As a child we often visited the Isle of Wight where my dad’s parents lived and as a young teenager my dad planned our adventurous challenge to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight on foot carrying all our camping gear and food for the 3 nights we expected it to span. It turned out to be a misadventure after just one day when the borrowed tent failed to stand up to the equinoctial gales that swept in that first evening and we had to return to the comfort of my grandparents house, much to my relief as the prospect of another 40 plus miles carrying all the kit, not to mention the tins of food (yes, heavy tins - what were we thinking?!) had not been filling me with joy!

In more recent years, conversation with my walking friends has often included rough plans to take on this same challenge of getting around the island on foot, but talk was all it ended up being until recently when we have finally got ourselves organised and signed up to the Action Challenge arranged event and are now preparing ourselves to walk the 106km and 1,960m of assent commencing on 2 May 2020 and finishing (we hope!) as close to 24 hours later as we can manage.

For more information on the Isle of Wight Challenge visit isleofwightchallenge.com

For my part, I am raising money for Prostate Cancer UK in memory of my dad, John Piggin, who lost his life to the disease at the age of 77 in September 2019, over 10 years after diagnosis. The medical advancements and resultant treatments provided to him prolonged his life and the quality of health he enjoyed during those years and he often remarked that he couldn’t believe how well he was treated and how much money must have been spent on his care. During his treatment he willingly took part in trials such that others might eventually benefit from the research and was always positive, never complaining and maintained his sense of humour. We all miss him very much, but are grateful for everything that helped him survive for those precious additional years, which would not have occurred without the research that relies so much on charity.

So, now for the rub! I would very much appreciate any donation you are willing and able to make in support of this charities ongoing work towards raising awareness of the disease (men - be aware of the symptoms and get yourself checked out if you have concerns), providing support for sufferers of prostate cancer and research for new treatments. I have self funded the challenge costs, so all donations will benefit Prostate Cancer UK in full.

For more information on Prostate Cancer UK visit prostatecanceruk.org directly or via the link towards the bottom of this page.

All that remains is for me to thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and for any donation you may make.