Al Gale - Blog

Worcestershire Way walk

8/7/2023

Two years ago, my best friend died of cancer. Earlier this year, my step-dad was also taken by the same disease. Both were cared for by the amazing team and staff at St Richard's Hospice.

Yesterday I undertook the Worcestershire Way walk, trekking from Bewdley to Malvern. It's a distance of around 30 miles/50km over hills and fields. Here is a video.

How hard can it be?

4/2/2019

This marketing lark must be easy, right? I mean, what with all those social media options, the ability to Tweet and blog etc - how difficult can it possibly be to run a campaign?

Er....

So far, I think I'm on track for the world's worst marketing campaign. I've managed to turn a £90 investment into just a £2 donation. And that's not a £2 profit - it's an £88 loss thus far. And this is not a boast.

So come on - lend a guy a hand and donate £2 to Acorns Children's Hospice in memory of my lovely son, Harry. In return, you could (with a current high degree of possibility) win two seats at a table for Chris Pennell's testimonial day on Saturday 9th March, followed by seats to watch Worcester play Exeter. For just £2!!

Full details of what you could win here.

The Difficulties of Fundraising

28/1/2019

I had a "brilliant" idea a few weeks ago: I'd buy tickets to the Chris Pennell testimonial day on Saturday 9th March, and I'd raffle off seats to the meal and the match (worth £90) at £2 a ticket. All money would go to Acorns, who cared for our son, Harry.

Easy.

And at just £2, the tickets would fly out of the window. I'd be so busy, I would barely have enough time to keep up. The money raised would far outstrip my financial outlay. What could possibly go wrong?

Well it turns out that marketing is not as easy as a few blog posts and Tweets. To date, only a single ticket has been sold, meaning Mark Pepper currently has a 100% chance of winning the seats.

But it's not too late.... the next person to buy a ticket will have a 50/50 chance. All money will go to Acorns, and it promises to be a cracking day out.

Go on... you know you want to!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Gale4

Win tickets to Chris Pennell's testimonial day match

16/1/2019

I have personally purchased some seats at a table for Chris Pennell's testimonial day on Saturday 9th March. I am raffling off two seats (worth £45 each) at a cost of just £2 per ticket, with all proceeds going to Acorns. I'm not trying to recover the cost of the seats - that is my contribution.

Worcester Warriors will be hosting Exeter Chiefs in a Gallagher Premiership match, and tickets to the match are included.

To enter the raffle, please see https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alan-gale4

Full details of what you can win, please see http://www.chrispennell.co.uk/events/testimonial-day-v-exeter-chiefs/

Masca Trek

14/6/2018

Totally unrelated to the Channel Swim or the book... I trekked up to a small town in Tenerife called Masca on Sunday 20th August 2017. Here is a video capturing the experience. It's a 13km round trip.... half of which is all uphill! Video here

Nepal Video

25/4/2018

In 2018 I decided I very much wanted to visit Nepal, hike up some of the hills, and lay my eyes on the famous Himalayas. Unfortunately, this was not something the family were very keen on doing, so we compromised and agreed that I would go for a short break on my own.

The shorter duration immediately ruled out the more common treks such as the Everest View or Base Camp routes, but it still meant plenty of time for some serious up-hill walking. After a bit of research I decided to do the newer Mardi Himal route, flying into Pokhara and making my way to the start of the trek, all independently and without a guide. I took my Go Pro camera, filmed just about everything that I could, and then had Connagh professionally edit the footage.

Here is the resulting film!

Hiking with Lewis and Connagh

17/3/2018

I head to Nepal next week for six days of hiking over the Himalayas. There was just time for one last local walk in Worcester, and I was joined on this one by my sons Connagh and Lewis - the latter of whom had a bit of a tough time at the end. Great to have them along though!

The one where Lewis breaks

Hill Walk with Friends

17/3/2018

I love walking over the Malvern Hills. I'm more than happy to do it alone, but it's even better to be able to hike with family or friends. So when Becky and Simon told me they were planning on hitting the hills, I happily went along to join them.

Hill Walk

Hiking in the snow

5/3/2018

The weather should be nice and warm when I get to Nepal. But that doesn't mean I can't get outside in the snow in the UK and enjoy a good hike. This walk didn't go all to plan to begin with...

Snow hike

Map Reading Tips

5/3/2018

I never intended these videos to be map reading lessons when I started producing them, but in many cases it makes sense to add a few tips in along the way as I show where I'm going and what I'm doing. This video includes understanding map scales and grid references, and includes a simple demo on taking a compass bearing to a destination:

Map Reading

Alan Gale

One time soldier, part-time author, full-time training manager, husband and father.

Swam 21.8 miles of the English Channel in August 2014 for Acorns Children's Hospice, in memory of our son, Harry Gale, raising over £13,000

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