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200 Miles for Smiles

A dedicated team of cyclists from our wonderful corporate supporters, timber and building merchants, Lawsons, and their associates Marshalls Paving, cycled 200 miles over two days to raise money for Spread a Smile.

The group of eight included David George, Mike Kelly, Ian Scrimshaw, Nick Walker, Stacey Clare, Martyn Butler and Dan Gillings from Lawsons, and Keith Brophy from Marshalls. They were accompanied by a Lawsons support crew of Dave Negus, Luci Jones and Kat Rowe, as well as our very own Collette Spinner from Spread a Smile.

The intrepid riders trained together for a couple of months in Bedfordshire, to get some idea of the first part of the route and what the ride would entail. Although perhaps no amount of training can prepare you for 200 miles of cycling on two consecutive days!

The challenge began bright and early from the Crowthorne branch in Bedford on Thursday 27^th September. The cyclists set off as the sun was rising; a beautiful start to what would be two days of glorious autumn weather. The first stop at 25 miles was on Dunstable Downs, where the team caught their breath whilst taking in the beautiful views from this vantage point. Morale was kept high en route by the support team who drove the course, stopping at various locations to cheer them on. Collette said they were often surprised by the cyclists arriving sooner than anticipated – they were keeping to an average speed of 22 mph over the first 100 miles! They stopped again at 50 miles to grab lunch at The Deli in Chalfont St Giles, where the staff were so impressed by the endeavour they made a donation. After one more stop at 75 miles, the first day finished at the Lawsons branch in Crawley, Surrey and the team had a well-deserved dinner of lots of carbs and protein!

The second day was much harder with the knowledge they had to do it all again. Off at 7 am once more, they headed from Crawley to another Crowthorne branch – this time in Ascot – for lunch. Some of the riders were seasoned pros and some were less experienced, but the group stuck together for the entire route, and took turns leading the peloton. Amazingly they reached their final destination of the Lawsons branch in Colney Heath, at 4 pm – much earlier than predicted – to complete 200 miles of epic cycling!

Despite it being a difficult and strenuous challenge, the cyclists’ camaraderie kept them going – even a grassy fall for Ian was laughed off! They looked remarkably fresh as they crossed the finishing line, where Collette had promised to meet them with a cold beer. David George said of the ride, “What we’re doing is the easy part; Spread a Smile does great work which is incredibly hard. It’s an honour to be doing this.”

These Smile Heroes have already raised over £4,000, towards a target of £10,000. Help them reach their goal – click to donate here: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/lawsonsmilesforsmiles

Thank you so much to our friends at Lawsons for another amazing fundraising challenge for Spread a Smile. We hope you have all recovered and are not too saddle-sore! If you, too, fancy taking on a challenge for Spread a Smile find out how here: https://spreadasmile.org/fundraise-for-us/

Walking, talking and celebrating life for Spread a Smile    

This October youngsters who are being supported by Children in Need will join Countryfile on a series of walking challenges across the UK. Last year this raised £1.8 million for Children in Need to help support a number of charities including Spread a Smile.

Tune in to Countryfile on BBC1 this Sunday, 16 September, from 7pm, to see how Spread a Smile supported and entertained the inspirational Amy Foster, during her cancer treatment.

Amy, previously a patient at UCLH has made an inspirational recovery and will be leading one of the rambles this year. Sunday night’s programme will follow her story.

In early 2017, when just twelve years old, Amy developed a severe pain in her knee. Initial evaluation by a medical practitioner suggested nothing seriously wrong, but Amy’s mum Kathy, knowing that Amy had been a very fit, active and healthy young girl, pushed for further assessment, and in March of that year Amy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a cancerous tumour, in her femur. Osteosarcoma is a rare cancer that normally affects young children and is commonly found in the femur just like Amy’s.

After diagnosis, Amy spent much of the next 12 months in and out of hospital and that’s when we first met her. She was treated with gruelling bouts of chemotherapy and radiotherapy that required lengthy stays in hospital. She also endured major surgery to remove the bone and replace it with an internal prosthesis, after which Amy had to learn to walk again.

We met Amy during our regular visits to University College Hospital (UCLH) where we would take our team of entertainers to the hospital. We know that Amy particularly liked Magic Martin and his wonderful magic tricks which would always bring a smile to her face.

As Amy spent so long in hospital, Kathy and her husband Simon alternated staying with Amy at UCLH and looking after their younger daughter Freya back home in Kent. Kathy tells us, “As well as the love and support of family and friends we could not have got through much of what happened during this time without the support of a number of small charities dedicating their time and resources to supporting sick children both in and out of hospital.

 “Amy has a particular soft spot for Spread a Smile who, without fail, visit children each and every week in various hospitals, bringing along entertainers and therapy dogs to brighten the darkest of days. They do exactly what they say they do. They make very sad and vulnerable children smile when they need it most. They made life better for her. They made her smile.”

“You watch your child in hospital simply not being a child. They can barely lift their head off the pillow some days and then the magician comes in from Spread a Smile and you watch them stop being a patient and start being a kid again.”

“If I could erase whole portions of last year from my mind I would do that now. But people like Spread a Smile, those are the things that have provided the highlights of the year.”

 Amy said, “Spread a Smile make a massive difference because without them there wouldn’t be any colour in any of it. It would be just like it was all grey and black.”

Amy has made great progress since her long and arduous treatment; she’s back at school, enjoying life to the full and, incredibly, walking without any aid. Looking at her now, there is no outward sign of her prosthesis, except a slight limp. Kathy describes her as a quirky, geeky, fun-loving girl, who loves nothing better than spending time with her friends, reading a good book or enjoying a history-filled visit to a National Trust property. Her doctors and nurses have been astonished by her recovery, and her mum puts it down to her stubbornness! Amy was told that she would never regain a large amount of flexibility after her prosthetic surgery, but Amy is enjoying proving everyone wrong. She has worked hard to gain a range of movement in her leg that was thought impossible, and now can even sit cross-legged.

Sadly, although her recovery has been astounding, Amy is not able to do many of the physical activities she loved before her diagnosis. She was a keen trampoliner and dancer, but what she misses most of all is sailing. She sailed every week with her beloved granddad Eric in a Dart 15, a type of catamaran, at Seasalter in Kent. She would head out with her granddad every Saturday morning at 7 or 8 am, spend a day on the water, returning late into the evening after enjoying fish and chips for her tea. As crew to her granddad’s helm, the pair even took part in competitions. Now that Amy’s mobility is limited, she can’t dash about on the boat. A catamaran is flat, and sailors have to be able to move from one hull over the netting in the middle to the parallel hull, and it’s easy to skid off. To allay some of her frustration, Amy has taken up kayaking and canoeing as a means of getting back on the water without the need to use her legs too much. Amy is determined to get back on the catamaran with her granddad, although mum Kathy thinks it may be at least a year until that is possible.

To celebrate her regained mobility, Amy very generously decided to raise money for Spread a Smile. Kathy said she wanted “to give something back to help those that have helped her”. She chose to do a fundraising walk at Seasalter, the ideal location given its association with her love of sailing – a fitting celebration of her courageous journey to walk again. The walk was a triumph: Amy was joined by over 90 friends and family and raised over £1500.

Amy turns 14 in early September and her next big adventure is to lead a ramble on an episode of BBC’s Countryfile. Countryfile will film her, her mum, dad and sister, as well as a few close family and friends and some members of the team from Spread a Smile, as they walk around the countryside surrounding Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire. Amy and her family are happy to be part of the programme as it will be a means of highlighting Spread a Smile’s commitment to Amy and other children like her. Spread a Smile’s work is being highlighted as part of BBC Children in Need which currently provides funding to Spread a Smile.

You can apply to join Amy and be part of the ramble taking place on 7 October at www.bbc.co.uk/countryfile. You need to apply by midnight on Sunday 15 September.

You may not recognise him from the photos as we are all used to seeing him dressed as a Strom Trooper, but to finish off his epic fundraising efforts for Spread a Smile and Make a Wish in 2018, the amazing Jez Allinson organised a screening of the film Battle of Britain at Pinewood Studios last night (Weds 8 August).

The event was a sell-out, with 110 tickets sold, helping to raise over £2,000 for Jez’s two chosen charities.  This follows on from Jez’s 100km run in April of this year, dressed as a Stormtrooper.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Jez for everything he has done for Spread a Smile and it has been our pleasure and honour getting to know him.

On Sunday 29 July, 8 brave men, our Smile Heroes, took part in the Prudential Ride London 100 to raise funds for Spread a Smile. Sheldon Mydat, Matthew Topp, Eran Afek, Howard Kayman, Carlos Fleury, Ludwig Von Sembach, Craig Rogers and Jon Mulder cycled 100 miles across London on closed roads in the howling wind and pouring rain, with the thought of Spread a Smile keeping them going and giving them the incentive they needed to push on and complete the race. This group of eight successfully raised several thousand pounds to help us spread smiles to seriously and terminally ill children in hospital. 

We are enormously grateful to all 8 who took part and to their family and friends who turned up to cheer them on in the wind and rain.

We caught up with Craig Rogers, of Eversheds Sutherland, who told us about his race experience.

*****

“We thought we’d be treating people for heat-stroke, not hypothermia!” – St. John’s Ambulance Volunteer.

After weeks of uninterrupted sunshine, and some of the hottest temperatures on record, the UK weather decided to play a cruel trick on the weekend of the Prudential Ride 100.
In a drastic shift in weather patterns, forecasters warned of strong winds, heavy rain, lightning and thunderstorms…

When we woke at 3am (!) and made our way towards the start line at the Olympic Park, things were relatively calm – light winds and dry – everyone in high spirits. We (me, Ludwig and Jon) assembled at the start line for our 6:08 start. 

We rolled across the line as they played Eye of the Tiger, and weaved our way through the Olympic Park onto the A12 (some unlucky riders already suffering punctures at that stage).

We got into a fast group and bombed past Canary Wharf, skimmed the Tower of London and through the City at an average 40 kph.

We continued at a fast but comfortable pace, past Harrods and the V&A (no time to stop at either) and out towards Hammersmith and Chiswick. Rain jackets stowed in our jerseys, we ignored the slight drizzle as we crossed the river and burned through familiar territory of Richmond Park (no rutting stags today but there was some jostling for position as we hit the first incline of the day…)

The rain grew heavier as we wound our way through South West London, past West Byfleet (where the Westens/Austen-Browns hadn’t made it out of bed to cheer us as we went past their front door…). There was a good vibe in the group as we formed alliances with groups of club riders, solos, a couple of flyers on a tandem – even a nutter spinning furiously on a Brompton!

As we got into the Surrey Hills the conditions became increasingly treacherous – steady rain and greasy, leaf-covered roads made it feel like Autumn and the descents and corners more and more technical. There were a couple of nasty looking crashes but we managed to stay out of trouble as we climbed Newlands Corner and headed toward Leith Hill.

Leith was the first real test of the day. Important to find a clean stretch of road and maintain momentum up the max 15% gradient – no personal bests today…

At the top of Leith I put my rain jacket back on – by now my light aero jersey was dripping wet, shoes and socks soaked through and glasses misted up making it hard to see; I was beginning to regret not paying proper attention to the forecast…

I got colder and colder as I descended, arms and legs shaking and I realised I was using all my energy just to stay warm. 60 miles in and 40 to go, I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish, and chances of a crash increasing.

That prompted an unscheduled pit-stop in the St John’s Ambulance tent at Westcott. My temperature had dropped to 33.5 (hypothermic) and was shaking uncontrollably. I spent 30 mins wrapped in blankets and plied with hot tea by the wonderful ladies at St John’s Ambulance. There were 4 others in there when I arrived – all suffering from hypothermia – 2 of those got the blood-wagon back to the start line. I went back out on the road, still shivering but determined to finish. I spotted a bike shop in Westcott Village where I bought a baselayer in their sale (“best £20 I ever spent”) – without which I don’t think I’d have made it to the finish line.

The pit-stop had done me good and core temperature almost back to normal, I managed to launch an attack on Box Hill, with a respectable 8:29 for the ascent.

I stopped at the feed station and from here it was (mostly) downhill back to London, forming small alliances to get some respite from the wind.

30 miles / 50 kms through home turf – Leatherhead, Oxshott, Esher, past huge crowds of supporters in Kingston, drummers in Raynes Park and up the final hill in Wimbledon. Now one of my favourite sections – bombing down through Putney at 60 clicks, over the River and into Fulham and Chelsea.

(Again we managed to stay out of trouble but saw a big prang as one rider locked-up on the Putney descent and skimmed 20 yards across the asphalt, taking another rider with him, shattered carbon littering the road).

It was getting increasingly bunched as marshals stopped us to let traffic through (downside of my unscheduled stop) but by the time we hit the Embankment we were running smoothly – trying to keep cramp out of my legs as we hit the 95 mile mark. We rolled in past the Houses of Parliament, along Whitehall past throngs of supporters and bemused tourists. At Trafalgar Square we turned left under Admiralty Arch and onto the Mall – spectators lining the road – Buckingham Palace and the finish line beyond.

I can’t say that we broke any records today but there was a palpable sense of achievement all round.

Importantly, Jon and Lud I were raising funds for *Spread a Smile* and knowing we’d raised thousands of pounds for good causes provided added incentive up the steeper climbs.

Back in Clapham, a warm shower (bliss!) a huge roast lunch and then a few pints (Rumours of “flossing” on the Northcote Road and a blow-out at Nandos afterwards are unfounded.. )

A huge thanks again to everyone for their support & sponsorship.

Craig

There’s still time to sponsor Craig & help spread smiles. 

*****

And for anyone considering taking part next year, we still have a few guaranteed places available in Team Spread a Smile. Please click here to complete the registration form. 

We welcomed Louisa Johnson last week to spread smiles, laughter and excitement to patients and staff alike at University College Hospital.

News that Louisa, who won X-Factor in 2015 aged just 17, had reached the young people at UCLH even before Louisa had arrived, so there were lots of very excited, eager faces awaiting our guest.

Louisa lit up the hospital and created smiles wherever she went within the hospital, as she excitedly chatted, sang, took part in many a magic trick and delighted the faces of many patients, staff and parents too.

One particular patient, Erinna, was feeling especially tired and unwell before our visit and unfortunately has felt this way for quite some time. As we left her bedside, Erinna said “Louisa and Spread a Smile have really cheered me up today. Thank you so much.”

We at Spread a Smile are so greateful to Louisa Johnson for being so generous with her time, her love and care, and are so thrilled that she “spread so many smiles” for so many well deserving children.

Volunteers are at the heart of what we do at Spread a Smile and we couldn’t function without them. During Volunteers Week, we are profiling some of our incredible volunteers and we’re starting with the lovely Suzy…

Suzy Hilton, an interior designer, is also a volunteer for Spread a Smile. Suzy manages a monthly visit to University College Hospital and oversees groups of Spread a Smile entertainers at Great Ormond Street Hospital. We caught up with Suzy to ask what motivates her to continue volunteering for Spread a Smile. She said “I absolutely love the visits to the hospitals. It feels so rewarding to be a part of the Spread a Smile team. The sense of fulfillment and joy to see the smiles and hear the laughter we create is one that you can’t really put into words and every single visit I leave knowing we have made such a huge difference to the amazingly inspirational children and teenagers we visit. I love the fact that for visiting family members and loved ones, we have left them with happy memories of what would otherwise be a dreary hospital day. We often see them joining in, singing along, sometimes even dancing too and these are happy memories they can cherish for always.

“Spread a Smile has become such a huge part of my life and I look forward to every visit. The resilience and bravery we see, week in, week out inspires me.”

“The visits we make are invaluable! The Spread a Smile team itself is like an extended family. We all work together to create happy moments for every patient we visit.”

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I’m really proud to say that we now make 20 visits every month at five London hospitals, spreading smiles to over 5,000 seriously and terminally ill young people in hospital every year. We also organise regular VIP outings for young people and their families. We couldn’t do any of this without your support, so please take a moment today to opt-in.