Hello, thanks for stopping by.

In a few months’ time, I’ll be climbing a mountain. Why? Hopefully, to raise some money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Those of you who know me well will be aware that physical activity really isn’t my strong-suit. Between now and September, when I’ll be flying off to scale all 4,167m of Mount Toubkal in Morocco, the highest peak in North Africa, I’m going to have to break the habit of a lifetime and get fit.

In return, I’d like to ask for a donation. It’s going to the best of causes.

Four years ago this spring, my Gran passed away. She was an amazing lady who devoted her life to her children and grandchildren, and to this day I find it humbling to realise how much of my moral character she helped form. She was an exemplar of that admirable British generation who went through the last war; no matter what life threw at her, she never complained, she just got on with it.

In her memory, and with that spirit in mind, I’m raising money with this trek for Marie Curie Cancer Care, whose kind and dedicated nurses provide end-of-life care to tens of thousands of terminally ill people like Gran every year – half the cancer patients in the UK, in fact. They do this entirely free of charge and depend on donations, like yours, to keep going.

If you’ve read this far you must really be interested, so a word on the trek itself, and the organisers.

For those of you concerned at the thought of a pasty, spindly ginger boy dangling off sheer cliffs (thank you) the good news is this isn’t a technical climb. I won’t be touching the void or being a massive hero.

What I will be doing, is trekking for 9 hours a day for three days up a steep and craggy climb, in the dusty heat of a Moroccan summer. With my colouring, Factor 500 will be required. And then the same down again - which is always worse, because by then you're aching like hell.

Think of it as 'Sam and Frodo go to Mordor' only with less soulful bromance and obsessing about rings. Oh, and no eagles to carry you down at the end either.

Instead, I’m doing this with a group of friends and colleagues from the City, under the good offices of a company called Ignis Asset Management. (If you're unfamiliar with the name, it’s an investment company, not a bank, and they haven’t fixed any interest-rates or crashed the economy).

Ignis are generously supporting this trip and donating to Action for A-T, an organisation raising funds for research into Ataxia Telangiectasia, a childhood neuro-degenerative disorder.

Well, that’s about it. If you’re still unconvinced this is a cause worth your money, then here’s a word from William Shatner, whom I shall certainly be looking to for inspiration during the climb. http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/08/captain_kirk_is_climbing_a_mountain.php

Thank you in advance for your generosity. It’s very much appreciated.

Mark

 

 

PS - here's some info from JustGiving:

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.