Shortly after I published House of Cards, my father Eric died in the Hospice on the Isle of Man. The extraordinary carers there transformed his final weeks. He found peace, and suffered no pain. His last days were almost joyous.

In order to thank the Hospice I'm planning to walk the coastal path of that beautiful island, then climb to Snafell, its highest point. It will cover 130 miles, twenty miles a day, and since I'll be hitting seventy later this year and more used to sitting on my backside in the House of Lords, it's a real challenge.  But what is life without a few blisters?

I've called it Walk4Eric but it's really for those people who the Hospice still cares for.  I want them, and their families, to be helped in the way my father was.

The walk begins on 10th May.  I'll be feeling most of the pain but I hope you'll feel able to share the effort and make a contribution. Please join in.

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