This was a lovely community event on Christmas Eve that was well attended in Hawick Town Hall. Ian Landles did a fantastic job as compare and was very entertaining. The music from the Salvation Army, Susan Thomas and the other young people brought the spirit of Christmas to the fore and again, the people of Hawick showed their amazing generosity by donating an incredible £910 to Callum’s Trust! We cannot thank them enough, thanks too to Bob Cairns and the Salvation Army for choosing Callum’s Trust this year. .

Another brilliant event before Christmas, this time at Hawick High School. Our chairperson Audrey had an entertaining time as a judge and was really impressed by the standard of the talented pupils taking part. Choosing a winner was very difficult, but in the end the 1st prize went to Susan Thomas who was fantastic! Well done! Thanks to the charities committee and to Karen Mack for organising such a well attended event and a huge thanks to the public who filled the hall to bursting and raised £729.62 for Callum’s Trust. What a great achievement! .

Many thanks to Wendy Meldrum and the cast of the Oxnam Christmas Panto – Cinderella, who put on a fantastic show before Christmas. We were delighted to receive £130 from the proceeds of the raffle and thanks to all those who were involved in making this such a great event and raising so much money. We think you’re all stars! .

Even before the race began, there was an amazing atmosphere at the Great North Run. I couldn't believe the vast amount of runners taking part, and it was a nervous wait before the start. It was about 20 minutes after the starting gun went off that I got over the start line, and I shook Sting's hand as the crowds headed down the road past him. There was a lot of "oggy"s shouted along the first part of the route, and the Red Arrows flew overhead just before the Tyne Bridge. I felt pretty good for the first part of the run, but the heat started to kick in after about 8 miles, and I had to push myself to keep going. I had my name on the back of my t-shirt, and along the way runners and supporters kept encouraging me by cheering me on, which really gave me a boost. I was thrilled to complete the race, and really proud of myself for achieving such a big challenge. I did the race in 2:20:20, which I was over the moon with, and am really pleased to have raised so much for Callum's Trust through my run. Click here to read the full report on Heather's Great North Run.

The Wynd Theatre was jam packed, the atmosphere was lively and the music was excellent at Alan Windram’s CD launch gig in aid of Callum’s Trust on the 10th of October ‘09. Alan generously donated proceeds from tickets and CD sales to the Trust and in doing so raised an amazing £650! Many thanks to him and the guys in the band for a really enjoyable night that was such a success and also thanks to all those who attended, without your support we wouldn’t have had so much fun or raised so much! We really recommend you get yourself a copy of Alan’s CD “10 o’ clock in the morning” so have a look at his myspace page at www.myspace.com/alanwindram

Alan is hoping to repeat this successful experience again in aid of the Trust next year, we are looking forward to it already! Thanks Alan!

Callum’s Trust would like to thank all those who walked the Border Abbeys Walks from 23-27th of Sept. Good weather helped to spur the walkers on their way and they were only hampered by the odd blister...some worse than others! The walks were a great experience for all those involved and the participants enjoyed the beautiful borders countryside and saw a few ginger hairy oobits! Always a good omen! Special acknowledgement goes to Angie Tait who completed all of the walks and although one day she had to wear a knee brace and also took a two mile detour she was no worse for wear when she reached Melrose Abbey, the official end point of the walk (unofficially the ice cream shop!).
Later that night at the Wynd Theatre, Melrose, the walkers and members of the public enjoyed a variety of acoustic and folk music from five acts. Our thanks go to Craig Jeffrey, Hiva Oa, Gill Reid and Tom, Paul and Ronnie and Real Time who all provided the entertainment free and really produced a fantastic evening for the walkers and public alike, we can’t thank you enough! Many thanks also to Sue at the Wynd Theatre for her help in making the event a success. We are looking forward to next year already!

After becoming aware of the Trust, my friend Sharon Harlow and her Husband Richard decided that they would climb Ben Nevis to raise money for Callum’s Trust. After many weekends of hill walking they hoped they were ready for Britain’s highest mountain. They were joined by colleagues Stuart Sutherland and Vinny Bryson for support and myself Audrey (chairperson of the Trust), well I just went along for the experience!! Following a night of camping in Glen Nevis which involved gales, flooded tents and a cacophony of hooting from the owls, the group emerged looking worse for wear but still determined to achieve their challenge. Setting off on Saturday 29th August at 8.30am they made their way up the infamous “heart attack hill”, this was when I realised that this wasn’t a gentle hill walk!! A steady procession of walkers raising monies for many different charities made their slow deliberate way up the mountain, occasionally passed by the odd runner or two! By around one o’ clock Richard and Sharon finally put the lunar landscape of the tortuous five fingers behind them and reached the summit, they were both elated and rightly so, I can say that it was the most difficult physical challenge I have ever done and I am proud of them and all of our group for making it as there were times that I thought we might not. Going down wasn’t much easier but even as I sit here recounting the story (because I still can’t walk!!!) I am grateful for the experience and for their determined effort which resulted in Richard raising well over £600 for Callum’s Trust! Well done guys, I am never going up there again!

Chris Mack-Riddell likes us so much he has put himself through an even tougher challenge than The Mighty Deerstalker and has endeavoured to reach the top of the three highest peaks in Britain in 24 hours. He also twisted the arm of George Waugh and Stuart Sutherland to join him on this one day of torture. They started at Ben Nevis on Friday 3rd July 2009 at 16.56 hrs and completed it in 4 hrs and 10 mins. They were then driven to Wasdale Head in the Lake District by Buzz (Andy Marr) – many thanks to him for driving almost 1000 miles in about 32 hours! The exersion caused some vomiting but they proceeded on to Scafell Pike, started this at 03.22 hrs and completed it in 3 hrs and 24 mins. Following more vomiting they reached the final peak, Snowdon at 12.10 hrs and completed it in 3 hrs and 20 mins. Total Challenge time – 22 hrs 34 mins – not bad at all.
Even better £825 raised for Callums Trust – well done and many thanks – what will you do next?
Callums Trust and the guys would like to thank Ian Wilson of Anderson & Wilson Engineers, Galashiels for kindly donating the fuel for the challenge.

On Sunday June 14th 2009, a group of five brave fundraisers gritted their teeth and took the long walk up the staircase to the top of the imposing Peniel Heugh Monument near Ancrum in the Scottish Borders. Their aim? To abseil from the top of the 150ft tower in style and show no fear to the crowd below! All five participants raised in excess of £1000 for Callum’s Trust and enjoyed an experience that they had never tried before. Well done and many thanks to Al Jack, Brian Noble, Angie Tait, Craig Frater and James Savage for having nerves of steel and for raising so much!

Scott Weir, Colin McCall, Bruce Swan and Kevin Matheson enjoyed a great day out running the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run, and raised over £800 for Callum's Trust.
The 4 friends lined up alongside 10,000 outher runners to take in some of the sights on this beautiful city event. The course took in famous landmarks such as Edinburgh Castle, the Scott Monument, Holyrood Palace and the Royal Mile.
These guys did a great job out on the course and a fantastic job raising money for The Trust. A great example of how a little bit of effort and teamwork can make a huge difference to cancer patients in the Scottish Borders.

The idea of Gingfest – a multi-band festival of hardcore rock & metal – originated in late 2006, when Callum started chemotherapy. Originally titled ‘Gingfest’ as a joke – it was a name fitting of a man so proud of being ginger! The idea, and the name stuck, and Gingfest was born.
Bringing together 9 bands – all playing free – a huge hall, and a P.A. system tough enough to administer the aural abuse was no easy accomplishment for organiser, Darren Tait. Click here to read the full report on Gingfest 2009.

Jenny Gray set her sights high for her first ever organised running event - Sunday 5th April, Edinburgh, 13.1 miles... yup, you guessed it - Meadowbank Half Marathon!
A half marathon is a sizeable challenge to anyone, but for a first timer it's an outstanding achievement. Jenny trained hard for the event and did us all proud, raising £456 for callum's Trust in the process.
A brilliant achievement Jenny - well done and thanks from everyone here at Callum's Trust.

Resplendent in appropriate country attire, the obligatory ‘interesting’ headgear and a smattering of tweed, three intrepid [or foolish] adventurers lined up to face the challenge of the 2009 Mighty Deerstalker.
Lorna and Chris Mack-Riddell and Eve Atkinson donned the necessarily inappropriate kit for this roller coaster fell run in and around the estate of Traquair House. Taking in hills, mud, forests, scree, bogs and river crossings it was action packed fun but worth the effort with almost £1200 raised for the Trust.
Mysteriously vague about the actual distances, there are two race options available: Lorna and Eve opted for the ‘5K (ish)’ option – which actually measures up around 8K. Chris opted for the tougher ’10K and a bit’ night-time option (actually 17K if you must know!).
A bit manky and a bit soaked to the skin, all three finished exhausted but smiling... hopefully we’ll see a big Callum’s Trust contingent at the start line in 2010!

Borders youngster Lauren Jack set the ball rolling with the first official Callum's Trust fundraiser!
Lauren set the challenge of swimming 5 miles over 5 days. Laidlaw Memorial Pool and Leisure Centre in Jedburgh very kindly agreed to let her swim for free for the purpose of the event.
She blitzed the 5 miles,covering a mile a day from Monday 9th to Friday 13th March. Lauren's amazing effort raised £307 for the Trust.
Great work Lauren!