20 May 2022 Community

Aggie the pug will be taking part in this years Midnight Memory Walk

Proud Huddersfield nurse, Alison Edwards, is looking forward to taking part in this year’s Midnight Memory Walk, and is delighted that along with her partner Ian and daughter Cassidy, their beloved canine companion, Aggie, will be accompany on the eventing.  

Despite her small stature, eight year old pug Aggie, is a big part of the family. She normally loves an early night, but for one evening only Alison says she’ll be ready to put one paw in front of the other on her late night stroll. As the famous saying (almost) goes, it’s one small step for Aggie, one giant leap for dog kind. 

On taking on this year’s Midnight Memory Walk challenge, Alison said: “I am going to do the walk with my daughter Cassidy, who is 11, my partner Ian, and my dog Aggie, who is an old, grey, fat pug who is photogenic. She goes to bed every night before we do at about 8pm, so doing a walk at midnight is not her choice of fun! She will not be happy, I will be bribing her with treats to keep her going.   

“Aggie has retired from doing Park Run but she will make it around the walk, and I just think it’s a nice thing to take her on. She will be grumpy that she’s up late and if she gets tired I will carry her for the last bit but it will be great to have her with us on the night.” 

Alison, 45, has been a nurse for 27 years. She currently works at the Princess Royal Health care centre in Huddersfield, where she is the lead nurse in phlebotomy. Alison knows how important The Kirkwood is to the Kirklees community and is passionate about what the charity does.  

She said: “I am a Huddersfield lass born and bred and proud of my town. I think everyone knows of The Kirkwood and knows of someone who has been helped by them. I’ve never heard of one bad thing about The Kirkwood and the people who work for the charity. I know that The Kirkwood don’t just care for their patients but also look after the families of those who need support and that’s something I think is just as important.  

“The charity is run on donations and needs all the support it can get, so in my opinion I couldn’t put my money towards anything more important than that. The Kirkwood needs it because you never know if I or my family will need to use their services in the future. 

“I know if me or my family ever need the help of The Kirkwood that we would be in good hands, and I would be relaxed about it.” 

Alison has taken part in the Midnight Memory Walk once before, walking the 10 mile route, however this time they are going to do the 6 mile route. Alison says that daughter Cassidy, who enjoys taking part in her local Park Run, will be looking forward to taking part in something new.  

She said: “I have done the Midnight Memory Walk once before, it was my sister that got me into it, she did it before me. She said I do should it with her. I had fallen earlier in the day and smashed my knee and couldn’t really walk, however I didn’t want to let people down so did the whole thing on painkillers. It was all worth it just for the bacon butty in the early hours of the morning! 

“Cassidy will be excited to take part in it as it is something different and it’s not like just going for a walk in the day time. I remember when I last did it, there is a great atmosphere at the beginning. It’s very colourful with lots of flashing lights, so I think all three of us will enjoy the event, safe in the knowledge we are helping a good cause.”