In February 2011 I joined a group of six to cycle from Kolkata to Kalimpong, in the foothills of the Himalayas to raise money for Dr Graham's Homes, the school that my grandmother attended in the 1920- 30s.  Incredibly, the school still had her file and they let me read its contents and take some photocopies.  I felt privileged to be able to find out more about her life and see the place that had made such a difference to her future.

Going to India again next year has been on my mind since arriving at the school at the end of that epic bike ride along the Ganges plain. John Webster, the group leader, announced that he planned to do the ride again in 2014, when he would be eighty and I thought back then that I would like to join in.

This will be a different journey though, starting in Kathmandu (1400m), rather than Kolkata.  The ride will be shorter (323 miles), but hillier - and I'm not good on hills!  As before, our destination will be Dr Graham's Homes in Kalimpong (1250m).

We will be paying all our own costs, camping along the route and coping with the quirks of the Nepalese and Indian roads.

Dr Graham's Homes was set up in 1900 by Dr Graham, a Church of Scotland Moderator, to provide a home and education for Anglo Indian children.  It now takes children of deprived backgrounds, mainly from NE India and Nepal.  It costs £1200 annually to look after a child at the school.  This includes education, accommodation and nurture.

In 2011, thanks to the generosity of my friends and relatives, I raised over £2000 for the school.  Of course I would like to at least equal that sum this time and I very much hope that you will help. All the money you donate goes towards the upkeep of the children.  The UK Fundraising Committee is run purely by volunteers.

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