My son Ben is a huge fan of the RNLI. One of the stations that he particularly follows is the one at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull which we visited at least once a day when we were on the Island. Unfortunately, all of their fundraising events have had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, so the local RNLI volunteers are taking on a challenge to raise some much-needed funds. They are aiming to walk, run, cycle, or swim a combined total of 1739 miles between 1st and 16th August – the day that would have been their annual open day. The significance of 1739 is that it is the side number of their Severn class lifeboat which means the boat is 17 metres long and it is the 39th Severn class lifeboat built.

When he heard about this, Ben immediately decided to do his own challenge to help support them. So, what he’s going to do over the summer holidays is:-

1. Run 17.39 km;

2. Cycle 17.39 km on an exercise bike; and

3. Read 1,739 pages of (several) books

Please would you sponsor Ben to help him raise as much money as possible to support the Tobermory RNLI station. We are hoping to raise £173.90 to match the RNLI's 17-39 theme.