“Fun Walk brings the hospice to the community and the community to the hospice”
For more than 30 years, Michael has been a familiar sight at St Christopher’s Fun Walk.
Whether dressed as Mickey Mouse, a parrot, a white rabbit or his much-loved wolf, he’s spent decades bringing smiles to walkers while helping raise vital funds for hospice care. Now aged 82, Michael has a connection to St Christopher’s that runs deeper than most. Not only was he one of the people who helped establish the first Fun Walk through his local Rotary Club, but years later he experienced first-hand the support St Christopher’s provides when his wife was cared for by the hospice.
“It’s been the best day of each year,” says Michael. “Even if I’d been on exciting holidays, the Fun Walk was always something special.”
The idea for the event was born in the late 1980s when Michael and fellow Rotarian David Stoneham attended a hospice charity walk in Tunbridge Wells. “We got lost,” Michael laughs. “Then we turned to one another and asked “Why don’t we do one of these ourselves?”. Back in Bromley, the pair set about organising a walk in support of St Christopher’s. Despite unkind weather, the first event was a remarkable success, raising £27,000 for the hospice. “It rained all day and everybody was soaked,” Michael remembers. “But we knew we’d done something worthwhile.”
The money raised helped fund patient transport vehicles for the hospice and marked the beginning of what would grow into one of St Christopher’s most loved annual fundraising events. Over the years, Michael became known for his elaborate costumes. Surprisingly, he says they were inspired by shyness rather than a desire to stand out. “I’m very shy. I don’t want to be identified with the walk. I’d rather be identified as the wolf.”
His wolf costume remains a favourite. Complete with a cooling fan fitted inside by Michael himself, it’s become a familiar sight for generations of walkers. “It’s very durable,” he says, with ‘air conditioning’ and even enough room for a sandwich if nobody’s looking.”
“While the costumes create plenty of fun, Michael believes the real magic of Fun Walk lies in the community spirit it creates.
“It’s a community adventure,” he says. “People come together for all sorts of reasons, but they’re all supporting something important.”
For Michael, that importance became deeply personal when his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the Covid pandemic. For four and a half years he cared for her at home, with support from St Christopher’s. “When things got out of my hands, the hospice team came in like the cavalry,” he says. “Their support was brilliant. I would recommend anybody to support St Christopher’s.”
Today, Michael is receiving treatment for cancer himself and has benefited from St Christopher’s services. With treatment ongoing, he was still determined to take part in this year’s Fun Walk, helped along the route by his son and daughter-in-law. “If I get to the next one, I’ll go,” he says. “Even if it’s in a wheelchair.”
Having seen the event grow from an ambitious community fundraiser into the much-loved event it is today, Michael hopes future generations will continue to support it. “People like me probably won’t be here forever,” he says. “We need to keep the living organism that is the Fun Walk alive.”
For him, Fun Walk is about more than raising money. It’s about ensuring St Christopher’s can continue supporting families facing some of life’s most difficult moments, just as it supported his.
“The Fun Walk brings the hospice to the community and the community to the hospice,” says Michael.
“And that’s why it matters.”
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