UPDATE....I arrived in Rome on Friday, 15th August, having left London on the 9th May!
Its been an amazingly wonderful experience! So much has happened along the way. Thank you to all who have donated. If anyone wants to be in touch to hear more about the last 3 months, (too much to write here!) my email is <paul.haines10@googlemail.com>
Update.....Tuesday 22nd July...have walked 57 days so far. Am in Lucca at the moment having 3 days off and amazingly met Stevie Wonder on Sunday night. He was performing here and I managed to meet and talk with him about my walk and the two charities. I start walking again on the 24th and hope to be in Rome in the second week of August. All going well and seeing wonderful sights and meeting many interesting people along the way...
UPDATE - Sunday 8th June - all going well. On my 25th day of walking, with about 700 Kms covered so far. Very hot at the moment! Have seen wonderful things and met some lovely people along the way, and have been spreading the word about Music and Health.
I'm walking from London on the 9th May to Canterbury. From there, on the 14th May, I'll walk the Via Francigena to Rome. It's a 1,200 mile walk, first documented by Archbishop Sigeric, the Serious, in 990 AD. It was declared a major cultural route by the Council of Europe in 2004. I'm hoping to reach Rome at the end of July.
I'm raising funds for two charities that are directly involved with Music and Health. The Alzheimers Society run "Singing for the Brain" sessions that are of great benefit to anyone with Dementia. (I take part in these sessions in Cornwall). The Nordoff Robbins Charity promotes the use of Music Therapy.
There has always been a direct link between Music and Health, but there is increasing evidence and research proving how powerful this link can be. I'm carrying a small flag depicting the Chinese characters for "Music". The characters also translate as the "Sound of Happiness", and historically Music was directly used as Medicine for ill-health in China.
Four years ago I walked part of the famous pilgrimage route in Spain to Santiago de Compostela. It sparked an interest and a passion for walking these historical routes. Since then I have completed the Via de la Plata, a 620 mile pilgrimage route from Seville to Santiago, the route from Winchester to Canterbury, the Via Jakobi from Konstanz to Geneva in Switzerland, and a number of smaller pilgrim's routes in Ireland. It has been a challenging, inspirational and wonderful experience.
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