River Ramble
Our River Ramble sponsored walk was a roaring success!
A very big Thank You for supporting us in the Full Circle River Ramble.
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who supported us – which stands at over £6,200 raised so far. This is a phenomenal achievement for the first ever running of this event. Thank you for your support – whether this was by donating, walking or helping. Whatever you did and however you did it – you are amazing and have helped us continue to make a such a vital difference to the lives for our very brave patients and NHS staff at St George’s Hospital.
The Full Circle River Ramble – a day like no other.
The spring sunshine accompanied us all the way from our start by the fountain in the elegant courtyard surroundings of Wandsworth Town Hall.
With our Official (and very smart) River Ramble tshirts proudly donned, team photographs were taken before the Mayor of Wandsworth, Cllr Richard Field performed the official send off’s and, before we knew it, we had reached the watery haven of the riverside.
With traffic hustle and bustle evaporated, the only sounds were chatter and laughter, and the sights of gently bobbing, brightly coloured riverboats.
Numerous people, also enjoying a riverside promenade in the warm spring sunshine, stopped us to ask ‘why we were walking and what Full Circle did’. One such curious passerby who, on receiving a heartfelt explanation from Dr Willis – who happens to be not only our wonderful Chair of Trustees but also a compassionate consultant haematologist at St George’s Hospital, promptly opened up her purse and gave a donation. How kind is that?
As we reached the Peace Pagoda we were welcomed by our fabulous support-team-on-the-ground, also known as ‘The Intrepid Duo’: Geoff (my husband) and Claire (my cousin). It turns out that, no sooner had our feet pointed towards the river at the start, they had sped off from the Town Hall to Battersea Park to make a small base from which to welcome walkers by the side of the Peace Pagoda. With ample refills for our water bottles and a fresh stack of scrumptious homemade flapjacks – made our very own starbaker – Dr Fenella Willis – they were ready for us. With sufficient sustenance for the return leg, we set off towards the slowly dipping sun.
Whilst Geoff and Claire were setting up a lady asked them what what they were preparing. On hearing about Full Circle and that all our lovely walkers were there to raise funds for our work at St. George’s Hospital, she reached into her bag and gave them her last two fortune cookies! One, I’m afraid got eaten by a hungry walker (gulp), the other, I am pleased to say was passed to me by Claire, it says: ‘listen to friends with an ear to the future.’ I think that about sums up everything!
On our return, passing under the elegant arch at Wandsworth Town Hall, we were greeted with whoop-hollers. The Mayor was waiting for us all to return safely – he too had given up his whole afternoon for us – and proudly gave each finisher the coveted Mayor of Wandsworth Charity pin, as a thank you for our efforts for the people of Wandsworth.
We hope to make the Full Circle River Ramble an annual Springtime event. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? If you’re not already on our mailing list and would like to know about this, and any other news, please join us ‘here’.
On behalf of us all at Full Circle, above all, we just wanted to say a big thank you for your support in making this event such a special and resounding success.
We hope to see you again soon!
