Welcome

Welcome to this, the very first entry in my new blog. This has been created to chart my progress as I prepare to take part in the Nijmegen Marches 2009. I've wanted to enter for ages and 2009 has become the year when I finally get up off my backside and do something about it. The Marches began as a military event but now include civil as well as military participants. In all, between 30,000 and 40,000 people take part. This year's event takes place between 21 and 24 July and will entail me walking 31 miles (50km) each day in the Nijmegen area.

The website for the event, http://www.4daagse.nl/, contains all the information about the event and enables progress to be followed during the 4 days. It also has a training programme for participants and this has started me out on a 650 mile road to Holland.

I've decided to do the event to raise money for charity and have chosen BLESMA as my charity. BLESMA (British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association) exists to help those men and women who have lost limbs whilst serving in the armed forces. Unfortunately, given current circumstances, they are very busy at present. Last year I was part of a team that raised £21,000 for military charities and BLESMA was one that we helped. We held a plane pull at Birmingham International Airport and then carried a stretcher from the airport to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital, a distance of 14 miles. For further information see http://www.forceshospitalcharity.org/. With the money we built a garden at the hospital for the patients, families and staff, as well as a huge plasma TV for a rest room. We also sent two ex-service personnel skiing with BLESMA, four ex-service personnel on an adventure holiday with St Dunstan's, helped Combat Stress's welfare network, supported SSAFA with their project to build and equip flats near Selly Oak Hospital for families to use, donated to Troop Aid and helped send forces children to the theatre through Forces Childrens' Trust. We were well supported by staff from the RCDM, HMS Forward, RAF Brize Norton, trainee military nurses from UCE, 202 Field Hospital (TA), Flybe, Pertemps and Birmingham International Airport.

So, this year I want to send as many limbless ex-service personnel skiing as possible. Please visit their website to see the good work they do, http://www.blesma.org/.