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!

Friday 24th August, 2007

Well......I guess this is it! This evening I leave for Thames Head where tomorrow morning at 9.00a.m. I hope to start my walk. My thanks once again to all those who have sponsored me or who have offered words of encouragement.

I am pleased to say that the sponsorship target has been met although I hope that this will not deter people from continuing to keep the cash rolling in. Marie Curie Cancer Care is a charity that deserves all the funds it can get. It offers a highly efficient and caring service to terminally ill cancer patients. Your funding will help to keep the service going for just that little bit longer. In Gibraltar the beneficiary will be Research into Childhood Cancer, which in turn funds research into Neuroblastoma carried out at Gt. Ormond Street Hospital in London. The target in Gibraltar has not yet been achieved but I am hoping that everyone will rally round for one big last push!

As you know, I am doing this walk in memory of my brother William, who died of cancer. During my walk I will also be remembering other friends and family who have also died of cancer. I hope that my walk will in some small way serve to keep alive the work of cancer charities.

There is one person to whom I owe a great debt and without whose unqualified support this walk would not have been possible; My wife Ana Maria. She has endured miles of walking just to keep me company. She has this unflinching belief that I am capable of completing this walk. I hope her faith in me is well and truly justified.

Hope to see you at the Thames Barrier when I complete my walk!

Wednesday 22nd August, 2007

Following my meeting with Diane last night, it looks as if everything is ready for the walk. The logistics have been sorted, any necessary equipment is in place and the Thames Path is not flooded anywhere! The path at Goring will remain closed during my trip but a diversion is in place. The path by Windsor Castle is also closed for security reasons but I should be able to negotiate the bank on the opposite side.

Michael O'Neill has fitted my walking shoes with custom-made insoles which should cushion the heel and avoid any further damage to my right foot, in particular. Today I shall be doing one of my last training walks before the start on Saturday. I am going to keep it to about six or seven miles which will keep my muscles toned up. I will be doing a shorter walk tomorrow of about five miles and then rest up until the weekend.

All is now ready for Saturday. The rain which has been plaguing us over the last couple of weeks or so looks like easing up for at least Saturday and Sunday. That is good news as the first couple of days I will be walking mainly cross-country, following the river, and the ground can get quit muddy and difficult following heavy rain.

When I start the walk I hope to be posting updates regularly. Keep watching this space.

Monday 20th August 2007

Yesterday I went to have a look at the state of the path at the source of the river, just to make sure it is walkable. It appears to be in reasonable condition so unfortunately I have no excuses for not starting there on Saturday. My Inns and hotels for the first four nights have now been booked albeit that I have had to change two of them which are still undergoing repairs due to flood damage. My good friend, Diane Ball, has become my (unpaid) "Chief of Staff" and is meeting with me tomorrow for a final logistics briefing. I guess tomorrow I will have reached the point of no return. I very much hope I will be up to the challenge!

The few people who are joining me at the start will assemble at the Thames Head Inn on the A433 near Cirencester at around 9.00a.m. This pub is only about 15 minutes walk from the source of the Thames. Unfortunately all their rooms are now taken but there is plenty of accommodation nearby. If anyone would like to join in please contact me on 07789502530.

I guess tomorrow is the crunch day for pulling out. I hope I shall be able to resist doing so!

Monday 20th August - Visit to Gibraltar

Walking in Gibraltar in 30 degrees heat is no piece of cake. I'm glad to be back in the UK even if it's back to rain and more rain! My thanks to all those that have expressed support and who have pledged funds. My particular thanks to the Commissioner of Police, Louis Wink, for authorising fundraising by the Gibraltar Police. Henry Sacramento, The Police Welfare Officer who is also a good friend, organised a collection which has now topped £1400 and is still rising.

My thanks also to the Press; Alice Mascarenhas of the Gibraltar Chronicle for a marvellous article, Charlie Bossano and Elena Scialtiel of Insight Magazine for holding the presses to include a reference to my walk and to Michael Beltran of Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation for interviewing me for GBC Radio........and to my many friends in Gib. who I know will be spreading the word!

For those in Gib. wishing to make a donation, please make your cheques payable to R.I.C.C. (Research into Childhood Cancer) and send to RICC, 325 Main Street. Payment can also be made at NatWest Bank, Line Wall Road, Gibraltar a/c RICC No. 36256595

Tuesday 14th August 2007

I was very lucky to be able to see at short notice one of the UK's leading specialists, Micheal O'Neill, a Fellow of the College of Podiatry. Having examined my foot he tells me that I am suffering from Plantar Fasciitis. To cut a long story short, it is treatable and he hopes to have me back on the path (literally) in no time at all.


Another of the Surrey papers, the Surrey Herald, has been in touch today and will run an article either tomorrow or next week. The News & Mail should be running something tomorrow.


Early tomorrow morning I am flying to Gibraltar in support of local fundraising there. More news on this on my return. Fundraising in the UK is going well and I should exceed the target by a nice margin

Monday 13th August 2007

The Environment Agency has confirmed that all of the Thames Path is open for walking although parts of it are in a poor state as a consequence of the recent floods. The path at Goring will close just a couple of days before I start the walk and a detour will be in place to take me back to the path further downstream.

I go and see my podiatrist this evening for the good or bad news about my right foot. In the meantime I have been treated by my masseuse, Jennie Anderson in West Byfleet, who has also agreed to join me for part of the walk when I approach the Surrey Stretch. Two other good friends, Elias and Greta Mattar, are also going to join me around the Oxford stretch of the river and Greta is also going to help with logistical support.

In Gibraltar the Gibraltar Police have started fundraising among their ranks. My thanks to my nephew William Gomez Jr for coming up with the idea and to Henry Sacramento for helping to organise this. My niece Cecile is organising a "Walk for William" from the Gibraltar/Spain Frontier to the southernmost part of Gibraltar, the Europa Point Lighthouse. This will take place on 1st September starting at 11.00a.m.

Yesterday, and as part of my on-going training, I walked in London with my wife Ana Maria between Tower Hill and The Thames Barrier, which will be where my walk finishes hopefully on 7th September. It took us nearly three and a half hours as one is constantly having to weave in and out of buildings to get on to the Thames Path!