Dear Friends,

On Tuesday (28/4) evening I was watching the 10 o’clock news on BBC 1 where they ended with an item on the Hospices sector of our healthcare system, now even more forgotten, but as important as ever.

You may be aware that our exclusive fund raising focus at Wrekin this academic year has been the Severn Hospice. Our hope was to raise enough money to pay for a nurse for a year, somewhere in the region of £25-£30k was our target. However, because of the catastrophic impact of the Covid-19 virus, all our efforts have now effectively been put on ice. There was no Charities day and other opportunities to make a difference may be difficult to engineer, so we are still far short of the target. 

My time at Wrekin, after 16 years as Chaplain, is fast approaching its end. I shall be retiring at the end of term and am currently on furlough. But it occurred to me that I might be able to do one final useful thing. Inspired by the efforts of Captain Tom Moore I intend to walk from home up to top of the Wrekin and back – a round-trip distance of about 7 miles - every day for 64 days (from May 1 until July 3), a day for each year of my life (I shall be 64 next December). 

I would like to dedicate this effort to the memory of Robert Graham, my first friend at Wrekin, and to Joan Griffiths, who being a Nottingham lass, always reminded me of my mother, both of whom in their final days greatly benefitted from the care offered by the Severn Hospice.

If you would like to support me as I do this please donate via: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Michael-Horton8 

for the Severn Hospice so that together we can get closer to that target. 

I hope you can help me make the slogging worthwhile.

With best wishes,

Stay safe and well,

Live long and prosper,

God bless you.

Michael Horton