Anthony Riches (author) and Robin Wade (agent) have decided to laugh in the face of possible injury and alcohol deprivation, and to go for a walk along Hadrian's Wall in full Roman military kit to raise money for Help for Heroes. There'll be more details along sometime later, but the bare bones are:

Planned date - week of the 31st May 2010

Distance - about 60 miles over four days, from Heddon-on-the-Wall to Carlisle

Equipment to be worn - the full Roman soldier's equipment - mail armour, helmet, sword, dagger, spear, shield, greaves, manica, arming jacket, hobnailed boots, etc (note, carrying of replica weapons will very much be at the discretion of the local constabulary). It all weighs about 60 pounds, which is a lot less than soldiers routinely carry in the field, but quite a lot for a pair of middle aged men with a taste for the good things in life.

Friends and associates of the aforementioned deeply unfit middle aged men are hereby invited to put their hands in their pockets and cough up some cash in support of the servicemen and women, who, having accepted on our behalf a risk greater than most of us will ever take, now need more support than our elected representatives feel able to provide.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.