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BLOG: Meet Yorkie: The friendly face behind the final rider at Tour de Moor

At the tail end of our Tour de Moor you will find some of our volunteers with a very important job…sweeping the route.
Paul Cunningham or ‘Yorkie’ as he is known among friends is one of the friendly faces behind the final rider at our annual cycling event across Dartmoor. His job is to ensure that no riders are left behind, keeping the event running smoothly and in the right direction!
Originally from Halifax in West Yorkshire, he came to Plymouth in 1977 when he joined the Navy and stayed here ever since. The 71-year-old is now happily retired and enjoys volunteering his time and skills each year for St Luke’s.
He said: “I can’t really remember how long I’ve been ‘sweeping’ on Tour De Moor, pretty much from the outset. I do it with my friends Steve and Lee who have been good riding friends for a number of years and Lee is also a fully trained bike mechanic so he’s a good person to be riding alongside – as well as them both being superb friends.”

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BLOG: Family on wheels: Meet Ellis and mum Katie

You may have spotted eight-year-old Ellis Jenkins out and about on our Tour de Moor posters this year.
An avid cyclist, Ellis completed the Tour de Moor last year with is mum Katie in memory of his grandad and he is set to do it all again this year.
Whatever the weather, Ellis, from Modbury, can be found out riding his bike. With a love for Harry Potter, tractors, and his latest hobby – learning to skateboard – Ellis will give anything a go. He’s also a keen rugby player and a member of the Beavers, and when it comes to cycling, there’s no stopping him.
Ellis took part in our Tour de Moor last year for the first time and since then, he has been excited to do it all over again, putting his gears to the test.
Katie said: “I’ve been doing spin for a few years now and it has definitely helped me keep up with him! We are an outdoorsy family and try to get outside as much as possible. We cycle the lanes and take his bike to some of the fields near us and he loves going downhill really fast and will cycle back up again! We go to the local pump tracks with his friends, which he loves, and to Haldon Forest to do the bike trails and pump tracks there.”

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BLOG: Pete’s Ironman tribute to his brother David

“Supporting St Luke’s through the Ironman feels like the closest thing I can offer to a thank-you note.”

Pete Thacker completed the Leeds Ironman last week – consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run – in memory of his brother David, who was cared for by St Luke’s back in 2023.

Pete, from Otley, near Leeds is a self-described “keen albeit rather slow cyclist and runner”. He decided to take on his second Ironman in Leeds on July 27, completing it in a fantastic 13 hours and16 minutes.

“I completed my first Ironman around twelve years ago, but the body is older now and responding to training in slightly more painful ways than it did back then! That said, there’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement when you cross the finish line whether you run, walk or crawl over it. There’s a strange enjoyment in pushing yourself to that point. When you come into the transition area for the second time to start the run, someone always says, ‘last bit now’ but what they don’t mention is that the last bit is a full marathon!”

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BLOG: Global Learning: How a Gibraltar nurse is bringing St Luke’s learning to life

Here at St Luke’s, our services go beyond hands-on care. One important strand to our work is educating and empowering people in what good end of life care looks like.
Daniella Bright is our first overseas student studying our online module titled ‘Enhancing end of life care and palliative care practice’ in collaboration with the University of Plymouth. The aim of the module is to enable health and social care practitioners to develop a critical and reflective approach to caring for those living and dying with a life-limiting condition.
Daniella has been using her learning to assist her in her role as a Night Sister at St Bernard’s Hospital in Gibraltar, where she has been working since qualifying as a Staff Nurse back in 2013. Prior to her role as Night Sister, she was the Charge Nurse of the hospital’s Rehabilitation Ward.

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