The American Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once said
“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
The joy of living in North Berwick is that I have found nothing, absolutely nothing, to make me angry, not even the slightest bit angry. This town is not perfect and there are the occasional frustrations, but nothing to make me angry. Since moving here – as one brother and two sisters have come to visit with their families; as I’ve been shown how to rig a new type of sailing dinghy before then being shown the safe channel through the rocks out to sea from the bay by a brilliant sailor of just fifteen years; as I was fed tea and Twix as I helped dismantle the sailing club marquee after the Fringe by the Sea festival; as I savour the views from the cliff tops, arable fields or beaches with my Springer puppy; as I start to get recognised in my local butcher, baker, greengrocer, fishmonger, pharmacy, pet shop and hardware store; as I run along the beach with the waves lapping at my trainers; as I caught the train to Edinburgh to see Allie officially graduate as a doctor as she was ‘capped’ (with the Geneva Bonnet made using material from John Knox’s breeches!) in her graduation ceremony in Edinburgh Castle; as we travelled by train to Durham to see our nieces for the day, as the house becomes more and more homely as we get more jobs completed under Allie’s most excellent vision and planning – I have found nothing to make me angry. Nothing.
My only difficulty, what with all this activity on top of puppy training, walking, brain training and cooking, is that I have found little time to keep you updated. I apologise for my silence over these last five weeks and seek to reassure you that I have been extremely busy getting happier.
Over the 39 days since my last post, I have walked 275.43 miles ascending 23,161.235 feet which is roughly the height of the Kangto mountain in the Himalayas. I have cycled 9.21 miles ascending 444.23 feet, run 1.93 miles ascending 188.27 feet, covering a total of 286.57 miles while ascending the height of mountains in the Himalayas. To fuel my journey I made 39 balanced daily lifestyle breakfasts and lunches and cooked 12 delicious evening meals all designed to stop my tumour from returning while strengthening me in mind and body day by day, week by week, month by month. I brought joy to others through the capture of 15 additional smiles and raised on average £7 a day, a total of £279 with which to help save and rebuild the lives of those trapped in the triple whammy of COVID, warfare and natural disaster, through the Disasters Emergency Committee.
My only disappointment is that despite telling my story a further 15 times while seeking their sponsorship I have failed to secure not even one single sponsor in the last 39 days
I continue to look for sponsorship. Many have suggested that I would find life more comfortable if I was to take a chill pill and just focus on enjoying life. With all that North Berwick has to offer it is tempting. Yet I keep fighting and keep writing, despite my neurological challenges, purely and simply to save lives: mine, and those who are starving to death as I write; men, women and children trapped in their millions in the triple whammy of COVID, warfare and climate change related natural disaster around the world in places such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
There are 64,000,000 active current accounts in the UK. My challenge is to convince just 1% of those account holders to challenge me to keep fighting to achieve success with just £1 per month. If I succeed, I could raise over £640,000 a month with which to help save and rebuild the lives of those most in need through the Disasters Emergency Committee. With 74 sponsors so far obtained I am 0.01% of the way towards my target. It is easy to doubt that I will ever get there, but I refuse to, so please sponsor me, I guarantee, that with the generosity of:
- The Royal Bank of Scotland.
- Webb and Wallace Accountants in Doune.
- MHCreations in Glasgow.
- Key Facilities Management in Doune.
That every single penny raised goes to save and rebuild lives through the Disasters Emergency Committee. Not a single penny is lost to costs.
Every penny raised encourages me to keep fighting to prevent my brain tumour from returning as predicted, and to retrain and strengthen my brain, using the mediums of Golf, Music, Navigating over the Hills, Drama, Dance, Juggling, Litter Picking and Writing, with becoming neurologically and cognitively strong enough to one day be able to sustain myself in some form of future employment being my goal while saving lives through the DEC on the way.
Please sponsor me to make me happy. After all, happiness is the key to success.
Thank you, Keep safe, keep being brilliant.
Keeeeeeeeeeeep smiling
Yours aye
with love and gratitude,
Archie xx
