In 2025 I celebrated my 80th birthday and I wanted to set myself an extra special challenge to raise money for 2 charities that are very close to my heart – The Hospice of St Francis and Cancer Research UK. The money raised on this page will be split with two thirds going to The Hospice of St Francis and a third to Cancer Research UK.

I completed a Wing Walk on Saturday 5th July, 2025 at Sywell Aerodrome in Northampton. Since Allan’s passing, over 17 years ago, every couple of years I have done something challenging to take myself out of my comfort zone and raise money for worthwhile causes… in the words of a best selling book ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’! As I climbed up onto the wings of a Boeing Stearman biplane and took to the skies at a 120 miles p.h. this was to me the scariest challenge I had embarked on. However, it meant the world to me to know I had the support of friends and family and that the money raised would contribute to the health and peace of mind of many others who face enormous challenges.

The Hospice of St Francis were a lifeline to me, to Allan and our family when he was coming to the end of his life in 2008. Their support to us all meant we could spend precious time with him whilst he was kept out of pain and given the greatest of care. Following his death I pledged to continue to support The Hospice – they need to raise £6m every year to continue to offer these services, so your support is vital. As cancer continues to impact too many people’s lives, I want some of the money raised to go to Cancer Research UK to enable them to continue their hugely needed research and support.