The Belfast Telegraph: "Paddy sets out on the pilgrim road for charity"
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... ory=629254
Paddy sets out on the pilgrim road for charity
By Marie Foy
14 April 2005
A retired English teacher is setting off on a walk - inspired by writers of old.
Paddy Close is stomping the local countryside in preparation for his 807-kilometre marathon later this month.
He is planning to trek the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, an ancient pilgrimage route from the French Pyrenees to Galicia in western Spain.
Paddy, who was vice-principal at St MacNissi's College outside Carnlough, is supporting three charities.
They are Macmillan Nurses, who care for cancer patients, Childaid, which runs health and education projects mainly in East Africa, Nepal and Lebanon, and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
"I have had this dream of walking the length of Spain for decades, ever since reading Laurie Lee's As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning in the early seventies," Paddy revealed.
"But now I'll settle for the width as opposed to the length of Spain.
Donations can be sent to: Camino Charity Walk, c/o WG Agnew, 9 Hugomont Avenue, Ballymena, BT43 6HW, or contact Paddy on 07845 480263.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... ory=629254
Paddy sets out on the pilgrim road for charity
By Marie Foy
14 April 2005
A retired English teacher is setting off on a walk - inspired by writers of old.
Paddy Close is stomping the local countryside in preparation for his 807-kilometre marathon later this month.
He is planning to trek the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, an ancient pilgrimage route from the French Pyrenees to Galicia in western Spain.
Paddy, who was vice-principal at St MacNissi's College outside Carnlough, is supporting three charities.
They are Macmillan Nurses, who care for cancer patients, Childaid, which runs health and education projects mainly in East Africa, Nepal and Lebanon, and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
"I have had this dream of walking the length of Spain for decades, ever since reading Laurie Lee's As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning in the early seventies," Paddy revealed.
"But now I'll settle for the width as opposed to the length of Spain.
Donations can be sent to: Camino Charity Walk, c/o WG Agnew, 9 Hugomont Avenue, Ballymena, BT43 6HW, or contact Paddy on 07845 480263.