Well the dust has settled and the
blisters have healed and I can finally take the opportunity to thank everyone
for their fantastic contribution to the success of The Long Walk and for the
wonderful gifts that I received.
So say that I was overwhelmed would be
an understatement. I cannot convey how grateful I was for the friendship,
camaraderie and kindness shown during my 50th celebrations.
Having grown up in a large extended
family in Dublin, I have been used to celebrating significant events surrounded
by parents and children, brothers and sister, cousins, aunts, uncles and close
childhood friends.
This was the first time I was away from
home for such a significant celebration, far from all my close companions, far
from the familiar wind and rain and the cold of a spring March day in Dublin.
If thoughts of those absent loved ones
tried to creep into my mind during that week of walking, talking and
laughing, they were quickly banished by a joke, the companionship of fellow
travellers and around the next corner, another stunning view of the Spanish
Mountains we were trekking across.
I would like to thank each and every one
of you for letting me celebrate my birthday with you in such a fabulous way.
Your kindness will live with me forever.
John
xxx
