Bexhill resident, Colin Barnes, of award winning wine merchants, Cooden Cellars is off to the Sahara Desert in March to raise money for Classic FM Music Makers Charity.
He'll be walking, along with 38 other people, 6 – 7 hours a day covering some 100kms in 7 days crossing both salt pans and 350 foot high sand dunes. The walk is the final challenge, because first he has to raise a minimum £2250 for the charity.
"I
t'll make a real change to my normal day", said Colin, "and it'll be nice to experience some warm weather after this winter.
"Thanks to some fantastic support from our customers we've already raised over £2000 so we're well on the way to reach the target."
Colin has managed to get long walks in on Sundays, where he can usually be found walking along the front and beach between Bexhill and Hastings Old Town, but none at all in the two months leading up to Christmas because of business commitments.
However, Colin has experienced working in the desert many years ago when he was in the forces, so has an idea of what to expect.
The money raised from the trek will go towards funding music education and music therapy projects for underprivileged children and adults throughout the UK and Colin adds "co-incidentally, Hayley Westenra, who is the first official Ambassador for Classic FM Music Maker's Charity, is coming to Eastbourne on the 17th February and will be performing at the Congress Theatre."
If you would like to support Colin, then please go to www.coodencellars.com or pop into Cooden Cellars. For more information on Hayley Westenra visit the Congress Theatre Box Office or on line at www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk
