'I walked to every pub in Cambridge for my sister'

2 hours ago

Alex Pope

Tom Foddy raised a glass to celebrate the life of his sister Samantha Foddy

Cambridge Pub2Pub Tom Foddy, holding a glass of beer in his right hand, outside a pub. He is smiling. He is wearing a dark T-shirt and has short fair hair and a beard. The pub is painted blue behind him and has two large hanging baskets, either side of the doorway. — Tom Foddy raised a glass to celebrate the life of his sister Samantha Foddy

A loving brother has raised about £3,500 by walking to every pub in Cambridge to increase funds and create awareness of a rare cancer that his sister died from.

Tom Foddy, 40, from Worlington, Suffolk, carried out the feat by using his feet to carry him 42 miles (68km) to 136 hostelries across the city.

The 40-year-old, who is the commercial director of a brewery in Bedford, also wanted to highlight the important role pubs had in the community.

He said Samantha Foddy, who died from sarcoma in March 2020 aged 36, would have loved to have joined him, as she introduced him to pubs in the city when he turned 18.

Tom Foddy said he completed the challenge to raise funds for Sarcoma UK, after his sister, Samantha Foddy, died from the cancer in 2020

Tom Foddy Tom and Samantha Foddy, both looking at the camera and smiling. Tom has his arm around Samantha and they are leaning into each other. Tom has short fair hair and Samantha long blonde hair. Tom is wearing a white T-shirt and Samantha a black top. She has a necklace round her neck. — Tom Foddy said he completed the challenge to raise funds for Sarcoma UK, after his sister, Samantha Foddy, died from the cancer in 2020

Tom started his challenge on Friday at the Red Lion in Grantchester and finished on Saturday at the Salisbury Arms on Tennyson Road, where a welcoming party was waiting for him.

It was also where he had his first date with his wife, Marzia Cannazza.

Before Samantha passed away, he said they came up with a "list of 100 things to do before you die".

"One of those things was to raise money for charity."

Tom was joined on the walk by his wife Marzia Cannazza

Cambridge Pub2Pub Tom, standing next to Marzia Cannazza, with his arm round her. They are both smiling and looking at the camera. He is wearing a black top, black shorts and has a bag on his back. Marzia has on a grey sweatshirt, dark leggings and a bag strap across her. She has long dark hair and is wearing sunglasses. They are by a row of white thatched buildings with cars on the road. — Tom was joined on the walk by his wife Marzia Cannazza

His latest challenge, called the Cambridge Pub2Pub, was to raise funds for Sarcoma UK.

"I just want to make sure people know what it is as a lot of people have said they didn't know what Sarcoma was."

It is a rare type of cancer that starts in soft tissue, such as muscle and fat, the NHS said.

He said he worked out a route that "flowed" rather than the beer.

"It was very much visit a pub, take a photo, take a selfie, and then move on to the next one.

"I only had about ten pints across 136 pubs, over the two days.

"It's important that we try and keep pubs at the centre of the communities."

Tom, when he set off at the start of his adventure on Friday

Cambridge Pub2Pub Tom, outside a pub, with a pub sign to the right. He has short fair hair and a beard. There are two windows in the building. — Tom, when he set off at the start of his adventure on Friday

His role in Bedford is to "work with pubs every day", he said.

"These are places where people meet, they're places where people go to relax, have fun, they support mental health, they support with eating, they support with anything that's going on in an area and it's absolutely vital that we protect that", he added.

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