Prestbury Tin Man raises almost five times his target for Brain Tumour Research

A 65-year-old with two artificial knees has been buffeted by winds reaching 60mph and drenched by rain which saw seven inches fall in a day during the closing stages of a 500-mile charity hike in northern Spain.

Bryn Thompson, a former UK Sales Leader of the Year and author from Prestbury, battled his way through the gusts and floods to raise more than £4,800 on behalf of Brain Tumour Research, already almost five times his initial target.

He was hiking in the footsteps of people from all over the world who have completed the ‘pilgrim walk’ over the past 1,000 years. In 2010 Martin Sheen starred in a film about this famous hike called ‘The Way’.

Nicknamed The Tin Man after the character in the film The Wizard of Oz, Bryn’s trek took him along The Camino Frances from St Jean de Pied a Port in the Pyrenees across the north-west of Spain through Pamplona, Burgos, Leon, over several mountains into Galicia and finally on to Santiago de Compostela.

Bryn was walking on metal knees following much wear and tear, having played cricket and rugby union at a high amateur level for over 40 years.

He made three trips over the past year to Spain, to break down the trek into manageable amounts spanning a total of five weeks, and has just returned from his final journey which was when the weather turned nasty.

He said:

“The winds really got up in the mountain areas, but the weather was not the hardest part.  At one time I did more than 60 miles over three consecutive days including the highest point of the Camino – more than 5,000 feet above sea level.

“One day it was mountainous, another day it rained all day and on the other day it was both. That was pretty brutal, especially when the last five miles of one long day was up a steep mountain. The steak and wine at the end of the day made it all worthwhile though.

“When the rain was at its worst, I sang ‘Singing in the Rain’ and threw in a few Gene Kelly dance moves, to the amusement of my fellow hikers.” 

That feat speaks volumes about the skill of the surgeons who created new knees for The Tin Man.

His right knee was replaced by Simon Rubin at Stepping Hill in Stockport over 13 years ago and Nick Kenny, a Wilmslow specialist operated on the left knee at Cheadle’s Alexandra Hospital seven years later.

Bryn recalls:

“They are two amazing surgeons. For the first knee op I had an epidural and I was fully conscious, it sounded like someone doing DIY next door. It took Mr Rubin two and half hours (twice as long as usual) and he said 'your bones are like ivory'.

“With Nick Kenny for knee number two I was unconscious. It took just 59 minutes, he said it was it his fourth replacement of the day and he was on the home straight!”

Brain Tumours affect 55,000 people in the UK each year and kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. Someone is diagnosed every two hours.

In January 2021, Bryn lost his former mentor, boss and friend, Andy Sawer, co-founder of Pareto, who died from brain cancer at the age of 59.

Bryn said:

“Andy was a force of nature, a larger than life character, much loved by everybody who knew him. We lost Andy far too soon but his memory lives on. We all miss him greatly.

“Andy loved sport. He had a great sense of humour and helped thousands of graduates to find their first jobs in sales. Many have gone on to enjoy stellar careers.”

This year, together with his co-author and business partner, Steve Lowndes, Bryn has had a book published called Transformational Selling, which is receiving five-star reviews on Amazon.

The book describes the methods – and in many cases the humour – which has gone into making Bryn and Steve’s business, New World Selling, a success story.

Born and raised near Bakewell in Derbyshire, Bryn is not letting his knee replacements get in the way of the sport he still plays.

He’s a talented batsman with Cheshire Cricket League club Prestbury and the Cheshire Seniors team and he’s a golf member of The Tytherington Club.

In the world of rugby, Bryn was a ball playing No 8, good enough to have captained Glossop and Derbyshire. He also played for the Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire Combined XV and finished with Wilmslow Veterans in his early 50s.

If you wish to donate to Bryn’s JustGiving page in support of Brain Tumour Research, you can do so until November 30th.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/bryn-thompson-1681479889770

Pictured - Nearing journey's end . . .  Bryn Thompson at the 100 kilometers to go signpost with the finish of The Camino Frances three days away.