Our Olympic stars are getting a lot of well-deserved coverage at the moment and their efforts are truly inspiring.  Whether winning medals or not, the amount of time, effort and dedication put into training for their chosen sports and competing on the world stage seems far beyond the experience of us ordinary mortals.

So now’s a good time to spare a thought for the unsung heroes of physical endeavour – the ones who put their energies into mind-blowing feats in order to raise funds for charity.

A couple of nights ago I went to a camping barn on the wilds of Shap Fell for a fantastic night of live music organised by a local enthusiast.  (I’ve written here before about my love of live music and how it brings people together – the government may think it came up with the Big Society idea but we’ve already got it, alive and well in the pubs, folk clubs and music venues of the Lakes).   Continue reading →