Sell-out curry night in Brackley raises cash for group's Moonwalk Challenge

Jacqui Parsons, Holly Jones, Trish Griffiths, Lucie Joels, Debbie Grainge, Jayne Peltz, Maria Rylott Byrd, Lorna Greenaway, Bethan Morgan and Alison MacConnachie will be doing the Moonwalk Challenge on May 12.

In a bid to raise nearly £5,000 in the run up to the event, the group is holding four curry nights at the Dhan Shiri in Brackley with the first one held on Monday this week. All four nights have sold out.

On Monday, around 80 people attended the event which included an auction, a raffle and entertainment by local musicians.

Speaking to the Banbury Guardian, Trish said they were inspired to do the Moonwalk by Lucie, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Trish said: “Lucie turned to me one day and said, ‘Do you fancy doing the Moonwalk?’ and I thought if she can do it, then I’ll have to do it too.”

The group has been training ever since, completing a 16-mile training walk last Sunday. Trish said: “That was interesting as it started snowing and hailing and we looked at each other and said, ‘Why are we doing this?’ Luckily walking around the country roads is really quite beautiful and we are lucky to live in this part of the world.”

Further training walks of 18 miles and 20 miles are also on the training schedule.

Trish said: “In between we are juggling families and full time jobs. It is quite an eclectic mix of women that are doing it. We are all trying to train at different times – some of us during the evening, some of us in the morning.”

One member of the group, Alison MacConnachie, has done the Moonwalk before and has given the rest of the group some tips for completing the challenge.

She also inspired the idea of the curry nights to raise money as she had previously held a curry night to fundraise for a child who needed treatment.

“I approached the Dhan Shiri and said, ‘How do you feel about filling up the restaurant on a Monday night?’ then I asked them how they felt about giving half the money back and they said yes.”

The next curry nights are being held on February 26, March 5 and 12.

The Moonwalk is a marathon-length walk around London from Clapham Common, taking in the city’s landmarks, with participants usually wearing decorated bras.

To donate, visit moonwalklondon2018.everydayhero.com/uk/lucie-s-tarts and to read more about Lucie’s battle on her blog Me, Myself and Norman, visit free568490.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/choices/.