Welcome to Val Robson and Jim Hewison as followers. Val has very kindly given the walk some generous space on the Diocese of Ely's News Website and our piece has gone out live this week. Jim is a valued member of St Thomas a Becket Church and a former Church Warden.
This has been an exciting week as Delia Smith has come good and agreed to welcome the walkers at Carrow Road on 6th March. There has also been a sense that we are entering the final phase of preparation. Jeremy Summerell (Ramsey) and Alan Howard (Norwich) who as yet have never met but are walking together, have volunteered to work on the exact route from different ends and look into where we can stay en route. If I had been a details man all this would have been sorted out months ago. The good thing is that we are a team with different gifts and we will each play our respective part. I can think of nothing worse than someone like me giving the team a briefing with no space for anybody else to participate. Like the Church we can be a body with different functioning parts but working for the common good.
I went to the gym this morning to review my programme,. The instructor increased the exercises with more of an emphasis on endurance. The bad news is someone said "why are you doing this for Uganda, isn't it one of the richest countries in Africa?" The answer is a resounding no, it's extremely poor. Once I told him about the low average life expectancy, the plight of the orphans, the prevalence of HIV/Aids, malaria, breathing related illnesses to name but a few, he got my point. This is not even to mention the growth of child sacrifice, corruption and some very basic schools. We need to get the message out there that the poor are indeed with us.
Monday, 25 January 2010
It was typical Fenland. The day was grey and cold. There was a mist hanging in the air, the damp was penetrating. The black soil stretched to the flat horizon and we were off on our first reconnoitre. Jeremy Summerell and I walked from Ely to find our way along our first stretch of the Hereward Way in preparation for the real thing on 1st March. With a good map in hand and plenty of warm clothes we walked to the Ely Marina and discovered the track along the river in the direction of Queen Adelaide. The pathway was wet and muddy making the going sticky. Once we reached the old Sugar Beet factory we crossed a rather flimsy looking bridge and onto another section of the Way. This leg brought home the fenness of where we were. There was a hint of madness about tramping along a deserted black field. The sight of llamas running in the distance seemed to confirm it,an apparition or what?
Later in this black wilderness the heaviness of the soil on our boots made progress slow as we searched for another bridge across a drain. Well hidden and even more flimsy than the last bridge, some strange little red structure led us across and onto the other side. After a short while we arrived in Prickwillow where we had parked the second car. Why does a cheese sandwich and a hot cup of coffee taste so wonderful after a trek in the cold and damp? The packet of salt and vinegar crisps might have been off a platter from the Savoy.
Much of the rest of the trip was completed in the car as we traced the route for our first day's walk. Shippea Hill and Sedge Fen, only 30 miles from home, were as strange as if we had been in the American Mid-West. We arrived in Lakenheath, a strangely small town for a home for the military might of the USA. It was hard to realise that the strike on Libya in the 80s was launched from here, and the security of the western world is tied up with this little place.
Later in this black wilderness the heaviness of the soil on our boots made progress slow as we searched for another bridge across a drain. Well hidden and even more flimsy than the last bridge, some strange little red structure led us across and onto the other side. After a short while we arrived in Prickwillow where we had parked the second car. Why does a cheese sandwich and a hot cup of coffee taste so wonderful after a trek in the cold and damp? The packet of salt and vinegar crisps might have been off a platter from the Savoy.
Much of the rest of the trip was completed in the car as we traced the route for our first day's walk. Shippea Hill and Sedge Fen, only 30 miles from home, were as strange as if we had been in the American Mid-West. We arrived in Lakenheath, a strangely small town for a home for the military might of the USA. It was hard to realise that the strike on Libya in the 80s was launched from here, and the security of the western world is tied up with this little place.
Friday, 22 January 2010
Delia says yes! I was very excited yesterday to get an email from Delia Smith's PA to say Delia will meet us at Carrow Road on Saturday 6th March. I was asked to ring today to talk through the details for that meeting. Not only has Delia agreed to be photographed with us, she will provide a Norwich City Club photographer and she has invited us to have a meal in the Gunn Club and provided four free tickets for the match, Norwich versus Yeovil.
It seems a long way since those notes back in October when I mused in my first blog about getting Delia Smith on board! Her involvement raises the profile and I'm hoping it will unlock the door for further publicity. However, I want to record my gratitude for her generosity. I am also grateful to Lord Mawhinney, Chairman of the Football League, for helping to obtain Delia's support. A great deal of her time has been spent making a series for the BBC 'Delia through the Decades' so without his influence I don't think we would have succeeded.
Of course, the terrible situation in Haiti must be uppermost in our minds at the moment. However, when the emergency there is over and the TV cameras have gone home there will still be the need for hospitals and schools to be built. This encourages me to think that the ordinary work of helping local communities continues to have high priority.
It seems a long way since those notes back in October when I mused in my first blog about getting Delia Smith on board! Her involvement raises the profile and I'm hoping it will unlock the door for further publicity. However, I want to record my gratitude for her generosity. I am also grateful to Lord Mawhinney, Chairman of the Football League, for helping to obtain Delia's support. A great deal of her time has been spent making a series for the BBC 'Delia through the Decades' so without his influence I don't think we would have succeeded.
Of course, the terrible situation in Haiti must be uppermost in our minds at the moment. However, when the emergency there is over and the TV cameras have gone home there will still be the need for hospitals and schools to be built. This encourages me to think that the ordinary work of helping local communities continues to have high priority.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
We have already been able to send (electronically) ten thousand pounds for the Bishop's School in Uganda. We are able to verify that the money has arrived at Barclay's Bank in Kampala. I have spoken by phone to Bishop Edward Muhima to notify him that the money has been sent. He lives seven hours drive away from the bank and so his visits there can only be occasional. This money is tied to providing much needed equipment for the school.
We are now ready to send twenty thousand pounds to the same bank in Kampala. This money will enable the dormitory of the school to be built. Our Church Warden in Ramsey, Jo Latter, has volunteered to travel to Uganda after 12th February at his own expense, Jo is a retired Solicitor. He will visit the Bishop, the school and get an update about how work on the school is progressing. Then in August a party of six, incuding me, will again visit the school and get another update. We are expecting building materials to be brought from Kenya and Kampala. I understand that as long as the money is there materials should not be too long getting to the site.
The new target is fifty thousand pounds, an amount which can provide significant help to the school and the pupils. Sponsor forms are now printed and it will be possible to Gift Aid any gifts. As several people are now walking with me to Norwich it is hoped that a generous sum will be collected.
We are now ready to send twenty thousand pounds to the same bank in Kampala. This money will enable the dormitory of the school to be built. Our Church Warden in Ramsey, Jo Latter, has volunteered to travel to Uganda after 12th February at his own expense, Jo is a retired Solicitor. He will visit the Bishop, the school and get an update about how work on the school is progressing. Then in August a party of six, incuding me, will again visit the school and get another update. We are expecting building materials to be brought from Kenya and Kampala. I understand that as long as the money is there materials should not be too long getting to the site.
The new target is fifty thousand pounds, an amount which can provide significant help to the school and the pupils. Sponsor forms are now printed and it will be possible to Gift Aid any gifts. As several people are now walking with me to Norwich it is hoped that a generous sum will be collected.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Today we got our first publicity in a newspaper. The Hunts Post carried a piece under the Community heading. It was a good photograph in colour of myself and June wearing 'Walk for Uganda' tee-shirts leading a conga with Sharon Pollard, Martin Muir and Jeremy Summerell following on. Jeremy was wearing his Norwich City scarf.St Thomas a Becket Church building was in the background. The article by Angela Singer was well written. She mentioned the purpose of the walk but included salient information about those of us going to Uganda in the summer, the fact that June and myself had met the Ugandan President in London and that our local MP Shailesh Vara was giving us his support. I was also pleased that my old mate Alan Howard was mentioned in the article even though he couldn't be in the photograph. Alan, a Norfolk business man, is coming to Uganda with us, and is walking the Ely to Norwich route in March.
The fact that it's the new year and our walk is out there in the public domain means that we are getting our sponsorship forms out. Each person walking will have their own forms to use so we can get wide spread support. I know, for instance, that David Stokes who is a farmer and walking part of the route will get support from the farming community. If anyone else wants to walk even a short way, as Tom Palmer is doing (Tom is in his seventies) please get in touch with me.
It's great to welcome Sharon Palmer as a a follower (it would be good if others too clicked on to become a follower of the blog). I am also grateful to Bishop David Thomson for giving us some further mention in his own blog.
The fact that it's the new year and our walk is out there in the public domain means that we are getting our sponsorship forms out. Each person walking will have their own forms to use so we can get wide spread support. I know, for instance, that David Stokes who is a farmer and walking part of the route will get support from the farming community. If anyone else wants to walk even a short way, as Tom Palmer is doing (Tom is in his seventies) please get in touch with me.
It's great to welcome Sharon Palmer as a a follower (it would be good if others too clicked on to become a follower of the blog). I am also grateful to Bishop David Thomson for giving us some further mention in his own blog.
Sunday, 3 January 2010
I read in the newspaper today about a prospective MP who decided to walk through the communities of his constituency. He said it gave him a better sense of what those towns and villages were really like. Perhaps I should do the same in my three parishes!
Is there a spiritual something about walking? It requires a slowing down, it provides space, time to observe, to think, pray if we pray or simply to meditate. We need n't think that the world without cars, trains and spacecraft is somehow more spiritual than our own, although it is certainly greener. Yet there is something counter cultural about walking when we walk for a purpose. It doesn't necessarily make the walker a better person, but the combination of slowing our world down and having a worthy aim can be enriching. At one level it gives us time for the people we meet in a world where there is little meaningful encounter. At another level it is an apparently gentle activity which can galvanize and produce companions in a cause. Think of Ghandi walking through India or Martin Luther-King at Selma.
In my own case, as well as raising money for needy children, giving travelling companions and better fitness this exercise has had a mysterious influence on my inner self.
Is there a spiritual something about walking? It requires a slowing down, it provides space, time to observe, to think, pray if we pray or simply to meditate. We need n't think that the world without cars, trains and spacecraft is somehow more spiritual than our own, although it is certainly greener. Yet there is something counter cultural about walking when we walk for a purpose. It doesn't necessarily make the walker a better person, but the combination of slowing our world down and having a worthy aim can be enriching. At one level it gives us time for the people we meet in a world where there is little meaningful encounter. At another level it is an apparently gentle activity which can galvanize and produce companions in a cause. Think of Ghandi walking through India or Martin Luther-King at Selma.
In my own case, as well as raising money for needy children, giving travelling companions and better fitness this exercise has had a mysterious influence on my inner self.
Friday, 1 January 2010
Happy New Year to everyone. It was good for me to get out for a gentle walk today after the relative inactivity of the past few days. I say relative because I have been to the gym twice since Christmas and I had four sevices the Sunday after Christmas. Yet today felt like a new start in a year when I hope our walk to Carrow Road might raise 50 thousand pounds.
It was lovely taking a solitary walk in the direction of Ramsey Marina which is so tucked away and surprising with its Narrow Boats nestling amongst the banks surrounded by acres of flat fen farmland. The day was very cold (-0.5) but the sun was shining from a clear ice blue sky. I had plenty to think about as I walked. I was reminded again of Bishop Cottrell's words about the work I do not being conducive to frenetic activity and about the dangers of trying to dance to everyone's tune in the interests of popularity. This job requires its leaders to be a still centre in a frantic world. I suspect that excellent advice might apply to lots of other people too from very different walks of life. So I sat on a bench and watched a young swan swim beside the boats. One boat with smoke rising from its funnel was called 'ItsGoodEnoughForMe.' That said it all, how the simple can be the most satisfying. I sat wondering what had brought this boat owner to live in such an isolated Fenland refuge.
There is a sense that with the dawning of 2010 comes some serious walking, reconnoitre-ing and hard graft as the 1st March doesn't now seem quite so far away!
It was lovely taking a solitary walk in the direction of Ramsey Marina which is so tucked away and surprising with its Narrow Boats nestling amongst the banks surrounded by acres of flat fen farmland. The day was very cold (-0.5) but the sun was shining from a clear ice blue sky. I had plenty to think about as I walked. I was reminded again of Bishop Cottrell's words about the work I do not being conducive to frenetic activity and about the dangers of trying to dance to everyone's tune in the interests of popularity. This job requires its leaders to be a still centre in a frantic world. I suspect that excellent advice might apply to lots of other people too from very different walks of life. So I sat on a bench and watched a young swan swim beside the boats. One boat with smoke rising from its funnel was called 'ItsGoodEnoughForMe.' That said it all, how the simple can be the most satisfying. I sat wondering what had brought this boat owner to live in such an isolated Fenland refuge.
There is a sense that with the dawning of 2010 comes some serious walking, reconnoitre-ing and hard graft as the 1st March doesn't now seem quite so far away!
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