia?

I've decided to take part in a Memory Walk Marathon, a 26-mile hike in the south of England, from Stonehenge to Avebury. I hope to persuade one or two family members to join me for all or part of the challenge or, at the very least, to support me in breaking my modest fund-raising target of £260.

The event seems to have been something I was destined to take part in. I only found out about it by accident, when I mistakenly opened a letter sent to a previous owner of my house in Dinas Powys. It would normally have gone straight in the recycling, but the cover of the booklet enclosed caught my eye and from that moment it seemed as if it had been meant for me. Spooky, eh?

I know that money raised from this event helps not only to support people living with dementia today, but to fund research to find a cure for this devastating illness which, I understand, will affect one in three people over 65, not to mention the people around them. Put another way, there are enough people suffering some form of dementia, around 750,000, to fill every Premier League football stand in the UK.

I am taking part in this walk not only for Nodrog, but my Mum, who had to cope with so much as Alzheimers slowly but surely took my Dad away from her over a number of years.

On a lighter note, I will be returning to India early in 2012 to take part in my second Cycle India event for HEAL (Health and Education for All) and will use this marathon walk as much-needed extra training for that!

Now for the science bit...

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So please dig deep and donate now.