A mountain of thanks!
Hancock’s letter of praise to inspiring Margaret, 90, for £360k charity trek
SHE has won the hearts of the nation as she aims to climb the equivalent of a Highland mountain going up and down her stairs.
Now Scots pensioner Margaret Payne has received a heartwarming boost from one of the UK’s most beloved actresses.
Mrs Payne, 90, has already raised more than £365,000, including gift aid, as she attempts to match the 2,398ft height of Suilven, near her home in Ardvar, Sutherland.
She chose that peak because it is the only mountain she has ever climbed, back when she was 15.
And her incredible effort has been praised by Olivier Awardwinning actress Sheila Hancock, who has written her a personal letter of thanks.
In the note, Ms Hancock, who played an 83-year-old who climbs Suilven in the 2017 film Edie, also recognises the efforts of Captain Tom Moore, who raised more than £28 million for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden.
She wrote: ‘I am sure, like me, you and the splendid Captain Tom remember how difficult life was before the creation of the National Health Service and you are demonstrating, on our behalf, how grateful we are. Thank you so much for your shining example.’
Recalling her own adventure on Suilven, Ms Hancock, 87, said: ‘Throughout my long life I have had a few experiences that have shaken me to the core of my being, transcendental, revelatory. This was one. It is obvious that you too were so profoundly moved by your climb when you were 15, that you want to recreate it at 90. I expect,
Margaret, as you live in the Highlands, you have, in your time, done some strenuous trekking, but I hope you have done a bit of training before undertaking your demanding climb.
‘I did get incredibly fit, but even just the trip to the foot of the mountain nearly killed me.
‘Stumbling over bogs full of horrific Scottish snakes and other creatures, one minute falling flat on my face over a tussock, the next up to my knees in mud, is not what a nice English girl from
Hammersmith is used to. When we got back, there was drinking and cheering and hugging. Something we can’t do now. Nevertheless, I do hope you are planning a party when you conquer your last stair.’
Yesterday, Mrs Payne said: ‘What a wonderful letter Sheila Hancock wrote in support of my challenge for the NHS charities. I am very grateful to her, thank you.’
The pensioner started her challenge on Easter Sunday and initially hoped to raise £10,000 for the NHS and Highland Hospice, as a thank you for the care shown to her husband Jim, who died on Christmas Day last year.
Mrs Payne climbed Suilven in 1944 with her sister Elizabeth, after they were evacuated to Lochinver.
To match it, she will climb her stairs 282 times and estimated that it will take her about two months.
Ms Hancock’s career has ranged from Shakespeare to Carry On. She also won the British Book Awards’ Author of the Year prize for The Two of Us, about life with her late husband, Morse star John Thaw.
‘Plan a party when you conquer your last stair’