Norfolk brewer who raised nearly £18,000 for cancer charity says there's more fundraising to come
David Holliday walked from Hindringham to St. Barts hospital in London to raise awareness about testicular cancer
Last updated 12th Apr 2022
A Norfolk brewer who pushed a beer barrel over 200 kilometres in nine days has raised nearly £18,000 for local cancer charity, It's On the Ball.
David Holliday who co-owns Moon Gazer Ale in Hindringham walked from his base to St. Barts hospital in London to raise awareness about testicular cancer after his friend, Fred Risebourgh died aged 24 from the disease.
He says there's more beer related fundraising to come: "This time next year there will still be men that don't know about testicular cancer and that's a sad indictment on our country and our system.
"Everyone should leave school knowing about it because it's a young person's disease, but they don't so we've to keep raising awareness and pushing that through. Plans are whirring round in the head, I've got a topic but watch this space- the blue barrel will return".
He says the physical aspect of this fundraiser wasn't the most challenging part: "I'm feeling remarkably good really. I put in an awful lot of training."
"We were trying to work out how much training I'd done and when we were walking down there and we go a number between 12 hundred and 15 hundred miles, so the legs were ready for it. But the hardest thing about it was the emotional bit."
"The longest stretch was a Sunday which was 23 miles, and we did that in just short of seven hours- it was pretty good going. The real nice thing was that we had people joining us on the walk so I'd be pushing and people would turn up either pre-arranged or they 're just turn up in their car and say we're going to walk with you for a couple of miles".
He says the work he's put in is nothing compared to that done by staff at St. Barts:
"I dedicated nine days of my life to this, that's nothing compared to what those guys do. They dedicate their whole life to working with people with cancer.
"I just have total admiration for what they do and how they do it. I did the easy bit and they did the hard bit. It was such a rewarding thing for us and it was a relief to end the 149 miles.