Photographing Amy Macdonald

I was given the wonderful opportunity to photograph Amy Macdonald last year for the forthcoming bowel cancer charity book, The Record. She very kindly agreed to me being given a photo pass for her concert at GLive in Guildford. It was an amazing experience, and I literally had to kneel in front of the stage to take the photos. The concert was terrific with Amy playing a stripped back set with her three-piece band. I love this photo, which I edited using a low-key effect, but it won't be the one I use in the book, where I will reveal the first record that Amy bought. She has a Best Of album coming out in November, and a UK tour in 2019, so exciting times for her.

The new book is in its final stages now, and I am aiming to finish the photography and meeting by the end of this year with a view to publishing in the first part of 2019. It is is the follow up to my 2015 book, Lives & Times, which has so far raised over £4000. All funds raised will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK (Beating Bowel Cancer Together) in memory of my mum who died in August 2016 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012. This awful disease is the second highest cancer killer in the UK, but if detected early it is treatable in over 90% of cases. So apart from raising funds, the book will help to raise awareness about bowel cancer, which is vital to improving early detection rates.

Please check out my ETSY store. where all the proceeds raised from sales of items sold are donated to the Bowel Cancer UK.

Meeting Deborah James for The Record

Coming up for a year ago, last September, I spent a really nice evening in the company of Deborah James in Richmond. She'd happily agreed to be in my forthcoming fundraising book, The Record, which I am hoping will be published in spring 2019. It was a fascinating, and enlightening experience listening to her story, and talking at length about bowel cancer. Deborah, married with two young children, has an aggressive form of stage 4 bowel cancer. Since her diagnosis she has played a major role in raising awareness about the disease, as well as raising a considerable amount of money for Bowel Cancer UK. She uses the "Bowel Babe" name on social media, and I would highly recommend following her. She leads her life at 100 miles an hour - I would compare her to a human hurricane! She spoke with great passion about bowel cancer, but also with a lot of common sense. Since her diagnosis she has undergone a gruelling course of chemotherapy as well as surgery, and not surprisingly there are times when she is completely wiped out, but she keeps bouncing back, and she refuses to let cancer rule her life.

We chatted for about three hours with beers and wine as refreshments, and although the conversation covered every aspect surrounding her illness, Deborah was great fun, a master of fruity language, and with laughter never too far away. She is a really inspiring individual, and it really is a great chapter for the book. Deborah is also involved in the enlightening and successful podcast "You, Me and the Big C" #youmebigc which is well worth checking out. The number one podcast features Deborah, along with Rachael Bland and Lauren Mahon talking about living with cancer. It will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, but it's a brilliant listen. Very sadly Rachael died last week, so my thoughts are very much with her family and friends at this time.

Bowel cancer is the second highest cancer killer in the UK claiming 16,000 lives each year. However if detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. A massive challenge is to improve the early detection rates giving more patients a better chance of living longer. At the moment only 15% of bowel cancer patients are diagnosed at the early stage 1. I am writing the book in memory of my mum, who sadly passed away from bowel cancer in August 2016. All funds raised from sales of this book will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK (Beating Bowel Cancer Together), who have recently joined together, to become the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. Please visit my ETSY online store where there is a whole range of items that can be purchased to raise funds for the charity. Over £4000 has been raised so far.

TV Presenter Gregg Wallace To Feature In Bowel Cancer Charity Book

Some great news today with television presenter Gregg Wallace joining the list of celebrities taking part in The Record, my forthcoming charity book in support of Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. The presenter of BBC's Masterchef is going on tour in the autumn, and I shall hopefully be meeting him at his show when it comes to Maidenhead.

The book is being written in memory of my mum who died from this awful disease in 2016. 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer, and 16,000 die each year. It is the second highest cancer killer in the UK. However, if detected early at stage 1, bowel cancer can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. This figures falls to just 7% when detected at stage 4. At the moment just 15% of people are diagnosed with bowel cancer at stage 1. Improving early detection rates will improve survival rates.

The current hope is to publish the book in the first part of 2019 if everything goes to plan. All proceeds raised from sales of the book will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer.

Ben Richards Features in The Lives & Times Bowel Cancer Charity Book

One of the first people I approached and photographed for the Lives & Times book was the actor Ben Richards. Ben is in remission from bowel cancer, having been diagnosed in 2012, and he immediately said yes to my request, and was very enthusiastic to get involved.

In the above photo he posed with the Beating Bowel Cancer tie, which these days is used to support and promote the Follow The Bowel Cancer Tie group on Facebook. You can take a look of what that is about here. I won't reveal too much of what happened when I met Ben back in 2014, and instead hope you might buy the book and read the chapter instead, because the afternoon turned into a great story in itself with me getting unique access to rehearsals for the Rock of Ages musical that Ben was about to go on tour with. The support for the project never ceased to surprise me, and every time that I thought that things couldn't get any better they did!

Similar to Ben my mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012. She had five major operations, and throughout it all she was very positive, never complained, and was happy to have any treatment that was required. Her main focus was always when could she ride her horse again, and start to drive her car. Although the surgery to remove the tumour from her bowel was successful, the cancer spread to her left lung, and then latterly to her brain. She sadly passed away in August 2016. 

I am currently writing a new fundraising book, which will be called The Record, and I am really happy that Ben's partner, television presenter Kirsty Duffy, has greed to be part of. 

24 Hours Until The Charity Skydive From 10,000 Feet

The countdown is on, and it's now just 24 hours until I jump out of a plane at 10,000 feet to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK. Over the last six years, since Mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer, I have done a lot of fundraising, and raising awareness about this awful illness. This venture is a brilliant way of raising funds, but on a personal level it is probably the worst idea I have ever had! A genuine fear of heights means that I am terrified, and not looking forward to it at all. In fact I will be so happy once I have two feet back on the ground. However, the support from everyone has been phenomenal with over £1450 raised so far. Thank to everyone who have been so very generous x

Jumping out of the plane will go against all my natural instincts, and even now I can't guarantee that I will be able to do the skydive - I think I will need a big push! My tactic will be to think about Mum, and be doing it very much in her memory. The image above will be in my mind throughout.

I will investigate the option of having my day videoed, and so hopefully everyone will get to see what happens, and also see some photos as the day unfolds. It is not too late to sponsor me at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tims-bigjump

Obviously my main motivation for my fundraising is Mum. Diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012, she had successful surgery to remove the tumour from her bowel, and then four more major operations to remove nodules from her lungs. It was when the cancer also spread to her brain that treatment options began to run out, and her health deteriorated. She passed away on August 29th, 2016. I still miss her very much.

The facts are that 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in the UK alone, and sadly 16,000 people die each year. If detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. At the moment only 15% of cases are caught at the early stage 1. Therefore raising awareness is key, as improving early diagnosis will greatly improve the current survival rates. Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity, hope that by 2050 no-one will die from bowel cancer. Your sponsorship will help fund their work.

Wish me luck for tomorrow, I think I am going need it!

Meeting Rick Witter From Shed Seven for Bowel Cancer Charity Book

Another great chapter for the bowel cancer fundraising book I am putting together, as yesterday I went to meet Rick Witter, lead singer with Shed Seven, before the band's sold out gig at the Northampton Roadmender. 

I'd made contact with Rick a few months ago, and the Northampton gig was the perfect opportunity to meet up. I thought I'd committed a schoolboy error as the date clashed with the England v Belgium World Cup match, but instead of having a support band, the game was shown on big screens in the venue. 

The gig was utterly brilliant, which more than made up for the football score. As you can see Rick was a great sport wearing the bowel cancer tie to help raise awareness about this awful disease. My mum died from bowel cancer in 2016, and all proceeds raised from the forthcoming book will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK. The book will be called, The Record, and everyone in it is revealing the first record that they bought to me. And Rick's first record is a belter! For each chapter I write up about the experience, and Rick was a really top man, and probably the coolest person I've met on my adventure so far. The book will hopefully be published next year.

Meeting Richard & Sarah Haugh

I met two of the nicest people tonight for the forthcoming fundraising book, The Record. Richard and Sarah Haugh kindly agreed to be part of it, and it's taken a while to meet up as they live in Scotland. Before moving there they were based in Sonning Common just outside Reading, so we grabbed the opportunity to meet up whilst they were down visiting Richard's parents.  We went to The Crown at Playhatch, and it was a perfect place to enjoy a cool drink outside at the end of the hottest day of the year so far.

Richard has had bowel cancer, and his cancer was confirmed after being screened for bowel cancer when he turned 50. The screening age in Scotland is 50, whereas in England, Wales & Northern Ireland it is still 60. They have been involved in the campaign to get the screening age lowered to 50, which could save around 4,000 lives a year. Until fairly recently Sarah has worked tirelessly as a volunteer on the Beating Bowel Cancer chat forums - not to mention being a wife and mother, and caring for Richard during his illness. Their story is fascinating, and I am so very thankful to them for sharing it with me to put it in the book. They were great company, and I had a lot of fun with them tonight.

All proceeds raised by sales of the new book will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK in memory of my mum who passed away in 2016

The Alarm - The Band & The Fans Supporting My Bowel Cancer Fundraising

When I started putting together the Lives & Times bowel cancer fundraising book, one of my big ambitions was to meet and photograph all four original members of The Alarm. However, little did I realise that  this would be just the beginning, and what followed would have a huge impact on me.

One of the first people I contacted when I started the book was Eddie Macdonald, and I managed to photograph Eddie and Nigel Twist together in London. Eddie has been a tremendous supporter, and he got Nigel on board, when Nige was in the UK on a rare trip over from the US, where he now lives. Jules Peters was instrumental in sorting out a photograph with Mike Peters. This took place at Abbey Road studios when I was truly honoured to be part of The Scriptures - the world's longest song. Finally just when I was beginning to think it wasn't going to happen, I met and photographed Dave Sharp in Winchester. I got to see him soundcheck before his gig, and that was observing a real master craftsman, and he was really nice when we sat down for a chat. As well as the original band, along the way the current line-up also got snapped at Abbey Road. In fact Steve 'Smiley' Barnard popped up twice in the book, as he also features in the chapter on From The Jam.

New York, May 2018

The good news is that I have already met and photographed 'Smiley' and James from the current line-for the next book, The Record, which is well under way. This will also hopefully feature Jules Peters, now also a regular in the current group. She has recently been treated for breast cancer, and her story is a huge inspiration for many. I recently also met Gareth Jones (Gaz Top) for the new book before the band's recent London gig, so it will have plenty of Alarm in it too. Who knows what else could happen before the book is published. In the meantime you can still buy Lives & Times from my ETSY online store. 

Alarm fans with Lives & Times

I've followed The Alarm since 1983 when I heard The Stand on John  Peel - never has a record made such an impact on me. Until I started my fundraising I had followed the band with a few close friends, and had kept myself pretty much to myself. In fact during my first 33 years I barely met more than a handful of fellow fans. My mum's illness, and the subsequent fundraising has changed all that. The friendship, and amazing support for my books and t-shirts, from fans has been utterly amazing. I have lost count of the amount of books they have bought so far, and some of these have lost people to bowel cancer too. When I went to a bowel cancer patient event in London in 2016, I was joined by fellow fan Tina Atkins to help me sell the book there. We'd never met, but she very kindly agreed to come and help. That has been the start of a great friendship, and the friendships have kept on coming thick and fast ever since. I can't believe why it took me so long to come out of my shell. At The Gathering in 2017 I seemed to spend as much time selling books as anything else - it was quite astonishing. I can now go the gigs and know plenty of people, which makes each gig so much better and fulfilling. I recently went to see the band in New York, which was an amazing experience making many new friendships there. Every single person who has supported me, has helped take the fundraising past £4000 so far. I thank you all 💓

The Alarm - New album Equals out on June 29th

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK taking 16,000 lives each year. If detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. The key thing is to increase awareness, and improve early detection rates. At the moment on 15% of patients are diagnosed at early stage 1. All the funds that I raise are donated to Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK. These two charities joined together at the beginning of the year to become the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. My mum passed away from bowel cancer in 2016, and as well as fundraising I am helping to raise awareness about this awful disease, and hopefully by the year 2050 no-one will die of bowel of bowel cancer.

Meeting Jacquie Beltrao at Sky HQ

The latest meeting for the new bowel cancer fundraising book was with Jacquie Beltrao, who is a sports presenter on Sky News. We met at the state of the art Sky Central building in Isleworth, which was mightily impressive. Jacquie has worked at Sky since 1992, and it was fascinating talking to her about all kinds of things. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2013, and thankfully has come through that, but of course she still has regular scans. I was very grateful for Jacquie's support, and I know she spends a lot of time working with breast cancer charities. I have to say that Jacquie's first record is an absolute belter! This will be a great chapter to write up.

The new book, called The Record, will hopefully be published within the next 12 months. I am raising funds for Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK in memory of my mum who passed away in 2016 from bowel cancer after being diagnosed in 2012. Bowel cancer is the second highest cancer killer in the UK, but if detected at an early stage it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. Unfortunately at the moment just 15% of diagnosed cases are caught early, so raising awareness is vital. The new book will be available on my www.bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk website, which has raised over £4000 so far. And next up for me in terms of fundraising is my charity tandem skydive in July.

Catching Up With TV Smith at SUB89 in Reading

I met and photographed TV Smith, one of the original punks and former front man of The Adverts, for the Lives & Times bowel cancer fundraising book four years ago in April 2014 when he played at the Rising Arts Centre in Reading. It was an amazing gig in an intimate setting, and on the back of that I have bought a few of his albums. 

I managed to have a short chat with TV before he came on stage. He is always very accessible to his audience, as he hangs around the merchandise before and after his performances. It's always nice to meet up again with people from the book and update them, so I was able to thank him for his support, and tell him how it has raised over £4000 so far. When I met TV in 2014 mum, at that stage, was in remission from bowel cancer. She was diagnosed in 2012, and passed away peacefully on August 29th 2016. All my fundraising for Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK is done in her memory.

TV was supporting The Skids at SUB89 in Reading, and I wondered what the experience would be like seeing him in a larger venue as a support act. He was superb! How one man can get so much out of an acoustic guitar I do now know. TV played songs from his days with The Adverts right up to a couple of new songs. For the last part of his set he was joined by Leigh Heggarty of The Ruts, and it just went up that extra notch. If you ever get the chance to see TV live I'd highly recommend it - a terrific evening. And after all that The Skids played a blinding set too! I had hoped to meet Richard Jobson and get him for the new book, but sadly all my efforts were in vain.

Time To Focus on The New Book

I am going to spend the next few months focussing, and putting my efforts into getting the new book finished. It's been an incredible year so far, and the support I've been getting for my fundraising has been phenomenal. However, I think I have been pushing the fundraising pretty hard, possibly a little too hard at times, and I don't want to risk losing the goodwill of everyone. It's something that I have been thinking about for a while. The new book is hopefully going to be near completion towards the end of the year, and I would like people to look forward to it, rather any feeling of obligation... So the time has come to prioritize the book, and give you generous souls a bit of a break. 

Everything I am selling to raise funds for Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK will remain available on the www.bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk website, which thanks to all the wonderful support has raised over £4000 so far. 

The new book, The Record, has been making steady progress, and the challenge now is to try and tie down the remaining people, who have said yes to being in it, to a date for meeting up. This is of course, not just a challenge, but also very much part of the story. So over the coming months the updates will focus on what is happening with the book. I am still determined not to put myself under any time constraints, and to continue to enjoy the whole experience. So although I am hoping it will be finished around the end of the year, this is no by no means set in stone.

However, there is one exception to the rule... On July 14th I am doing the charity tandem skydive, and I will continue to ask for sponsorship for this. The support for this terrifying adventure has been unbelievable with £1280 donated so far on my justgiving page. So please excuse me for posts on this over the next 6 weeks or so...

Photographing Gaz Top in Kentish Town

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting television presenter Gareth Jones (Gaz Top) for my forthcoming bowel cancer fundraising book in Kentish Town before The Alarm's concert at The O2 Forum. As with any London gig it was busy and hectic, but Gareth, the former Alarm roadie before his TV career, made time to talk to me, and take photos even though he was running late, and he was a very popular figure in demand with many old friends wanting to say hello.

Transport problems, and a fantastic gig will add to the flavour of this chapter, but what stood out was a few bits and pieces that Gareth revealed to me including, sadly, a bowel cancer connection. He was ever so friendly and wanting to make sure I got what I needed for the book, even going the extra mile and sending me a very detailed email responding to a few questions, so a massive thanks to him.

My mum passed away in 2016 four and a half years after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Although the operation to remove the tumour in her bowel was successful, the cancer spread to her lungs and she underwent four further operations to remove cancerous nodules. It was only when the cancer also spread to her brain that her health deteriorated and we were at her bedside when she peacefully passed away a week after her 80th birthday. All proceeds raised from sales of the new book, to be called The Record, will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity.

Skydive Sponsorship Target Smashes 100%

Just three weeks ago I signed up for the charity tandem skydive this July to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK in memory of Mum who passed away in 2016 from bowel cancer. The response has been staggering, and has now smashed the £1000 target I set for the challenge. I'd like to thank everyone who has sponsored me so far, it has really touched me how friends, old and new, have been so bloody wonderful! Thank you so so much!

There are still almost two months to go until "The Big Jump", so I would love for the figure to keep rising, and to raise as much money as possible. So please visit my sponsorship page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tims-bigjump and support me if you can. I am genuinely petrified about doing this, and I have no idea how I am going to physically "jump" out of a plane, but this tremendous support is giving me the motivation to face this challenge head on.

Bowel cancer is the second highest cancer killer in the UK. If detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. However, just 15% of cases are detected at that early stage at the moment. Raising awareness is vital, and improving early detection rates is a massive challenge. The aim of Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer is that by 2050 no-one will die of bowel cancer..

Charity Tandem Skydive Sponsorship Reaches £795

Training at The Empire State Building

The very generous sponsorship donations for my charity tandem skydive this July have continued, and I am now well on the way to my target figure of £1000. To date I have received a wonderful £795, so a huge thanks to everyone who has kindly supported me so far. 

My recent trip to New York gave me an opportunity to do a bit of training when I went up The Empire State Building. The views were stunning, but the smiling photo masks the fact that it took a lot of will power to make myself go to the railings, and looking down was terrifying! My thoughts at the time were how on earth am I going to be able to jump out of plane at 10,000 feet... However, I am putting those thoughts to the back of my mind for the time being.

Click here for my justgiving page 

or Text GEUU71 £? to 70070

Cash or Cheques

There are two main reasons why I am doing this. Firstly in memory of my wonderful mum lost to bowel cancer in 2016. Secondly,  41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in the UK, and what they have to endure puts my worries about jumping out of a plane very much into perspective. 

So please if you could sponsor me I would be so very grateful. I am raising money for Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity.

Meeting Deborah James Sadly No Longer Still With Us

I can't believe that it's one year ago that I met Deborah James for the forthcoming book I am writing, The Record. I came into contact with Debs on social media in 2015 around the time that I published my last book, Lives & Times, which she kindly bought, and thereafter we stayed in regular contact. She was one of the first people to agree to be in this new fundraising book. Very sadly Debs passed away in July last year from an aggressive form of bowel cancer. All proceeds from sales on the book will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer  / Bowel Cancer UK, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity.

So we met at the beginning of May in 2017 at the Sixfields Leisure Park in Northampton. At that time Debs was still very positive, and determined to do everything she could to stay healthy, and live as long as possible in spite of an awful prognosis. She told me that when she was younger, she said she would live to be 100, and with her lovely infectious laugh she then said that it was still possible. In fact Deb's laugh was constant throughout, even during the bits where we chatted about the most difficult subjects relating to her illness.

Although I only got to meet her once, that experience definitely left a mark on me, and I'm sorry that I didn't get the opportunity to know her a little better, and see her again. She wrote a wonderful blog, My Joyful Gut!, which is well worth a read. She had set up her own business, which was raising awareness about cancer at the workplace, supporting businesses, cancer patients and their families affected by cancer. She was a quite special person, who will be missed by so many people.

Debs and I agreed that the chapter on her in the book should be written as of that moment in time of our meeting. I wanted her to see the chapter as it would appear in the finished book. I wrote it up and sent it to Debs, who thankfully was very pleased with it. I will not change it, apart from a few lines of explanation that I've added to the start of it. 

Bowel cancer is the second highest cancer killer in the UK, claiming 16,000 lives each year, and yet if detected early at stage 1 it can be successfully treated in 97% of cases with patients living for 5 years or more. That figure falls to just 7% when it's detected at stage 4. At the moment only 15%are diagnosed at stage 1. So much more needs to be done in raising awareness about bowel cancer to reduce the numbers losing their lives, and the sadness and devastation caused to the families left behind.

My Mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012, and she sadly passed away in August 2016. All my fundraising is now done in her memory. I have my bowelcancerfundraising website which sells my books, Stop Bowel Cancer t-shirts and wristbands, art, and other bits and pieces. My latest venture is a charity skydive that I am doing in July at Brackley. This is a massive challenge for me as I have a huge fear of heights. I have already been sponsored £685 for this on my justgiving page.

bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk passes £4000

Great news this morning as the fundraising on bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk has passed the £4000 milestone. £4029.13 to be exact. The support since I set up this website in 2015 to sell my fundraising items has been quite amazing. I am truly grateful for every single purchase / donation, and of course the encouragement which keeps me very motivated.

The books, art, t-shirts, and wristbands, plus the other nice items are available to buy on my website. All proceeds raised from sales are donated to Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. Next target is £5000...

Seperate from my website fundraising, I am now also signed up to take part in a charity tandem skydive on July 14th supporting Bowel Cancer UK. This is a massive challenge for someone who has been terrified of heights his whole life. After just one week I am already two thirds of the way towards reaching my £1000 target. So please take a look at my justgiving page. All sponsorship for this is really appreciated, and will go some to making the absolute terror worthwhile.

All my fundraising is being done in memory of my mum who passed away in 2016. I will continue to raise bowel cancer awareness which is so important. Bowel cancer remains the second highest cancer killer in the UK, but is treatable in 97% of cases if diagnosed at the early stage 1. At the moment only 15% of cases are caught at stage 1.

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - Day 30 The Month Draws to a Close

The final post of bowel cancer awareness month begins with this very informative short video from, Deborah Alsina, the CEO of Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer about the importance of screening, and the need to get the bowel cancer screening age down to 50 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to match Scotland. Please take a couple of minutes to watch it.

It's been a busy month of raising awareness about bowel cancer, and pressing on with my own fundraising. Sadly the stats will show that around 1,300 will have lost their lives to this cruel disease during April. Bowel cancer remains the second highest cancer killer in the UK. Early detection is crucial. At stage 1 patients have a 97% chance of living for 5 years or more, which drops to just 7% at stage 4. At the moment only 15% of patients are diagnosed at stage 1.

The fundraising on my bowelcancerfundraising website has gone very well during April. Just short of £4000 has been raised for Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer since 2015. Please check it out - there are so many items to buy, and help my fundraising. The stop bowel cancer wristbands and t-shirts are going really well at the moment, and the first of the t-shirts in the new summer colours were posted today.

My other big news this month was deciding to do the tandem charity skydive in July. I still can't believe I am going to do this. How will they get me out of the plane... The minimum amount of sponsorship required to do the jump is £430, and I have gone past  that today after only a few days, so I am ever so grateful for all the support. I am hoping to raise at least £1000, so please sponsor me if you can https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tims-bigjump

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - Day 28 A Limited Edition Piece of Art

Artist Adam Green has created the Lives & Times screen print to raise funds for Beating Bowel Cancer. The print sized 39cm x 49cm on 300gsm Somerset paper is limited to just 25 copies. This wonderful piece of art was done at Ochre Print Studio, who have very kindly donated all the materials Adam used ensuring that the whole of the purchase price is donated to the charity.

The print is on sale in the web store on my bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk website or you can email me directly. Get your own piece of art for just £125 and raise funds for Beating Bowel Cancer. Selling just one more print will take the fundraising past £4000.

Adam's description, "The print I have produced has been inspired by Tim's book, Lives & Times. A book created to raise funds for Beating Bowel Cancer after Tim's Mum was diagnosed in 2012. I was really taken with the concept of what Tim was doing with his book, travelling the length and breadth of the UK to meet and photograph famous sportspeople, musicians, actors, DJs etc. The front cover of the book shows two silhouettes facing each other. I took this idea and developed my print with this in mind, thinking about the one to one interaction Tim had with many people in order to create his book. The print is made up of many different layers, each one possibly signifying the different stages in the journey that people follow once being diagnosed with cancer. I am very pleased to have produced this print for Tim and his charity. I really hope it brings joy and positive thoughts to all those who purchase one."

I was so glad to show Mum the finished print when she was Wexham Park Hospital shortly before she was transferred to the St. Marks Nursing Home in Maidenhead, where she passed away in August 2016. 

Bowel cancer takes 16,000 lives in the UK each year. It is the second highest cancer killer, but if detected early at stage 1 it is one of the most treatable in around 97% of cases with patients living for 5 years or more. This figure falls to just 7% when detected at the later stage 4. At the moment only 15% of cases are diagnosed at stage 1.

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - Day 27 I am Doing The Big Jump For Bowel Cancer UK

Today I can reveal that I have booked up to do The Big Jump for Bowel Cancer UK. I will be doing a tandem skydive from 10,000 feet on July 14th at Brackley aiming to raise as much money as possible for Bowel Cancer UK. 

Now if I am honest this the last thing that I want to do. I am petrified of heights, so there is nothing appealing about doing this, except the fundraising aspect. Going up a ladder is not something I enjoy. The middle tier was a struggle, and any kind of cable car will have me holding on tight. I have been to Sydney 4 times, and not once got close to attempting the bridge climb. So this really is a huge challenge for me, I will probably have to be forced onto the plane!

I have been thinking long and hard about doing this for a few weeks, and having seen all the wonderful work by bowel cancer supporters during bowel cancer awareness month, I've decided to bite the bullet. At the end of the day 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in the UK, and what they have to go through puts my worries about jumping out of a plane into perspective. So please if you could sponsor me I would be very grateful.

Click here for my justgiving page 

or Text GEUU71 £? to 70070

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - Day 26 Screen at 50

Today Lauren Backler handed in her petition to the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, calling for the bowel cancer screening age in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to be reduced to 60, to match what it already is in Scotland. As you can see from the photo a huge number of people have already signed the petition. In fact as I type this tonight that figure has risen to over 453,000 and 500,000 is now within sight. It is estimated that 4,500 lives could be saved each year if this  age reduction takes place. Sadly, Lauren's mum died from bowel cancer aged 56, and Lauren firmly believes that her mum would still alive today if screening had started at 50.

So if you haven't already signed the petition please sign it now at change.org 

If all this hard work wasn't enough, Lauren ran the London Marathon last weekend in scorching temperatures raising over £3000 for Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer. She is a pretty amazing person, truly inspiration, and I had the pleasure of meeting her last summer for my forthcoming fundraising book.