Tell us a story...

This blog is by Tanya, Melitta's younger sister. Tanya and her husband, Julian, joined for the first leg, from Seaford to Brighton. That was a long one. And a good one! I've added a picture of Tanya at the bottom of the post...

Laura and Jo listening to a 1920s story of a brave woman who would not be defeated...

I first met Laurence over 30 years ago and he became my brother-in-law on a blissfully hot day, forever etched in my memory, in July 1989 (32 degrees Celsius in the shade, I kid you not). Time passed all too quickly; children were born and became adults and we lost Melitta far, far too early. Her memory lives on in all of us who were blessed to have known her and Laurence's aim to prevent more untimely deaths from cervical cancer is a fitting tribute to her.

Melitta's choice of Laurence as her lifelong partner may have been, in part, due to one charming element of his character, that he is a great storyteller. As a result, Laurence is a great person to walk with. Well, he is, as long as you enjoy a story, and Laurence is always full of great stories.

So it was no surprise to me when, having joined him on his first walk of his 3500 mile adventure that, a mile or so into the 13 mile walk from Seaford to Brighton and half way up a climb, Laurence stopped to deliver his first story of the day, a true tale of female determination. I won't share the story here, but you can tell it's a good one from the looks on Jo and Laura's faces. Now, not only does a good storyteller tell good stories, a really good storyteller is also always keen to listen to others regale their adventures, partly of course to hear them but also to pass the best ones on, so that they are not lost to posterity. And thus later on in the walk

Laurence had to take his hat off in order to concentrate on listening to Julian telling him about the one that got away ...

Julian telling a story, near Peacehaven

So to conclude this short epistle, akin to the great traditions of Homer and Virgil, Laurence is now creating his own epic journey and I do recommend you trying to find the time to join him on at least one part of it, and listen to his tales and share some of your own.

Trust me, you won't be disappointed.