Divers used to be a fairly sedentary bunch. Heavy exercise meant carrying 2 pints of bitter and a meat pie from the bar to a table and was only to be attempted if you couldn’t find a waiter to carry it for you. Your average diver would make Father Christmas look anorexic, and would get out of breath climbing up the ladder on the dive boat, even without his dive gear on.
With that in mind, I’m a bit worried that some of our members are not real divers. Not for them the real diver’s beer belly. Instead they are fit and lean like greyhounds, albeit with a lot less hair. Not for them the real diver’s pursuits of propping up the bar until the small hours. No, they spend their small hours hiking over mountains and running along catchwaters. What inspires this enthusiasm for vast quantities of exercise and pointless sporting activity? I can only assume that they are going through a particulary serious mid-life crisis. This mid-life crisis has culminated in them planning to walk 100km for charity on 20th November as part of Trailwalker 2009.
And who are these pseudo-greyhounds? Our very own Andy Eastwood, Andy Niven and Rob Christie. And Mike.
Their team name is South China Diving Club, although in view of their emotional state and their physiques, a more appropriate team name might be The Mid-Life Whippets. And Mike.
Here’s a few words from the Chief Whippet about how we can help…
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Hello SCDC,
We are pleased to announce that (for the first time ever!) a South China Diving Club team has been assembled to compete in the Oxfam Trailwalker Charity Walk across Hong Kong territory on November 14th.
Each year Oxfam organizes the Traliwalker event to raise funds for the needy and impoverished. Teams of 4 walkers join together to show their support and raise funds by hiking 100 km (62 mi) across the territory.
We are asking all of you to please consider making a pledge to the SCDC team and donate to Oxfam. This year’s donations will go towards helping impoverished communities in Asia combat the impact of climate change on their environment.
You can make a pledge by visiting the link below and clicking on the ‘Sponsor Us Now’ button:
https://admin.oxfamtrailwalker.org.hk/en/registration/teamDetail.html?teamId=200954238
Thank you very much for your consideration, and we look forward to telling you all about this challenging event once we have finished!
Best regards,
- Rob Christie
- Andy Eastwood
- Andy Niven &
- Mickey ‘Big Ears’ Belshaw
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This year, the fund raising will go to benefit the following:
- Helping poverty stricken areas of western China to adapt to extreme weather changes with eco-friendly programs to introduce solar stoves and produce biogas from livestock waste.
- Reduce vulnerability to severe flooding in Bihar state of India through training and skill development with the local community, such as how to create makeshift floatation devices and lifejackets.
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Notes about Trailwalker (Hong Kong):
+ Teams have up to 48 hours to complete the challenge. Our team is targeting to complete within 24 hours.
+ Despite its dense city, Hong Kong territory is mostly country parks with spectacular mountains and sweeping views of the ocean.
+ Trailwalker starts at the eastern most point in the territory and finishes on the far western side of the peninsula.
+ All proceeds go directly to Oxfam; the race participants receive no funding from the donation (and walk away with only sore legs!)
+ Hong Kong residents will receive a receipt for tax filing. Apologies, but if you are not a Hong Kong resident your donation is not tax deductible.
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So please give generously and support our team. It’s for a good cause, it’s tax deductible, and it’s a small price to pay to see the pain these guys will be going through. (Large donors may be given the opportunity to prod their blisters).
To conclude, I’d just like to say Good Luck to The Mid-Life Whippets. And Mike.
