On Saturday 21 June (the solstice) Plum and I will attempt to cycle from one side of the UK to the other, starting at sunrise and aiming to cover 322km and 3000m of elevation before the sun sets. Could this be our/my toughest endurance challenge yet? It will definitely be the longest! I suspect I will never want to ride a bike again afterwards ;)

It will be no surprise to you all that I am once again trying to raise funds for the Rwenzori Trust - a tiny charity very close to my heart. I set up the child sponsorship project over 15 years ago and it’s been a real success: helping dozens and dozens of young people in the Rwenzori foothills break the cycle of subsistence farming poverty through subsidised secondary and tertiary education. As an extra bonus, Ben (15) and I will be visiting Uganda in a few weeks’ time, so we will be able to immediately see the impact of your generosity.

Please forgive this request if you have previously donated to the Rwenzori Trust: it’s not comfortable asking the same people over and over, so if you don’t want to donate, that’s fine. But anything you can donate would be hugely appreciated. I cover all the overheads of the project so you can be sure that every penny you donate has maximum impact.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.