2015 Fundraising Off To A Flyer Start

I Know This Person!

We popped into the local supermarket this morning. This is Booths, a bit upmarket from your Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose.

I wasn't expecting to be taken by surprise there, although I was once a bit stunned to see the variety and number of types of vegetarian sausage they had on display (they have retreated a bit on that one, maybe people prefer the normal sausage, filled with doubtful mixtures which should not be enquired into).

On another occasion we were in the wine department, enquiring if they stock Rueda, a very nice Spanish white wine we had recently encountered. They did stock it, and we found this out from the "wine educator", who told us he had trained as a solicitor!

The surprise today was when I looked at the noticeboard which carries announcements of events ranging from theatre events to coffee mornings. I saw my own name staring out at me. Of course I knew the event was coming up and of course that it would be advertised. Lindsay is proving to be very efficient.

I know you have suggestions for talk or signing venues. No matter how crazy, let me know. I will talk to anybody. If you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or for any other reason, email me on:

victalksthewalk@gmail.com

Don't be shy. No venue is too small or too large. We have a disease to beat here.

If all other ideas fail you, why, you could just go to the "Donate" button on this page and send your money to the cause.

Follow me on Twitter:
@VicTalksTheWalk

On The Table Top

Picture courtesy of Cape Town Official Tourism Website

Remember a couple of weeks back when I floated the idea of possibly signing and selling my fundraising books at table top sales? Click HERE to see the post about that.

Well, I have now arranged my first such gig. This will be at the Methodist Church in Lytham. They have a table top sale which was postponed from yesterday to January 31st. Thanks to the incredibly helpful Lyndsay, I will now be occupying a prime position and will be available to talk about big walk project, my books, pancreatic cancer, and anything else which takes your fancy.

Come one, come all, let's get this ball rolling! I have a feeling this could be the start of something much bigger. Lyndsay, who I have yet to meet, sounds like somebody who could lead me to other such events. All for the cause of raising funds and awareness of the dreadful scourge which is pancreatic cancer.

I know you have suggestions for talk or signing venues. No matter how crazy, let me know. I will talk to anybody. If you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or for any other reason, email me on:

victalksthewalk@gmail.com

Don't be shy. No venue is too small or too large. We have a disease to beat here.

If all other ideas fail you, why, you could just go to the "Donate" button on this page and send your money to the cause.

Follow me on Twitter:
@VicTalksTheWalk

Another Gig And A Tale Of How A Scone Inspired Me To Walk 14,500 Kms For Pancreatic Cancer Research

There are scores of restaurants, cafes and coffee shops in Lytham, where we now live. JP's is the newest arrival. It has been open for about 6 weeks and has very quickly established an excellent reputation and a loyal clientele.

Deservedly so. The coffee is excellent - and different - almost all the cafes in the area sell the same type of coffee but JP's has selected, after considerable tasting and consideration, a different brand. The cakes are splendid and in great variety, attracting a great deal of attention and discussion from the customers. The lunches are eye-catching in their presentation, filling, and  excellent to the taste buds.

At the moment,JP's is open only during the day, but they have gained a licence and will shortly be serving during the evening. A series of themed evenings is planned to attract the discerning diners of Lytham and one of these will be built round a presentation by yours truly. I am not sure whether, being a themed evening, diners will be expected to turn up in their hiking or rambling gear. I don't mind what they wear, but I shall be telling them a very interesting tale of how a scone in New Zealand inspired me to walk 14,500 kms and launched me into a whole new career of fund-raising for pancreatic cancer research.

Today I also opened discussions with another coffee shop about me undertaking a slightly different fund-raising activity there. Watch this space.

I know you have suggestions for talk venues. No matter how crazy, let me know. I will talk to anybody. If you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or for any other reason, email me on:

victalksthewalk@gmail.com

Don't be shy. No venue is too small or too large. We have a disease to beat here.
Follow me on Twitter:
@VicTalksTheWalk

Keep It In The Family

In search of groups of people to pitch my talk to, I called in yesterday at a residential care hotel here in Lytham.

The manager was very interested but pointed out that so many of her residents suffer from dementia that it would be impossible to hold their attention for the duration of the 40-minute talk.

"But if you can sing," she said, "that is a different matter. They love to have a singalong.

Well, I don't sing, but my brother Christopher (not him in the photograph) is a professional singer and entertainer, performing as Chris White. So, nothing lost that is kept in the family, I put him in touch with the manageress and I hope he will be entertaining them soon.

If you have suggestions for talk venues, if you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or for any other reason, email me on:

victalksthewalk@gmail.com

Don't be shy. No venue is too small or too large. We have a disease to beat here.
Follow me on Twitter:
@VicTalksTheWalk

Am I Really Withdrawing My Books From Sale?

Vic's Big Walk is about my 14,500 kms walking project

Living In The Real Cyprus is about the 8 years we spent living there

Now here's a conundrum.

I am committed to writing at least one more book, probably two. All the proceeds from all my books go direct to pancreatic cancer research. I have just embarked on a project to raise more funds and sell more books by doing talks and presentations on a regular basis. So why would I withdraw my books from sale?

The e-versions of my books are selling very well on Amazon Kindle. They are also available in virtually every e-book version and seller known to man. A steady income is going to pancreatic cancer research from them.

The paperback version, available from Amazon and elsewhere, is not selling as many copies. I think this is fairly normal these days. The strange thing is that although the paperback version costs more, the profit from each copy is negligible and much less than each, cheaper, e-book.

The paperback copies I sell elsewhere, at presentations and elsewhere, are sold at an enhanced price because they are individually signed and dedicated to the buyer or to the person for whom they are intended (perhaps as a gift). And because I make it very clear that they are for an important cause and that therefore they include a donation. I have now decided to make the paperback versions available only through these direct sales. So they will no longer be available from Amazon or from bookstores.

If you have suggestions for talk venues, if you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or for any other reason, email me on:

victalksthewalk@gmail.com

Don't be shy. No venue is too small or too large. We have a disease to beat here.
Follow me on Twitter:
@VicTalksTheWalk

Sid and Sunrise Over The Delta

This was sunrise over the Ribble Delta this morning - picture taken from our balcony before we headed off to Chorley for a very interesting chat with Sid Calderbank.

Sid is a "Professional "Lancastrian". He makes his living by giving talks and singing songs in the old Lancashire dialect. Only a few days ago we saw Sid on TV, in "Country File" on BBC - an edition which specialised, as Sid obviously does, in Lancashire.

Sid is a sort of relative of our good friend Dale Heighway - the one person to walk a day with me in France during Vic's Big Walk. In fact this was the 44th day of the walk and the final one in France. We have kept in touch with Dale and Thérèse and we had a visit from them only last week, although they live in Normandy.

We had sought out Sid to pick his brains about how he goes about the business of getting gigs. And I have to say he was very helpful. He has given me some very good pointers and I am very grateful, as well as confident that I will now be able to get more fundraising "business".

If you have suggestions for talk venues, if you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or for any other reason, email me on:

victalksthewalk@gmail.com

Don't be shy. No venue is too small or too large. We have a disease to beat here.
Follow me on Twitter:
@VicTalksTheWalk

Progress

I have had a busy week. No more fundraising gigs to report, but several under discussion and several new contacts made. One thing I have found is that some organisations have speakers booked all the way through 2015. Not to worry, mine is a long-term project. I hope so anyway, as the culmination date is my 80th birthday and I am not ready for that yet.

One Wednesday evening Gay and I found ourselves staying overnight at the Holiday Inn in Ellesmere Port, so that we could attend a small gathering at the Jabula South African Restaurant, which is virtually next door, and also next door to the Inland Waterways Museum. All this is on the Manchester Ship Canal, which I sailed down in 1957, when it was still thriving.

Unfortunately the Museum was closed during the hours we were there, but the restaurant was open and was most excellent. Not our first experience of South African food as we have been twice to visit Gay's brother Tim in Cape Town. The food was at least as good as anything we have experienced in South Africa and were were assured by South Africans present that it was very authentic.

Click HERE for a link to the Jabula Website.

Not a totally wasted week. I sold a couple of books and had a couple of donations. So progress is being made.