As another football season kicks-off this weekend, and thanks to the support of our chairman and the board of FIFC, we will be holding a collection at our game with Enfield in aid of three charities which mean a great deal to many of us.
As some of you will know my wife Lorraine has recently had a bowel tumour removed and is now on chemotherapy, though as I’ve been telling everyone she’s far healthier now than yours truly, as she has been since the day I first met her! All joking apart, thanks for the sympathy that we’ve received from many of our friends at FIFC, which is much appreciated. Can I also mention how brilliant the staff have at William Harvey have been to all of our family.
I don’t imagine that the brilliant work of the British Heart Foundation needs me bringing to your attention. We all know someone who has had problems in that direction.
But Saturday’s collection has been prompted by an email I received some months ago from Darren Stock, a member of the Kent Police, whose four year-old son Joseph has a condition which affects only one in somewhere between 20,000 up to half a million which condition which many UK professionals remain largely unaware of.
Joseph and his dad both love football probably as much as you and I do – if that’s possible.
So, on Saturday we will be holding a bucket collection the proceeds of which will go to Cancer Research, the BHF and research into the XXYY Syndrome which is seemingly more common in the USA and of which there is far more knowledge on the other side of the Atlantic than here in Europe.
Darren and a friend are next Thursday undertaking a bike ride from Maidstone to Folkestone then onto Dover and Margate, ending up that evening in a B&B in Canterbury before returning to Maidstone on Friday morning.
As well as contributing to those three so deserving charities, I’m hoping that we can come up some personal mementoes for the two cyclists themselves – either to keep, or to auction on and raise even more cash.
If anyone is free next Thursday, (August 16th) at around 12.15pm I’d be delighted if you could join me in handing over what we’ve raised.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you will be able to spare a little to make our efforts worthwhile.