Phil vs Nature: Fundraising for Blood Cancer

There are endless inspiring quotes out there, and some are about nature and what it brings to our lives. One of my favourites is " Not all classrooms have four walls" .  "Nature" in a physical form can mean many different things. Wildlife, outdoors, the natural world, the universe. It could take the form of hilltops, mountains, cliffs, coastlines, lakes, forests, rivers, fields, even darkness and light. The nature reference in "Phil vs..." takes into account all of the above. The events will take me across a lot of mainland UK and I'll encounter many different types of terrain, and truly pit me "against nature", but i t will also be a personal journey of learning; what will be my own limitations, and when the going gets tough - because it will - how will I react to that? The events will be a challenge, and they'll truly put any of my life's difficulties into perspective. Alongside Kate's story, this has driven a d

Have you heard about the popular past time "Netflix and pills"? Whilst some 16 year olds would give up their stem cells for a week doing this, it's apparently not as fun as it sounds. My friend  Kate is one of life's good eggs. She's kind and selfless, and she's tough. She's an inspiration to many people really. Life can be cruel sometimes and Kate's had a bit of a rough time recently. While there lots of are cliched sayings about coping in the face of adversity, sometimes it's just "Netflix and pills" that gets you through to see in the next day, a lovely black humoured phrase from Kate and her friend. Sometimes, that's not enough and it's the love and support of people around you - including charities - that spur you on again. Hearing about the things that help Kate in her daily battle made me think carefully about where I can do my bit. While the scale of the fight is rather different in size, I'll be using