We're there for those who need us

Swindon pensioner Audrey Gooding’s plans for her 80^th birthday are up in the air – as she has just signed up to celebrate it with a sponsored wing-walk for Prospect Hospice.

Audrey, who will become an octogenarian on 23 September 2022, is a familiar face in Prospect Hospice’s reception area, where she volunteers once a week.

A carer to her husband, Leslie, and her daughter Carol, Audrey still finds time to help man the reception desk, frank post and check that all visitors to the hospice have evidence of a negative lateral flow test.

But while she plans to continue this work, the thought of her impending 80^th birthday made her want to do something a little more unusual.

“I’ve done lots of volunteering in my time, including face-painting at fetes and shaking buckets, but I’ve also always wanted to try wing-walking,” said Audrey.

“Then I suddenly thought I could do a sponsored wing-walk for Prospect Hospice as a celebration of the big Eight-Oh. My husband considered having me certified, but he has paid the £150 registration fee for the aeroplane flight, and I am aiming to raise at least £700 for the charity.”

Even though this is the first time she will have been perched on the wings of a 1940s Boeing Stearman biplane, Audrey’s not a stranger to completing physical challenges to raise funds for Prospect Hospice.

“I used to do a two-mile fun run, have abseiled from Swindon Town Football Club and Jury’s Inn, and have completed a few Starlight Walks,” says Audrey, who lives in Upper Stratton.

“As you get older, though, it’s harder to find sponsors among your own friends as they are also pensioners on a fixed income, so I’m hoping that the lovely people in Swindon will also sponsor me. Prospect Hospice is a wonderful charity, and we are very lucky to have it, so the more we can all do to help it care for those who need it, the better.”