In 2020 I lost my Grandad or as I call him Uhige to Covid. He was amazing man who taught me all about spitfires, how to cook, how to ride a bike and was my best friend. So to show my support I’m climbing Snowdon on the 28th of June to raise money for the wonderful people who support the upkeep of the National Covid Wall in London.
The wall was created in 2021 by bereaved families, it is a visual representation of the UK loss to Covid-19.
Incase you are unaware the wall stretches for 500 metres alongside the River Thames directly opposite the Houses of Parliament. There are more than 200,000 individually hand painted red hearts each representing a person who died of Covid 19 as a direct cause of death.
Many of the hearts on the Wall have been personalised with individual messages written either by the bereaved or by the volunteers who are there every week, maintaining this unique memorial. The original hearts were drawn with art pens, which have faded with the London weather, so each heart on the entire Wall has had to be repainted with long-lasting masonry paint.
The Friends of the Wall are in ongoing discussions with relevant authorities, as they work towards the Wall being made a permanent memorial. Funds raised will be used for materials to maintain and preserve the Wall, and for all the necessary legal costs and planning permission required to ensure that the National Covid Memorial Wall is there for future generations.
Looking into the future, they also hope to create a portable representation of the National Covid Memorial Wall that can exhibit around the United Kingdom, enabling people who would be unable to visit London to see and engage with it.
As the Wall is a UK memorial, although located in London, the Friends of the Wall also try to make it as accessible as possible through public events, such as lighting 2000 LED candles for Christmas, anniversary ceremonies and other activities to promote the National Covid Memorial Wall highlighting the ongoing loss of life.
If you haven’t been please do go and have a look it is truly remarkable! Uhige’s heart is on panel 18.The number relates to which panel of the wall it is on. Numbers run from Westminster Bridge (1) to Lambeth Bridge (25). A number is marked in the centre top of each panel.
Hiking boots✔️
Hiking bag✔️
Covid wall t- shirt and hoodie ✔️
Plenty of water ✔️
Uhige watching over me ✔️ I know I will do him proud ❤️