People like Fr Barry Thorley rely on the College of St Barnabas. Barry, lacking in means and sick with a vicious type of cancer, "simply had nowhere to go" until the College learned of his story. With no pension and in poor health, Barry had no-one to turn to. And he is by no means unique among Anglican clergy in terms of his poverty, isolation and poor health.

We need to raise cash to help Barry and others like him, sick or frail and without the resources to help themselves, but the past year has been difficult for fundraising which, like everything else, has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We all know from the news how care homes like the College have been affected. Costs have risen dramatically as a result of Covid at a time when fundraising has barely been able to hold its own. 2020 was our 125th anniversary year and much that we had planned was cancelled. That was a serious blow, and it means that we are now playing catch-up to ensure that our residents' care and quality of life is maintained. The Midsummer Madness cycle ride - 127 miles in one day - is part of that catching up, and your support for it will make a real difference to the lives of Fr Barry and other College residents, and will spare others the despair, worry and loneliness that isolation, sickness and poverty can lead to.