Today was Stuart’s funeral. Due to lockdown, travelling distances, etc., it was the first time for ages some of us had met up, and we couldn’t possibly have envisaged it would be under such sad, desperate circumstances. We knew he had been ill, but I’m not sure most of us realised quite how ill until we heard he had been moved to palliative care a couple of months or so earlier. It was a moving occasion.
I mentioned in an earlier post that half a dozen or so of us had been discussing options for a get together and that Ian had been canvassing opinions about doing the WHW in 2022. Some were enthusiastic, others less so, knowing the effort that would be involved in getting fit. Having lost Stuart it just seemed that taking the plunge and walking for charity was the right thing to do. Getting together at the funeral was the catalyst that provided us with momentum.
It transpired that when Ian and Stuart had discussed the walk, Stuart, realising that he wouldn’t be able to join in, and probably also that he might not even be around, had suggested we walk as “Stu’s Band of Brothers”. That suggestion gave us a theme and a purpose.
Garry, Stuart’s brother and a keen hillwalker, was enthusiastic. He immediately agreed to join the group, and we set about spreading the word amongst other friends.
The ball was rolling…