Mungo was my very dear and much-loved friend; he had the biggest, most open heart. It seems ironic that he died of cardiac arrest at the ridiculously young age of 48.

A fitting legacy to him would be one which has the potential to save lives in the rural community which he passionately loved, and called home, in the last few years of his life: hence the idea of a defibrillator. He would have LOVED the thought of a life saved from the same condition which took him.

Mungo regularly canoed short distances on the River Wye with family, friends and visitors, utilising a Hay-based canoe-hire company called “want to canoe?”, which is owned and run by his dear friends Aubrey and Clare. Mungo had expressed a wish to Clare to canoe further-it is actually possible to canoe 100 miles to Chepstow without restriction on this magnificent river- and together they had planned a 3-day trip for friends, to take place in 2017.

Sadly, and for obvious reasons, this never came to fruition, but it now forms the perfect foundation for my fundraising challenge: I intend to canoe the 100 miles to Chepstow, which will take approx 5 days and will involve wild camping, or overnighting in basic campsites. When Aubrey suggested this as my challenge I was inspired, if not a little nervous: it is not for the faint-hearted, particularly for a novice canoeist like me: I have canoed just once in my life, over a distance of 5 miles! I will have an amazing team supporting me, but it will push me to my limit and kick me right out of my comfort zone.

Our aim is to raise enough money to buy at least one defibrillator, and provide training for its use. The long-term goal is for this to become an annual event, hence creating a permanent fund in Mungo’s memory. He would have loved the idea of his friends doing crazy things (like canoeing/camping in the rain) to raise money for his beloved community.

I can just hear him now: “Bloody brilliant, darling”

❤️