Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. This is a page for sponsorship of my personal running challenge this year and for general donations to the Flower Power Fund to support Marie Curie.

I am a doctor working at Marie Curie Hospice Bradford, and in my spare time I am also a knitter and runner. 

The running....

Sitting knitting may be incredibly relaxing but it doesn’t help my thunder thighs, so I will be completing a personal challenge too. I have always loved the Proclaimers song I’m gonna be (500 miles)....

So I would run 500 miles

And I would run 500 more.....

I want to run 1000 miles over the course of the year, and will also be running the Great North Run too. 

17.5.20 Yesterday I decided to up the ante! Coronavirus has increased my working hours and lockdown has reduced my opportunities for running, but all at a time when Marie Curie’s fundraising activities have been drastically hit. And just when Marie Curie are needed most, in this national pandemic, to provide care and support for dying people and their families. So rather than just trying to run 1000 miles in no particular direction, I have decided to do a Virtual Hospice Dash! Starting at our hospice in Bradford, I will virtually run to all the other Marie Curie hospices - 1256.4 miles in total to raise much needed funds for Marie Curie. Every penny makes a difference right now, so I appreciate any donation, however small. 

The knitting....

Three years ago, I decided to knit a pair of socks in limited edition Marie Curie yarn for every one of the patients in Bradford Hospice at Christmas. When I posted about it online lots of kind knitters offered to help, and the project grew. Hand knitted socks came in from all around the world, including U.S.A, New Zealand and Dubai. In the end, we collected over 229 pairs of socks, enough for EVERY patient in EVERY Marie Curie Hospice in the UK to have a pair of hand knitted socks for Christmas. Each year since I have coordinated an international campaign to knit socks for every patient in every Marie Curie Hospice - last year we had 315 pairs in total, one for every patient and some spare for their loved ones too.

I also published my own sock recipe which I sold in aid of Marie Curie - so far it has raised just over £650 and is still available here:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/marie-curie-quest-socks

In 2018 I wanted to go bigger....and so I created the Flower Power Fund. Working with 12 talented UK indie yarn dyers, one a month, each produced a limited edition colourway inspired by a flower of their choice, with a donation from each skein going to Marie Curie. We raised over £22,000 for Marie Curie! The Flower Power Fund is back again for 2020 and hopefully it will be bigger and better!  As well as a beautiful limited edition yarn each month, and handmade project bags and other goodies, there will be random giveaways held on Instagram  (follow @FlowerPowerFund on Instagram for full details) and prize draws for some fabulous yarn prizes. 

This JustGiving page is for sponsorship for my personal challenges and general donations to the Flower Power Fund to help support Marie Curie.

Marie Curie provide care and support for people living with any terminal illness, and their families. Last year, Marie Curie cared for over 40000 people across the UK and working in the Bradford Hospice I get to see the difference it makes to people and their families every day.

£5 would pay for an activity pack for children visiting relatives in a Marie Curie hospice
£20 would pay for one hour of Marie Curie nursing in a patient's home
£300 would pay for one in-patient admission for acute symptom control in a Marie Curie Hospice
Please, please, please dig deep - every penny counts!
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Marie Curie UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.