John’s Mad Swim
More people have walked on the moon than have solo swum the 42.8-mile length of Lake Geneva. In memory of his younger sister Emma, who died of a brain tumour in 2003, John Royden aimed to be the eighth person to complete this epic challenge.
On Wednesday 28 July, John set off from Chateau Chillon in France, followed by his support boat and crew. Unfortunately, after 22 hours of swimming through the day and night, the medics made the difficult decision to pull John from the water for safety reasons. John had covered a staggering and heroic 26 miles – a marathon distance!
Despite being initially disappointed, John has been inspired by the enormous amount of kind messages and donations received, especially from the brain tumour community and those he has never met. He has already booked the boat for next year to “finish what he started”!
John was able to visit the Ludwig Institute in Lausanne to see Dr Spencer Watson, who was awarded one of The Brain Tumour Charity’s Future Leaders research grants looking at targeting scar tissue after surgery to stop recurrence of glioblastoma.
I am completely inspired and assured that The Charity only selects the very best, pioneering research and that every penny donated really does have the maximum impact through The Charity.
John Royden
Well done John – you’re an inspiration to us all!
Going for gold and knitting for progress
Olympian and now gold-medallist diver Tom Daley has been a vital supporter of The Brain Tumour Charity since losing his dad, Rob, to a brain tumour in 2011.
Following his brilliant win alongside Matty Lee in the synchronised 10m platform event on Monday 26 July, Tom later unveiled on social media a Team GB cardigan he had knitted while watching teammates at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre – plus a fundraiser for us in memory of his dad.
Tom’s post has so far raised an incredible £20,500 and counting. We’re so grateful to Tom for his continued support for everything we do – what a superstar!
Doing it for Laura
Laura Nuttall was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in late 2018 following persistent headaches. We’re in awe of the amazing things she’s done for The Charity and the huge amount of awareness she’s raised while going through such challenging times.
On top of handing out HeadSmart cards, building a huge social media following, speaking honestly on radio and TV multiple times and being featured in many publications, Laura has also raised funds for us and supported us at events. She is a true inspiration.
Inspired by Laura, and after a three-year break from live shows, comedian Peter Kay held two live Q&As at Manchester’s O2 Apollo on Saturday 7 August, with tickets selling out within 30 minutes!
The money raised from the ‘Doing It for Laura’ events will pay for Laura’s latest round of treatment – she was initially given 12-18 months to live, but has been receiving immunotherapy treatment in Germany thanks to fundraising.
If you’d like to support Laura and her family, you can donate to their GoFundMe page.
Biking to beat brain tumours
Our corporate partner Majestic Wine’s board of directors will tackle a virtual cycling challenge this September, taking them from the company’s most southern store in England, Majestic Falmouth, right the way to Majestic Edinburgh. All with the aim of raising funds for us!
Majestic’s directors will take on the 700+ mile route in just 24 hours on static bikes in the company’s head office in Watford. A team of four will begin the route in Edinburgh, with the other board members coming north from Falmouth – before ‘meeting’ at Majestic’s newest store – Knutsford.
Training has already started in earnest for the event, scheduled for 15-16 September.
Nominated by a colleague who is living with a tumour, the whole Majestic team are digging deep in various ways to hit a record total for the cause – particularly after such a difficult year for the fundraising sector.
I challenged my team to go above and beyond and, to be fair to them, they’ve embraced it totally. We’re under no illusions that this is going to be tough and there’ll be some real soreness at the end of it all. But hopefully we’ll raise a heck of a lot of money too!
John Colley, Majestic CEO and the man who devised the challenge
We can’t wait to cheer on John and the Majestic board – and we’re really excited to see just how much they can raise!
Walk it your way
Feeling inspired? If you’re keen to raise awareness of brain tumours and support us this autumn, why not unite with others affected for The Twilight Walk?
Our flagship fundraising event will see members of the community come together this October for one common goal – to propel progress for everyone affected by brain tumours and ensure no one has to face this diagnosis alone.
We’d love you to unite with us remotely – all you need to do is pick your distance and somewhere to walk that’s special to you and your loved ones. So limber up, plan your route and be part of our movement – though we’re walking apart, we’ll beat brain tumours together!