Whilst attending sixth form, (which now seems an age ago!) I was fortunate enough to have a met a group of people who will always be my friends for life.

Since leaving sixth form, although we have respectively all gone off and done our own things, this group has always kept in touch and know that we are there for each other if ever needed. Unfortunately for my friends, this easily paves the way to guilt trip any of them into participating in any mad cap schemes that I may come up with from time to time.

Which all leads back to one of our group, John Shaw. John and his wife, Louise, have a daughter, Holly, who suffers from Angelman Syndrome . Angelman Syndrome is a genetic disorder that means Holly will need constant supervision, life long care and assistance.

Aside from both being actively involved in the local community, John and Louise are brilliant parents who have done everything for Holly and she is a credit to both of them. However, as Holly is now 10 years old, her needs are changing and John and Louise currently do not have the space or facilities in their home to ensure Holly's needs are met going forward.

John and Louise therefore require a bit of help to raise some money to make some adaptations to their home so as to improve Holly's quality of life. The changes proposed will provide John and Louise with some extra space to set up a specific area for Holly where her bedroom can be based which will give Holly a safe environment to be in. Also, the changes will enable a small spare room to be created next to Holly's bedroom so that any carer can stay overnight and provide John and Louise with some respite from time to time.

As such, myself, John and 6 other (un)willing volunteers will be running Tough Mudder in Henley on 4 May 2019 to raise some money for Holly and to help with this project.

Having run Tough Mudder myself last year, I can definitely confirm it is not a walk in the park and will certainly be a challenge for all concerned. Therefore if anyone feels able to make a contribution (however big or small) to me or any members of our Tough Mudder team to help out John, Louise and Holly, then this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Gavin