Alzheimer's fundraiser, 80, wants to collect £76k on 1,200-mile walk
An intrepid 80-year-old is walking from John O'Groats to Land's End to raise money and awareness of Alzheimer's after his wife died from it.David Ensor, who lives in Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, started his 1,200-mile (1,931km) trek on Tuesday and plans to finish it at the end of June.His late wife Susan, a former primary school teacher, died three-and-a-half years ago after suffering with the illness.Mr Ensor has previously raised about £20,000 for Alzheimer's Research UK but hopes to smash that by raising £76,000 over the coming months.
"I totally understand that this will not be easy, not least because at my age my physicality is not that of a 21-year-old and also because the terrain that I am going to walk over is challenging in itself," he said."Mix that with the British weather and we have a cocktail of improbability."Alzheimer's Research UK said 982,000 people are estimated to be living with dementia across the country and it was the leading cause of death in 2022, accounting for over 74,000 deaths.
The Ensors lived in Parbold, West Lancashire, for over 50 years and moved to Oxfordshire to be closer to family.They had initially known each other as childhood friends, living close to each other in Rainhill, Merseyside, but were reunited at Mr Ensor's sister's 21st birthday party.They married in 1969 and had two sons."It's my lifetime's ambition to raise as much as I can do fund the scientists who are developing medications and eventually, we hope, a cure for these terrible diseases," Mr Ensor added.He has undertaken similar challenges, albeit not on the same scale.In September 2022, he hiked 500 miles (805km) from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in south-west France to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, raising about £15,000 for charity.And in September 2023, Mr Ensor set himself the challenge of hiking 34 miles (55km) around Lake Windermere in under 12 hours. He just managed to complete that, finishing in 11 hours and 54 minutes. His efforts raised about £4,500.He is documenting his progress on an online blog.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
NHS urges many people between 25 and 64 to put on key phone alert
Invitations to specific health examinations are now being issued through the NHS mobile app - here's what you need to know Certain Android and iPhone users aged 25 and 64 are encouraged to download the NHS app for important updates. This specifically regards women, trans people and anyone else with a cervix, which describes the neck of the uterus. This morning, the NHS issued a crucial alert about its mobile app on X, formerly Twitter. It stressed: "Cervical screening invitations are now being sent through the NHS App for women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64. "One - Download the NHS App. Two - Turn on notifications. Three - Book and attend your appointment, when invited." Cervical screenings, commonly called smear tests, are conducted to assess the health of the cervix and aid in preventing cancer. Generally, the examination takes around five minutes and involves undressing from the waist down before lying on a bed. A nurse will then insert a tube-shaped speculum into the vagina and expand it to visualise the cervix, from which cell samples will be collected using a small brush. Medical professionals are particularly interested in types of 'human papillomavirus (HPV)', a widespread group of viruses that may lead to changes in the cervix. HPV spreads through multiple means, including sexual activity, skin-to-skin contact in the genital area, and sharing sex toys. Although the body can eliminate HPV without difficulty, certain types may persist for an extended period. In severe instances, high-risk HPV types could lead to genital warts or cervical cancer. "Cervical screening checks the health of your cervix and helps find any abnormal changes before they can turn into cancer," further NHS guidance explains. "It's not a test for cancer, it's a test to help prevent cancer. Cervical screening checks a sample of cells from your cervix for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). "These types of HPV can cause abnormal changes to the cells in your cervix and are called 'high risk' types of HPV. If high-risk types of HPV are found during screening, the sample of cells is also checked for abnormal cell changes. If abnormal cells are found, they can be treated so they do not get a chance to turn into cervical cancer." While 25 to 49-year-olds are typically invited to take a screening every three years, 50 to 64-year-olds are invited every five years. Anyone aged 65 or above may be asked if a recent examination was abnormal. Invitations are sent through the NHS app, as well as via text or mail. Am I at risk of cervical cancer? People with a cervix might be at risk of cervical cancer if they have engaged in 'any kind of sexual contact'. This includes: Vaginal, oral or anal sex Any skin-to-skin contact with the genital area Sharing sex toys This also applies in the following cases: You have only ever had one sexual partner, or you've had the same partner for a long time You are lesbian or bisexual You are a trans man with a cervix You have received the HPV vaccine You have undergone a partial hysterectomy that did not remove all of your cervix
Evening Standard
4 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Tory defects to Reform UK on flagship London council as Nigel Farage eyes political gains across the capital
Born at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, she added: 'Again, I grew up here, I never felt that. I can say that as a woman, I can say that as a Muslim, we have certain communities in this country that have totally destroyed the image of British Muslims. And that makes me very, very angry. And I want to defend British values and British rights.'
Rhyl Journal
5 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Ministers urged to provide more graduate training slots for UK medical students
Dr Peter Prinsley, a retired ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who was elected for Labour last year, said thousands of British medicine graduates were missing out on doing further training every year because of a lack of places combined with the pressures from international medical graduates in the NHS. The British Medical Association has said about 20,000 applicants will miss out this year, if the number of available posts are the same. It added that according to the latest figures, there were 4.7 applications per post. The MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket said it had led to graduates moving abroad to do further study who sometimes do not return. He added there should be reserved spaces for UK graduates to be able to specialise and do further study. Dr Prinsley told the PA news agency: 'The problem is that we've got a distorted competition ratio for the professional training slots. 'It should be a reasonable expectation that if you graduate from the UK medical school, you should have a reasonable chance of getting into higher professional training. 'There should be some competition. It shouldn't just be that you automatically progress with no effort, there should be a bit of competition, but the competition ratios have been hugely distorted by the requirement of the hospitals to provide junior doctors to staff their rotas.' It comes as Wes Streeting said UK medical graduates will be given priority for NHS jobs under the upcoming 10-year health plan. The Health Secretary told medical website on Thursday: 'I want to make sure that if you go through your medical training here in the UK, that you're able to work in the UK.' Mr Streeting added it was 'completely bonkers' to invest in training doctors but not ensure they can stay in the UK to work. The latest figures from the BMA showed there were 33,108 medical graduates applying for around 13,000 posts. This includes 12,305 UK graduates and 20,803 from overseas. The number of international medical graduates has doubled in two years, the figures show, while the UK ones have only risen by a third. The sharp rise in the number of international medical graduates has been down to the increased demand for doctors in the NHS to fill hospital vacancies. In 2023 more than two-thirds of new doctors (68%) joining the NHS were non-UK graduates, up from 47% in 2017. In a statement, the Department for Health and Social Care said the Government should not be 'over-reliant' on overseas recruitment. Doctors can go on to do further training after two foundation years in the NHS. If they apply and miss out on further study, they then move on to so-called foundation three status, where they can work as locums and apply for jobs within individual trusts. Some, however, opt to move abroad to work or study. The number doing another foundation year has risen in recent years. In its latest workforce report, the General Medical Council said the number of doctors not going into speciality training had grown and was a 'sizeable' part of the workforce. Dr Prinsley said he believes priority should be given to UK graduates and physician associates – who have less training – could be used to fill some of the roles taken up by overseas recruits. He said: 'The change that we need is not very difficult. We just need to make a situation in which we prioritise the UK training slots for the UK medical graduates. If we've got any slots we can't recruit to, then, of course, we extend it.' He added: 'The problem has two solutions. We need less international medical graduates being recruited by the hospitals. We need to find an alternative way of staffing the rotas to run the hospitals. 'There's a sort of golden mean, which would allow us to sort out the ratios of international medical graduates to British graduates, and also provide a meaningful role for these graduates as physician associates.' The British Medical Association will discuss the issue at its annual conference in Liverpool on Monday. In a motion put forward by members in the East Midlands, it asks the Government to 'significantly increase the number of training posts available for resident doctors'. It echoes a similar call by the Royal College of Physicians, who wrote in February 'UK graduates must be supported and enabled to enter postgraduate training schemes to continue their training in the NHS'. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We are committed to building home-grown talent and ensuring UK medical graduates can find work in Britain – our 10 year health plan will tackle bottlenecks in the system. 'Internationally-trained staff remain an important part of the workforce but we should not be over reliant on overseas recruitment.'
