Many years ago I worked with a young woman who had more life
and energy for sport than anyone I have ever met. Fiona is much younger than me
but was happy to play me at squash. She was a tough opponent, her strength was phenomenal. We also played in the company five a-side
football team together. Somehow I always ended up on the opposite side to Fiona
and was terrified of her punishing tackles.
She persuaded the company owner to let me use his personal gym where
Fiona and I would train together. She taught me how to use weights correctly
and often we would meet at the gym at 6.00am and cycle miles through Fife
countryside before work. I thought she was invincible. We lost touch when I changed jobs and then
picked up contact again through Facebook.
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| The CR Smith Football Team 1996 |
On the surface she was fine. Then I discovered
through a mutual friend that she had been battling a brain tumour for years.
All the fight and energy she used on the sports arena was now being channelled
to keep her alive. Despite her illness Fiona is still the same funny, bubbly person she was during the gym years. She has one of the most infectious laughs I've ever heard.
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| Fiona ans I helped to raise £1000 for CHAS on behalf of CR Smith |
During one recent communication with Fiona I became very
frustrated. I wanted to do something - anything to help her. I remembered her
posting about wearing a grey hat for Brain Tumour Research. That afternoon in
November 2015 I started to knit hats. I haven’t stopped since.
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| WIP hats |
I decided I would ask people to sponsor me to knit fifty hats
before the end of June this year. I'll be posting regular updates of #Hattastic Big Knit on this blog as well as pictures of the hats as they grow and details of how to purchase a hat.
https://www.justgiving.com/moira-mcpartlin1/
This Just Giving Page is for sponsorship only due to Gift
Aid rules. I set it up because I realised that the challenge itself is worth sponsorship and not everyone suits a hat - I don't!
To date I've knitted thirteen hats, in six different styles. I've sold three. This amounts to a total 42482 stitches knitted using 1092 grams of wool. And not a fur pompom in sight!
‘Brain tumours kill more children
and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer… yet just 1% of the
national spend on cancer research is allocated to this devastating disease.’
BTR
On the 24th March 2016
Brain Tumour Research hold their ‘Wear a hat for a Day’ event. Do you need a
hat?
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| Willing hat models |
The Passport to Freedom is Truth
