back to life

Last weekend myself and 2 of my workmates, Stephen and Vicky limbered up in Millennium Square in Bristol for the annual Santa run in aid of Children’s Hospice South West.

Eddie and Jill Farwell had 2 children with life limiting conditions and had to travel miles from their home to receive care and respite for them. So in 1991 they decided to set up a hospice in their area. Little Bridge House was opened in 1995 but it was very soon apparent that this much needed service was unable to cope with demand. A second hospice was therefore opened just on the outskirts of Bristol called Charlton Farm in 2007. In the same year Little Harbour was created in Cornwall.

All of these fantastic places are full of dedicated staff providing specialised, holistic care for all the family to make every moment special and enhance quality of life as much as possible. But all this costs a lot of money and they rely heavily on fundraising.

Hence my friends and I dressed as Santa’s to do a 2km around the centre of Bristol. It really was the most surreal experience to be surrounded by hundreds of Santa’s of all shapes and sizes. Even the pet dogs made an effort in their festive doggy suits! But what made me laugh the most was the reaction of the general public, there were many people standing along the route cheering us on, but there were also many blase people who obviously thought it was perfectly normal to see 1500 Santa’s on a fun run and just walked along as if nothing was happening.

It was really good fun and it was the first time since I’ve recovered from chronic fatigue syndrome that I’ve run any distance and it felt good.