Window Cleaners Helping Out - Can You?

Stuart Webster aka "The Marmite Man" - you may remember this blog a while back! - is raising money for the Sheffield Hospitals Charitable Trust. Follow his exploits on Twitter by clicking the picture above. Stuart says, "Over the past few years I've been involved in several fund-raisers for charities. The last 2 have involved me, a bike and some friends!" "In September 2008 Mark Street, Jonny Stokes and myself planned and finished a 190km Coast-2-Coast ride from Workington in the Lake District to Sunderland." "We did this over 3 days and even though we enjoyed the experience, I had hoped for better weather." "The 2009 charity event didn't have any direction." "Then we bought the boys a road bike each, they loved it and wanted a challenge." "In 2006 I did the Cat & Fiddle Challenge, a 88km ride from Stoke taking in the 7 mile climb up the Cat & Fiddle road to Buxton." "In 2009 all three of us will take up the challenge." "If you would like to donate please see my Just Giving page." Stuart Webster runs his Sunshine Window Cleaning in Derbyshire.

Family hopes visit to US sea-life park could aid disabled schoolboy. A chance to swim with dolphins could help kieran, 10, who suffers from rare genetic disease. The family of a severely disabled schoolboy born without a sense of danger is planning a potentially life-changing mission to the other side of the world. Keiran Buchan has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes developmental delay. The 10-year-old has never spoken a word in his life, sleeps for just one hour each night and has difficulty walking. Because he has no perception of danger, he needs to be supervised and kept safe around the clock.
All over his family home at Crimond, between Peterhead and Fraserburgh, cabinets, doors and appliances are fitted with safety locks and protective covers. Parents Neil and Linda say that if the front door is left open, Keiran is likely to wander out into the street. He will think nothing about playing with electrical sockets, picking up knives or exploring potentially hazardous household objects. Sadly, there is no known cure for Angelman Syndrome and there is only a limited amount that therapies can do. But the Buchans are desperate to give their son a better quality of life and they are now pinning their hopes on a planned trip to America, where they hope a visit to a Florida sea-life park could make a notable difference.
The family hope to take Keiran swimming with dolphins. They have discovered sessions which are specifically designed for youngsters with Angelman syndrome and similar conditions. Mr Buchan, 37, said: “It will be an amazing experience for him, but more importantly these sessions could boost his confidence and increase his development rate. “It’s going to be a lot of work and it will cost a lot of money, but if it meant I could hear Keiran saying his first word it would all be worth it. That would be the best thing in the world for us.”
Window cleaner Mr Buchan, of The Corse, Crimond, is organising a skydive to raise money for the trip and also for charity Assert (the Angelman Syndrome Support Education Research Trust). On Saturday, October 3, he will jump from an aircraft 8,000ft above St Andrews. The family, including Keiran’s sisters Sammy, 14, Kerri-Marie, 13, and younger brother Rhys, six, are planning various other fundraising events over the coming months. Mr Buchan said: “Keiran’s a happy boy who enjoys life, but likes to keep himself to himself. “We know there are families with children with Angelmans who set up CCTV to watch over them 24 hours a day, but we don’t want to do that. “We want him to have as normal a life as any other kid his age.” Keiran is a pupil at the Anna Ritchie School for children who have special learning needs at Peterhead. For more information on Mr Buchan’s sky dive log on to "Just Giving."