Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'm not sure how many of you know this but my old man, Motor Trade Legend Jimmy Burns, now in his early 80's has Dementia / Alzheimer's. Around 2 years ago, when he was first diagnosed, his mental state was declining rapidly, he had difficulty getting dressed as his hand/eye coordination was affected and was even forgetting where he lived (on more than one occasion and he'd only had 10 pints of Stella at the Rosedene, so something clearly wasn't right!)

Since getting support from the Alzheimers Society, the drugs he takes every day means he's regained most of his faculties. It's not a cure but it's helped so much, he's almost back to the humorous racist bigot we all know and love. 

I wasn't even drunk when I decided to do this and I'm sort of thrilled that I've ended up with a place in the 2018 Great North Run, supporting the brilliant work that the Alzheimers Society do. I've never (and I mean never) ran more than around 2 miles in my 45-year life so this challenge is very real and very daunting. I'll even confess that I cheated in every single school cross country run. One of my schoolmate's uncles' lived near the start/finish of the course, we'd veer off into his front garden, and join in again some 15 minutes later from the back garden, after a glass of Villa Sasp and Jaffa Cakes (Thanks, Mr. Wheeler.) We'd splash our heads and t-shirt's with water from the garden hose, making us look shattered and wheeze past the teacher's that were around the next corner. Somehow we never got caught (or grassed up!) It cut the 3-mile plus route into something we think was more like 600 yards.  

For those that haven't seen me for a few years, my combination of lethargy and contentment has been very impressive and I now top the scales at a slightly more than embarrassing 16st 7lbs (105kg) I'm not quite at the epic proportions of the above pic but I'm not too far off either.  

Having seen 1st hand, the work and results that this groundbreaking research has on the daily lives of thousands of people up and down the UK is amazing. It's truly heartbreaking when you lose someone close to you, I've been there too. I'm sure you can understand that it's possibly even worse to lose someone, still see them, and talk at them every day, receiving nothing but a vacant stare in return.   

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Thanks so much for the donation. 

Phill