All good things must come to an end…

Hello,

I had originally intended to write this final blog post just a few weeks after submitting my previous post. As its been nearly four months since my previous blog post, things didn’t quite go to plan. This is mostly due to the fact that Siobhan and I moved into our new flat at the end of July and more recently, Siobhan has started her University degree. Although both of these events have been incredibly time consuming, the main reason why this final blog post has been long forthcoming is because its taken me a while to find the resolve to finally bring our Welsh 3000s Challenge to an end.

It is with a great sense of achievement that we are delighted to reveal that through our Welsh 3000s Challenge attempt in memory of my uncle, Stanley Keyte, we have managed to raise £3,030.90 for Cancer Research UK. This sum includes a donation by my auntie, Beryl Keyte, who kindly matched our final total donations sum of £1,515,45. Siobhan and I are incredibly grateful to not only my aunt Beryl’s generosity, but also the generosity and support that everyone has contributed to our Welsh 3000s Challenge.

Although it is not linked to our Welsh 3000s Challenge, Siobhan and I recently visited Snowdonia with a group of friends to ascend Snowdon via the Pyg Track. This trip was the first time that many of our friends had been hillwalking and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Siobhan and I enjoyed this trip for our own reason, it was the first time in a while that we had gone hillwalking simply to enjoy ourselves and not to train for our Welsh 3000s Challenge attempt. Its very likely that we’ll be returning with the same group of friends at some point next year to tackle Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach.

Its seems a bit odd writing this, but I have continuously forgotten to mention that my earliest and fondest memory of uncle Stan was when he visited Fareham with auntie Beryl in the early nineties. I remember somehow managing to coax him into playing a game of toy soldiers, which I lost, but remember little else about the visit. That vague childhood memory has always come to the fore of my thoughts whenever my uncle Stan’s name has been mentioned since he passed away earlier this year. Although I am no longer the little boy that lost a game of toy soldiers to his uncle, I am happy in the knowledge that I am instead the young man that attempted to climb fifteen mountains in memory of his uncle.

This was all for you.

Many thanks for reading,

Simon.