Dan Howie (Ch 1998 - 03) - pictured left on the photograph - who never rowed at Shrewsbury or indeed ever until earlier this month, has entered for the toughest rowing race on Earth.  As one of a 2-man crew, along with his rowing partner, Will North, Dan hopes to successfully compete in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, 2013..  The race will start in December 2013 on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands and will finish approximately 3,000 miles away in English Harbour, Antigua an estimated 40 – 70 days later. Dan is aiming to raise £100,000 for three charities; Cancer Research UK, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and St Anna’s.

It is one of the ultimate tests of endurance which will require the two men to take approximately 720 two-hour shifts on the oars, a total of 1440 hours, facing 40ft waves, attention from sharks, shipping lanes and extreme temperatures.

A challenge like this is an expensive undertaking (an estimated £80,000 will be needed to fund the campaign) and therefore Dan is currently seeking corporate sponsorship to enable him to get to the start line. If your business, or the company you are employed by are interesting in being a part of this campaign in some way, then please contact Dan on 07793 970 598 or email atlanticrow2013@gmail.com. He would be delighted to hear from you.

More information available from their website:  www.atlanticrow2013.com and a factsheet which gives more details can be downloaded here.

Within a month of leaving Shrewsbury in 2010, Sam and his jazz band 'The Quarter' were playing at The Big Chill and then at Edinburgh Festival. 

He and another 2010 leaver, Kit Schutzer-Weissmann (PH), then completed cycling The Freedom Challenge - an off road route covering the 2300km between Durban to Cape Town. It runs over the Drakensberg mountain range, through the wilderness of the Baviaanskloof and the desert of the Karoo.  For more info see www.freedomchallenge.org.za.  They made it into Cape Town on foot, with a sprained wrist and no gears!

Sam's latest challenge is to cycle from Leeds to London (via Paris, for added interest) in aid of the Haven Breast Cancer charity.  He will be leaving on 19th March 2012.

Please see http://www.justgiving.com/Sam-Wilson3 for more information.

TWO former Shrewsbury School students who took two blue chairs on an epic adventure across central Asia, have helped to raise more than £4,000 for the Blue Chair charity.

James Sutcliffe (SH 2003-08) and Stephen Johanson (Rb 2003-08) took pictures of the chairs throughout their journey for the charity calendar which raises money for the Shrewsbury Blood Trust Fund, Cure Leukaemia and Mind. During their journey James and Stephen, who are now in their third year at the University of Leeds studying medicine, took the chairs to the Arctic Circle, Red Square in Moscow and St Petersburg. They also travelled on the Pamir Highway, which is the second highest road in the world (see photo).

The Blue Chair calender, which is now in its sixth year, is produced by the Blue Chair Movement at Shrewsbury School. Giles Bell, a housemaster at Shrewsbury School said: “Six years ago I was searching for a way to support a student in my care, Artem Bocharov, who was suffering from leukaemia.  Around that time all the staff received an e-mail from a colleague asking for the safe return of two blue chairs that had disappeared from his classroom. I then sent an e-mail around depicting the blue chairs. The response I received led to the start of the Blue Chair Movement. But the best news is that Artem Bocharov has made a full recovery.”

There are still a few calendars left at £10 each.   For more information contact Giles Bell