December 1st is the first official day of summer here in New Zealand. The above photograph of a Jacaranda, one of hundreds in bloom here at this time of the year, is perhaps inappropriate as the tree is not a New Zealand native species but the Pohutakawa which is and commonly known as the Kiwi Christmas Tree, has yet to put on its finest display.
This first week in December was a milestone in my treatment for myeloma as it was the last chemotherapy of the cycle. It has been eight long months of treatment having to suffer the many side effects in addition to the grief of losing my wife so an end to the chemo is something of a relief. Those side effects can take as long, if not longer, to dissipate after treatment stops as the chemo itself so I am not expecting any sudden relief.
With the myeloma now under control the next question is how long will that be before a relapse occurs which is inevitable. The prognosis is almost impossible to predict and could be measured in months or years. After a relapse you go back to chemo again which is never so effective the second time around. So far there is no cure for myeloma but new drugs are continually being trialled and life expectancy extended.
After my wife Sue died of secondary bone cancer in May 2020, the combination of my treatment for myeloma and the Covid 19 virus epidemic kept me trapped here in New Zealand. The recent discovery of vaccines to protect against the virus plus an end to my chemo treatment should mean I can now return home to the UK, however, I would be foolish to do so in the middle of a UK winter with the virus still a threat and my immune system currently in a much weakened state. I am therefore planning a return mid April 2021 when the UK might be a safer place.
More Humour from Uncle Murdo
Pam Ayres is a funny poet from Berkshire although some of you, particularly the younger generation or those who live outside the UK, may not have heard of her. Here she talks about retirement and how married couples get on with it, in particular if you live with a husband who knows it all.
She is like a stand-up comedienne but one who mostly gives her performance in rhyming doggerel on a multiplicity of subjects and has an accent more like Dorset, Devon or Somerset than the Berkshire county of her birth. I assume Uncle Murdo sent me this as he suspects me of being a know-it-all or he might have finally realised that he is equally guilty as he does ask; "Ring any Bells?!!x"
English Premiership Rugby, Tri Nations & Autumn Cup.
Northampton began the game by having to defend their try line as Brissle closed in for the kill but they did so brilliantly and turned the ball over quickly getting on the front foot. It was evident this was a team determined to play a different game to the previous 9 which they had lost. Ribbans soon crossed the Brissle line with a well worked try and within 10 minutes they had another going 14 points up.
The Saints continued to dominate the game and looked certain to break their duck but Brissle, despite a series of turnovers, poor handling and missed easy penalty goals, doggedly fought back to within 2 points when in the final minute referee Luke Pierce decreed the Saints had deliberately knocked on and Brissle scored a difficult penalty goal for an undeserved 19-18 win.
Bath managed finally to break their duck at Sixways against Worcester. They began badly and I feared the worse when Matavesi and Priestland were both taken off after Head Injury Assessments. Cameron Redpath took over as fly half and Fly Half Ben Spencer the place kicking duties and both did sterling jobs but we might be without an experienced fly half for the European match next week against Scarlets. We ended up with 5 tries and a 17-33 win.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 3
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Exeter Chiefs
3
3
0
0
15
2
Newcastle Falcons
3
3
0
0
12
3
Bristol Bears
3
2
0
1
10
4
Sale Sharks
3
2
0
1
10
5
Harlequins
3
2
0
1
10
6
Bath Rugby
3
1
0
2
6
7
London Irish
3
1
0
1
5
8
Leicester Tigers
3
1
0
1
5
9
Gloucester Rugby
3
1
0
1
5
10
Wasps
3
1
0
1
5
11
Worcester Warriors
3
1
0
1
4
11
Northampton Saints
3
0
0
3
2
Gloucester seem to be going backwards and despite being on the front foot for most of the game lost 24-34 against Quins at Kingsholm. At Orange Sucking they were 10-10 then a few minutes into the second half Andre Esterhuizen was red carded for a dangerous tackle then a yellow to Glen Young meant Quins were down to 13 men during which time Quins scored another try and Glaws scored nothing! They came back at the end with a couple of tries and Quins were lucky with some of the ref's decisions but the 2,000 faithful who were let in to watch must have gone home disconsolate.
Newcastle demonstrated they are no flash in the pan as they travelled to the Ricoh and gave they Waspies something to think about winning 17-27. Sale also had an away win against London Irish 13-21 while Exeter did the ususal demolition job to stay top of the table beating Leicester 13-35.
The Tri-Nations was decided as expected with the All Blacks winning the championship as the Wobblies still failed to beat the Pumas and tied yet another game 16-16 in really wet conditions in Sydney.
England struggled against a 3rd XV French side in the Autumn Cup Final. Owen Farrell left his kicking boots at home and missed 3 penalties while both sides played arial ping pong. France were about to seal a famous victory at the finish 12-19 when a dodgy decision from the ref awarded England a penalty which Ford kicked into the corner and Cowan-Dicke went over for the try to level the score.
It was then into 10 minutes either way extra time with a sudden death finish, the first team to score a point wins. Farrell missed another kick at goal in the first 10 minutes but redeemed himself in the second with perhaps the most difficult one and we won 22-19. If I was a Frog I would not be 'appy and they were not. My prediction is that in the Six Nations the French 1st XV will demolish England unless they change their game plan.
The Mendip Cave Registry and Archive (MCRA)
I was contacted recently by Maurice Hewins of the Wessex Cave Club who sent me the words of a caving song I had forgotten and which I have now added to the collection on this web site. The song collection has been archived by the MCRA on their web site for posterity but Maurice would like to make a recording of a bunch of cavers singing the songs and when I return to the UK next year I will organise a singing session on Mendip to do just that.
In the meantime Maurice has made the above video of some of the songs which is a sort of documentary of their origin. These songs are possibly one of the most recent examples of genuine folk songs and are a history of Mendip caving in the 50's and 60's. You can now subscribe to the YouTube MCRA cannel here where you will find a collection of videos about Mendip Caving.
Brexit negotiations
These never ending talks that keep being extended look as though they might be coming to an end finally although I anticipate we will still be talking to the EU about a Free Trade Deal for the next 10 years. I appreciate that many of you have no interest in this subject but if you wish to read more then you can expand the page by clicking here.
Boris has returned from a meeting with the boss of the EU, Ms.Ursula von der Leyen, to ask for an EU trade deal who said "Nein Boris, Setzen Sie jetzt Ihre Maske wieder auf" to which Boris replied "den mas gamas Ursula?" a rather rude Greek phrase used in Greek shipyards extensively! They did however agree to keep their negotiators talking until Sunday when we have yet another 'final' day before we both agree to disagree. Problem is that both sides say they will keep talking ad infinitum as neither want to be accused of giving up.
I do not think that, even if they manage to reach some sort of bare bones free trade agreement (FTA), they will never reach a conclusion that is wholly acceptable to both. This is because there is a fundamental difference in philosophy between what the UK and EU see as the purpose of a FTA. The UK wants to open up markets with a FTA while the EU wants to use it to protect its closed market and while that state of affairs exists it is no wonder that it can take 10 years to negotiate a FTA with the EU and why it has no deals with most of the major trading nations of the world.
Added to the above division of philosophy, the EU wants to keep the UK shackled to its directives, past, present and future as if we were some sort of EU associate member thereby keeping the trade imbalance that now exists. It says that this is necessary to maintain a 'level playing field' and we must agree to 'sufficiently high and comparable standards' now and in perpetuity. No mention of the EU keeping up with British standards? Britain has said it will not lower its standards but can not agree to have future standards imposed on it by other nations or not have complete control over its territorial waters. The EU also wants its own court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), to arbitrate disputes but the UK wants independent arbiters.
Napoleon Macron says that Britain will come back cap in hand pleading for a trade deal once the tariffs begin to bite if there is no deal. Britain imports 26% of our food from the EU and he perhaps forgets that we do not have to charge importers from outside the EU the crippling tariffs that protect his agriculture. The EU tariffs will make EU produce prohibitively expensive. France spends 0.76% of GDP on state aid. Britain spends 0.36% so that is not a very level playing field.
EU Beef tariffs on imports are currently 12.8% and subject to quotas. Australia and Argentina must be champing at the bit to get unlimited quantities of their beef on to UK dinner tables 12.8% cheaper. The UK currently imports half of the total Irish meat production.
In the short term our car manufacturers will suffer a 10% tariff but so will EU manufacturers who export £49 billion to us compared to £13 billion of UK exports to them. A difference of £36 billion so the UK will be £3.6 billion better off from tariffs which it can compensate the car makers with. Germany exports 20% of its car production to the UK. It spends 1.31% on state aid. Britain spends 0.36% so that is not a very level playing field. The remaining tariffs are small and should not affect trade.
The final hurdle keeping us apart is that the EU wants to demonstrate to its 27 members that there is no future in leaving the EU and seems determined to punish us for doing so. The EU began life as the EEC which was designed to keep European nations from going to war with each other. Now it wants to set up its own European army yet most EU countries can not even contribute their fair share (set at 2% of GDP) to NATO which has kept the peace in Europe since WW11. Britain contributes over 2% of GDP to NATO and the USA contributes 3.4%. Germany contributes only 1.38% of GDP yet is the biggest economy by far in the EU.
12th December 2020
Quite an important day for me as I reached the grand old age of 80 years old.
I decided that the occasion should also coincide with consigning my late wife Sue's ashes to the Pacific Ocean. Sue and I discussed this when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and agreed that I should do it at Orokawa Bay. Sue had never visited this beautiful place but had seen my photographs and liked the idea. At the same time she also approved my proposal to walk the Macmillan Way in the UK in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support Charity in her memory as we had walked large sections of this long distance footpath together.
I invited some friends and relations to meet at Waihi Beach on the morning of the 12th at the Southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula and where the 2.5km walk to Orokawa Bay begins. The plan was to have a picnic on Orokawa beach and all were invited to 'bring a plate'. This is a Kiwi expression and the idea is to bring food, not an empty plate which has happened before! I would provide the liquid refreshment.
I purchased a few bottles of Freixenet Cava which is a Spanish sparkling wine and one that Sue and I with our witnesses Jill and John Manchip had over indulged in at our wedding breakfast in Edinburgh which was at a little Spanish restaurant in Rose Street way back in 1975. Kelly and Dave agreed to organise chill bags and to carry them to the beach and I carried the champagne flutes and Sue's ashes. Then Sue's sister Maryanne kindly invited everyone round to her house near Katikati for a BBQ to finish off the day in some style.
The day dawned a bright and sunny 20 degrees which was ideal weather for the event which you can see from the above slide show we all enjoyed. Terri and Byron Bentley came down from Auckland as did Sue's brother Phil. I waded into the surf where Sue's ashes were duly consigned to the Pacific Ocean and one or two tears were shed.
Back at Maryanne and Fred's house we continued my birthday celebrations until Fred fired the Weber up and proceeded to cook the eye filet steaks which he had ordered specially from the local butcher from the firm he used to work for in Auckland. Maryanne laid on all the salads but Fred's steaks were the pièce de résistance, cooked à point and melt in the mouth delicious. Terri baked me a birthday cake to which Maryanne added a huge plate of fresh strawberries to complete a meal fit for a king.
A big thank you must go to everyone who contributed to making my 80th birthday one to remember.
My latest health developments.
After finishing chemo I experienced a marked reduction in pain levels and on my 'Barfday' was mostly pain free after walking 5k. I was therefore optimistic for the future but I still had the pain in my ribs which had started about a month ago. The cancer clinic told me to see my GP about it which I did and she arranged an X-ray and an ultrasound scan. The result show I have a bone fracture in one of the vertebrae and lesions elsewhere so I have been referred back to the cancer centre urgently.
This ridiculous Kiwi health system is so fragmented that you often have no idea who is supposed to be responsible for your care. To my mind the cancer centre should have investigated the rib pain which would have saved time and money. My money!
Even though the drug regime I was on was prescribed jointly by Tauranga hospital renal and haematology departments, when I finished chemo it was back to the GP for a hypertension prescription although antibiotic and antiviral drugs continued to be prescribed by the hospital. The GP actually asked me if I still wanted some of the other drugs I was on. I said I thought the other drugs were to combat the chemo side effects but that I was not a doctor! Unbelievable!
Now that the GP has referred me back to the hospital I suppose the drug regime could change yet again? Fortunately I have an understanding pharmacist who will re-do blister packs of pills if things do change again.
This latest development is a setback but is one to be expected as the Myeloma progresses and I will know more once I see the specialist again. Unfortunately that said specialist has gone away on holiday for two weeks so I spoke to cancer nurse Moira who checked the latest x-ray against the one I had back in May and told me there was very little difference that she could see. Once again it would seem I am the victim of the NZ health ministry system fragmentation as it would seem the GP has seen fractures and lesions that were evident 6 months ago.
Moira also informed me that she can see on her computer record that the GP has now requested a MRI scan. It would be nice for the patient to be told what was happening to them.
More Humour from Uncle Murdo
Murder seems to have been carried away with seasonal goodwill of late and has now sent me a link to the video of Fascinating Aida singing a song in Edinburgh apologising to the Scots on behalf of the English for voting for Brexit.
Fans of this satirical trio might seek out their Christmas song as which is even ruder.
Jacob and Christine, my landlords, dropped round to wash the roof and presented me with a Christmas basket of goodies. After they had finished I plied them with Harvey Wallbangers. Two of the nicest landlords a tenant could wish for.
Boris gets Brexit done at last
Boris and EU boss Ursula von der Leyen seemed to have clinched the deal during a phone conversation on Monday. Ursula insisted that the UK would have to accept that if we were to change access for fishing vessels in British waters that the EU could then impose tariffs on all British goods, not just fish, but Boris was having none of it. "Viel Hummer, kein Hammer" said Boris meaning "Lots of lobster, no hammer" and after consulting with EU leaders the "hammer" clause was removed.
Boris had said he wanted 50% of fish quota's returned to the UK on January 1st 2021. The EU had offered 25% with a transition period of 8 years until Britain became in full control of its own territory. Boris eventually accepted 25% but with a 5.5 year transition period. The current British fleet could not catch that many fish so they needed time to invest in new vessels to have the catching capacity. After June 2026, 10 years after we voted to leave the EU, we will finally have full control over our own territory and fishing quotas will be negotiated annually.
There were a few more conversations and things to sort out but on Wednesday evening Ursula asked Boris "Do we have a deal?" "Ja" said Boris and bar a few last minute changes to the fish quota's the deal was indeed done. And about time too!
My admiration in all this must go to the negotiating teams and especially the chief negotiators Lord Frost and Michel Barnier who showed extreme patience while the political shenanigans of Napoleon Macron in shutting the French border to trucks on the pretext he was protecting his country from the virus might have made lesser men walk. The exhausted British negotiating team were flown back to Britain in a RAF transport on Christmas Eve.
English Premiership Rugby Union
Round 4 was hit by the dreaded Covid virus with two games cancelled. London Irish reported several covid infections so this meant their fixture against Bath at the rec was cancelled. Premiership Rugby awarded 4 points to Bath and 2 points to Irish.
Similarly Leicester reported infections so their game against Newcastle at Kingston Park was cancelled and premiership Rugby awarded 4 points to Newcastle and 2 to Leicester. You can expand this page to see the English Premiership Rugby reports and current standings by clicking here.
Sale Sharks entertained Wasps at at the A.J.Bell stadium. A close game saw Marland Yarde score two tries to put the them within 3 pints of Wasps with a few minutes left but they Waspies held on the win the game 23-26. Lima Sopoaga seems to have got his game together at last kicking four penalties and two conversion in a 100% record.
Northampton were hosts to Worcester at Franklins Gardens and were awarded a penalty try early in the game then Billy Searle went over for Worcester first but Nothampton's Alex Mitchell reply was instantaneous. The Saints gradually took control in the second half with a try from Dan Biggar before Mikey Haywood went over just before time to seal a bonus point 29-10 win.
Exeter welcomed Gloucester to Sandy Park whith a team that had had little training due to covid but was a strong team. Glaws had all the ball in the first half and spent much of the game in the Exeter half but failed to score apart from a couple of penalty goals. Exeter on the other hand with only 14 men scored a converted Johnny Gray try just before half time and went in 7-6.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 4
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Exeter Chiefs
4
4
0
0
20
2
Newcastle Falcons
4
4
0
0
16
3
Bristol Bears
4
3
0
1
15
4
Sale Sharks
4
2
0
2
11
5
Harlequins
4
2
0
2
10
6
Bath Rugby
4
2
0
2
10
7
Wasps
4
2
0
2
9
8
London Irish
4
1
0
3
7
9
Northampton Saints
4
1
0
3
7
10
Leicester Tigers
4
1
0
3
7
11
Gloucester Rugby
4
1
0
3
5
12
Worcester Warriors
4
1
0
3
4
A different Chiefs side came out after a Baxter talking to and quickly took control with Ollie Devoto and Sam Symonds scoring tries in the first 15 minutes. Glaws wasn't finished though and came back with a try of their own, the first team to cross the Chiefs line this season. Sam Symonds quickly put any thoughts of a win for Glaws on the back burner with the second of his brace of tries before Glaws went over for a second try in the closing minutes. A conversion would have given them a losing bonus point but it was not to be an they went home pointless 28-20. Good effort though against the champions and better than Barf did!
In the final game Brissle took the bus down the M4 to the Stoop to play Quins. In the first half they were suffering from too much Christmas pud resulting in lots of penalties which Marcus Smith took advantage of. At the interval Pat Lam told them they could get back on the bus if they didn't begin to play the rugby he expected of them. That did the trick and a different team emerged to score three more tries and win 19-27.
Round 5 began with two covid cancellations of games between Worcester who were awarded 4 points and Quins 2 points then Northampton 4 points and London Irish 2points. This awarding points for not playing is to my mind ridiculous and some of those teams are probably further up the table than they would have been if they had played.
Bristol welcomed Newcastle to Ashton Gate where the visitors gave them a run for their money in the first half and they went in 14-10. In the second half Brissle took charge and scored two more tries to the Falcons one to win the game 29-17.
Exeter travelled to the Ricoh to play Wasps in a repeat of last seasons premiership final. The result however was very different as the Chiefs were unusually demolished by a rampant Wasp side that took no prisoners. The only player of note for Executer was flanker Richard Capstick who was everywhere and eventually received a yellow card for his efforts and scored their only try.
Wasps ran in 5 tries. Two from Jame Gaskell, one from Lima Sopoanga and another brace towards the end from Simon Mcintyre to rub in a humbling 34-5 defeat.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 5
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Exeter Chiefs
5
4
0
1
20
2
Bristol Bears
5
4
0
1
20
3
Newcastle Falcons
5
4
0
1
16
4
Sale Sharks
5
3
0
2
15
5
Wasps
5
3
0
2
14
6
Harlequins
5
2
0
3
12
7
Leicester Tigers
5
2
0
3
11
8
Northampton Saints
5
2
0
3
11
9
Bath Rugby
5
2
0
3
11
10
London Irish
5
1
0
4
9
11
Worcester Warriors
5
2
0
3
8
12
Gloucester Rugby
5
1
0
4
6
Gloucester met Sale at Kingsholm and Glaws should have won after dominating posession and leading for most of the game. Glaws were 2 tries to nil towards the end when Sale managed a late try from Josh Beaumont returning from a long injury. Glaws penalty count let them down but they were within 3 points with a minute to play when 'Thirty Six' (Twelvetrees) pushed a water boy to try and retrieve the ball which had gone out resulting in an almighty throwing of handbags and for which '36' received a yellow card.
It finished without another score being made 19-22
The final game was at Welford road and a good close game of rugby between Leicester and Bath.
It began with Barf getting two converted tries without reply but they Tiggers patiently worked their way back into the game. Wee Georgie Ford had a very good kicking game and his spiralling up and unders had ice on them by the time came down to the consternation of Barf who seemed unable to deal with them.
Barf were still ahead 16-17 at half time but were then on the back foot for most of the second half although still very much in the game. It finished 36-31 for a well deserved Tigers victory.
Round 6 was once again hit by a covid cancellation. This time between Leicester and Northampton and as Northampton was unable to field a team Leicester were awarded 4 points and Northampton 2.
The game between Bath and Wasps at the Rec was a cracker. Both sides went at it hammer and tongs from start to finish with 12 tries being scored.
At half time Barf had their noses in front 29-24 after they Waspies had fought their way back from a two try deficit in the first quarter. There was no let up to the frantic open rugby in the second half. Both teams had 4 try bonus points but Wasps final try in the closing minutes put the game seemingly beyond Barf's reach, however, a try from Elliot Stooke after 5 minutes of extra time put them in reach of a losing bonus point but in the absense of Rhys Priestland due to injury, scrum half Ben Spencer missed the conversion so it finished 44-52.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 6
Pos
Team
Pl
W
D
L
Pts
1
Bristol Bears
6
5
0
1
25
2
Newcastle Falcons
6
5
0
1
20
3
Exeter Chiefs
6
4
0
2
20
4
Sale Sharks
6
4
0
2
19
5
Wasps
6
4
0
2
19
6
Leicester Tigers
6
3
0
3
15
7
Harlequins
6
2
1
3
14
8
Northampton Saints
6
2
0
3
13
9
Bath Rugby
6
2
0
3
12
10
London Irish
6
1
1
4
12
11
Worcester Warriors
6
2
0
4
9
12
Gloucester Rugby
6
1
0
5
6
Worcester put up a creditable performance against Sale at the A J Bell but eventually succumbed to a 20-13 loss thanks to a face saving converted try in the 75th minute from Bok skipper Jono Ross.
The game at Sandy Park between Exeter and Bristol was another cracker. Both sides went over the try line in the first half with the score tied at 7-7 which also included the props from both sides Harry Williams and Jake Woolmore both being sent off at the same time for being naughty! In the second half Brissle prop Kyle Sinckler should have also been sent off for swearing at his old Quins teammate Karl Dickson who this time happened to be the ref! The Chiefs failed to score a single point in the second half whereas Brissle scored another try and two penalty goals winning 7-20.
Newcastle beat Gloucester 22-10 at Kingston park but the final gripping game was at the Stoop where Quins entertained London Irish. The winner was always in doubt after a close contest with both sides determined to play the same open rugby after their previous games against other sides were the victims of the covid virus which had meant two weeks without a game. In the 78th minute an Irish try from Oli Hoskins put the sides level at 27 all which was how it finished.
Chris Hockey's New Year Message
Not to be outdone by Uncle Murdo, Chris Hockey sent me the video below saying 'Music often shows us the way':
The video is by an American called Daniel Emmet who was a finalist on NBC's America's Got Talent TV show. It is Nessun Dorma from Puccini's opera Turandot but entitled "No Corona" with the words in English hoping the virus will leave us in 2021. Amen to that.
Fund raising for Macmillan Cancer Support 4 different ways:
On my return to the UK I will be organising a sponsored walk to raise funds for the Macmillan charity along the Macmillan Way West. I am also a cancer victim and undergoing treatment in New Zealand but in the meantime, depending on your location, you can donate with this widget below directly to the Macmillan charity by subscribing to the JustGiving web site:
The Covid epidemic has hit charities like Macmillan very hard as most fund raising has been forced to rely on internet pages such as this one. Macmillan has lost a third of its fundraised income due to the pandemic. It is very difficult to get people to part with their hard earned cash on-line rather than appealing to their better nature's face to face. 'Tis the season of goodwill and Macmillan would appreciate whatever you can afford because you might need them some day. Remember that 40% of the world population will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives and nearly 10 million a year will die which pales Covid into insignificance.
All money donated will go directly to the Macmillan charity. The donation pages on JustGiving default to Pounds Sterling currency. You can change the currency but there are limited options. If your currency is not listed, here is another widget below to convert to whatever is your home currency:
Currency Calculator
To Donate without subscribing to JustGiving:
As an alternative to using the JustGiving widget you can click on the photo below and you will be taken directly to my JustGiving page where you also donate without needing to subscribe to JustGiving. You can also chose not to make an additional donation to JustGiving should you wish.
Text your donation
This is a quick and easy way to give either a one-off or regular monthly donation for those with UK mobiles.
Donations are taken out of the phone bill at source.
Text MOBILE to +44 70550 to make a £5 single donation
Text REGULAR to +44 70550 to make an ongoing donation of £5 a month.
Please obtain bill payer's permission. Age 16+. UK mobiles only. One off donations charged at £5 + std rate. Monthly subscription donations charged at £5 + std rate each month. Macmillan Cancer Support is a registered charity in England & Wales 261017, Scotland SC039907, and Isle of Man 604. Macmillan receive 100% of all donations.
I will be placing the above invitation to donate at the bottom of each new page of this web site until the sponsored walk has been completed. My own cancer treatment is unlikely to be finished before the end of this year (2020) and I hope to return to the UK in April so the summer of 2022 is the most likely time for the sponsored walk to take place. If you would like to be included in the walk or sponsor a walker and receive email updates you can register your interest here.
Donating with a UK credit card
You can click on this link to donate directly to Macmillan if you have a UK credit card. If you choose to donate directly to Macmillan in this way it is linked to my JustGiving page so your donation will be credited to the total in memory of Sue.
Donating from overseas
If none of the alternative methods of donating are suitable then you can make a direct bank transfer by emailing Macmillan at fundraising@macmillan.org.uk or calling them on +44 207 191 2172 and they can provide you with their bank details to make a bank transfer directly to their account.
