October Update 2011-

Check this out-  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFuH-cTLqzU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Day 1- 30km Hot hot hot

Day 2- 20km Hot hot wet

Day 3- 29km Wet wet dry.

Day 4- 29km Wet wet dry

Day 5- 11km Wet WET WETTEST!!!!!!

But arrived at Satiago de compostella in one piece :)

Send in your money FAST FAST FAST.. while we dry out before coming home!

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October 2011

Less than 24 hours before we start Challange 2- Saint James walk. We will be walking approximately 15 miles a day over 7 days starting North of Ferrol and walking south towards San Diago

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Here’s a reminder of why we are doing all of this J

'Doing something mad for dad’~

 3 Sisters, 3 Years, 3 Challenges 

 In July 2009 our dad, James Finegan, died of vascular dementia just days before his 90th birthday. Although his last moments were peaceful and filled with prayer, the weeks and months leading up to them were harrowing.

We discovered that dementia is neither well understood nor well funded.  Dementia sufferers and their families are all too often left to struggle alone. Having witnessed at close quarters the difficulty of living with dementia, we want to honour our dad's life and our mom's dedication to him by using our family experience to help others.

We are raising funds for Admiral Nurses who are specialists in the care of people who have dementia. They not only understand the changes that dementia can wreak in an individual but also how it can affect their family.

Mount Kilimanjaro seemed mad enough for us - three sedentary sisters who have had 10 children and 3 grandchildren between us.

 We are Breda-Leeds, Nuala-Manchester, Siobhan-Wolverhampton. We all live with our families and have full time jobs. Our mom, Catherine, still lives in Birmingham, where she met dad on the buses at Coventry Road Garage 56 years ago, and where they raised their 6 children (us and our 3 brothers Peter, Brendan and Gerard).

 We will raise funds for Admiral Nurses over the next 3 years by taking on 3 challenges:

 2010  Climb Croagh Patrick, Ireland, (May) Sucessfullu Completed!  http://www.theimagetree.co.uk/#/something-mad-for-dad/4542695647 

 2011   Walk part of St James Way, Spain 

 2012   Climb Kilimanjaro, Tanzania  

Why those challenges?  

 Ø Croagh Patrick is a mountain in Ireland sacred to the memory of St Patrick who brought Christianity to Ireland. Our dad, from Ireland, was a faithful Catholic all his life.

 Ø St James’ Way, because he was James (and a walk seemed more attractive to us than another peak!)

 Ø Kilimanjaro because we have to do something dramatic enough to engage us for the long haul  

    Please support us and help to make a difference! We will aim to:

 1.raise the profile of dementia

     2.raise the profile of Admiral Nurses

         3.raise money for more Admiral Nurses  

  Maybe you already know someone with this illness? Someone you know and love may even get it in the future.

Dig deep now as we climb high and be part of making life better for those who, through no fault of their own and after years of supporting others, now depend on others to support them.

This year’s challenge will be funded entirely by ourselves and ALL donations through this site will go to ‘fordementia’.  From then on the money we raise will go towards the climb up Kilimanjaro and the equipment we will need.

    Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

 Check here regularly, we'll keep you posted on our progress, and details of our next challange and how you can help!

  What is an Admiral Nurse?

 Specialist mental health nurses working with families affected by dementia Working within the National Health Service, and other settings, and supported by for dementia Currently only 75 Admiral Nurses in the UK

How can I have access to an Admiral Nurse?

 Admiral Nurses are only available in certain areas. To see whether there is an Admiral Nursing Service in your area click here.

 If your area does not have an Admiral Nursing Service, you can still contact an Admiral Nurse for advice or support by calling our helpline, Admiral Nursing DIRECT on 0845 257 9406 or email direct@fordementia.org.uk.

 Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. 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 - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

September 2011 update-

We had a wonderful warm welcome at The Firs in Codsall on Saturday night. Excellent musical entertainment was provided by Under The Covers;Thomas and Kelly, Sally Barnes; Ken Stott and Mick Burrows. The compere Nuala provided her usual blend of fun and made the Auction and raffle into a form of entertainment too :)

The suprise addition to the event was a video made at the top of Croagh Patrick on our first challange! Click the link on this page to view. 

The event raised a total of £581

Thanks to all those who came to support the cause.

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 June 2011 Update-

 Our Tibetan Banquet and Open Mike fundraiser was a really enjoyable evening. Tibetan Kitchen put on their usual tasty fayre.  Carol Ann Duffy enjoyed the Tibetan banquet before reading several of her poems to an enthusiastic audience http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpxxEUb_ej0

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Updated 15.06.2010

This first challenge, to climb Coagh Patrick in Ireland, was a family affair as we three sisters were supported by our brother Gerard from Birmingham and two of our children Raffaella 16 from Wolverhampton and Henry 14 (who attends Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in Leeds).

Croagh Patrick is a holy mount that is a pilgrimage for Catholics. It is traditionally completed as a penance and people sometimes climb in their bare feet. We had stout boots and walking sticks but it was still a challenging climb. The path is very rocky and very steep in places so that the ground seems to fall away as you walk. The final third of the climb is more of a scramble! However, once at the top the views are stunning. We were lucky to have a fine, sunny day for the climb. The two younger members of the party led the way with the benefit of their teenage legs! 

The journey to Croagh Patrick was rich in so many ways. On the night we arrived in Ireland, and just because we were wearing 'Dementia UK' t shirt, we raised 170 Euros in Matt Molloy's music yard. Then, on the way up the mountain we were overtaken by three young men. One was a priest from the United States whose mother had died of dementia 18 months ago. His two companions were insurance brokers for nursing homes for dementia. He kindly agreed to offer Mass in the little white chapel at the top for all those who suffer from dementia and all those who care for them.

It was an emotional and very rewarding experience in honour of our Dad