Walk This Way

While Daryl was with us at the Hospice Steve, Daryl’s mum Diane and his wife Jude didn’t leave his side. We happened to be doing some filming at the Hospice for ITV and Steve and Jude said they would be happy to speak about the Hospice and the care Daryl was receiving.

I just really liked them, they were so positive despite what they were going through and after Daryl died on October 7th, we kept in touch, Steve and Jude both coming to Light up a Life and popping in from time to time to see the nurses and staff at the Hospice they had grown so fond of. Steve even added to his collection of tattoos with the St Joseph’s Hospice crest on his arm as a permanent reminder of the time he spent with us.

Steve and Jude have raised a lot of money for the Hospice over the past few years and when they asked me to join them on the Great East End Walk I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I did a bit of training, the odd stroll to Marks and Spencer, but I have to confess it was only a few miles at a time.

We set off on Sunday morning at around 11am, along with Steve’s next door neighbour Emma, who has been a great support to Steve, and Jude’s friend Jo, walking the streets of East London, to Whitechapel, St Katherine’s Dock, Tower Bridge, Barbican, Old Street and then back along Regent’s Canal, 10 miles in total.

We walked for around 6 hours, stopping to take a well-earned rest in the pub for some lunch.

We had some fun along the way, we learnt a bit about eachothers lives, we toasted Daryl with our cappuccinos, we laughed at Steve’s bad jokes (I moaned a bit about my poor sore legs), but we had a great time. 10 miles is a long way but we did it and we had a lovely day and raised over £2,000.

Thanks for the company Steve, Jude, Emma and Jo, and cheers to you Daryl.

Claire Learner, Communications Manager