h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So what charities do you work with? I work with a few myself.

As a Freemason, I work on many charities. We have a trout and fly fishing for disabled children club. Even the blind kids, just to see their expressions when they catch a fish is fantastic.Just recently we supplied mobility carts to a local shopping centre for disabled people to use while going around the shopping mall. We are supplying a local window's fund with cash. Various other bits and peices though, as well. Being disabled myself I was helping the local hypermarkets with campainging for the disable parking spaces.
Yourself?

Sounds like you've great fun doing all that stuff. While I'm not sure where you're from, here in UK,. I think there are laws about providing disabled parking spaces. Most supermarkets and car parks would have them. Hopefully you'll be able to say the same soon.

Well I'm involve with a group that provides social events for local kids with special needs. A night generally includes things like dancing, kareoke, supper, an epilogue, games, that sort of thing. We do special events too, like at Christmas we took them to the local theatre to see the nativity, and we've taken them bowling and for coffee. We're planning a sponsored walk with ice-cream in June too.

I think the children would like the ice cram walk.

I think they will too. Went out earlier to walk the route we're hopping to take. It'll be along the coastal path in a nearby town. I just hope none of them decide to go for a swim.

Yup so do I.

We helped fund a life boat, but even so I hope they don';t have to put it to use while your walks are on

One of our members wife and her daughter were involved in a sponsered run wearing bras outside their blouses in aid of breast cancer just recently. Unfortunately I missed the event.

Interesting idea. Underwear over the clothes....must remember that one. Can't imagine many people I know taking to it.

I'm told it was very well attended and that they raised a large amnount of money.

A friend's wife has MS, while carrying out research into this I discovered how little is done for them. Cancer and Heart foundations seem to be very up front, but not many people seem to know anything about the MS charities and foundations which exist and have to compete for help.

Good point. Everyone's heard of cancer and heart charities, but I can't even think of the name of one that's into MS research or anything. I know they're out there, just maybe not as well known.

Another problem is that different regions treat it differently. In some areas certain drugs are made availible and not in other regions.It's really weird.

I've heard about that sort of thing on the news. Think it said that closer to London, certain effective drugs were more available on the NHS, but further away, they weren't as easily available or not at all.

How unfair is that?

She lives in Kent and just a ile or so in the other direction and she'd get the better drugs.

Are you involved in anything at the moment?

Just a mile or so? That almost makes it worse!

Well I'm not involved in anything quite along the lines of medical related charties. More social orientated stuff. Like I volunteer with a local youth organisation that holds events on Saturday nights, loike band nights or party nights, as a way of providing something for young people to go to instead of the local nightclubs, where they're underage.

Im used to help ouy at a local youth club which met Saturday mornings so parents could do shopping or have a lie in and so on. They had their own committee which held meetings and decided the rules. If there was any trouble, a fight or what ever the committe would meet to solve the problems themselves. We had a pool team, of which one of our boys, Jason Jones, became the English youth champion. We tried to start a darts team but for some unknown reason this is known as a pub sport and so we were not allowed to form a team and hold games(?) You go figure, huh? Pool they can play, but darts no. I'd have thought pool was more of a pub sport. For a while I helped out at a local boy scouts troop. As I'd been to Kenya they were very interested in what Baden-Powells house was like and so on.I took their scarf had had it exhibited in Paxtu, which was Baden-Powells cottage. They are very proud that their scarf is there.

Yeah, I'd thought pool was a pub game too. If they'd have said no to dart for health and safety you could understand more, but the pub thing's a bit weird.

That's impressive about going to Baden-Powell's cottage. I'd love to do something like that. Just been to Guide/Scout camps and stuff like that. Not quite the same.

The cottage is at a place called Treetops. It is a bulding on stilts over a waterhole where the animals come to feed. Queen Elizabeth was there with Baden-Powell when she was given the news that she was now Queen.

Oh, wow. The cottage has a lot of history then.

Today we are taking disabled children fly and trout fishing. Well I'm not, I have to work. But a gang have gone to Syon Park near London and they usually have a good day.

That sounds like fun. You have to be prepared to get soaked though.

To see the expressions on their faces is wonderful and getting wet is all part of the fun for them. Even the blind ones. They love holding and feeling the fish in their hands.