Second Gig Of The Week, Passed 10% of My Fundraising Target Already

Jonathan Introduces Me To His Group

Where Shall I Start?

Getting Into My Stride, So To Speak

It's All In The Book, Folks!

The second gig this week was at the Holistic Centre for Cancer Patients at James Cook Hospital in Middlesborough. 

Jonathan Taylor had invited me to speak. Jonathan is currently in remission from a particularly severe type of lymphoma. This has stopped him working as a builder but he has not been idle. He has formed a support group for lymphoma sufferers in the area and it was this group to which I was speaking. I was very impressed by the positive outlook and refusal to be sidelined which they all exhibited. 

I got a real feeling that they all enjoyed my talk, and Jonathan sent me this message after the meeting -
 "Just catching up with things today. Can I say a massive thank you to you and Gay for your fantastic talk last night, I've had some great feedback today from the people there say how good it was and what an inspiration you are to everyone, which you are. I really enjoyed it thank you, and I'm looking forward to reading your books ;-)

It was great to meet you in person finally, please stay in-touch and next time your in Darlington we'll meet up for coffee or lunch my friend."

As I mentioned, Jonathan's illness has stopped him working, but he has taken the opportunity to fulfil one of his ambitions by writing a science fiction book - The Forgotten Mission - The Return (1) -  which is doing very well.  You can find the Kindle or paperback  versions here on Amazon. 

My First Probus Talk -Good Proceeds to Pancreatic Cancer UK

I had never heard of Probus clubs 3 months ago. When Basil Strickland heard I was going to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK by speaking to clubs and groups, he told me about Probus and suggested I should make contact with them.

I did, only to find out that, although there are lots of branches of Probus (for retired business and professional people) and although they have regular speakers at their meetings, they tend to book their speakers up a year or more in advance.

I made it clear that mine is a long-term project and I would be very happy to speak to any club in a year's time but that I could step in at short notice to replace any speakers who fell by the wayside through accident, injury or illness, or for any other reason.

This paid off and today I spoke to my first Probus Club, in Sandbach, at a week's notice. It was a pleasure to meet them all and I raised well over £100 including sales of autographed copies of my books and the speaker's fee, which at my request they paid direct into my fundraising page, which is, by the way:

https://www.justgiving.com/Vic-Heaney2

I know you have suggestions for talk or signing venues. No matter how crazy, let me know. I will talk to anybody. Or, if you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or to contact me 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
Or on Facebook:
Vic Talks The Walk for Pancreatic Cancer UK

Gig At Short Notice? Vic's Your Man

Sandbach

I have spent a lot of time in the past couple of months marketing this concept - that I go to a club or other gathering and do an illustrated talk about Vic's Big Walk, then ideally sell autographed copies of my book about the walk, or indeed any other of my books, to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK. One of the problems is that most of the clubs which take regular speakers plan and book more than a year in advance.

But all that hard work is paying off now. For instance, I know that one of Sturday evening's audience at JPs Coffee House in Lytham has been back into JPs to get my contact details for a local club.

And this morning, while we were in the car coming back from St Annes, I had a call from Sandbach Probus Club, asking me to stand in at short notice, next Tuesday, for their planned speaker who has had an accident. Of course I accepted and it will be back to Cheshire for the day, only a few miles from Middlewich, where I lived for a while.

Success In First Two UK Fundraising Gigs

Just had a great first weekend of UK gigs to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

First a 4-hour book signing at the Lytham Methodist Church table-top sale. That was Saturday morning. The same evening, a talk, followed by book signing, at JPs cafe in Lytham.

Total raised was over £200. With promised online donations, that could rise to £300. With a donation of €100 earlier in the week, we could be talking £400 for the week. Not a bad haul and, as I frequently tell people, their contribution could be the final push which funds the long-awaited breakthrough for a pancreatic cancer cure.

Also, I now have another gig booked, in April, at the same JPs cafe.

I also received approaches about presenting my talk to 3 more organisations.

I am indebted to Peter Labrow of Labrow Marketing for finding time in his busy schedule to design the above logo for me. You can find Peter here:

labrow.com

I know you have suggestions for talk or signing venues. No matter how crazy, let me know. I will talk to anybody. Or, if you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or to contact me 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
Or on Facebook:
Vic Talks The Walk for Pancreatic Cancer UK

Probus Coming Good

I have to admit that,I had never heard of Probus until recently. Not until my good friend Basil Strickland pointed me in the right direction and told me they would be a good target for my fund-raising talks about Vic's Big Walk.

Probus clubs are for retired or semi-retired business or professional people who, in retirement, appreciate and value opportunities to meet others in similar circumstances and with similar interests.

I am such a retired business person so I am surprised that I did not know of them before. It seems they started in 1965 so maybe I can blame the fact that I have lived overseas for much of that period.

Anyway, as soon as Basil told me about Probus, I included them in my marketing program. I found that they have regular meetings, once or twice a month, and that they frequently have a guest speaker at the meetings. So far, so good. Then I discovered that the Probus clubs I was contacting, like the WI, frequently have their speaker program mapped out for more than a year in advance. 

This was a little disheartening, but I plugged on. Not only is mine a  long-term project, having set my fundraising targets for my 80th birthday in 2020, but I began to emphasise that I can do my talk at the drop of a hat. As we all know, stuff happens, and speakers can fall by the wayside or be unavailable at equally short notice. 

On that basis I have had a good response from some of the clubs and made a bit of a breakthrough this week. One of the clubs I approached now wants to talk to me in detail about my talk, And another Probus club, which I had not even contacted, rang me and arranged a talk on the spot, for March. 

I know you have suggestions for talk or signing venues. No matter how crazy, let me know. I will talk to anybody. Or, if you want a signed copy of one of my books in return for a donation, or to contact me 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

I Write Books To Save Lives

Wanted - Vic Heaney

And his books

I feel like a bandit in the Old West, confronted by wanted posters wherever he turned. But in my case it is nice to feel wanted.

There are more than 20 of these posters in the Lytham St Annes Area and those pictured are just those advertising my book signing stint at the Methodist Church Table-Top Sale on January 31st (0900 to 1300). There are also posters advertising my evening gig on the same day at JPs cafe in Lytham, at which I will be talking about my Big Walk project and the book about that.

I will be emphasising at these and subsequent events that the reason for my activities, and for writing the books, is to raise funds which will hopefully help to find a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and also to raise awareness of what a scourge it is. It is one of the biggest cancer killers, but a very poor relation when it comes to receiving public funds.

And why is the survival rate just 4% in Britain when it is 6% in USA and Australia?

Giving It Up For January? Think of those who will not be alive when you open your first bottle on February 1st

You could save other lives beside your own.

This seems to be a growing trend - giving up booze or something else for January. Whether this is to help lose weight, to "detox" or just to help yourself feel good, it is probably no bad thing. Not sure the breweries will agree with that, though.

Another trend which is running in parallel with this abstention is to put aside or calculate the money saved, and donate it to a worthy cause.

Guessed what I am going to say next? Got it in one! The objective of the "Vic Talks The Walk" project is to raise funds for sufferers from pancreatic cancer. Mainly through my own efforts, writing and selling books of which proceeds go to the cause; addressing clubs, coffee mornings, et cetera about my mammoth walk, sitting in at "table top sales", again with the intention of selling personally signed copies of the books, dedicated to the buyer or his/her designated recipient.

But I will not turn up my nose at direct donations.

If you are giving up booze or anything else for January, consider this. After you take that decision on January 1st, there will be people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, who will not be alive when you open your first bottle on February 1st. 

There has been no progress in the diagnosis or treatment of pancreatic cancer in the past 40 years. Progress can only come from research funded by people like us. At some stage, one donation will make the difference, will fund the longed-for breakthrough. That donation could come from you.

If it comes from savings made during your alcohol-free January, it will not have cost you a penny. It will save lives for evermore. And you yourself will be healthier than at the start of the year.

It's a win-win, isn't it?

Please pour your booze money into the "sponsor me" button at the top right of this page.