I spent last Sunday, Day 96, in West Sussex with my Mum,
Angela, and my Dad, Mike, as they were celebrating their birthdays on the
Monday and Tuesday and I wanted desperately to spend time with them before I
headed to the North East. I managed to walk on the Sunday afternoon and
finished the day with 1278 miles to go.
After the internal medical issues I had been struggling
with over the last three weeks, I saw the doctor on Friday and before
heading off, I went in to the surgery for blood tests on Monday, Day 97, of the
BRIT 2012 Challenge. The medical staff have been great over these past
few months and always make time to see me and remain flexible to my
schedule. I’m sincerely grateful to them.
After a long 7 hour
drive, it was good to have some fresh air and complete 2 miles in
Newcastle. This left me with 1276 miles before I crashed out.The BRIT 2012 Challenge has no
sponsors and my equipment is gifted. Over the last three yearswhen I
have climbed and walked as part of my fundraising activities, Berghaus Limited http://store.berghaus.com/
, part of the Pentland Group PLC, have gifted my clothing. They have been
a tremendous long-term supporter to reduce the expense of my challenges and on
a personal level, they understand my inability to regulate my body temperature,
so the clothing I wear keeps me warm, dry and also ensures I do not overheat.
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| With young people from Sunderland |
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| Sir Chris |
Sir Chris’ career has included nineteen expeditions to
the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest and the first ascent of the
south face of Annapurna. Sir Chris was appointed Commander of the Order
of the British Empire (CBE) in 1976 in recognition of the previous year’s
successful ascent of Everest and he was knighted in 1996 for his services to
the sport. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)
in 2010 for his services to the Outward Bound Trust http://www.outwardbound.org.uk/
It was an absolute honour for me to be accompanied by Sir
Chris throughout the day and to have the opportunity to relax, listen and walk
with such an inspirational and iconic man.
One of my aspirations is to visit all
the Premiership Football Clubs and Rugby Clubs this year, so in the afternoon,
I visited Sunderland AFC and Newcastle United as part of my BRIT 2012
Challenge. After a packed day of walking I finished Day 99 with 1268
miles to go.
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| Sunderland AFC |
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| Newcastle United |
Day 100
of my BRIT 2012 Mile Challenge was based in the county of Northumberland.
The flag of
Northumberland
Day 100 was also a day of
learning more about special needs. I was hosted in Northumberland by
Atkinson House School http://www.atkinsonhouse.org/
Atkinson House is a community day special school for 40 boys aged 11 to 16
years (year 7 to 11) who exhibit severe social, emotional and behavioural
difficulties.
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| With some of the young people from Atkinson House Special School |
I learned a great deal from my time with young people and from the
families, teachers, charities and staff that support them. I am constantly
being educated with the experiences, situations and issues that our young people face in
different areas of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Atkinson House
School is an example of just how diverse some of the difficulties that young
people face are and the statistic are sobering. I have included links to
explain a little more information on some of the difficulties and challenges
young people have to cope with and if you would like to know more:
- 100% of pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Need identifying Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) as their main special need. For more information on BESD click here; http://www.priorygroup.com/Conditions/Specialist-Educationa-and-Fostering-Conditions/Behavioural-emotional-and-social-difficulties-BE.aspx
- 87% of pupils have involvement with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). For more information on CAMHS click here; http://www.camh.org.uk/
- 70% of pupils are clinically diagnosed as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) http://www.livingwithadhd.co.uk/ or Pervasive Development Disorders (PDD) http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/development-disorder
- 11% of pupils are identified as having Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) http://www.autism.org.uk/
- 24% of pupils have Moderate Learning Difficulties identified on their Statements of SEN (Special Education Needs) http;//www.senmagazine.co.uk/ as a significant special need, in addition to BESD.
- 15% of pupils are identified as at high risk of self-harming http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and)conditions/self-harm.
- 70% of pupils are prescribed medication for the above conditions.
- 69% of pupils were out of full time education for more than 9 months prior to admission.
- 70% of pupils were at least two years, or more, below their chronological reading age.
- 9% are in the Looked After Sector with a further 16% having previously been in the LAC sector.
- 65 % of pupils have significant SSD/social care involvement, but are not in the Looked After category.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Atkinson House School and
what made the day even more special for me was being joined by Northumberland
Fire & Rescue Service and their Team 16 of The Prince's Trust http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/
Programme who I met and spoke to before walking.
As an Ambassador of The Prince’s Trust it is always a
pleasure for me to meet young people supported by The Prince’s Trust and I am
able to remain in touch with the young people who benefit from this outstanding
charity which helps to change young lives. In addition to raising awareness of
BRIT, I continue to champion and raise awareness of the charities I
support. I have the utmost admiration for the Prince’s Trust and as I
walk throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland and meet young people, this
is one of the charities I am able to introduce and signpost them to. I hope to
meet many more groups from The Prince’s Trust as I walk around Great Britain
and Northern Ireland.
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| Team 16 of The Prince's Trust in Northumberland |
The Prince’s Trust
will help over 50,000 young people this year and to do this, they need to raise
£50million. If you would like to donate to support The Prince’s Trust,
the link is here; https://secure.artezglobal.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=32255&LangPref=en-CA&Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.princes-trust.org.uk%2fdefault.aspx
It was a pleasure to meet Fire Fighters from
Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service and it is humbling to continue to be
joined by County Fire & Rescue Service wherever I walk.
From Atkinson House School, I then drove down to Milton
Keynes to be ready to walk in Luton the next day. I finished Day 100 with
1260 miles to go.
Day 101 was spent at one of the Keech Hospices in
Luton. The Chief Executive, Mike Keel, is a BRIT Advisor and Mike very
kindly agreed for me to drop in and meet some of his staff and a couple of the
young people cared for by Keech Hospice Care.
Keech Hospice Care cares for adults living in Luton and
South Bedfordshire and children from across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and
Milton Keynes. They provide
specialist palliative care for adults and children diagnosed with a
life-limiting or terminal illness. Their aim is to help patients
enjoy the highest quality of life, while providing vital support for their
family and friends throughout their loved one's illness and in their
bereavement.
All of the charity's services are offered free of charge,
every single day of the year and this is all made possible because of the
generous support of the local community. If you would like to know more about
this tremendous charity or would like to support them with a donation, the link
is here; http://www.keech.org.uk/.
I would also like to thank Bedfordshire & Luton Fire
& Rescue Service who joined me on the day. I finished my 101st
day with 1252 miles to go.
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| At Keeches Hospice with Bedfordhsire and Luton Fire & Rescue |
Day 102 was packed full. I left Luton in the
morning and headed into London to attend the Sports Podge Lunch http://www.sportspodge.co.uk/
organised by Phil Jones, a great friend and one of my BRIT Advisors. I
have attended the Sports Podge Lunch since my first London Marathon in 2009 and
many of my BRIT Advisors and Mentors attend the lunch where I first met them or
have been introduced to them by those that attend. It is one of the only
social events I will attend this year and it was great to catch up with Darren
Whittingham, one of my BRIT Trustees, and with Phil and his friends and
colleagues.
I left early to return to West Sussex and ensure I walked
my miles to stay on track. I finished my 102nd day with 1245
miles to go. The weekend has been 48 hours of playing catch up. I
walked 10 miles on Saturday (Day 103) and 5 miles on Sunday (Day 104). I’ve
finished the weekend with 1230 miles to go and am exactly on track with my
planned miles.
In between my walking, the washing machine has been on
constantly, the car has been replenished and repacked with equipment, food and water and I’ve caught up with post, emails and telephone calls before I
set off again.
Tomorrow is the start of a busy period in the North East.
Sal, our BRIT Coordinator, together with the support of Clare, who volunteers
her time to BRIT, have been working extremely hard to confirm the locations I
will be visiting. So the plan for the next few days is;
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Day 105 - 7th May – Walk and then travel to Redcar and Cleveland
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Day 106 - 8th May – Walk at Kirkleatham School in Redcar and
Cleveland
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Day 107 - 9th May – Walk at Middlesbrough School
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Day 108 - 10th May – Walk at Abbey Hill School, Stockton on Tees
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Day 109 - 11th May – Walk in Durham
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Day 110 - 12th May – Walk in Darlington
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Day 111 - 13th May – Walk with the Scout Association in Hatlepool
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Day 112 - 14th May – Walk in Harrogate and York
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Day 113 - 15th May – Walk in Skipton, North Yorkshire
Thank you to everyone who continues to support me on my
BRIT 2012 Mile Challenge. I am indebted and sincerely grateful to you all
for making this challenge possible so I can raise awareness of our vision to
build the BRIT Centre of Inspiration and provide a lifeline to young people
post-trauma.
With my very best wishes,
Phil