Meet the first member of our third rickshaw taking part in the challenge – the lovely Anna Tidey who is friends with Amanda Duke (part of our mother and son team) and sister to Pauline McBride, co owner of the Prairie Gardens in Henfield, West Sussex along with her husband, Paul. Pauline would have loved to have taken part but unfortunately the Prairies were calling, so she persuaded her sister to take her place. Pauline and Paul have been wonderful supporters of all this madness!
In Anna’s own words…
“I have been described as ‘plucky’, but I’m more than a little apprehensive about joining in with the Deccan Challenge in June 2023. The time is approaching and it is becoming a reality. This will be a far cry from my day job as a local authority Planning Officer.
“My sense of adventure has been awakened by this incredible opportunity….I said yes, and here I go, throwing myself into the challenge! Time to discover India deep down and dirty. I’ve been to India once before in 2018, as a Golden Triangle tourist, but now I’m looking forward to taking to the road to see, feel and taste all that India can offer.
“I’m a single mum with 2 children (Victoria 23 and Alastair 16). They are growing up and becoming independent now. Having grown up on a Sussex farm myself in the 1970s, holidays and travel were limited to single days out and very local travel opportunities …a day at the beach here, a picnic there, and always back home by teatime.
“World travel to date for me has been with my family on package holidays and some solo travels with Exodus groups.
“This time will be different. The Deccan Odyssey represents a personal challenge to benefit a charity here in the UK and in India. I can justify the carbon impact from the jet engines and my own frantic tuk tuk engine revving!
“Together with Yasmine (a fellow Exodus traveller) our Deccan Chugabug will create new travel memories and hopefully make a small difference to the lives of women living in domestic crisis. Giving something back for better lives makes this challenge worthwhile for me.”