September 22, 2011 (list of donors to CLL updated Oct 10)

We made it! After 4 gruelling days and 300+ miles, we arrived in Paris to a warm welcome from the rest of the family. We cycled into the city as a group, around the Charles de Gaulle Etoile, down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde and across the bridge to the Eiffel Tower! Over the previous 3 days we had cycled (or walked) up monstrous winding hills in Kent that seemed to go on for miles, cycled through rain and strong winds in Northern France, suffered 11 punctures between the two of us (2 for Mayen, 9 for me), Mayen was attacked by a dog as we rode through a little town and knocked off her bike, and I fell off my bike foolishly trying to get around the traffic in Compiegne by taking a shortcut over a kerb! But, we met a lot of interesting and friendly people, and the camaraderie amongst the cyclists was strong. We rode through beautiful countryside on both sides of the Channel, and all in all, it was an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world (though won't be repeating!).

Thank you a gazillion times to everyone who has been so supportive of our efforts. As well as the online donations to the Rainbow Trust shown on this page, I've received the following additional donations for Child Lifeline: Jay Pryor - $500; Udom & Ntekpe Inoyo - $500; Jide Gomez - £200; Angela Adebayo - N50,000; Esijemine Nengite - N50,000; Peter A. Rixon - £50; Emmanuel Imafidon - N50,000; Toyin Oloniyo - N20,000; Aniekan Ukpanah - N50,000; Capital Alliance - N316,000; Faiz Imam - N100,000; Labi Ogunbiyi - N35,000; Dan & Funke Agbor - N100,000; Julie Skinner - £50; Ladi Oke - N100,000; Anonymous - £10; Toks Sofola - N50,000; Chijioke Emole - N50,000; Isabella Okagbue - N50,000; Margaret Broussard - $1,000; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede - $500; Atedo Peterside - N250,000; Deji Haastrup - N100,000; Udoma Udoma - N100,000; Ike & Obiozo Osakwe - N100,000; Stephen Daly - $200; Dayo Akintoye - N50,000; Doyin Rhodes-Vivour - N50,000; Sesi Fasinro - N50,000; Daniel Gyebi - N30,000; Funke Alade-Adeyefa - N20,000; Ned Mojuetan - N20,000; Omowumi Segun - N10,000. The Child Lifeline total is now well over N2,000,000  (N1,801,000 + $2700 + £300)!!

For those who haven't found time to donate yet, this page will be open for donations to the Rainbow Trust for the next couple of months, and cheques, cash or pledges to Child Lifeline are always welcome at any time - there's no cut-off date. Please give generously to these charities - they will make good use of the funds!