Remember when I told you about Amelie, the 10 year old girl who was trying to raise £200 for her local wildlife hospital, Prickles and Paws by doing a 100 mile sponsored walk?
Well ... she (and we) have done something rather wonderful! I was in touch with her dad, Alex, last night, just checking in with how she had done ... and thanks in large part to the generosity of YOU (and her resilient legs!) she has raised ...
£1834!!
That's right, over 9 times her target!
Now that is great for the hospital - but the reason I am so thrilled is that Amelie will now know that she can achieve great things ... what a great lesson to give our young friends! And what amazing things will she do in the future? Keep an eye out for this one! She has already appeared in the National Geographic kids magazine!
You might have noticed that I have a soft spot for feisty girls - and the ripples left by dear Neve, who died nearly four weeks ago, are still being felt. I run a small stage at the amazing Wood Festival called Kindling - and on that stage I have people talking about things that fascinate them! This year I had Nick Hayes talking about Right to Roam, Nell Frizzell talking about motherhood, Peggy Seeger (yes, that one), Eylan and Leisle Ezekiel (Indian Jews and nature cure), Chantal Lyons (boar) - and so much more ... including Tom Moorehouse on stage justifying writing a book about hedgehogs when that is MY JOB!
The star of the show was Robin Ince - he is a very compassionate and wise comedian and author who runs the Infinite Monkey Cage on BBC Radio 4 with Prof Brian Cox. Actually, while he was the famous star - it was his niece who really stole the show - Francesca - who was also Neve's nurse - talking about hospices for children and the absurd reality which is that they are all charities having to fight for funding (hence her 3,200 mile cycle ride last year).
While I was interviewing Miriam Darlington about otters I had to stop for a moment ... because drifting over from another tent was the music of Nick Cope - his song all about a hedgehog called Hugh!!!
Before I go - many people post photographs to the Hedgehog Highways Facebook group - of hogs eating! But we - the Hedgehog Street campaign - would love some more photographs of hedgehogs actually using the highways - coming through holes in fences. So if you have the capacity - turn your camera from the feeding station to the fence! We are gathering more evidence of how well-used the holes actually are!
Now - I have just got the first edits in on my next book so I will lock myself in my shed until they are done! Wish me luck.