Last July I got a call from Martin, a great friend in London with the awful news that his mum Trish had been diagnosed with skin cancer out of the blue.  Only 5 weeks later I attended her funeral in Glasgow.

Trish was a beautiful, kind, energetic and generous person that left a positive impression on anyone she met and I was lucky enough to know her when I lived with Martin in London several years ago. She was only 52 years young when she passed away.

During her last weeks of her life she was admitted to the Marie Curie Cancer Care Centre for terminally-ill patients. What was undoubtedly the most difficult time for her family was made easier by the magnificent levels of care she received from Marie Curie.  We have all been affected by cancer in some shape of form and so can imagine how difficult those last weeks must have been for all concerned. 

Without the aid of charitable donations, Marie Curie could not generate the £9,212 required every hour of every day to provide patients with the first-class levels of care and support they need at the end of their life in their place of choice. It was this outstanding support that allowed Martin's mum to spend her last week in the comfort of her home with her family. 

 

The Challenge: 

In her memory, this July, myself (skinny Irishman) and 5 tough Scotsmen are undertaking the gruelling challenge of cycling the 1575 km (978 miles) from Land’s End to John O’Groats... the longest distance possible on the British mainland!  None of us are cyclists, indeed I am the only one who owned a bike a month ago but with a little training and a lot of determination we hope to complete this in under 10 days.  

The link below shows the proposed itinerary!

http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-gb/events/overseas-charity-challenge/Lands-End-to-John-OGroats-July-2011---8708/?Tab=2 

I know this year seems to have been marked by one natural disaster after another and constant demands for your donations.

Many of you have been incredibly generous in the past for my fund raising and I am going to ask you to dig deep once again to support another worthy cause.  Knowing we have some incredibly generous, kind (and did I mention good-looking!) friends we have set ourselves a lofty target to reach!   As you might expect we are covering all our own costs so every penny you donate goes straight to providing care to terminally ill patients and their families.

http://www.justgiving.com/endastankard  

As always, the charity can claim Gift Aid of at least 20% on every donation made by UK taxpayers, so please tick the box if this applies to you.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Please give generously.. and wish us luck!   We are hoping that by our small efforts and your generosity we can remember Trish in our own way and make a difference to a fantastic charity....

Cheers,

 Enda

PS - In order to encourage you to donate early I'll enter everyone who has donated by the end of April into a draw to win a bottle of champagne!