I will be taking on a massive challenge throughout 2025 to raise funds for the excellent work of Derbyshire Refugee Solidairty, who provide support to people seeking asylum in the UK and elsewhere.

One of the many things that the charity does is provide bicycles for refugees locally. People usually arrive with nothing and a bicycle can be an absolute lifeline for them, helping them to get around, to attend appointments, to receive support and also hopefully to have a little fun in their lives. I have been helping to source and deliver donated bicycles and more recently repairing and maintaining bikes at one of our twice-weekly sessions. This is just one small part of what DRS does, there is more details of the work it does and a link to their website further down this page.

This year I am going to cycle, from my home in Derby, to every county in England. I estimate that this will involve somewhere around 3,000 miles of cycling.

As well as raising funds to support the range of vital work that DRS does, I hope to raise conversations about the fact that whilst I am free to cross the many borders that I will in my efforts, others are restricted in doing so. The borders that we put in place between counties, and between countries, are man made and entirely made up. Over years, they change. Many of the counties and countries that we are now familiar with have only existed for a relatively short time and/or have seen their borders change many times. Yet the people who live within or outside of them are the same people. And they are the same as us. There is no them and us, there is only us.

Please donate generously, your money WILL make a huge difference in the lives of people who are usually deeply traumatised and are so desperate, they have had to flee their homes and their lives, seeking sanctuary in another land.