The Samaritans is a charity dedicated to providing a sympathetic ear to those experiencing feelings of depression and despair, including those that may lead to suicide.

As a PhD student entering my third year, I can really see the point of this. You might feel the same, in which case charity and self interest will make perfect partners in this case. If you don't know what I'm getting at, you should probably donate anyway, as you are obviously tough enough to weather a bit of economic hardship.

In return for your patronage, I pledge to do my best to walk 150 miles of the South-West Coast path, between Minehead and Tintagel, between the 7th and 15th of August, 2004. I am also one of the organisers of this walk, which revives a tradition of long walks for charity organised by Bilborough College Nottingham, in which I participated in 1995 & 1996 (I think).

The walk is providing the opportunity for 9 people to raise monies for the charities of their choice. All monies raised will go to charity - the costs of the walk are funded out of the participant's own pockets. If you would prefer to donate money to a charity other than the Samaritans, you might want to sponsor one of my co-walkers, for example:

Joanne Hacking, walking for Oxfam - https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/longwalk

Dan Taylor, walking for the MS Society - http://www.logicalgenetics.com/longwalk.php You can also keep an eye on http://www.longwalk.co.uk/ , the website for the walk, on which I will post lists of participants and their donation sites. This site also features exciting walk related content, and will feature a report on the walk, with pictures, after it is completed. Thank you for your time, and any donations you see fit to make.