The National Three Peaks Challenge. Together, we can stand alongside everyone navigating life with cancer, ensuring no one faces this disease feeling unseen or unsupported. Please know you are not alone.
C
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in this country hear the words no one wants to hear. What follows is a path that tests every part of who we are: physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. The challenges ripple outwards, touching families, friendships, work and the quiet moments we spend alone with our thoughts.
Cancer doesn’t just affect the body. It changes how you think and feel and profoundly affects every aspect of life. I know this personally, and that the journey through and beyond treatment requires more than medicine alone.
I have taken on the National Three Peaks Challenge, not simply as a physical endeavour but as a chance to explore life beyond diagnosis and to give something back. The Royal Marsden is a place that holds great meaning for me and whose care and expertise are life changing for so many people.
Through this challenge, I want to raise awareness for the deeper impact of serious illness and the importance of holistic healthcare. Every individual is different, and ensuring there is a whole person approach to care enables those living through cancer to manage the deeply personal challenge of diagnosis. Holistic therapies complement clinical pathways and support patients’ ability to maintain their wellbeing, resilience and quality of life during an exceptionally difficult time.
We have an opportunity to reshape what the future of holistic cancer care looks like, enabling more people, nationwide, to access the kind of personalised support that can help make a meaningful difference during and after medical treatment.
This challenge will support the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, helping to transform access to, and understanding of, holistic care that will enhance recovery and healing for patients across the UK.
Healing, whether personal or collective, is not just about fixing what is wrong. It is about finding balance in how we live. Between effort and acceptance, between control and trust, between thinking and simply being. Because in the end, bravery isn’t just about pushing forward. It is about knowing how to stay grounded, connected and present, no matter the terrain, or landscape you are walking through.
Together, we can stand alongside everyone navigating life with cancer, ensuring no one faces this disease feeling unseen or unsupported.
Please know you are not alone.
C
The Princess of Wales early childhood has announced that their Guide to Social and Emotional Development is now available on audio. Narrated by Giovanna Fletcher.
Pictures I put in one video from early childhood Instagram.
South Africans Raise Over R140,000 for Hawks Officer's Stolen Coffee Machine After Emotional Madlanga Commission Testimony
In a heartwarming display of public solidarity, more than R140,000 has been raised in under 24 hours to replace the stolen coffee machine of Warrant Officer Karl Sander, a KZN Hawks narcotics expert who testified this week at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Sander, a veteran investigator with extensive experience in high-profile drug cases, made headlines during his testimony when he emotionally described his personal coffee machine as his "only safe space" in a hostile work environment. The machine was stolen from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) offices, after which he was subjected to a polygraph test over its theft, ordered by a senior manager.
"My only safe space was my coffee machine, and then they stole my coffee machine inside the DPCI," Sander told the commission, adding with a laugh that the incident was still annoying. He was also polygraphed in connection with the high-profile 2021 theft of 541kg of cocaine worth around R200 million from a Port Shepstone Hawks facility, despite not working there at the time and being on leave. Evidence presented at the commission later cleared him of involvement.
The BackaBuddy crowdfunding campaign, launched by supporter Kyle van Reenen with an initial modest target of R5,000, quickly went viral as South Africans responded to Sander's story of alleged internal victimisation after stepping on the toes of drug cartels and facing transfers, denied promotions, and a toxic workplace.
Donations poured in from across the country, with the total surpassing R100,000 within hours and continuing to climb past R140,000 (and reportedly higher in some updates). Organisers have warned of copycat "mirror" campaigns and urged supporters to donate only to the verified original page. Excess funds are expected to support related causes, such as K9 training.
The outpouring of support highlights widespread admiration for dedicated officers battling both external crime syndicates and alleged internal challenges. As one social media user put it, many South Africans simply wanted to ensure that a cop who "just wants his coffee machine back" finally gets it.
The Madlanga Commission continues to hear evidence on various issues within law enforcement. For Sander, a simple coffee machine has become a symbol of resilience and public gratitude.
The nation’s best wishes go out to Mamelodi Sundowns for their CAF Champions League final against Morocco’s AS FAR in Rabat.
On the eve of Africa Day, this highlight on our continent’s soccer calendar should serve as a celebration of the best our continent has to offer in this sport.
Sport is one of many sectors that unite us as Africans.
Go, Sundowns, and Happy Africa Day!
Three years ago, we set out to take a different approach, to think more carefully about how the Duchy could use its land to create opportunity and support people over the long term, including launching a project here in Cornwall to help tackle homelessness with the right support around it. It’s fantastic to come back at Nansledan and to see that beginning to take shape, and to meet some of the people now calling it home. There’s still more to do, but it’s encouraging to see what’s already possible when you bring together the right people, ideas and ambition. W