Over the summer, Sarah, Anna, Jack and I were lucky enough to visit Tanzania and, during our stay, we climbed Kilimanjaro.

Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing (ie not part of a range) mountain in the world.  Its highest point is Uhuru Peak which is at 5895m (19341 feet) above sea level.

By comparison, Ben Nevis is 1334m (4435 ft), Mont Blanc is 4807m (15778 ft) and Everest Base Camp is 5364m (17600 ft).

That is not to say that the challenges of climbing Kilimanjaro are similar to those involved in, for example, scaling Everest - there is no need for crampons or ice-axes!

However, it is more than (as described by one of my mates) a "long walk" - it's a 6 day, 54 km (unsurprisingly uphill) trek (4.5 days up and 1.5 down), sleeping on the side of the mountain without, of course, access to showers or sanitation.  Summit night begins at 11.30 pm, climbing the last (almost vertical) slopes in temperatures of -10 to -15 degrees centigrade (who would have expected snow in Africa!) and in pitch black with a head torch.  We reached the rim of the crater (Kili is a volcano) at around 6 am and Uhuru Peak at around 8 am.  Because of the altitude, you then have to get down to safe levels pretty quickly - we walked for around 16 hours in total on that day.

Success is by no means guaranteed - altitude sickness is a real problem which is why, on average, only around 66% of the people who attempt it make it to the summit.  It was not exactly motivating to see people being carried down the mountain as we were going up......

I had also not appreciated when we agreed to do it that people die on Kili - apparently, there are around 10 reported deaths annually, the most recent very sad announcement being July of this year.

Anyway, we did all make it up and down in one piece - Sarah and I are particularly proud of Anna and Jack who, as many of you know, are only 13 - indeed, we understand that they now share the record of being the youngest UK twins to have reached the summit.

So, why the, as it were, back-dated request for sponsorship?  Firstly, we honestly didn't think that we would make it - you will have gathered from the above that it is rather more than a "gentle stroll" and it is fair to say that I am not frequently invited to present the awards at the annual health and fitness jamboree!

More importantly, however, you will have seen the pictures over the last few days of the devastation wreaked upon the islands of the Caribbean by Hurricane Irma - whole communities have been levelled, many people have died and children have been left without parents.

It is one of those occasions when you realise how lucky you are so we thought that, if we could help in any way, we ought to try.

That's it - if you would like to help, any donations would be very gratefully received.

Thanks from all of us.