Staffordshire man travelling length of country in gumball rally in memory of wife

A man from Staffordshire is setting off today (2 August) in a national gumball-like rally to raise money for The Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge in memory of his partner who died from cervical cancer.

Matthew Rhodes, from Essington, is taking part on the week-long rally with friends in memory of Clare Lewis, who died in December last year.

Clare was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June, after losing weight and suffering pains. Matt and Clare's stepson, Jordan, aged 19 will see themselves travelling in three convertible Minis chased by friends. Some will be acting as police, who want to apprehend them for "crimes against fashion."

For Matt, it's about carrying on Clare's legacy as she "always raised money for the hospice." He says they want to make it as fun as possible "by dressing up in fancy dress everyday."

From today, they will be travelling to some of Clare's favourite places in the UK on the route. They'll be starting in Torquay then moving on to St Ives, Bude, Cardiff, Fishguard, Barmouth, Liverpool and then ending at the Hospice in Stourbridge. Matt is looking to raise around £10,000 but the campaign has already raised over £6,000. One of Clare's wishes for her funeral was that she would rather people made a contribution to the hospice than buy flowers, which also helped raise a vast amount of money for the charity.

Ruth Longville from The Mary Stevens Hospice says the event is massively important to them: "We've gone through a pandemic and to now have fundraisers that can do events is a massive step in the right direction to get us back to some normality."

She says this event is "wacky" and Matt will have "lots of support on the way." The hospice needs £3.5 million a year to survive, with Ruth adding "every penny counts."