Meet the man behind Percy's Adventures

How it all began…

I have spent more than a decade fundraising for cancer charities, completing 13 marathons in London, New York and Paris and raising over £30,000 along the way. In March 2024, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. The nurses I had supported through years of fundraising, were now the same people guiding me through my own treatment journey.

I count myself incredibly lucky to have responded well to treatment. I believe my fitness helped play a part, but also the incredible support of my family. I'm back to running local roads, but whilst my marathon days are probably behind me, my determination to help others certainly isn't. The desire to continue fundraising remains a big part of what I live for.

Where did the idea for Percy's Adventures come from?

Whilst I was undergoing treatment, my mum was clearing out the attic and came across an old newspaper clipping from The Hereford Times dated 1982. I was an 12-year-old schoolboy attending Bishops, a local secondary school, and our English teacher had entered the whole class in a competition to write a bedtime story for the newborn Prince William. I won with my story called ‘Percy the Sugar Pig.’

What was it like rediscovering a story you had written more than 40 years earlier?

Reading that newspaper cutting again made me wonder what had happened to Percy after all these years. Once I had finished my initial treatment, I started revisiting the story and imagining new adventures for him. I realised this could be a way of combining my love of storytelling with my passion for fundraising.

Tell us a little about Percy's Adventures.

Percy's Adventures is a collection of stories designed to reignite children's love of story time. Stories have a special way of bringing children together with parents, grandparents, carers and other family members, creating shared moments and lifelong memories. I would love to help preserve some of that childhood magic, imagination and wonder for just a little bit longer.

Why was it important to use the book to raise money for the cancer unit that treated you?

All proceeds raised from the book will go towards the Radiotherapy Unit. There is capacity for a second machine in Hereford, but funding remains a challenge. My hope is that Percy's Adventures can play a small part in helping improve cancer services for patients across Herefordshire and beyond. Sometimes you have to dream big!

You've had a lot of support bringing the project to life. Who has helped along the way?

This book is very much a community effort. Published author Charlotte Taylor generously volunteered her professional editing and formatting expertise, and honestly, I don't think the project would have reached publication without her.

I've also been overwhelmed by the support from local businesses including Cotswold Hereford BMW, The Beefy Boys, Clear Storage and Allpay, along with a grant from Hereford Rotary. Barrington Print in Leominster also facilitated a local print run especially for Percy.

The willingness of so many people and organisations to get behind the project says a lot about the community spirit we have here in Herefordshire.

You're planning to send a copy of the book to the Prince and Princess of Wales. Why does that feel so significant?

The original story, Percy the Sugar Pig was written for Prince William in 1982, so it's fitting that more than four decades later he'll finally get the chance to discover what happened next. Given that both Catherine, Princess of Wales, and I have recently experienced our own cancer journeys, I hope they'll appreciate the cause behind the book as much as the story itself.

What does it mean to see Percy's Adventures published?

Seeing Percy become a real book and knowing it could be sitting on shelves in people's homes is something I never imagined when I started writing again. This project has only happened because of the generosity, encouragement and support of so many people and for this I am incredibly grateful.

What do you hope readers take away from the book?

I hope children enjoy the adventures and discover a love of reading and storytelling. If the project can raise awareness, inspire hope and generate funds for local cancer services at the same time, then Percy and I will have achieved far more than we ever dreamed possible.