THE WALK - DAY 8 - 01/09/07

Dear William

Today has been the perfect day! The weather was great - cool with a nice breeze blowing. Ana Maria, Billy & Pauline joined us on the Thames Path and Cecile, Gillaine and their friends did their "Walk for William" in Gibraltar.

They called us several times during their walk and so for a short time at least we were able to say that we were walking the path together! It was an unforgettable experience. The day however belongs to Pauline. She has been receiving radiotherapy treatment for the last five weeks but insisted on coming the whole way with us today! We started in Aston this morning at 8.00.a.m. and had reached Maidenhead by 12.30.p.m. We then decided to carry on to Boveney Lock where we arrived at around 3.15 p.m. having completed a total of nearly 17 miles!




I have to say a big thank you to her and to Ana Maria and Billy who were also game enough to stay till the end of what was a very gruelling but enjoyable day. The scenery was beautiful, we came across some cows (again) and we saw the Cookham Village Regattas en route.









Yesterday Diane had again been in charge of transport and had provided me with her customary beer (2 this time round!) when I finished, for which many thanks. Thanks also to Greta who provided transport today. Not to be outdone at the end she came to meet us with the most delicious water melon and a bottle of non-alcoholic Riesling!







All in all it was a perfect day!

THE WALK - DAY 7 - 31/08/07

Dear William,

Today I started my walk in Purley-on-Thames and finished in Aston which is about three miles downstream of Henley. I walked some 16 miles in total. Today was also the last day of the first week. I am amazed that I have lasted this long!

The path today was excellent and I was able to make good time. It was also kinder to my feet which although still very painful appeared to be getting better. The path at Reading was a bit of a mess as the Reading Festival appears to have finished yesterday and the path and surrounding fields were covered in rubbish, discarded sleeping bags etc.

The highlight of the day was walking up to Henley. This must be one of the nicest stretches of the river. I was delighted to see the Leander Club, membership of which most rowers can only dream of! I also went past the Upper Thames Rowing Club. You may remember I raced against them all those years ago and I regret to say we got soundly thrashed on that occasion!

Tomorrow is going to be a special day for me. Another "Walk for William" has been organised by your daughters Cecile and Gillaine and they will be leading a large group of friends on a walk between the Frontier and Europa Point. During the walk they will be phoning me as I continue my own walk, so for a time we will all be walking together. Ana Maria, Billy and Pauline will be walking with me so it will be a jolly family affair. We hope to cover about 15 miles or so and the first person to drop out buys dinner!

As the start of the second week approaches I would like to thank all those who have been kind enough to sponsor my "walk for William". They have been most generous but I would like to ask one more favour from them. I am going to ask them to send a link to this blog to 5 of their friends or work colleagues to see if we can give the fundraising one more push. With thanks

THE WALK - DAY 6 - 30/08/07

Dear William,

It was my friend Greta's turn today to take me to continue my walk and to collect me at the end of the day. Contrary to yesterday I did not get a bottle of beer and I have told her this service must improve in future! Greta is a nurse and she brought with her a collection of plasters. Apparently I had told her I wanted to get plastered but did not make it clear it was beer I wanted not the other stuff! Seriously though, she has been very good cleaning my wounds and is concerned about the blisters on my left foot. Tomorrow we are going to try some different dressings to try and ease the pain.

Something happened today which made me wonder if you had sensed my pain in some way. I was walking downstream of Wallingford when I came across the Oxford University Boat Club. You know how much I love rowing and of course James used to row for Pembroke, one of the Oxford colleges. Anyway, I went up to one of the windows to see if I could see any of the racing boats. The one nearest to me was named "WILLIAM"!

After that, I continued my walk with renewed vigour notwithstanding my feet! Today I have covered 16 miles and walked from Shillingford Lock to Purley-on-Thames , which is only a few miles from reading. Tomorrow I hope to walk as far as Henley. On Saturday and Sunday your son William will be walking with me as will his wife Pauline, who is currently in the UK receiving treatment following breast cancer. Also with me for the two days will be Ana Maria, so it will be a good family affair. My transport tomorrow is in the hands of Diane again, so I can look forward to my cold beer. Greta, please take note!

THE WALK - DAY 5 - 29/08/07

Dear William,

My good friend Diane Ball came to collect me this morning at 6.30 a.m. to take me to Sandford Lock where I had finished last night. I continued my walk along the path at 8.30. a.m. and ended up seven hours later in Shillingford a very beautiful village by the Thames.

My feet have been extremely sore today and there was one point that I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't as later in the day things became easier and the pain eased somewhat. The weather was sunny in the morning although it clouded up in the afternoon, with a very welcome breeze blowing! The morning walk was very agreeable and I even managed to avoid the cows and one very mean -looking bull!) but the afternoon was pretty boring as, although I was walking along the path close to the river I couldn't see it as there were bushes and trees for miles and miles between the path and the river, blocking the view.

As I was walking on my own I had time to reflect on our youth once more. Do you remember that wooden board that Dad made up painted as a football field and the teams we made up using buttons? I suppose it was an early form of Subbutteo. We should have patented it! I seem to remember you were a very bad loser! It's funny to think that in those days we did not have TV's or computers to while away the hours. Those were the days!

At the end of the day Diane was there again to meet me and walked part of the way with me. She had even thought of bringing a cold beer. I must ask her to come again!

THE WALK - DAY 4 - 28/08/07

Dear William,

Last night Ana Maria and I celebrated her birthday (which is really today!). As her birthday present she bought me a stay in a very nice hotel complete with indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi. I guess wives don't come better than that!

This morning I set off from Bablock Hythe at 8.45 a.m. meaning to reach Osney Bridge in Oxford later in the afternoon. Again it was a nice sunny day. The walk was mainly across the fields bordering the river. Nobody told me there were going to be herds of cows in those fields! I confess I am not really a nature person and feel uneasy around large animals like horses and cows. Boy these cows were big! As I was crossing a field a whole herd charged at me. I was so scared that it never even occurred to me to run. I was rooted to the spot! Thankfully the cows veered away from me almost at the last minute and then proceeded to walk closely behind me all the way to the nearest gate. On reflection I guess they thought I was going to feed them although a couple of bars of Kendal Mint Cake would not have gone very far! I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to avoid the other herds which seemed to await me at every turn!




Finally I arrived at Osney Bridge in Oxford at 12.45p.m. where Ana Maria again met me with hot baguettes and a drink. In the end I decided not to stop there for the day but continued towards Sanford Lock where I arrived at 3.15 p.m. It may have been a mistake to carry on that far as my feet have really suffered and I am practically hobbling. This evening I asked my friend Greta, who aside from being part of my support team is also my medical adviser (she has been a nurse for many years), for some advice. She suggested drinking six pints of beer and then putting my feet up......no,no no, that wasn't it. I will take her advice so that I have someone to blame if my feet can't keep up! Well, that's it for today. Only 11 more days to go!

THE WALK - DAY 3 - 27/08/07

Dear William,

Today I have been walking on my own, although I have not felt lonely. In part I have been thinking about the good times you and I used to have when we were kids! It's funny how I've never thought about that before, but I guess walking alone in the countryside for hours on end makes one reflect on life, the state of the world, how to pay off the mortgage etc!

The going today has still been difficult. I started at Kelmscot, the point on the path where I had finished yesterday, went through an alarming number of fields with very uneven terrain. As a consequence I can feel my blisters playing up. Went past a number of locks in the morning Grafton, Radcot (where the path changes banks), Rushey and Shifford Lock where Ana Maria, my faithful groupie, met me with two large hot baguettes and a bottle of Lucozade. How does she do it? After lunch I continued to Newbridge, my destination for the day, arriving there at at around 2.00p.m. As I was still feeling reasonably energetic , I decided to carry on a few more miles to Bablock Hythe where I arrived one and a half hours later. There, Ana Maria awaited me with the best cup of tea I have ever tasted!

All in all a nice sunny day with a nice cool breeze blowing which made walking a pleasant experience (except for my feet, naturally, which endured some 16 miles of walking today).

THE WALK - DAY 2 - 26/08/07

Dear William,

Today, I walked accompanied by Celine. It has been good to spend some quality time with her. I have been amazed at her stamina and how fit she is. When she led, I found it hard to keep up at times!

Again we had a hard day for, shortly after leaving Cricklade around 9.00a.m. we encountered very soft ground for miles on end. When I say soft, I mean sticky mud which makes every step difficult. I was exhausted by the middle of the day! The highlight of the day was reaching St John's Lock, the first on the river, with the statue of Father Thames, which used to lie at Thames Head until it was moved some years ago.

Another person who never ceases to amaze me is Ana Maria. I used to complain about her (poor ) navigation skills every time we went for an outing in the car. This time round she has managed to reach us in the most amazing places next to the path, even persuading someone to let her park in his private yard so that she could be within walking distance of the path! I will never again have a bad word to say about her map reading! In addition she has been feeeding us and also adminstering medical attention to my feet from time to time. I have a couple of blisters which are proving quite painful! After having lunch in a pub on the path I also became quite ill and had to retire for a couple of hours, returning to the path later that same afternoon. We made good progress and managed to walk a few miles past Lechlade , which had been our intended destination for the day. True to form Ana Maria was there to collect us and take us back to Lechlade where we spent the night. The local Chinese Restaurant, The River Vale, donated £10 to Marie Curie Cancer Care so all in all not a bad day!

Celine has now walked with me for 2 days and over 30 miles. I have been impressed with her and really enjoyed her company. I will miss her tomorrow when she goes back to work.

THE WALK - DAY 1 - 25/08/07

Dear William,

Today we started the walk in your memory. For the next fourteen days I shall be thinking of you and sharing my experiences on this walk.

This morning just before we started an amazing thing happened. A gentleman by the name of Benjamin Spender, who is 47, came up to me and told me that he had been your pupil between the ages of 11 and 14 and he had come to pay tribute to you! He now plays the guitar professionally and among other things teaches guitar at Bath Spa University! He brought with him some memorabilia dating back to around 1974 which he has kept all these years. As you can see your legacy extends beyond the confines of Gibraltar!

There were a few of us at the start; Ana Maria, Celine, cousin Reg, second cousins Edward & Marie and of course our new found friend, Benjamin. Ana Maria and Marie were to act as our support group for the day, with Benjamin for company. Celine, Reg, Edward and I did the serious walking stuff, with Reg leaving us at Somerford Keynes, as planned. The going was very bad with miles and miles of waterlogged fields which took us hours to circumnavigate! The sight of Reg valiantly seeking a way through but slowly sinking up to his ankles in the mire will stay with me for ever! The rest of us plowed on, becoming more and more exhausted. Some six and a half hours later we were within 15 minutes of reaching Cricklade, our destination, when we came across a flooded field which was totally impassable. Much to our regret we had to backtrack about one and a half miles and negotiate a new route which then meant we were on the road for eight and a half hours and walked nearly 17 miles instead of the planned 12. This detour was the low point of the day. Never has a hotel bed felt so good!