We are delighted to help raise awareness of the Cancer and Pisces Trust, of which Orvis Ambassador Marina Gibson is Trustee. Ahead of an upcoming Facebook Live on the Orvis UK Channel with Marina, we hear more from the Cancer and Pisces Trust and what the Trust has been working on.
“Just over a year ago ‘Cancer and Pisces’, the memoir of my old friend Mick May was released by Quiller Publishing. Those of you have read it might recall that it tells the story of his life since diagnosis with a terminal cancer in 2013 and the part his love of fishing had to play in his survival.
Since then I’m happy to announce that there has been a charitable spin-off. In January of this year the well-known fishing entrepreneur, coach and guide, Marina Gibson, pitched to Mick the idea of an angling club dedicated to cancer sufferers and their carers. Indeed she had already negotiated for the purpose exclusive and free access to the well-stocked lake at the award-winning Swinton Park Hotel in North Yorkshire.
If you’ll forgive the pun, he was hooked, and they set about recruiting a very small band, of which I am proud to be one, to make the dream a reality. In the past nine months we have quietly been making some rapid progress.
First, the Cancer and Pisces Trust has been registered with the Charity Commission (number: 1195567). Secondly, we have reached an informal agreement with a leading UK cancer care charity to work in tandem with their local centres to provide sufferers with what we call therapy on the water Next May we will launch The Northern Cancer and Pisces Club with a day every month at Swinton dedicated solely to cancer sufferers and/ or their carers.
We want these to be enjoyed to the full by everyone, from experienced anglers to those who are not sure which end of the rod you pick up. Our aim is the widely-recognised health benefits that fishing can bring, quite literally therapy on the water; we will have professionals on hand so that everyone who attends can get the most out of it. Happily I can advise that we are not alone in our enthusiasm. Somehow Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse also got wind of our plans and asked us to join them in May to film an episode of their highly acclaimed programme ‘Gone Fishing’. This episode will air on BBC2 this Sunday (26th September).
And finally, if what I have outlined already, or indeed the show itself, moves you to want to contribute to our costs, you can do so by clicking on this link to our JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/cancerandpisces or visit our website at www.cancerandpisces.org”
