We’re having one hurl of a time
We’re getting there step by step on our 968km trek to Tipperary. Since setting foot on the Emerald Isle I’ve been repeatedly blown away by its beauty and the friendliness of the people.
I told last week how John and I crossed from Liverpool to Dublin for the Irish leg, met the city’s Lord Mayor and fuelled up on Vitamin G... yes, you guessed it, pints of Guinness.
After that we headed west along the towpaths of the unspoilt and near-deserted Grand Canal.
This beautiful waterway had locks and historic buildings for us to take in as we ticked off the miles, then it was on to the Barrow Way river trail.
The people we’ve met along the way have been happy to share their own stories of life’s challenges – and without exception they’ve supported our own quest to encourage prostate cancer awareness and living your best life now.
As you know by now, this challenge hasn’t just been about the walking – I’ve been stopping off to give presentations to groups, such as law firm staff, bankers and this week members of the Carlow GAA club.
For those of you not familiar with Irish sport, local GAA clubs organise both hurling and Gaelic football. Having watched both I’m still none the wiser about the rules but these games are physically full on and unite the communities and counties everywhere we go.
It’s a shame that in the UK people often support a team because they are league champions or whatever, rather than the one that’s local to them. Following your local team certainly adds a special something to the chat in the streets and bars.
Ireland is teaching us that there’s real value in thinking local and supporting your community.
There is some way to go before we reach journey’s end but if it all ended now it would already be mission accomplished in terms of fundraising and awareness, so anything more will be the icing on the cake.
Until next week, Kev