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  Bowel Cancer, Fields of Dawn, Fundraising, Journal, Love Hope Strength, Music   1   19 September 2022

A weekend away in North Wales has meant a few days off from the journal. Rather than backdate posts, I shall bring all my news up to date in this one post. My trip to North Wales was to take part in the Love Hope Strength Coastal Hike. I was so pleased when everything fell in place to allow me to release the Fields of Dawn album on the same day. LHS along with The Bowel Movement and Bowel Cancer UK are the three charities that are receiving the profits from sales of A New Dawn.

The trip up on Friday was not the easiest. Everything went really well until after lunch. I’d stopped to meet up with one of my oldest friend’s Lewis to give him his Vinyl LP and have a quick catch up, but by the time I got back on the road again there were serious traffic problems on the A55 around Chester and it took me another two and a half hours to get to Rhyl.

First stop was the beach at Rhyl. It was deserted and an absolutely stunning scene. All the driving frustrations evaporated and this was the first time I had been at the seaside in summer months in such a long time.

Friday night I travelled to the village of Dyserth. Home to Mike and Jules Peters of The Alarm, and to their pub The Red, where all the weekend socialising was to take place. Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard, drummer with The Alarm, and dare I say occasionally for Fields of Dawn, provided the music all weekend. He surprised me on Friday night, half way through a wonderful acoustic set, by asking me to pass a copy of the Vinyl LP and went on to tell everyone about it and this no doubt led to a few extra sales over the weekend. He also said some incredibly kind and supportive words when we chatted over the weekend, which were greatly appreciated. Unfortunately Mike Peters wasn’t well enough to be there over the weekend, but Jules was the perfect host. She didn’t recognise me at first, because the last time I saw her was before lockdown when I still had my long curly hair! Apart from seeing my brother in Leeds, this was more my first trip away in two and a half years. It was so good for my soul.

Also on Friday night I finally got to meet Danielle Slawsby. This wonderful human being has been incredibly supportive and kind to me since I’ve known this fellow fan of The Alarm on social media. She is currently visiting the UK from the United States with her mum. A month or so ago I got a massive shock as Danielle ordered 5 copies of the Vinyl LP. Not only did this mean a significant boost to the fundraising, Danielle is donating all 5 copies to the The Alarm Apartments situated in Dyserth next to the pub, where fans can stay and experience the Mike Peters Staycations once a month. Such a very generous gesture x

On Saturday we did the 12-mile walk. It was a wonderful experience as you get to talk to all manner of people during the day. Chatting with lovely friends who I’ve met through the music of The Alarm and making new friendships with others. The weather was perfect and it was a day that I won’t forget. As you can see I had the lovely Bluebell with me all weekend. Prince stayed home as he couldn’t have managed any of the walk. Bluebell who is only 1 was quite brilliant. Such a lovely temperament and got a lot more attention than I did! 😄 I wasn’t sure if she would be able to do the whole walk as it was a lot further than she had ever managed, but she was amazing. She did then sleep on the pub floor for most of the evening’s entertainment.

During the walk I met the lovely Faith who had raised over £800 for Love Hope Strength on the walk which she dedicated to her Granddad, who sadly died of bowel cancer and to her mum Trish who has had breast cancer. Faith bought a CD from me, so it was my absolute honour to sign it for her. This photo shows and sums up the way I felt all weekend x

With the additional orders I had in North Wales, the amount raised by A New Dawn now stands at over £800. The three charities will receive around £270 each. The reaction and support for the album so far has been amazing. I hope that this will continue and the amount raised can increase. Click on any of the items below to order. All profits from every sale are donated to the three cancer charities.

Comments

  • Lovely written Journal and even lovelier that you mention my amazing neice Faith, she is a real inspiration to us all xx

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