An Update :-)
Dear Friends,
We thought it would be timely to give you an update on Jonathan and the Warren redevelopment. Apologies for the delay in sharing this, life has been rather busy lately :-).
Fund raising
Thanks to your help, support and generosity, Jonathan has raised 12,580.78 (this includes Gift Aid and offline donations).
We could not be prouder of him - not just for the fund raising but also his outstanding effort and his 100% commitment all of the way.
At this point, the Scout Leaders have appointed an architect to draw up new plans because they’ve realised they will never be able to achieve the funds they wanted for the first plans (which would see the Warran transformed into a community hub).
They are also actively looking into employing a professional fund-raiser - as they, being volunteers with full-time jobs and families, simply do not have the time to do. Having the money Jonathan’s ride raised has given them a great foundtation and encouragement to work with and to build on.
Speaking candidly here, part of the problem with a charitable group like Scouts, is that you have to prove you have done your best before the higher management will permit you to seek an external help. Clearly it is in place as a safeguard but it can be an impediment too.
Why are you tired, dad??
While his dad needed a while to recover after the ride, Jonathan seemed more tired from the long train journey from Scotland than from the actual bike ride.
On the first weekend after coming back, we had the welcome home party, then after a week at school, Jonathan had a Scouts weekend where they did a 30 mile hike with a fully loaded back pack (it was a self-support, you only eat what you can carry hike; kind of like all-inclusive but with the kids carrying their own all-you-can-eat buffets).
Then following another week at school he went to another 2 night away Scouts camp, where on one night he was able to tick sleeping in a hammock outdoors off his bucket list. Yes, it was the end of September and, yes, it was in the UK so there was a drizzle but he did have his trusted fly over him :-).
It never gets easier, you just go faster
Unsurprisingly, LEJOG has given him a lot more confidence in his riding ability and he's made several requests to Brett to be allowed to do the school-home-school ride all by himself. When Brett refused (again) and followed him (again), Jonathan sped up leaving him good 200 meters behind.
The value of attending Scouts was also tested recently when Jonathan went to a local supermarket to pick up few things for his Scouts camp. While he was there, a woman in the express checkout area had an epileptic fit. Without batting an eyelid, Jonathan called 999 and requested ambulance assistance while the staff where trying to help the women. When he got through to the emergency help, he handed his phone over to the staff who talked with the ambulance. Thanks to Jonathan's quick thinking and fast action the ambulance was there in 10 minutes and they were able to help the woman without delay.
We are clearly very proud of Jonathan!
We also had an extra piece of coverage of J's efforts in The Ealing Times -
The Museum / Faith Restored
Another GREAT piece of news is that the first bike Brett had bought for the LEJOG ride and which was stolen only 5 days after, has been recovered!
Here’s the full story: The thief used it to get to the Science Museum, where he cut through another bike's lock, took that bike away, leaving J's bike with the cut lock, clearly intending to come back for the bike afterwards.
The owner of the stolen bike returned a few minutes after his bike was taken and alerted the staff at the Science Museum who checked the CCTV and managed to get the footage off the thief.
The staff at the Science Museum were amazing as they stepped out and brought Jonathan’s stolen bike into the Museum for safe keeping and reported it to the police. Jonathan has now retrieved his bike from the Science Museum and now he has two, very bright bikes. Most importantly, his confidence in the Police has been restored.
A lovely twist to this is that the Science Museum was Jonathan’s favourite museum when he was younger. We would go there at least 4 times a month, sometimes even more frequently. He even referred to it as ‘the Museum’. (For the record, we did take him to other museums but the dinosaurs just didn’t cut it for this one, but the Wright Flyer and the Energy Hall most definitely did.)
Rebuilding the Warren
So thanks again for your help, Jonathan is already planning his next adventures
Thank you once again for your help,
Alex & Brett