#24 Above and beyond
Here are your SL* for Wednesday 22 April 2020
š An exponential graph we can all enjoy
I donāt know about you but Iāve had enough of staring helplessly at exponential graphs to last me a lifetime -- so letās start this newsletter with one that will hopefully put a smile on all your faces.
šļøCaptain Fantastic
There wonāt be many of us who havenāt heard of this gentleman by now -- Captain Tom Moore the 99 year-old former British Army Captain who has captured the hearts of people around the world by walking around his garden to raise Ā£1,000 for the NHS...
ā¦two weeks later and he has just surpassed Ā£28 MILLION POUNDS!!!! And heās not showing any signs of slowing down as he marches towards his 100th birthday on 30 April.
You can donate to Captain Tom on JustGiving here.
There are now countless petitions for Captain Tom to now receive a knighthood, with one closing in on ONE MILLION SIGNATURES -- please take a minute and sign it here online.
And Tom is now strolling towards the Number 1 spot in the UK charts this Friday after recording the single Youāll Never Walk Alone with Michael Ballā¦ just in time for his birthday!
The Metro has even reported that Tom is now receiving so many birthday cards that The Royal Mail has given him his own sorting box!
For all those people who are finding it difficult at the moment: the sun will shine on you again and the clouds will go away.
āĀ Captain Tom Moore, 16th April 2020
Tom was born and brought up in Keighley, Yorkshire. He went to Keighley Grammar School and later completed an apprenticeship as a Civil Engineer. Tom went onto being enlisted in 8 DWR (145 RAC) at the beginning of the war, and in 1940 was selected for Officer training. He was later posted to 9DWR in India, and served and fought on the Arakan, went to Regiment to Sumatra after the Japanese surrender and returned to be Instructor at Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington.Ā
Captain Tom, we salute you.
š¶āāļøFollowing in Tomās footsteps
āHeās actually two days younger than me, so I thought if he can do it so can Iā¦ The NHS has been so good to me all my life and I wanted to give something back.ā
āĀ Win Page
The Manchester Evening News also reports that Tom is now inspiring others to raise money in the same way, including Win Page, a 99 year-old Great Grandmother from Middleton, Greater Manchester, who has raised over Ā£12,000 for North West Ambulance Service by walking 100 laps of her garden.
Win turns 100 next week on 28 April! --Ā You can donate to Win on JustGiving here.
šØ Lighting up the city
There were incredible scenes on Westminster Bridge last Thursday evening as emergency services stopped at 8pm to show their support for one another.
š¾ If you canāt get to the courtā¦
Two girls from Liguria, in north-eastern Italy have taken the internet by storm with their game of rooftop tennis. Itās even captured the attention of the ATP Tour now! Look out for more from these two.
ā·ļø If you canāt get to the mountainā¦
š³ If you canāt get any wifiā¦
š If you canāt get to IKEAā¦
Anyone whoās been lost for hours in IKEA knows the joy of getting to the end and having some meatballs -- Well IKEA has just released their famous meatballs recipe for us all to try at homeā¦ sorry I mean hƶme.
š If you canāt have your birthdayā¦
This perfectly sums up my favourite saying about birthdaysā¦
Presence not presents.
š“ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó “ó æ And you thought you were isolated!
Great story from CNN ā Christian Lewis from Swansea, Wales (aka @ChrisWalksUK on Twitter) was midway through his 8,700 mile charity hike to walk every twist and turn of the British coastline. He arrived on the remote Scottish Shetland island of Hildasay in March just as the UK was placed under travel restrictions.
Chris is now stranded until restrictions are lifted. He is receiving deliveries of water from a local fisherman called Victor and is making the occasional boat trip to the Shetland mainland for essential supplies, as well as foraging for food on the island.
"I can walk down and I'll have a whole plate full of mussels if I want them, so I've got no worries there."
Although he was originally staying in a tent, Lewis was later given the keys to an empty house after news that he was camping on the remote island spread to its owners, who were happy to help.
And heās picked up a companion, a dog named Jet!
Here is the last tweet Chris sent back in 2017!
SL*
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