Cheque cycling!

Proving that you do see a farmer on a bike is Charlie Askew who, with the help of friends and colleagues from Easton College, Norfolk, is raising over £11,000 for the East Anglian Children's Hospices charity by cycling all the way to Benesov in the Czech Republic.

Ex-dairy farmer Charlie, from Old Buckenham, is joined by fellow cyclists Tony Cantle, from Thetford; Dave Hearnden-Hall, Diss, and Ondrej Kubin from Benesov.

Newly-wed technicians from Easton College, Lizzie and David Ottley, and Jimmy Patterson of Feltwell, will be providing support for the fortnight-long, 1,000-mile journey with a Land Rover and trailer — carrying names and logos of all the sponsors — loaned by the Giant Pet Store of Diss and Norwich.

Benesov is the home of Easton's twin college, Stredni zemedelska skola, in the Czech Republic, but the inspiration for the fund-raising event cam from Emily Hendrie, the seven-year-old daughter of Charlie's friends, who died last year after a "courageous battle against insurmountable odds" when her immune system malfunctioned.

The money raised will provide respite care for families of very sick children. "I am determined that this sort of support should be more widely available. Ideally it should come out of our taxes, but in the meantime we would welcome any more donations," commented Charlie.