In loving memory of my husband, Gareth Antony James, I am taking part in the Dalai Lama Trek, India in November 2025 organised by Nightingale House Hospice.

It is a 5 day trek, covering 50km /32 miles to a height of 3,300 metres. It's a challenge, not a holiday with no-frills. I'll spend two nights on an overnight train before and after the trek, I'll be backpacking around the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range and sleeping in small tents each night.

The main reason for doing the trip is to raise much needed funds for the hospice. Gareth died in December 2023 after suffering for 3 years from stage 4 bowel cancer. He had benefited from many of the therapies and treatments Nightingale House has to offer and I will be forever grateful for the first-class care and support we both received from all the staff.

The second reason I am doing the trip is to fulfil an ambition that Gareth and I had prior to his diagnosis, and which Gareth hoped I would do after his death. We had planned to cycle and trek in the Himalayas for our 50th birthdays in 2023 and had started planning it before Covid, when we were both 46 years old and in good health. It was going to be an adventure of a lifetime but, sadly, it was not to be.

In November this year I will hold Gareth in my heart as I undertake this challenge. As a newcomer to trekking overseas I know this will be tough, but I'm lucky to have the opportunity to do this for us, and the hospice.

So, in this 30th year of the hospice, I would be very grateful for any donation, however big or small, to help the wonderful place that is Nightingale House Hospice to continue providing such excellent palliative care and support for patients and their families for at least another 30 years.