Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

Greetings all. My Labrador Greta and I are preparing to do something a little bit crazy (perhaps no surprise to those who know us) and we need your support. On Saturday the 18 of August 2012 we will be setting off on foot from Minehead in Somerset to walk the South West coastal path back home to Poole in Dorset. That’s a 630 mile adventure, taking in some of the most beautiful scenery the UK has to offer (and quite possibly, the world in my opinion). It is Britain’s longest-way marked trail and one of its most challenging routes, with a total height of 114,931 feet (35,031 m) to be climbed. That’s almost 4 times the height of Mount Everest (granted the conditions should be a little less gruelling).

 

We plan to complete this hike within 30 days (an average of 21 miles per day), wild camping wherever we can, and living on a meagre budget of £3 per day (I imagine most of this will be spent supporting Greta’s rather sizeable appetite). I will be posting on my facebook page when I can get internet access to keep you all up to date on our progress.

 

The cause:

So why are we doing it? Our aim is to raise as much money as possible to support the work of the Lewis-Manning Hospice in Poole. The hospice offers free specialist palliative nursing care to around 650 local people living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. They currently receive a third of their funding from the NHS, with the remaining running costs of around £50,000 a month needing to be raised by themselves. This figure is set to increase upon completion of the Time to Care Appeal (a £2.8 million new purpose built facility to include an in-patient unit, providing planned respite, intensive rehabilitation, emergency access and end of life care beds for those who need them).

 

What can you do help?:

·         Make a donation (its so easy even I can do it, and I’m certainly not renowned for my computer wizardry). Times are hard but whatever you can afford will be very greatly appreciated. For any businesses that want to sponsor me I will be more than happy to cover myself head to toe in logos and sing your praises wherever I go.

·         If you can’t give money but want to help then please LIKE, SHARE and POST on my facebook  page. Tell anyone who’ll listen and follow my progress online. Perhaps some of my lovely media connected friends might want to help me generate some interest?... Just a thought.

·         COME AND JOIN IN. It could get terribly lonely out there and Greta is bound to be craving someone to talk to other than me after a while. I’ll be encouraging anyone and everyone to dust off their walking boots and pitch up, whether it’s for a day, a weekend or a week (or the whole blimmin thing if you’re crazy enough!). I have a lot of friends in Cornwall and Dorset especially so there should be no excuses. I will be posting up my intended route map imminently and I’ll be publishing designated meeting times and places for you guys if you want to get involved. These might have to be revised as I go along depending on how speedy I am. Come on, it’ll be fun I promise.

·         GIVE US A LIFT. We need to get to Minehead somehow, as when I’m finished the last thing I will want to do is walk back to collect my car. Come and see us off and wish us luck. I’m sure petrol money could be arranged.

·         COME AND SEE US HOME. I’m going to be missing all my wonderful friends and family very much and I’ll be dying to see your faces on my return, so come and meet me when I get off the Sandbanks ferry in Poole (hopefully on Sunday the 16 of September). I will be posting an ETA closer to the time). I imagine there will be some sort of shindig involved.

So that’s it in a nutshell, I won’t go on. Thank you for reading and I look forward to having your support

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 - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.