If you'd suggested this time last year that I'd be able to take part in the October 2022 London Marathon I'd have found it hard to believe.  I was really overweight and unfit.  These things creep up on you and it had crept up on me over a period of years - twenty-five years, actually, during which time I had just been "getting through" following the death of my parents, divorce and bringing up my wonderful children alone whilst working full-time.

One night in September 2021, I lay awake (aged 56) wondering if I was going to live the rest of what could be quite a short life in the same way, finding the stairs a struggle and starting to get health issues such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

So I took control.  And now I'm fitter, healthier, slimmer and happier.  

My dearest father, Christopher Geering, died in 1976 when I was 11.  Cancer was not talked about very much then; diagnosis and treatment has progressed enormously.  What also did not exist then, certainly locally, was dedicated end of life care for patients and their families.

My mother, Elizabeth (later Flower), heard that fundraising was beginning to open a hospice in Canterbury and she vowed to help.  She became involved with the sitting service (with the lovely Liz Alexander later Nash) and started sitting with patients at night so that their families could have some sleep.  How hard must that have been having just lost her husband and having two children?  She later helped to set up the Hospice Shop in Ashford.

And then along comes my maverick stepfather, Richard Flower, who took the mission and ran with it.  He was involved with the Canterbury Hospice in some way and then became chairman of the fundraising committee to set up the Pilgrims Hospice in Ashford.

And then the cruellest thing of all...my lovely mother died in 1996 and my crazy, full-of-life step-father in 1999, both from cancer.  

So I walk/jog/shuffle for them.  For my three dearest, much-loved and hugely missed parents.  I've lived longer than you all (which is sobering) and I want to do something to honour you as well as raise some money for the cause you held so dear.

At its heart, Pilgrims is dedicated to providing skilled and compassionate care, free of charge, to people living with an incurable illness in east Kent. Their vision is that people with a life-limiting illness are supported and empowered to live well in mind & body, making the most of the time they have. They care for over 2,500 patients a year, at their 3 inpatient units in Canterbury, Thanet & Ashford, their therapy centres, or in patients’ own homes. With 80% of their funding being voluntary contributions, your support cannot be overstated.