Reflections of the Season

2023 is wintering, and soon will come to a close. The project is gathering momentum, and is feeling very real and tangible now.

The leaflets have been printed for a while; and the clothes are live. Simon at SJB Uniforms and Workwear even reports that we have our first order! That's exciting. I can't wait to wear the logo proudly out and about.

The first bit of media will be published in the New Year. I have a list of other media outlets to contact. The accommodation for the first walk is booked, and I have almost all of my gear. It's been a wild ride already, and the best is yet to come! But uppermost in my mind as we enter the festive season is why the project came to be.

Sue is going for surgery next week for the bowel cancer that was detected by her screening. It is early stages, just proving the value of early diagnosis - the cause I am fundraising for. On the other hand, it's almost a year since John passed away from the same kind of cancer; he was too young for screening, and his cancer had spread.

Last week, the world lost Jane, whose story I hope will be included on the Honoured page in future. For now, I will simply say that she was an inspirational and humbling lady, whose kindness and joy in life is already sorely missed. Jane's cancer was of the breast, and like John's, had spread.

As we gear up to the festive season, it is inevitable that our thoughts turn to absent family and friends. This year, I will be raising a glass to John, and to Jane, but I will also enjoy time with Sally-Anne and hope to catch up with Sue. This time of year is a time for family and for friends, and if nothing else, this project is born of a realisation that we shouldn't wait for Christmas to have those times and make those memories - because our time is limited. Cancer doesn't care that it's Christmas.

On the subject of family, I have enjoyed a few walks with Nathan, and am so looking forward to his company during the Coast to Coast next year. Training walks begin in earnest after Christmas, as I need new boots; but in the meantime, our walks and chats have been a wonderful reintroduction to walking from running, and I have enjoyed putting the world to rights and having some headspace while Jane was so unwell. It has also allowed me to have a play with the settings on the camera I will be using next year to capture images for the calendars and prints, and I have learned a lot!

As of Friday, we are in December. That will, as always, fly by; and then it will be 2024, and the project will officially launch. Despite mixed feelings about the reasons for the project's conception, which are only complicated by Christmas, I am nonetheless excited for the opportunities it presents, and the chance to turn grief and anger into something positive. As for the walks themselves - I can't wait!