Just 3 days before the 20th anniversary of the Bali Bombing, on Sunday 9th October, I shall be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in aid of Dan’s Fund For Burns.  This charity close to my heart was set up in the wake of this tragic bombing in retaliation for the US attacks in Iraq and Iran following 9/11.  202 people tragically lost their lives that night and my friend Polly lost her husband, Dan and her best friend Annika and 7 other friends.  She was the sole survivor of her table of 10 that night and had only been married 5 weeks.  She was lucky enough not to be knocked out in the blast and was able to pull herself up and out of the sari club onto its tin shack and straw roof and run across it to safety. Not before she was badly burned though.   Help came in the form of the Australians and she was kept alive by some touring Aussie Rules footie players and then patched up in Sanglah before being flown to Brisbane where they saved her life.  She was left like a patch work quilt with 43% burns. 

In light of all this horror, Polly needed to make something good come from this, bring some light to the darkness, misery and loss and decided to raise money for burns survivors.  Her aim was to do more good than evil.   With the 20th anniversary of the charity early next year, the charity has raised over £2.5mn and has become one of three major burns charities in the UK.  Helping countless burn survivors re build their lives and provide financial, critical and emotional support and donating to improve the NHS services with providing a wide range of aftercare support.

I would be so grateful if you could spare a few pennies to help spur me on.  It’s a small and effective charity and needs our support.  Many thanks