** UPDATE 13 September 2010 **
We did it!  6 hours, 53 minutes and 50 seconds!
Thanks to everyone for all your kind support and donations :-)

 

*** thank you to Jason Goff and his work colleagues at JP Morgan, Swindon for raising £234 from a recent 'casual dress' day - brilliant! :-) ***

 

***  thank you to Janice Perkins and her work colleagues at Pinsent Masons, Birmingham, for raising £359.96 on a 'casual dress' day at work in August  - fabby! ***

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page - I really appreciate you taking a few moments to find out more.

Along with my friend and work colleague, Chris Oldhams, we have decided to do something typically silly and enter the "Brecon Beast" 2010 mountain bike event, being held this September.  With the strapline of "are you fit-enough, mean-enough, mad-enough or brave-enough" you can start to imagine the sheer folly of our optimism!  For some reason I fancied a big physical challenge at the age of 40 and this certainly fits the bill!  However, we think we've enough time to get a bit fitter and, by going public, we can't now chicken out!  Full details of the "Brecon Beast" can be found on their website via the hyperlink below:

http://www.breconbeast.co.uk/

Our reasons for doing this are twofold.  One, it'll be fun and something to celebrate.  Two, we've both good reason to say "thank you" to some wonderful people and organisations who have helped us and our families in difficult times.  The help and support we both experienced are beyond words, so we decided to do something practical and try to raise money for our respective charities, such that the wonderful work they do can continue.

I am cycling to raise money for St. Richard's Hospice in Worcester, who cared for my amazing wife Dawn on several occasions in the last seven months of her life.  The level of care and compassion Dawn received at the Hospice was simply astounding, and the incredibly supportive and personal atmosphere there made a hugely postive difference to what could otherwise have been a traumatic time.  The Hospice costs around £6m a year to run and, with only a small proportion being funded centrally, its existence depends on the kind generosity of others.  Details of the Hospice can be seen on their website via the hyperlink below, where there is even a 'promotional' video that Dawn assisted in, alongside the wonderful nurse Katie.

http://www.strichards.org.uk/

Unfortunately we can't promote two charities on the same page, so Chris has created a separate site to promote his chosen charity SANDS (Stillborn and Neonatal Deaths Society) - an organisation dear to his heart that cared for his newborn son Gabriel, who tragically died aged just 3 days old a few years ago.  You can read more on Chris's page via the link below:

http://www.justgiving.com/chris-oldhams

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charities.

So please dig deep and donate now.  Any amount will be gratefully received.  Thank you from the both of us :-)