Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Four old schoolmates are doing the Coast to Coast cycle from Cumbria to Tyne and Wear; Irish Sea to the North Sea crossing the Lake District and the Pennines. Looks OK on a 2D map but the third dimension is the challenge:  240 Km but 5,000m of climbing and for a seasoned gentlemen that's gonna hurt.  This is way outside my comfort zone, but it is good to be challenged.

Raising money for Guide Dogs as we've had the privilege of being allowed to re-home a retired Guide Dog called Vinny.  He is the most calm thing who's zen nature helped everyone through the travails of lockdown.  Steve (Vinny's blind partner) tells of how important he was in him coping physically and emotionally following his sight loss. After years of service Vinny is now 12 and deservedly living out his days in comfort.

Guide Dogs are the most incredible creatures.  Compare lockdown isolation in the context of the visually impaired where the world closes in around you.  Permanently.   A trained Guide Dog provides some light to this isolation giving freedom, mobility, access and support.  They allow the visually impaired access to simple things the rest of us take for granted.  For example:  Think of the dangers of a visually impaired person crossing a busy road safely.  A Guide Dog makes this possible, but also demonstrates that in certain circumstances they can quite literally be responsible for somebodies life .

To reach the standard for this level of trust requires a lot of training.  Each dog costs in the order of £40,000 to raise and train to a level to be allocated to someone who is visually impaired. 

But think of the freedom this gives and dig deep!