Charity

Boscastle to Bude – Day 5 of Romilly’s One Island Walk for Street Children

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Barnaby Dickens and I left Boscastle at 8.00.  It was another beautiful day.

Boscastle, low tide, fishing boats, creekBoscastle harbour.

DSCF8429We stuck to the coast path all the way to Bude.

Rock and seaAs with much of the north Cornwall and Devon part of the coast the path descends steeply and reascends steeply. From the tops the successive folds in the land are often hidden. It is very hard work. Reggie, Barnaby’s terrier thought so anyway.Barnaby Dickens on South West Coast Path

Barnaby Dickens, who very generously asked all his friends to donate to Romilly instead of giving him birthday presents.  Many thanks to all you generous friends of Barnaby.

red and yellow butterfly

Plastic dog shit bagHas any one calculated the carbon foot print of the nations dog and cat food?  Whatever it is you can now add the energy consumed manufacturing dog shit bags which some dog owners feel some else should pick up.

two men sitting on bollards on beach drinking with dog looking onLucy supported us with refreshments, which Reggie kept an eye on.

DSCF8466We ended the day at Bude where we stayed the night in a comfortable b and b. We ate in an Indian Restaurant. Delicious. I had two pints of Tiger draft.

Help Romilly give street children a chance. Donate at

https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

Portreath to Perranporth – Day 3 of Romilly’s One Island Walk for street children

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I awoke at 4.30 in the morning but I didn’t know it then because my mobile was charging up in the camp deep freeze room.  The tent fly-sheet was flapping and a bird was singing right next to the tent door. It was like wearing stereo head phones. Each note was precise, a strangely beautiful, alien music with tiny rapid clicks below the treble.. and incredibly loud.  I wondered if it was a skylark, if my phone batteries had charged, and what the time was. I unzipped the door and wandered bare foot through the dew.  4.30! Blimey. Back to bed. Catherine was coming at 7.00 to take me back to Portreath to meet Lucy Gore who was walking with me, Rosie, Rosco, and Flora.

DSCF8302Lucy, Flora, Rose and Rosco

We met beside the Portreath car park where Guy and Jamie had picked me up the night before.

DSCF8252The coast was lovely, beautiful, but the layout and architecture of many of the coastal settlements is dismal. In some places not far from the path a field of houses, like some deviant experimental crop, had been plonked down without any apparent relation to anything .

Path, 4 walkers, sea, houses in distance

Houses, green hill, sand, sky

Beach, wave breaking, grass covered cliffDoes a beach like this……

Deserve development like this?

Buildings on green cliff above beachDSCF8293

DSCF8282 Team Romilly at Chapel Porth © Beach CafeTeam Romilly at Chapel Porth Beach Cafe

Brown Dome in brown field fence and MOD notice

DSCF8330Redistributing the blood after lunch at Perrenporth.

DSCF8310 Cold War: airfield dispersion blast shelter.

That night I we reached Crantock, just before Newquay and well beyond the day’s target. With my team of walkers it had been a very jolly day of beautiful views and sunshine. A great day. If I can carry on like this I’ll have time to spare for a rest day.

 

 

 

“Where shall we park the car?” Romilly’s One Island Walk for street children

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Sea view, Lands End, Cliffs, Rocks
” This looks like it”.  We were both very tired after a series of late nights trying to clear stuff before I left. Catherine, who was heroically driving me down to the start, on the day of her private view, had sensibly got us up at 4.30 a.m. in order to miss the traffic for the Royal Cornwall Show.  DSCF8018

We left the house at 4.55 a.m. driving West, with the sun skimming the tops of the Michael Mass daisies on the central reservation at 300,000 kms per second, painting the road signs and the wind mills in hallucinatory, gleaming, day glos. It was a beautiful start.

Here it was, the Land’s End Hotel, with a low facade flanked by Corinthian Columns. If I had to describe a Las Vegas Funeral parlour this would be it, I thought.  The car park was empty.

“There doesn’t seem to be any body here”

” I hope it’s not closed”

We were both looking forward to coffee and me to a second breakfast.

“Where shall we park?”

“Over there. We won’t have so far to walk to the hotel”

Catherine had a cup of coffee and we kissed good bye. My cousin Paul came to see me off and we had another cup of coffee. 

Fat man in Lycra photographing him self in traffic reflector

I was very lucky with my first day: lovely weather in the morning, a route which was on high ground with the sea usually in view to the south, beautiful wild flowers, campion, cow parsley, blue bells, fox gloves, stitchwort, a subterranean Romano British dwelling, approached through a tunnel of huge granite slabs, an artist painting,

hands working on landscape painting

a bee keeper keeping, and at the end of it a wonderful, wonderful welcome from Milly Aynsley and Jonty Lees, both artists, and their very sweet children. They fed me, picked me up, gave me a bed and a breakfast, gave me wifi for the blog and send me on my way with a picnic lunch.  Thank you both very much.View of country side mineshaft danger sign

pink wild flowers, campion, road, lane, sky

Thanks to all my fellow walkers, all those who have helped so much, and to all of you who have donated so generously. It’s very encouraging.

Help to give street children a chance. Donate at https://www.givey.com/donations/new?charity_id=11250

Romilly’s One Island Walk for Street Children

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 Sponsor the One Island Walk and help street children.

Map of Britain with dotted line from Land's End to John O'Groats

James Forshall writes, ” I’m setting off from Land’s End 3rd June hoping to arrive at John O’Groats before the end of July. I shall walk all the way except for various water obstacles, which I may choose to sail, row, paddle or swim. I’ll have to average 20 miles a day. So it’s quite a challenge.

Please support Romilly’s work to give street children a chance by sponsoring me.

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RomillysOneIslandWalk

School boys anywhere. Not street children anymore.

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I like this photograph, which Christopher Mulenga has just sent me from Kitwe, in the Copperbelt of Zambia.School boys, ex street children, classroomThey could be school boys anywhere. It’s one of those moments we all remember. You have been assembled in class not for lessons, there are no books, but to listen to some guest speaker or to hear some kind of announcement. It’s that moment when we waited for whatever we were to hear to begin. The speaker has not arrived or is fiddling with the projector. Some chat, some snooze, some joke, some daydream.  But what I like about this picture is that all these boys are clean. Their skin, their hair, their clothes are clean. Yet not long ago they would have been living on the street. Their skin would have covered in dust, parasites, and sores. In Kitwe they would have slept out near open drains. These boys look happy. They are well fed. They are cared for.

Good job,  all you generous Romilly supporters out there.

These children are at the Friends of the Street Children site Kawama, Kitwe, which Romilly helps to support. They are being prepared to re enter mainstream education, while Christopher Mulenga’s colleagues try to locate what remains of their families.

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A level students help street children

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Two Ampleforth A level students are taking valuable time off revision to organise a silent auction at school to raise funds for charity. Some of the proceeds will go to Romilly to help street children.

smiling girl and boy in front of umbrellaAlex Loftie’s summer is busy with event lighting and DJ gigs.  http://alexloftie.wix.com/djalexloftie

Katie Hornyold-Strickland loves organising charity events.  Thank you both of you.

Caring for street children at Naivasha, Kenya

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Romilly’s charity has agreed to make a contribution to salaries at the Naivasha Childrens’ Shelter. The trustees there have recently taken on a social worker for a probationary period.Social worker and ex street child at the Naivasha Childrens' Shelter, Naivasha, KenyaBy all accounts he is doing a great job.

After the terrible things that have happened to them: loss of parents and home, and then the grim life of the streets, the children need to talk to someone, need  help to come to terms with what has happened to them and help to make the best of their new life. That is all part of the social worker’s role.

Thank you Kristen Sayres of the Naivasha Childrens’ Shelter for sending this lovely photograph. And thank you to Romilly’s supporters for enabling her charity to help these children.

 

Miki raises £3482 for Street Children

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Miki Jablowska has raised £3482.75 including gift aid for street children by running the London Marathon.

Woman lying on floor wearing shirt, tee shirt, running shoes and London Marathon number

Miki says,  “Except for blister, cramps bruised foot & sunburn, all was great in a pain is great sort of way….!   Finished in 4:31.
THANKS to you for your warm & generous support – truly much appreciated.”

Thank you Miki and thanks to all your supporters for giving so generously.

 

Miki’s London Marathon (running for street children) Training Report:

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Latest update from Miki:Miki lying on floor feeling sore after training for marathon” Dear All,
Got upto 30km today!  Not quite enough and very slow.  I wanted to feel more able to complete the marathon’s 42 km (26.2 miles) with a small measure of confidence…..  (I’ve not had enough time with due to work commitments).

Again my sincere and great thanks to those who have supported me – I really appreciate it, on behalf of the charities.
Any further donations gratefully received at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Mikirunning
Thank you!
Miki x ”

Miki, thank you and all your supporters for all you are doing for street children.

 

Keen to learn. Ex-street children with a foot on the academic ladder.

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These boys were street children. Not anymore.  They’ve worked hard at the Naivasha Children’s Shelter to pass their KPCE exams and are now going to high school. Street children don’t go to school. Unfortunately like many in Africa the Kenyan government does not pay for school fees above a certain age. One of the best ways of making sure that a child or young person does not end up on the street is to make sure that he or she is able to go to school.  This is why we are so pleased to be able to pay for a years school fees for these 6 boys (only five in the picture).
For that thanks to all Romilly’s kind, generous donors.  Good work.  Five african boys in coloured background blue doorsThank you Julius for taking the picture and Kristen for sending it.  We hope that we will have more news about these boys and how they get on at high school.

We are also grateful to Romilly’s supporters for enabling her charity to pay a years salary for a social worker at the shelter.

Miki’s Marathon                                                                                                                                  Thank you very much indeed too to all those who have donated by sponsoring Miki Jablowski’s heroic London Marathon.  So far 45 people have sponsored her. At the time of writing there are 32 more days to go. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Mikirunning

The Friends of the Street Children in Kitwe.                                                                        Christopher Mulenga, the executive chairman and our interlocuter, has had malaria and has been out of contact. Having recovered from his malaria his internet went down but I am hoping to have news from him soon.