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Epsom United Reformed Church

Sponsored Cycle Ride

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This page last updated
15th July 2004

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Alan Wood

How to donate!
David Fear and Alan Wood are two friends who were at School together fifty years ago. They toured the low countries by bike together in 1955. Now they are taking to the road again to cycle the towpath of the Canal du Midi in SW France. The trip from Toulouse to Sète on the Mediterranean coast is 245 kms. along the length of this World Heritage site. They will be fully self-sufficient and will camp as they progress along the canal

They aim to raise £2,000 for the Princess Alice Hospice in memory of David's doctor wife Carole who died of cancer recently after a long fight, and was wonderfully cared for by the Hospice in her last days.

David and Alan have already raised over £1,000 in sponsorship. Local Rotary Clubs are supporting the ride.

Please give what you can for this truly humane and dignified cause.

How to donate!
The Canal du Midi was conceived during the reign of Louis XIV by Paul Riquet, a tax collector and visionary from Béziers who dreamed of ocean-going ships sailing from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea. The canal would cut 3000 kms off the voyage from the West and avoid pirates and storms along the Spanish coasts. Riquet spent literally years seeking the watershed on the Montagne Noire so that the canal could receive its vital feedwater.

King Louis XIV gave the project his blessing, and work started in 1665, only 80 years after the Spanish Armada, and one year before the Great Fire of London. It was hailed even then as an engineering marvel. Paul Riquet died a year before the canal opened in 1681.

The Princess Alice Hospice in Esher cares for terminally ill patients and offers help and advice to their families and friends. Every year more than 2000 patients are referred to the Hospice, with medical need being the only criterion for admission.
How to donate!
There are 26 beds and 18 Community nurses who provide outreach care to patients living at home. The Hospice also has a Day Centre. The clinical teams are made up of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and all have specialised skills, knowledge and experience in palliative care.

The Hospice serves a large area of Surrey. The NHS contributes only one quarter of the £5 million a year running costs. The people of Surrey contribute almost £4 million a year, and have done so proudly and successfully since 1985.

The Hospice; costs £10,000 a day to run, so please give all you can to the Cycle Ride. After all, maybe, like David, you will one day be very grateful that the Princess Alice is there for you or for a loved one. who is in need of kind, respectful and professions care.

You can read more about the Hospice on their website: www.pah.org.uk

To donate: please visit our webpage at www.justgiving.com/canaldumidi and make your pledge there. Most of our sponsorship has been raised by personal contact, but this webpage has been set up for those who prefer this method of donating. We thank you most sincerely for your help.