Thank you for visiting our fund raising page. The story so far..........

Barclays National Agricultural Specialist, Martin Redfearn together with two friends (and a battery-powered dog) will row a long stretch of the Thames over the August Bank Holiday Weekend to raise money for a charity offering cash support to farming families severely affected by the recent floods.
Says Martin, "We usually go cycling in France at this time of year, and have used the trip to raise money for charity in the past. Through the Barclays Communities Program the Bank will add £1 for every £1 we raise, so it is well worth the effort.

"During our trip last year we decided that, in 2007, we would row the Thames for a change. Following the recent flooding in that valley and elsewhere, and now with the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease to add to farming woes, it seems totally appropriate to turn our efforts in to hard cash once again. We will be rowing a traditional Thames skiff, over 100 years old, and sleeping in the boat and a tent along the way. We will start at Lechlade, which is about as far upstream as is navigable by such a craft, around midday on 23rd August and aim to be at Windsor by the afternoon of 28th August. Total distance, as the river meanders through its valley, is about 98 miles. The people at Thames Skiff Hire, from whom we are hiring the boat, tell us that it is a very tall order to cover that distance in the time we have allowed. Fortunately I stand 6' 4'' in my bare feet, and the Davies brothers are not small!"
"The more famous three men in a boat (together with the dog Montmorency), immortalised by Jerome K Jerome, rowed upstream. We will be rowing with the current, but the helmsman on this trip will be tasked with reading, aloud, the original Three Men in a Boat - backwards. A considerable mental as well as physical challenge, we fear. It will be good to know that you, as well as the current, are with us.

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