President Peter's (and Jan's!) Perambulation - Plymouth to Falmouth Trek - 23 to 26 February 2010

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Trek completed - both Jan and Peter are in good order - no blisters!  Please see reports below and pictures.Our very grateful thanks to all those who have supported us.

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit Peter and Jan's JustGiving page (please see latest news at bottom of this section).

Every incoming president of the Rotary Club of Plympton chooses a personal charity to support in their year of Office.  Peter chose the British Heart Foundation (BHF) - an obvious choice given his appalling family history of heart disease which includes his own triple bypass (CABG) nearly 11 years ago.  The BHF are supporting a new local appeal - The Derriford 3D Heart Appeal - and are hoping to raise £97,000 in 2010 to purchase a 3 Dimensional scanner.  All funds raised will be earmarked for this new appeal.

Looking for a personal challenge, Peter decided to walk from Plymouth to Falmouth in February 2010 which was National Heart Month and to coincide with Rotary Awareness Week and the start of Rotary District 1290's Conference.  District Governor, Ken Edmonds, is also a member of the Plympton Club, so all this seemed to fit together.  Then he told Jan!  Jan immediately agreed to accompany Peter and they both started planning and training in 2009.

The Trek started from the Drake's Circus Shopping Mall in Plymouth City Centre at 11:00 on Tuesday 23 February 2010 (Rotary Awareness Day) and ended in Falmouth on Friday 26 February 2010 (by coincidence this was also the National Wear Red Day).  Some 55 miles by the shortest road distance.  Peter and Jan stayed with rotarians and in Bed and Breakfast on the way and funded all their own expenses.  All money raised will be donated to the Derriford 3D Heart Scanner Appeal via the British Heart Foundation.  Rotary colleagues and family accompanied Peter and Jan on the first part of their journey to the Torpoint Ferry - to ensure that they actually gmade it through border security and into Cornwall!  The itinerary was as follows:

23 Feb      Plymouth to Hessenford                    12.5 miles   (Stayed with Rotarian Clare and David Thomas in Polbathic - splendid hosts!)

24 Feb      Hessenford to Fowey                        13.8 miles  (Our good friends David and Elizabeth Purnell stayed with us in Fowey to help soothe our sore feet and to celebrate Jan's Birthday)

25 Feb      Fowey to Tregony                              17.1 miles   (Jan's birthday - Bed and Breakfast with Joanne at Kea House)

26 Feb      Tregony to St Mawes and Falmouth 11.2 miles  (Jan didn't know there was a fairly long ferry crossing - she is not a good sailor!)  

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 - Peter and Jan will raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Follow this link for more details of the Deriiford 3D Appeal:     www.bhf.org.uk/derrifordappeal

Follow this link for more about the Rotary Club of Plympton:   www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=1055

Off line donations to date include very generous donations from Joan and Wally Stopporton, Brian and Jane Gray, Janet Faire, the proceeds from two club raffles and £286.65 from the Tesco collection (see below) and from members of the Honiton Golf Club (see below for details) and the Sir Joshua Reynolds Lodge in Plympton.  Peter's colleagues in Cornwall Council raised £90 and Jan's in the Plymouth Register Office £60. The collection box carried on the trek raised £46. 

News:

Mon 18 Jan 2010   Jan, Laura, Amy and several Rotarians attended the launch of the Derriford 3d Scanner Appeal (see pictures)

Mon 1 Feb 2010   Start of National Heart Month.  Peter, Jan and daughters Laura, Amy and Becky all appeared on Westcountry News to promote the trek and BHF Heart Month.  It was daunting speaking to camera but news reporter Richard Lawrence and cameraman Roger made it easy for us.  Piece was shown in conjunction with item about the lighting up of public buildings in the UK to signify the start of National Heart Month.  See pictures section for a great shot of the Eden Project Biodomes lit up in BHF Red.  I think we have used up our 15 minutes of fame!

Fri 5 Feb 2010   Raised £286.65 collecting outside Tesco at Lee Mill.  Our thanks to Tesco and all those that gave so generously.

Wed 10 Feb 2010    BHF arranged an early slot on local BBC radio to promote, with Owen Penney, the local BHF co-ordinator, the 3D Scanner Appeal and our trek.

Sun 21 Feb 2010   Invited to Brother John's Captain's Lunch at Honiton Golf Club today.  Despite launching his own charity for his year as Captain of the Club (www.Dream-A-Way.co.uk), he kindly gave Jan and I a plug for our walk and the the members responded with a very generous £55 donation.  Our thanks to President Anne, Last Year's Captain Nick and Sarah, Lyn (good to see you again Lyn), Christine and Alec.  Finally and not least, our thanks to John & Dorothy for invitng us.

Tue 23 to Fri 26 Feb 2010  Walk started in heavy rain with a great send off from Drake's Circus.  Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress and lots of friends, family and Rotary and Masonic colleagues kindly came to wave us off.  Heavy going on first day but it got easier.  Clare and David made us very welcome at Polbathic with a wonderful evening meal and a comfy bed.  Second night at Fowey was magic and was shared with David and Elizabeth.  Third night spent at Joanne's B & B in Tregony - mega breakfast!.  Fine day for final push onto St Mawes and Falmouth on Friday.  A geat welcome from Laura, Amy, Lee, Becky and Rotary friends.  Met at Rotary District Conference Hotel by District Governor Ken and RIBI Pesident David.  Spent part of the next week in Falmouth recovering!

Tue 23 Feb 2010   Fellow members of the Sir Joshua Reynolds Lodge kindly voted to contribute £131 - our sincere thanks to them for their donation and words of encouragement.

Afterwards   Lots of publicity in the Plymouth press and news websites - courtesy of Darren's hard work.  A mention with pictures on the Provincial Lodge website - thanks David.