Fire walk raises thousands for Marie Curie

Sixteen brave souls completed a Fire Walk recently to raise £4,000 which will help fund 200 hours of additional nursing care to patients across North East Lincolnshire.
Back row (from right) Jon Beckitt, Gavin Cowan, James Walsham, Pauline Green, Wendy Moreline behind post, Paul Dolby & Kay Fox. Front row (from left) Gail Harrison, Debbie Tolson, Rosie Brown, Michelle Battison, Lauren Alexander, Julie Saunders, Ann Walker, Ann Smith & Glyn Atkinson. Picture: Mike Pounder. EMN-180910-141105001Back row (from right) Jon Beckitt, Gavin Cowan, James Walsham, Pauline Green, Wendy Moreline behind post, Paul Dolby & Kay Fox. Front row (from left) Gail Harrison, Debbie Tolson, Rosie Brown, Michelle Battison, Lauren Alexander, Julie Saunders, Ann Walker, Ann Smith & Glyn Atkinson. Picture: Mike Pounder. EMN-180910-141105001
Back row (from right) Jon Beckitt, Gavin Cowan, James Walsham, Pauline Green, Wendy Moreline behind post, Paul Dolby & Kay Fox. Front row (from left) Gail Harrison, Debbie Tolson, Rosie Brown, Michelle Battison, Lauren Alexander, Julie Saunders, Ann Walker, Ann Smith & Glyn Atkinson. Picture: Mike Pounder. EMN-180910-141105001

The Fire Walk took place at a packed Cleethorpes Cricket Club.

As flames lit up the night sky, the fire walkers, aged from 20 to 80, underwent an intensive training session from Cliff Mann of Time4Change to enable them to complete it safely.

Pauline Green turned eighty this year and is still a stalwart volunteer for the local fundraising group of Marie Curie.

80-year-old stalwart volunteer Pauline Green. Picture: Mike Pounder. EMN-180910-14114100180-year-old stalwart volunteer Pauline Green. Picture: Mike Pounder. EMN-180910-141141001
80-year-old stalwart volunteer Pauline Green. Picture: Mike Pounder. EMN-180910-141141001

Despite the reservations of her friends who thought she was mad, she decided to take part in the Fire Walk to celebrate her big birthday.

She completed the Fire Walk not just once but twice raising a fantastic sum of £400.

Pauline said: “It just goes to show what you can achieve at any age if you can conquer your fear.

“In my case I walked across 20 feet of hot coals burning at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit without suffering any injury at all!”

All the funds raised from the event will be used to support our ten Marie Curie nurses in North East Lincolnshire, who provide one-to-one care, and emotional support, to people living with a terminal illness and their families.

They also enable people to stay at home, the place they are most comfortable surrounded by the people they love.

With eleven years of service between them, two of the local nurses Rosie Brown and Ann Smith also took part in the Fire Walk.

Rosie wanted to support her fellow nurses and challenge herself whereas Ann did it because she loves her job and lost a dear friend who was a Marie Curie nurses herself.

The fundraising group believes that when all the sponsorship monies have been received, the night will have raised an incredible £4,000.

This amount will fund 200 additional hours of nursing care to patients across North East Lincolnshire.

The event would not have been possible without a substantial donation from Seachill and the Saucy Fish Company.

Thanks also go to Cleethorpes Cricket Club for providing the venue free of charge and Sign Express Grimsby for supplying four free advertising banners.