By Tim Taylor

A man who lives in a Macclesfield parish is in the midst of an epic charity challenge.

Bryn Thompson, a 65-year-old sports lover with artificial knees, is over half way through a 500-mile charity hike along a partly mountainous pilgrimage route in northern Spain.

Globe-trotting Bryn, an entrepreneur and author, has completed around three fifths of The Camino Frances, immortalised by a 2010 film The Way, directed by Emilio Estevez and starring Martin Sheen and James Nesbitt.

Walking on metal knees following the wear and tear of having played cricket and rugby union at a high amateur level for over 40 years, Bryn, whose own business has taken him to over 30 countries, is making three trips to do the hike.

A Brain Tumour research medal. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

He has completed two of them and will start the final 200 miles of the walk on October 13 in aid of Brain Tumour Research.

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.

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

Bryn, who lives in Prestbury, said: "Andy was a force of nature, a larger than life character and was much loved by everybody who knew him.

The life of Andy Sawer, a much loved genius whose Cheshire based business spread across the Atlantic, is being honoured by one of his protégés. Andy's death death at the age of 59 has led to Bryn Thompson's marathon hike in aid of Brain Tumour Research.

"We lost Andy far too soon but his memory lives on. We all miss him greatly."

In 1995, with his then business partner Jonathan Fitchew, Andy founded Pareto, an assessment, placement and training company in Wilmslow.

It grew into a £30m business, with offices in London and New York and is now owned by Randstad, the world's largest recruitment and training business.

"Andy loved sport," said Bryn. "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."

Santiago de Compostela in view, the final stop for Bryn on his Iberian adventure. (Image - CC 3.0 Froaringus Unchanged https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Santiago_de_Compostela_view.jpg)

Together with his co-author and business partner, Steve Lowndes, Bryn, a former UK Sales Leader of the Year, has this year 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, such a success story.

Between them, they have assessed and trained over 20,000 members of sales and sales management teams across every continent.

Bryn expects to complete his marathon hike in a total of 35 days over the three stages in Spain.

Macclesfield: Click the red link at the bottom of the article to donate to the fundraiser.

He added: "I am calling myself the 'Tin Man' after the character in the film The Wizard of Oz. Andy would have laughed at that.

"I set an initial target of £1,000 through JustGiving. Taking into account Gift Aid, Brain Tumour Research had benefited by over £1,600 not long after I finished the second leg.

"So I thought let's give it another go. If you are reading this – and you have not given yet – please take a few minutes to donate as much or as little as you can."

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, who play every Tuesday in summer all over the country. He is also a golf member of The Tytherington Club.

In the world of rugby, Bryn was a ball playing No 8, good enough in his day to have captained Glossop, a club situated on the edge of the Peak District, and Derbyshire. He also played for the Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire Combined XV.

He carried on playing rugby until his early 50s, finishing with the Wilmslow Veterans' team at a time when they toured France, Italy and Chile.

Macclesfield: You can donate to the charity crowdfunder on this link.

By Tim Taylor

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