In April 2017 I lost my Mum to cancer.  She spent her last hours in the MacMillan Caring Locally hospice.  By that time all hope was gone but the members of staff, many of them working on a voluntary basis, exhibited the very best qualities found in humankind.  They gave Mum dignity and treated her with respect.  I want to share one small story with you all.  They suggested that Dad and I left Mum's room to take a break and grab a cup of tea.  Mum was no longer able to talk and was lapsing in and out of consciousness.  When I returned, 20 minutes or so later, I found two volunteers in her room chatting, including mum in a three way conversation over nothing in particular.  The amazing thing is that they didn't see a cancer patient who was dying, they just saw my Mum.  And that is what makes them special.

The hospice services are provided with minimal support from the NHS and they rely on charity donations to keep going.  I have decided to do this challenge a year after Mum died to raise as much money for them as I can.

I am taking on a challenge known as the Lake District 3000s.  It is a walk that takes in every 3000 foot high mountain in the Lake District over the course of 24 hours, non-stop.  It is nearly 45 miles in length with over 13,000 feet of ascent.  To put this in perspective it is like walking from Huddersfield to York and climbing the Eiffel Tower 13 times on route.  AAAARGH!  

I thought nobody would be mad enough to join me on this ridiculous exercise but how wrong I was.  A whole host of friends and work colleagues have agreed to join me.  So here is a list of the crazy people involved; Colin Charlesworth, Sam Wilkinson, Chris Barr, Phil Schofield, Alex Forster, James McIntosh and Martin Pemberton.  I cannot thank them enough, without them I think my sanity would have got lost somewhere on top of Scafell Pike.

Right that's it.  Sorry for the essay but this is something I am very passionate about.  You should have got sponsored for spending time to read it all.

Thank you for supporting the team and the hospice!