Greetings From Lizard Point

August 10, 2015

I'm on the eve of starting out on the 2nd leg of Opportunity International's self styled Walking People out of Poverty initiative, and am excited about the journey ahead.

Just like last year I'm going to be blogging my way around the South West Coast Path, and it will be my pleasure to capture some of the moments on the trail on my camera and share them with you.

At 630.4 miles in length (last years walk covered approximately 301.4 miles, or 485.1 kilometres) the SW Coast Path is the longest trail in the UK, with a total elevation gain of 117,907 ft, almost 3 3/4 times the height of Mount Everest. Who knew England was so hilly?

As I have been getting everything ready for the trip, I have been thinking about all of you who have conspired to join me in thought and spirit, as well as those of you who have caught the vision and have either sponsored me or generously donated to Opportunity International Canada.

So, at this point I think it only appropriate I start with a few heart felt thank you's, and firstly I would thank the Opportunity International team beginning with Doris Olafsen, who is O.I.'s Executive Director based out of Vancouver. Doris has always given me 100% support and encouragement when I have made a fund raising suggestion, and jumped on my idea to raise funds via my walk "like a fat kid on a smartie". Her boundless energy knows no bounds, and those whom we serve could not ask for a truer or better champion. I certainly know this walk would not have been possible without Doris, and her trusty side-kick Jo-Anne Morris, so ladies I want you to know just how much I appreciate you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for all that you do, not only for me but all those people you affect. I affectionately refer to Doris as the Wizard of the Pen!! and I have never met anyone who better captures that famous saying, "the pen is mightier than the sword", than Doris, and I am indebted for the times she has helped me with e-mail addresses.

I would also extend my thanks to Andrew MacDonald, also from Opportunity International, who picked up the torch from Jamie Hubrick who did a splendid job in creating my blog page last year. Andrew has tweaked the format ever so slightly, and also developed the website for Walking People out of Poverty and who has been tracking all of the donations, and letting me know almost as soon as he knows who has donated. Andrew has also provided valuable support to my blog and he will be ensuring that my daily posts are online in a timely manner. We have an enhanced model this year, which will further ensure that the details can be tracked including distance walked, in miles and kilometers, and elevation gained. And of course there is room for the daily stories!

This year, unlike last, we were also successful in attracting a couple of sponsors. The first company to catch the vision was The Downtown Sports Clinics . My sincere thanks go to the owners Julie Moylen and Siobhan Duggan for agreeing to sponsor my treatments in getting me fit. Two months after returning from my walk last year I developed one or two "problems" and endured a number of months of physio treatment at The Downtown Sports Clinics Scotia Centre location under the watchful eye of Carolyn Hiles, who has treated me off and on over a few years now, and whom I have the utmost faith in. My biggest problem stems from the fact I have a couple of degenerative discs in my lower back, that are wedge shaped, which means they will never get better, and which causes all sorts of problems. Thanks to Carolyn's skills as a physiotherapist, and the exercise program she has designed for me, I'm finally feeling fit enough for the task at hand, and the back feels great. Mind you I have probably worked harder with the exercises Carolyn gave me than I will walking up and down the hills of England. Every day for the past 10-12 weeks I have been getting up at between 4-30 and 4-45 am to do 40 minutes worth of exercises and stretches, it will be so nice to be able to lie in. I can see my sweetheart, Liz, tut-tutting and smiling as she reads this, as Liz knows I don't have the capacity to lie in bed! , If you are ever in need of physiotherapy I would have no hesitation in recommending The Downtown Sports Clinics and especially my good friend & therapist Carolyn Hiles. It would also be remiss of me if I didn't mention Sonya, my go to girl if I needed treatment at short notice, and her trusty colleague Marla. So thanks to you all at the Downtown Sports Clinics for your support. Oh, one last thing about the clinic, the Scotia Centre location has now relocated to 444 7th Avenue SW on the 2nd floor. I should also thank Cynthia, who the trusted right hand of Julie and Siobhan.

The second sponsor to support the walk is Icebreaker, which is world renowned for their Merino Wool outdoor wear. For last years walk I used three of Icebreakers short sleeved tee shirts, 2 orange and 1 light grey, and they were fantastic!! The neat thing about Icebreaker is you can walk for weeks on end without washing your shirts and you don't smell!! They are an amazing product. This year I approached Icebreaker, in Chinook Mall , and spoke with one of their managers Adele, who instantly "got it" when I explained my walk and what Opportunity does. Adele could not have been any more helpful, and so in the days and weeks ahead you will see me wearing either my short sleeve, orange, tee shirts, or my pastel blue long sleeve top, just in case it gets a little chilly. Should you be contemplating any outdoor activities I cannot recommend Icebreaker highly enough. Great company, great product. Great staff. So sincere thanks to all at Icebreaker.

I should also thank my work colleagues Bruce Bynoe and Norm Lippitt for your friendship and support over the summer as we walked through either the Cross Conservation area or Nose Hill Park as I honed my fitness. Both areas are excellent training grounds as the up and down terrain is very similar to that endured on the SW Coast Path.

It would be a major error if I did not also thank my good buddy Steve Riggott, my childhood friend from my hometown in England, Derby, who very kindly picked me up at Heathrow Airport and drove me down to Lizard Point for the 2nd leg of my walk. Steve will depart for Derby tomorrow, at the same time I start my walk so thanks Steve. Thanks also to my friend Mark Hampson and his wife Georgie who drove over from Perranporth, with their young son Nathan, to spend the bulk of the day with. Mark actually cycled over and as I type this he is cycling home back to Perranporth.

Finally, a round of applause and a huge thanks to each of YOU for making this walk one of the greatest fund raising events in Opportunity International Canada’s history. That is because YOU opened your hearts, minds and wallets to make this walk the success it has become. Last year we thought wouldn't it be great if we could raise $25k for the walk, and were wowed when we raised $60k. Based on last years success we thought let's raise the bar, to see if we can reach $100k. Well if we were wowed last year, we have been truly humbled by the numbers we have raised this year and it seems everyday, that number is being enhanced because of YOUR generosity. To track with me how much has been raised to date and the impact that those dollars are having visit my page at Walking People out of Poverty. Through your efforts we are going to be able to provide funding to over 1400 people as they start their own personal journey to work their way out of poverty.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, not only from myself and the entire support team at Opportunity International, but also from our President, Mr. Dale Patterson, (more on Dale later), and the Opportunity International Canada Governors and Volunteers across Canada.

I am reserving the biggest thanks however from those whom we serve in the developing world - in Rwanda, Colombia, Honduras and Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, to name but just a few of the countries that OIC’s is actively working in today.

As mentioned earlier thank you seems such an inadequate word, but it's the best we have to work with

and so:

Murakoze - Thank you in Rwandan

Gracias - Thank you in Colombian, Honduran and Nicaragua

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

Peter Thorpe and the entire Opportunity International family.

Now, before I get ready to head out to dinner, and the first days walk tomorrow

I thought I'd share with you some events from today, or rather let me take you back to Sunday evening, when I arrived at the Paris Hotel in Coverack for dinner. Who did I find waiting there but Dale Patterson, OIC’s President and his lovely wife Joan.

Dale flew in a day ahead of me, and decided that rather than "kill" time in London, before he and Joan jet off to Greece, he would hire a car and drive down to Coverack, where I'm staying for 3 nights (the first 2 prior to starting my walk), and walk with me for the first hour or two on August 11th. I'm honored that they would take time from their vacation to join me, and whilst I know they will see for themselves the beauty and splendor of the SW Coast Path, I hope they can "capture" the magic and essence of what drew me to undertake this walk.

Earlier this morning, Dale, Joan and Steve drove round to Lizard Point, which is the Southern-most point in England, where we picked up the trail and walked around to the Housel Bay Hotel, which is where the walk officially ended last year, and where I will resume my journey in the morning. There we were greeted by a very good friend of mine, Mark Hampson, and his wife Georgie and son Nathan. I've known Mark for a few years now, and we both support Bolton Wanderers Football Club, which has been a passion for both of us.

Finally I'm leaving the best until last, and so I would like to thank my sweetheart, Liz Smith, for all of her patience and understanding, and also for the tremendous support and encouragement she has provided along the way. Liz works tirelessly in the background and has ensured I have everything I need for the walk. So Liz thank you and know that I love you dearly, and could not have come anywhere near close to Walking People out of Poverty without you.

Well the walk will start in earnest in a few hours from now, and so I look forward to proving images and my thoughts along the way. I just hope the weather is as good as what we have experienced this afternoon, as opposed to the rain this morning.

Thank you all again.

Peter Thorpe

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