As soon as I decided to give the Everest Rugby Challenge a go I knew that I would have to host a fundraiser at my local Nepali restaurant: The Gurkha Kitchen in Oxted. The restaurant is owned by my good friend Purna Gurung and I have been going there and enjoying their hospitality for over twenty years. In fact many of my friends look forward to the almost annual invite to celebrate my birthday although they often tell me they are there for the food not for me. I suspect there is probably a little truth in that as the food is certainly more interesting than I am most of the time.

So on Tuesday 2nd of February I will host seventy friends and family at “my place”. The hope is to raise in the region of £10,000 for the charity Wooden Spoon which will go towards using rugby to improve the lives of disadvantaged and disabled children in the UK. By raising that amount I will also meet my own personal target allowing me to achieve an old dream to go to Nepal and Tibet and see the Himalaya up close and personal. Not quite the mountaineering adventure I dreamt of when I was growing up but it might be a step in the right direction.

If you want to join in on the 2nd February for some great food, amazing hospitality and to find out about what the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge is all about then please feel free to drop me an email.

