and 8 YEARS LATER...!

Here we are again, eight years later and about to start another long-distance walk, this time 1200 kms from Alicante to Cape Finisterre.

We hope that you will follow our efforts on our new blogsite www.footstepsonthecamino.blogspot.co.uk

On there you will also find a link to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/footstepsonthecamino

Wish us luck!

Robert and Ana Maria

New challenge for 2010!

Dear Friends,

Thank you all so much for your contributions to the "Walk for William". I am delighted to confirm that we raised a total of £11,500 of which £6,500 was raised in Gibraltar. A tremendous achievement for all those concerned.

2010 marks the 10th Anniversary of William's death and so I propose to mark this with another walk, this time from Gibraltar to Finisterre, in Northern Galicia, Spain, a total of some 1500kms or just over 930 miles. My wife Ana Maria is going to walk with me and we hope to start during the latter part of April and finish sometime in June. More details will be available on a new webiste soon.

This time we will be raising funds for The Sam Beare Hospice in Weybridge and Research into Childhood Cancer in Gibraltar. We hope you will find it in your hearts to give generously for these two very worthy causes.

Best regards to all,

Robert

THE WALK - DAY 14 - THE FINAL DAY UPDATE

Dear William,

After the end of the walk yesterday and the celebrations that followed I was somewhat the worse for wear and therefore decided to finish the blog today. For the first time in two weeks I rested in bed this morning till about 9.30a.m., having previously been getting up at 5.45 each morning!

On the final day, your birthday and Philip's birthday, we started the walk at 11.05 a.m. This section of the path from Tower Bridge to the Thames Barrier is one I have done before in training so it held few surprises. The surprise had come the day before when, just before reaching Tower Bridge with Billy, we came across an outdoor exhibition of sculpted guitars, which I felt was very apposite in the circumstances!

As has been the case over the last two weeks, we had a beautiful day. Ana Maria (with a few blisters of her own), James and Edward joined me at the start and we later met up with Marie at the Dome. She was providing our transport and had left the car at the Thames Barrier and then walked to meet us. Not bad when you consider that she too has been suffering from the effects of cancer for many years and walking is very difficult for her.

The Thames looked as majestic as ever and it was difficult to remember it as I had seen it over the first few days, a mere trickle of water hardly qualifying as a stream, let alone a river. During the day we stopped by the Cutty Sark for lunch. The ship is under wraps and reconstruction following the dreadful fire which engulfed it not so long ago. It will be good to see it restored to its former glory in 2009. We continued by the side of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, past the Dome or the 02 Arena as it is now called and past the David Beckham Academy (at last I know where it is located!).

During the day I was able to reflect on the many good times that you and I had together over the years. I also remembered some of the sad times; when Mum and Dad died within a month of each other with you following them shortly after. I always remember Mum telling me about the days in London during the war when she cradled you in her arms whilst sheltering from the bombing, deep in the bowels of the London Underground system. It is hard to imagine the sort of bond that must have developed between the two of you, something which I sometimes envied. I guess that is why family and friends have always had such high importance in my life. This bond has been in evidence throughout my walk, bringing together all members of our family and friends anxious to offer whatever they could.

GIBRALTAR WALK FOR WILLIAM

Throughout the walk there have been a lot of good moments. Like when family and friends joined me on the path, sometimes for shorts periods of time and sometimes for several days; people like Ana Maria, James, Celine, Reg, Edward, Marie, Billy, Pauline, Greta, Diane, and of course Benjamin Spender, your pupil of some 35 years ago who came also to honour your memory and to thank you for making a difference in his life; Diane who helped me plan the walk and did much ferrying to and fro the path in her car; Greta who also helped with logistics as did her husband Elias but who also tended my feet when the pain was unbearable; Marie who also helped with logistics and who on the last day was there with refreshments for all of us and even gave us a lift home!

In Gibraltar, your daughters Gillaine and Cecile and their friends who Walked for William there; the many members of the family and others who have donated to the appeal; the many who telephoned me periodically to encourage me to keep going, like our sisters Carmen & Yvonne, Anthony & Margaret Sacarello, Henry Sacramento from the Royal Gibraltar Police (who must forgive me for giving him at least two different titles!) and others too numerous to mention; neighbours from Netherby Park in Weybridge, who had never met you but thought you sounded wonderful; who also honoured the memory of my good friend and neighbour, Akram Begg who died of cancer a few months ago; friends honouring the memory also of Philip Sacarello, who shared your birthday but died at the age of 9; an old lady who gave me £5 to support Marie Curie Cancer care and said she would like to give more but her pension would not stretch; a neighbour who gave me the last £10 her mother had in her purse when she died; people who befriended me on the walk and pledged financial support. As you can see there have daily high points for me which gave me the strength to carry on.

I guess that when others are long dead, buried and forgotten, your name and your music will be remembered for generations to come. Like your composition, the Ave Maria, which is now regularly played in churches in various parts of the world. Today I surfed the internet and did a search on your name. Among other things I came across six copies of the LP's that you made with recording companies like Decca, Ace of Diamonds and London, over 40 years ago, up for sale on Ebay, from sellers as far away as Australia, the United States and Germany.

As for me, well, this walk has been an incredible experience, not unlike one's passage through life. At first you are unsteady on your feet, but then helped by your family and friends you start to mature and gain strength until you can walk on your own. The path is long and dusty and from time to time you feel that you cannot carry on. But something or someone always comes to your aid and you plod on. Then as you gather strength you can offer advice and support to others on that same path until you come to the end of the road. As you near the end of the path and your legs begin to falter once again there are others there to support you and give you much needed encouragement.

When I am no longer of this earth, I have no illusions about how I will be remembered. The best I can hope for is that in the years to come someone may one day come across this record of my Walk for William and see that, for two glorious weeks in the summer of 2007 I walked the Thames Path in memory of you, my beloved brother.

Rest in peace,

Love

Robert

THE WALK - DAY 14 - THE FINAL DAY - 07/09/07

Dear William,

Today at ten to four in the afternoon I arrived at the Thames Barrier after walking for 14 days and covering in excess of 200 miles. On this important date I was accompanied by Ana Maria and James, who had arrived back from Switzerland, and by my best friend "cousin" Edward Falquero and his wife Marie.

I am both elated and very tired so you will forgive me if I carry on this blog tomorrow. It has been a wonderful journey and I thank all who have walked with me or have helped me in some way or who have had me in their thoughts and in their prayers. I am lucky to have so many friends and family who care.

Until tomorrow then.

Happy Birthday!

Love

Robert

THE WALK - DAY 13 - 06/09/07

Dear William,

Today your son Billy walked the path with me for the last time. I really did not want to walk alone so I called him late last night and suggested he might come today. I thought he was still in London but he had moved to his uncle John's house in Hemel Hempstead so he had a bit of a journey this morning before he could meet me at Putney Bridge. I hope he has forgiven me! Unfortunately he cannot be with me tomorrow as he needs to be with his wife Pauline who is attending hospital all day to finalise details of her treatment with the specialists etc. I have been most proud to have him at my side.

The path this morning was great and it gave us the opportunity to look at some of the London landmarks in some more detail rather than when I zoom past in the car from time to time. The highlight today was visiting the Headquarters of Marie Curie Cancer Care and seeing Celine and some of the girls who work there. Also present were Ros Hooper, their Surrey Fundraising Manager and her team who were in London to attend a course.

I forgot to tell you yesterday that my friend Richard Russell, who is currently on business in India, phoned me to wish me luck with the walk. Richard used to be Head of Outside Sports broadcasts for ITV (I always get this wrong - Richard please forgive me if I have). Now he heads his own consultancy and is much in demand re the Olympics etc. He is THE person when you need to "phone a friend" on any sports question on Who wants to be a millionaire!

One donation of £100 that arrived late last night was very special to me. It simply says A-Ch, In loving memory. This refers to Ana Maria's brother Henrik's wife Ann Christine who sadly died of cancer a few years ago. She was a very good friend of our and would, I am sure, have wanted to join in walking the Thames Path for you were she still alive. The donation has come from her children Carl, Eleonor and Johan, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart.

Well, I guess all the training paid off! I went past the 200 miles point today! Tomorrow I hope to finish at the Thames Barrier at around 3.30/4.00p.m. We will start at the Dickens Inn in St Catherine's Dock, next to Tower Bridge at 11.00 a.m. Anyone who wants to join us is welcome.

Only 1 more day to go!

THE WALK - DAY 12 - 05/09/07

Dear William,

As I was waiting at the train station this morning to catch a train to Richmond to continue my walk along the Thames Path, I noticed an ad for a TV documentary. It was entitled "The only way to Heaven is through hell!" If that were the only criterion to get in I'm in already 'cause with my feet I have been going to hell and back! The good news is that my left foot appears to be healing well - still a bit sore but not nearly as painful and my right foot, although still painful, less so than in previous days. Looks like the vinegar soaks are working, painful though they are.

Anyway, enough of my woes. Today was a lovely warm and sunny day and I enjoyed the walk very much. I went from Richmond Bridge to Putney. As you know a part of this from Putney to Mortlake is the course for the annual Boat race betwen Oxford and Cambridge, a race that I have watched in person many a year. The start of the race near Putney Bridge is lovely with a large number of boat houses which give it a rather festive look particularly on race days. There are also a lot of famous landmarks all the way from Richmond to Putney; Kew Gardens, The Harrods Furniture Depository which is a beautiful building, the Fairbairn memorial etc.

I still cherish the memory of my very first truly international regatta I won, in the late sixties in Casablanca. I received a small medal which I gave to dad. He had it made into a keyring which he always kept. Remember that? Since he died I have the medal back. Dad also had a stand made for you with a small wooden guitar and an open book, I seem to recall, when you got your first music award. I wonder what became of that?

Anyway, back to business! Regrettably the path at Chiswick and parts of Hammersmith were in a sorry state, full of rubbish and obviously have not been tended to in a long time. It is a disgrace that a National Trail, something so coveted in this country can be mistreated in this way. If there are any local councillors reading this blog, please take note!

There are now only two days left and you know what, I am definitely going to make it! during the course of last week when the pain in my feet was at its worst, I sometimes despaired of ever finishing. Now I wonder what I am going to do when I finish - life will never be the same again!

THE WALK - DAY 11 - 04/09/07

Dear William,


Today it was Ana Maria's turn to take me to the path at Kingston Bridge, before making her way to her office. As I had intended, I just did a 5 mile walk starting at 8.00 a.m. and finishing at 9.35 a.m. This is a very nice and easy stretch of the river and everything was very peaceful at that time of the morning. I later returned home courtesy of British Rail, via Richmond, Clapham Junction and Weybridge.

As I was approaching Richmond I came across an Argentinian restaurant "Gaucho". It reminded me of that time that I lived and worked in Buenos Aires . It was there that I met one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen and who, a few years later, agreed to be my wife. We have known each other for 37 years and have been married for 33. I love her as much now as I did when we first met.

The restaurant has a beautiful tree in its grounds, which is considered to be one of the Capital's Great Trees.







Today I want to mention two letters that were waiting for me when I returned home this midday and which for me have been the icing on the cake of everything I have been trying to achieve these past 11 days. The first was a letter from one of my neighbours, Jan Dutton, who writes:

Dear Robert,

Your walk is a wonderful gesture to all cancer sufferers and their
families. My mum died of cancer 2 years ago leaving £10 in her
purse. This is her £10. Wishing you success in raising the £2000. Warmest wishes.

Jan

The second letter was from Archie McNair, my old friend and mentor. Archie was the business brains behind the Mary Quant Group of Companies and was the Chairman and Managing Director of Thomas Jourdan plc (TJ), an offshoot of the Mary Quant Group. I was priviledged to work as the TJ Deputy Managing Director and Group Secretary for many years. Most of what I learnt about business I owe to Archie and I hope he still thinks I was not a bad pupil! Mary Quant and her husband Alexander Plunket Greene were non-executive directors of TJ and I have very fond memories of those days. Archie sent me a cheque for £1005 and I am sure he will not mind me quoting from a small note that accompanied the cheque:

Dear Robert,

Thank you for inviting us to participate in the William Gomez Challenge; as I write I can imagine you must be approaching our towpath in Fulham. I hope your walk is proving comfortable and that your feet are standing up to the exercise (he obviously has not been reading my blog!). I remember William well - we met and talked at the theatre in Gibraltar..........I enclose some money for your excellent cause with great pleasure......Best wishes and love to you all.

Archie

Thank you Jan and thank you Archie. You have both made my day!

Only 3 more days to go!