My original target of £1000 was reached on the eve of my walk.  Thank you everyone for your generosity.  YOU HAVE BEEN BRILLIANT!

London to Cardiff walk, June 26th to July 1st, 2011

On 27th June 2010, shortly after Germany had knocked the stuffing out of England in the World Cup, I received the dreaded phone call which made me dash to London to be with my dad in his final few hours. Alzheimers had taken a grip of him since 2005, it was a blessing that both my sister and I bore witness to the end of his suffering.  

In the '90's, my dad strongly advised me to move away from London.   In 2006, whilst he was in a nursing home and didn't know his family from 'Adam', I heeded his advice and took the opportunity to relocate through my job to South Wales with my young family.

Over the last few years of his life, myself and his grandchildren saw him twice a year, whilst my sister was more dutiful and visited him every other day.

I miss him terribly and have a guilt that I wasn't there for him on more occasions; I feel that I ran away from the situation in-order to deal with my emotions. 

To try and allay the guilt, I have decided to walk the 150 miles from Brentford Football Club to Dempseys in Castle Street, Cardiff.  The walk should take 6 days and will commence on June 26th and finish on July 1st, 2011.  My dad's final game at Griffin Park was when Brentford knocked out Sunderland in the FA Cup on 28.01.06....a day before his birthday.   Given the unpredictability of supporting a team like Brentford, to see them win near your birthday is a present in itself!  But to see them win in your final attended game is really the best send off a Bees fan can hope for!  Up the Bees!

I would be honoured if you would show me your support on what will be a very emotional journey for me.   The funds raised will hopefully help the Alzheimer's Society to one day find a cure for what is a truely horrible illness.  

For more information regarding my walk, please goto www.beeswalk.org.uk 

To follow my progress as I walk, please click on the following link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Footprints-in-the-SAND-Charity-walk-for-the-Alzheimers-Society/101064276654855?v=wall

God bless you all.

John Dempsey

 

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