Local musician Guy Turner is swapping the choir stalls and the conductor’s podium for the open road next Summer when he walks over 1,000 miles for charity enroute from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Guy, who sings in the Cathedral Choir at Southwell Minster and is Conductor of Bingham Choral Society, will undertake this challenge between late July and early October. He will be mainly walking alone, although on some days friends will join him for short distances.
He will be meeting all the costs of the trip himself, and seeking sponsorship to raise money for four charities:
- Awards for Young Musicians – supporting talented young musicians from low-income families throughout the UK. (Guy’s daughters is AYM’s Operations and Communications Director.)
- Bingham and District Choral Society, a non-audition choir of 90 local voices.
- Framework, the Charity supporting homeless and vulnerable people throughout the East Midlands.
- Southwell Minster, specifically for the development of the Minster’s outdoor spaces in line with its role as an Eco-Cathedral
His initial target is to raise at total of £10,000, £2,500 for each charity, though he hopes that the final total will be a lot more. Sponsors will be able to choose which charity or charities they support.
When asked about this challenge Guy said, ‘I watch a lot of TV quizzes (and work for some of them as a question writer and checker) and the question master often asks ‘What would you do if you won the jackpot?’ One day I asked myself that question and straight away I realised I would like to walk Land’s End to John O’Groats. In fact, I found a reference in my 1971 diary to wanting to do this! Now is the time. Coupled with this desire is the opportunity to raise money for the Minster and Bingham Choral, as well as two other charities close to my heart. ‘
From January 27th (6 months before the walk starts) Guy will be putting updates about the project on his website, and you can find out more about his plans (and how to sponsor him) by clicking here. If you know anyone who might be able to provide accommodation along the way, the details of the route, and how to contact him, are already on the website.