I will be walking across the Surrey Downs to raise money for St.George's Stroke Unit and The Beacon School's Imagination Station Project.

Firstly, The Imagination Station aims to raise £30,000 to redevelop the Learning Resources Centre at The Beacon School, Banstead. I am an MFL teacher at the school and I know that any money raised will help the school to achieve its goal of creating a positive and engaging learning environment for over 1000 students.

Secondly, on a more personal note, 15/01/2019 was the day that I found out that my beautiful and loving mum had suffered a severe stroke while out shopping in Wallington. I will always remember the sheer feeling of dread having pulled up outside St.George's Hospital in Tooting and I remember visibly shaking when walking into the ward and seeing my wonderful mum. At this point Mum was making jokes and being her usual cheery self and a bit of relief came over me. I had been feeling ill that day and so a few hours later I said goodbye to mum and I told her that I loved her as I always did when I said bye to her and she said she loved me too. Those were the last words that Mum spoke to me as later on that evening mum's situation became much worse and she slipped into a coma.

On 20/01/2019 mum passed away with my brother, her partner John, her brother Paul and myself holding her hands and finally mum was at peace.

In short, the pain of losing my mum, my best friend and confidante will always be with me but what makes the pain a bit more bearable is the fact that the doctors and nurses at St.George's treated my beautiful mum with the utmost dignity, care and respect right to the very end. Consequently, I want to thank them by raising whatever I can so that they can continue to do the amazing work that they do.

Thank you for reading this regardless of whether you donate or not. If there is one charity that you want you money to go to rather than the other, that is absolutely fine. Please just message me and I will ensure that your wishes are respected.