Hi everyone

For my daily exercise during lockdown I've finally got around to picking up the tennis racket I was given at ten years old and have been competing against the brick wall of a Curry's PC World in Finnieston. 

To fundraise for KidsOR, a charity that provides operations for children in the world's poorest countries, I'll be recreating the longest tennis match of all time which was 11 hours and 5 minutes between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in the 2010 Wimbledon. I'll start on Monday the 11th and will play just over two hours each morning and will have my last set on Friday. 

To state the obvious, this is a difficult time for all, but many of us have a fairly comfortable lockdown and I think most of us who are doing alright in the UK are well aware of our privilege, particularly in a global context. Bearing this in mind I'll try to avoid the usual platitudes, but to highlight the enormous wealth gap I can offer a personal statistic that I found somewhat surprising. I recently entered my income into a global wealth index, as a student on around £1000 a month this places me in the richest 11.5% globally. (https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/how-rich-am-i/) 

Given that our wealth and healthcare system insulate us from many of the worst effects of ill health, perhaps we could contribute a few pounds each to the valuable work that KidsOR are doing for those countries without these luxuries. Without the procedures KidsOR provide, an injury such as a broken leg could condemn a child to lifelong disability. 

Donations of any size are greatly appreciated!