Thank you for visiting my JustGiving page.
This year I celebrate a notable birthday. I have had ample time to fret about how to mark the occasion, and eventually I decided to run 50 km to raise money for two charities that are important to Judith, me and the children. Below I explain, why, for whom and – at the bottom – how I will do so.
Why I'm raising money for my birthday
Let me tell you a true story. In 1981, aged 20, I started chatting to a local in a bar in Bangui, in the Central African Republic. He asked me where I came from. “London”, I said. “London”, he wondered; “Is that far?” Before I could work it out, he added: “More than 40 days by canoe?” Yes, I assured him, it’s more than 40 days by canoe. “You must be very rich”, he reflected immediately.
I was not rich! I was a student, and I had borrowed a mountainous sum of money to get myself to Africa, which I now had to work to repay. “No” I explained. But as I spoke, it dawned on me. I was rich in every way that mattered to him: rich in opportunity, rich in education, in health, in my family, my passport and skin colour. Rich in all manner of safety nets. Call it a ‘learning moment’; it is a conversation that I remember word for word, thirty years later.
So why raise money – we who have had such easy, lucky lives? Because however poor we feel after three years of recession, there are always people with less, who deserve and count on our support. Because we can.
Who I'm raising money for
A birthday is a family occasion, so I asked Judith and the children to help me choose charities to support. On this page you can donate to The Royal Hospital Chelsea, the Chelsea Pensioners, a local charity I have supported for a number of years. I have always thought that charity should begin at home, and with a brother in the services since he was 16, I have been aware for most of my life of the exceptional service and sacrifice that we ask of our armed forces.
We have been at war in the Middle East for longer than WWII lasted, and demands on The Royal Hospital faces are increasing, just as levels of support are falling. All capital projects must be privately funded, and they are trying urgently to raise £30 million to improve and modernise the pensioners’ accommodation, currently not much changed from Sir Christopher Wren’s original Long Ward design. You can find out more about the charity here, and the appeal here. Thank you for supporting them!
You may have heard of the Chelsea Pensioners. But the other charity we decided to support is one you will almost certainly not have come across. Click here to read about and support The Circulation Foundation – our other choice.
What I'm doing to justify asking for your donation
While battling the brain tumour that killed him aged 39 a couple of years ago, my brother-in-law Nial ran a 10km road race in 50 minutes. Inspired by this feat, I will run five 10km races in 50 minutes each on five consecutive days, so 50 km in total, on September 27th, 28, 29and 30, and on my birthday itself, October 1.
- run 1: 27th September
- run 2: 28th September
- run 3: 29th September
- run 4: 30th September
- run 5: 1st October (and here)
This 50 km will take me in stages from where we live in West London to Tilbury Fort, at the mouth of the Thames. Tilbury Fort is an English Heritage site, built to defend London from attack from the sea, particularly during the Spanish Armada. Faced with this terrible threat, Tilbury is where Queen Elizabeth I delivered her famous speech on August 8 1588: “I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any Prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm”. The English Heritage page is here, the wiki page here, and a good history page here. It’s a fine sentiment, even 423 years later, and worth trying to get fit for!
About JustGiving
You probably know this bit. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted e-mails. 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. Please dig deep and donate to one – or both – of our chosen charities now. Thank you!
