Phil Voice: Felt emotional
One man has completed a 1,250 mile journey on a ride-on lawn mower in aid of national horticulture charity Perennial.
Phil Voice trundled into John O’Groats on 15 October on a ride-on mower, successfully completing the epic ‘Mowerthon’, raising funds and awareness for Perennial.
Phil Voice of the Landscape Juice Network set off from Bergerac in France on the Etesia ride-on mower on 1 October. With an average speed of just 7.5 mph, the journey was hard going, but he successfully reached John O’Groats exactly two weeks later.
Phil used an Etesia H124 Professional ride-on mower and was supported by Etesia, their dealers and staff in France and the UK along his journey. The mower was the same as a commercially available machine used by local authorities and professional landscapers. Etesia now plans to auction off the mower, with some of the profits also to be donated to Perennial.
Phil describes his experience: “ Driving so slowly over such a long distance gave me a lot of time to think about why it was so important to raise money for Perennial and also raise awareness of the challenges landscape and horticulture practitioners face. This spurred me on day after day, sticking to a gruelling schedule so that I could complete the journey. I feel so emotional when I think of everyone who helped make the Mowerthon happen and who gave something, be that their time or money in making it a success. My very special thanks go to Etesia for their commitment and dedication to the project.”
Donations are still coming in and the Mowerthon is expected to raise more than its £10,000 target – anyone who still wishes to donate can do so at:
www.justgiving.com/mowerthon
Perennial provides free, confidential advice, emotional support and financial assistance to people of all ages working in or retired from horticulture and their spouses, partners and children. The charity helps professionals such as gardeners, landscapers, tree surgeons, greenkeepers, plantsmen and groundsmen. Its work depends entirely on voluntary donations from the horticulture industry and the garden-loving public, and the funds raised from the Mowerthon will be invaluable to the charity’s ongoing work in helping individuals and families.
www.hortaid.org.uk