"I have put my name down for the abseil event in the Dorchester Festival on Saturday May 4th.
The whole event is devoted to fund-raising to support the Abbey and an important Oxfordshire mental health charity, Restore, which helps people take control of their recovery and develop the skills to build their lives.
We all love the Abbey and many of us enjoy some of its many functions, as a church, concert hall, art exhibition, social meeting space and so on. But it costs over £550 a day to maintain, and our contribution will be a help towards the upkeep. All sponsorship money will be split equally between the Abbey and Restore.
So I am asking if you would consider sponsoring me, to make a contribution to the charities.
The Abbey tower is 100ft high. I know that at my age (92) I should have more sense, Terry tells me often enough. But I have abseiled before. In my youth I climbed mountains and crags and we sometimes abseiled to get down quickly and safely. But that was about 60+ years ago! My real doubt was whether I can climb 100 ft of steps, so before putting my name forward, I checked. Having managed to get to the bell-ringing platform which is halfway up, I think I can rest a bit there, then climb the remainder. Coming down should be easy after that!
If you would like to sponsor me you can visit the Just Giving website where you can add your name and contribution (you can remain anonymous if you wish).
I am grateful to you for reading this and I hope you will consider sponsoring an old man to do one more silly thing in aid of worthwhile charities.
Yours,
Hugh Norris"