THE NORTH DOWNS CHALLENGE

I have had mild ME for over 7 years but, through the local Richmond and Kingston ME Support Group, know many people who are considerably worse off than myself. Whilst I am fortunate enough to be able to work part-time and lead a fairly active life, many of my fellow sufferers are housebound or even bedbound with virtually no life beyond the four walls that surround them. Of the 160 odd members of our group, we only ever meet a small per centage as the vast majority are unable to get to social events. We therefore strive, as a self-help group, to do all that we can to reduce isolation for the many that we never see. We are continually needing to top up our funds in order to support members with a monthly Newsletter, a telephone Helpline, a "Contacts List", an email chat group, a library of resources, and Coffee Mornings, plus keeping all our literature up-to-date and campaigning for better local and domiciliary services and in supporting vital biomedical research into ME. As a keen walker, I decided I would like to take on the challenge of walking the entire length of the North Downs - the 125 miles from Farnham to Dover. I completed the first section, 6.4 miles, last weekend and will do the rest, in sections, over the next few months, in the company of a varying network of friends and family, with a fairly loose finishing target of the end of the year or into next spring. I am walking it on behalf of all who suffer from ME and are no longer able to enjoy such simple pursuits themselves. Please sponsor me generously to ease the lives of others who have this debilitating illness for which, as yet, there is no cure. Thank you.