THERE’S just over a week until fearless locals abseil 100 feet down the side of Barnsley College’s town centre building.
After last year’s inaugural fundraiser took place with nearly 60 daredevils descending, the Barnsley Hospice Abseil is back bigger and better than before.
A huge £27,000 was raised through the event and it’s set to return a week tomorrow.
One of those fundraisers is the well-known Joe Beardsall, who will be abseiling in memory of his grandad Bruce who was cared for by the hospice before he died.
Joe told the Chronicle: “I’ve never done a proper abseil before, especially nothing this high up.
“I’m not currently scared of heights but that might change when my feet are dangling off the side of the big red Barnsley College building.
“The hospice took care of my grandad, Bruce, before he passed away.
“He was a hard-working, jolly ex-Barnsley miner who loved telling his grandkids all his funny stories about working ‘darn pit’, and with his pure Barnsley accent, he called me ‘Jua’ rather than ‘Joe’.
“The amazing care he received from the hospice meant that, even when he was really poorly in his final days, he was able to feel as comfortable as possible, and share some of those brilliant stories with us one last time.”
Joe will be scaling down the building with his brother, Caleb, and he’s hoping to raise £1,000 by doing so.
He added: “I know my grandad will be having a proper good laugh at us from heaven when we’re dangling 100 feet in the air down the side of Barnsley College because he had a great sense of humour.
“So far I’ve raised £630, but I’d love to try raise £1,000 for the Hospice if possible, so if you can afford to donate a few quid, that would be amazing.”
