Day 30 and the end of week 6 has no photos or tales of daring do. Instead today has been a day of dog walks, flier stuffing, and running. The Parish magazine, ‘the Bridge’ has been fantastic and done an interview for the magazine and then sponsored a print run of the flier in order that each magazine may have one. A fantastic and very generous thing to do, so to say thank you and play my part in the operation, post morning 2 mile dog walk I was up at the Information and Heritage Centre stuffing fliers in to magazines, having a chat and a brew. Then on the way home I popped in to the pharmacy to pick up some more anti seizure drugs to be given a hugely generous cheque from the team at the Woodside pharmacy as sponsorship for the challenge. I have already written a thank you card but will say it here also. Thank You!!!

Mid afternoon was time for a run. The sun was shining brightly so off I went. Easing into a steady pace far more easily than last time. In to the Wood of Doune I dived with Georgie who refused to be left in retirement and determined to come. 2 miles was all that was planned for today and a delightful 2 miles it was with little mud, bright sunshine and the soothing noises of the river Teith running alongside the route. Made it home. No seizures. All was well. Brilliant.

Post shower and time to post the cheque to Kingdom Bank with copies of the cheque and paperwork to deliver to the accountants and a thank you letter to the pharmacy. The day got even better. I got stopped by a delightful lady who had bought a copy of the bridge and had read with interest the article and flier. As soon as she saw me she had to come and say hello and check to make sure I was okay. It was a delight, not so much to be recognised, but to have someone from the village express a genuine concern for my welfare and a real will to see me succeed in the challenge. I thank her for her concern and encouragement and hope she will be the first of many expressions of support; So if you see me on passing do please give a cheery hello and shake my hand or toot your horn and give a cheery wave to show your support and encourage me on. If you support what I am trying to do Please help me to raise awareness of the challenge. Like this page and share it with your friends and include the challenge in conversation at work and socially to raise awareness and keep it alive in people’s minds and encourage sponsorship. What have I just done? What will I be doing next? What are your thoughts on any of my attempts at philosophy? How far can I go? How much money can I raise? How long can I go on for!?! Help me to make sure that the challenge truly does improve the lives and life chances of so many more people. Thank you to ‘The Bridge’ for it’s support and excellent article and thank you to you all for your help and support.

I won’t be back until Wednesday 07th October as I am in London for the christening of two of my nieces this weekend, travelling back Monday and then in hospital on Tuesday for an MRI scan. God willing the beast will be sound asleep. Have a great weekend. Enjoy the last of the sunshine. Not sure that there is much left this year!!

But before you go I give you the challenge in numbers total since the start:
Days completed: 30
Total Miles Cycled: 112
Total Miles Walked: 119
Total Miles Run: 4
Total Miles covered under own steam: 235
Total Height Gained under own steam: 12,379 feet
Mountains Climbed: 5
Days of Conservation Activity: 2 1/4
Organ tunes learnt and performed: 5
Salmon Caught: 0!
Curling Matches played in: 1
Curling stones placed on the button (the centre of the target): 0!
Weight Training Sessions: 1
People Met and Hands Shaken: 131
Pots of tea shared: 5
Pills popped: 146
And most important of all – Money Raised – £2,267.00.

Considering I started this challenge 6 weeks ago very quietly with no target beyond a fiver, thanks to the brilliant advice from a friend of mine, I am absolutely thrilled and again thank you all. So far that is £75.00 for each and every day that I have managed to find the will and energy to do something worthwhile and my goodness it has been worth it for my peace of mind, for my healing and for the five wonderful charities you are supporting through your generosity. Long may it continue.

Thank you for joining me on my own personal journey and encouraging me to walk, cycle, climb, paddle, sport and do good deeds each day to ‘Beat the Beast’ while helping to improve the lives and life chances of so many more people through sponsorship. The Five Charities that I have selected to support are:

  1. Cancer Research UK – My Father Succumbed to Lung Cancer; a couple of friends are currently fighting cancer and I am fighting a brain tumour. Let’s Help to Beat Cancer Sooner.
  2. The Prince’s Trust – Inspiring and preparing disadvantaged Young Lives for success.
  3. British Red Cross – helping those in need around the UK and the world whoever and wherever they are.
  4. World Wide Fund for Nature – For a Living Planet and a Future Where People and Nature Thrive.
  5. Help for Heroes – Support for our Wounded and their Families. To learn more about my story that brought me to this point, how I plan to ‘Beat the Beast’, what activities I plan to do within the challenge and why, please see my welcome video on this page.

Remember that I will complete 20 days of activity each month. While I hope you will encourage me to keep going by sponsoring me for every day I survive and am able to find the cognitive and physical capability to complete a day’s task designed to improve my chances of ‘Beating the Beast’ or improving the lives of others, 5 days a week, four weeks a month, for as long as ever I can any One off Cash contributions will be most gratefully received and distributed in exactly the same manner to the five charities as the sponsorship.

Thank you for having enough faith in me to sponsor me.

Yours aye

Archie