Man walking backwards for charity

[jake_crew]

Did anyone see last news news about a man walking backwards for 100 miles between Northampton and London for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Stuart Kettell will follow the Grand Union Canal from Braunston Marina, Northampton, to central London from today.

If you did, could you tell me what time & channel.

Ta

[Nightwatch]

Spike Milligan had been walking backwards for Christmas for years.

[Sir Nibble]

Why. I mean what has walking backwards, forwards or on the moon have to do with cancer? Kudos to the guy but why do we have this obsession with having to do everything  FOR  something? Do people really think cancer care not worth supporting unless someone takes some form of exercise? Have you ever seen a London marathon runner admit that they're all there because they enjoy running and the charity stuff is just garnish? 

[David Mack]

42 minutes ago, Sir Nibble said:

Have you ever seen a London marathon runner admit that they're all there because they enjoy running and the charity stuff is just garnish? 

Charities get allocated places in the London Marathon. Public applications to run are well oversubscribed, so the organisers operate a matching service to put potential runners in touch with charities who have not filled their own slots. My brother-in-law, from South London, ended up running the marathon on behalf of some local charity in Northamptonshire he had never heard of. But he did have to raise a certain amount of funding for them to take part. So I suppose everybody benefitted.

Edited July 7, 2021 by David Mack

[Arthur Marshall]

If he's going backwards,  shouldn't he be sponsoring us?

[matty40s]

Here he is, good luck Stuart.

[restlessnomad]

22 hours ago, Sir Nibble said:

Why. I mean what has walking backwards, forwards or on the moon have to do with cancer? Kudos to the guy but why do we have this obsession with having to do everything  FOR  something? Do people really think cancer care not worth supporting unless someone takes some form of exercise? Have you ever seen a London marathon runner admit that they're all there because they enjoy running and the charity stuff is just garnish? 

think its good fun, somebody(especially you know, like a mate of office colleague) does something he/she likes and you give a few quid to charity (which you may not have given)..

everybody is a winner(you, your friend and the charity)

 

[magpie patrick]

Mainly it raises awareness "Morris dancer does handstands on village green" is more interesting to the various media (and potential donors) than "person asks for money for charity". 

[Athy]

8 minutes ago, restlessnomad said:

think its good fun, somebody(especially you know, like a mate of office colleague) does something he/she likes and you give a few quid to charity (which you may not have given)..

everybody is a winner(you, your friend and the charity)

 

Yes indeed. When our last boat was being built in Devizes, we knew we would have to take it back to our mooring at Springwood Haven on the Coventry after it was launched. We hatched the idea of a Sponsored Lock Crawl - it was 180 miles and 150 locks, from memory - and got people from the local pub and neighbours to sponsor us. The pub displayed a big map or our route, and each evening we'd phone them and report our progress, which the landlady duly marked on the map. We had to do the journey in 14 days and despite a breakdown (gearbox separated from engine in Hungerford Lock) we did it in 13 and raised several hundred pounds which was shared between two local charities in Uckfield where we lived.

   We had to do the journey anyway, and so the charities got some money which they otherwise wouldn't have received. So, winners all round.