We are walking 150 miles across southern England, from one Wisden office to another, to raise money for the Laurie Engel Fund (Teenage Cancer Trust).
Laurie, the son of Wisden editor Matthew Engel, died in September 2005, aged 13. His parents, Matthew and Hilary, set up the fund to help pay for a six-bed extension to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where Laurie was treated for a particularly aggressive cancer. His medical care was excellent; the non-medical facilities were dismal.
The extension will allow teenage cancer patients to have some space to themselves – where they can just be teenagers. As well as giving patients more dignity, such wards also increase survival rates.
We set off from Upton Grey (near Basingstoke in Hampshire) at 10am on Saturday 19 May. Our first stop, after a gentle four miles, is the Wisden office at the Golden Pot, near Alton. Or possibly the pub near by.
From there, in the company of an assortment of friends, family and colleagues, we take ten days, walking for between 15 and 19 miles a day, to reach the house in the Golden Valley, south-west of Hereford, where Matthew lives and works, and where Laurie lived and died.
We hope to stride (but expect to hobble) down the Engels’ drive some time after lunch on Whit Monday, 28 May. It would have been Laurie’s 15th birthday. See below for a rough itinerary of where we are when.
Please give us your support by sponsoring us, walking with us or, best of all, both. For more details of the Wisden Walk, please email either hugh.chevallier@wisdengroup.com or paul.coupar@wisdengroup.com. Or visit laurieengelfund.org. If you haven't already seen it, you might also like to read Matthew's profoundly moving piece in The Guardian about Laurie, and about his illness.
If you’d rather send a cheque, please make it payable to “TCT Laurie Engel Fund” and send it to one or other of our home addresses. Please email us if you're not sure where we live.
Thank you so very much for your support.
Hugh Chevallier and Paul Coupar
And oh yes, here's the bald itinerary:
Day 1: Upton Grey - Golden Pot - Dummer
Day 2: Dummer - Watership Down - Ashmansworth
Day 3: Ashmansworth - Buttermere - Ramsbury
Day 4: Ramsbury - Ogbourne St George - Clyffe Pypard
Day 5: Clyffe Pypard - Stopper's Hill (Brinkworth) - Somerford Keynes
Day 6: Somerford Keynes - Sapperton - Painswick
Day 7: Painswick - Gloucester - Tibberton
Day 8: Tibberton - Mitcheldean - Peterstow
Day 9: Peterstow - Hoarwithy - Kilpeck
Day 10: Kilpeck - Kentchurch - Bacton
Raised:
110%
Raised so far: £8,283.00
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Well done Harriet Hugh & Paul! Let me know if you Donation by Graham& Di Morris on 13/07/07 |
£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid |
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Donation by kateroberts on 19/06/07 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Christopher on 17/06/07 |
£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid |
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Well done to all of you - fantastic Donation by Patrick Maxwell on 13/06/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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A deserving cause. We were thinking of you on your arduous walk. Donation by Charlotte Lynch on 12/06/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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well done chaps Donation by simon lister on 11/06/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Well done. Donation by Keith Williamson on 11/06/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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great stuff lads!! well done. Donation by pyes on 07/06/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Well done guys. Great effort Donation by David Smith on 05/06/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Well done - what a worthy cause. Donation by Paul & Sarah Barnes on 04/06/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Well done, everyone looked so good at the finish Donation by Peter English on 04/06/07 |
£20.00 |
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Sorry not to be able to join you PC. Hope all went well. Talk soon old chap. Donation by Phil W on 31/05/07 |
£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Mark Getty on 30/05/07 |
£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid |
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Donation by George Dobell on 30/05/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Well done! Hope the blisters aren't too bad! Donation by Kate Jamieson on 30/05/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Matthew Hancock on 29/05/07 |
£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid |
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Bravo Donation by Noel Hadden on 29/05/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Sean Ingle on 28/05/07 |
£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid |
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Well done - an inspiration to us all Donation by Old Nick on 28/05/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Donation by anon on 28/05/07 |
£5.00 |
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Donation by Emma John on 28/05/07 |
£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid |
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well done!! Donation by frances dennys on 26/05/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Hope it's going well, good luck for the rest Donation by James and Sasha on 26/05/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Go for it all of you. You must be nearly there!! Donation by Butler on 25/05/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Good luck from a dad Donation by CH on 25/05/07 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
| * Total raised online: | £3,883.00 |
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| Offline donations: | £4,400.00 |
| Mobile donations: | £0.00 |
| Total Raised: | £8,283.00 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £1,037.38 |
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