Bryan Allam's fundraising feats for Maggie's

Bryan Allam moved to Linlithgow in 2006 and has called the town home since.

His sister Jenny regularly visited from her home in London, as their elderly mother also lived in Scotland – eventually, she rented a flat in Linlithgow in 2017 as a base for her trips up north.

However, Jenny’s world changed at the end of 2018 when a fall saw her pelvis crumble; admitted to hospital, the doctors diagnosed her with stage four breast cancer and told her it was unlikely to be curable as the disease had spread.

Jenny was on a visit to Linlithgow when the first pandemic lockdown was imposed and ended up making the town her home too.

She set to work on Zoom, working as a tutor in English language and literature, while undergoing treatment at St John’s Hospital in Livingston and the Western General in Edinburgh.

While there, Jenny discovered the Maggie’s Centre and, throughout her three year battle with the disease, she came to rely on the charity for support and guidance.

Sadly, despite treatment to keep her cancer at bay, Jenny collapsed at home and was taken to St John’s – where she passed 12 days later, on September 10, 2021.

For Bryan, the rapid decline of his wee sister, who was aged just 50 at the time, was difficult to comprehend – the siblings and their eldest brother Paul (58) had already lost their mum to cancer in April 2019.

Throughout her last days, Bryan sought support and advice from the team at Maggie’s who had already been such a support to Jenny.

And as he tried to come to terms with her loss, he decided he wanted to do something to repay the charity.

He recalled: “Having previously run the Edinburgh Marathon in 2016 and Stirling in 2017, I didn’t plan to do any more. However, after mum’s passing in 2019, I decided to do the York marathon that October for a cancer charity. I was planning to do it the following year but it was cancelled because of the pandemic.

“On the morning of the London Marathon in 2021, Maggie’s Edinburgh sent me an email asking if I fancied running it in 2022.”

Bryan had to raise £3000 to secure his place and duly did so, with an incredible £4500 being matched pound for pound by his employer, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

A movie night in the Barony Theatre in Bo’ness last May, when Jenny’s favourite film The Sound of Music was screened, also helped.

Bryan (55) said: “By the end of last year, with a huge amount of support from friends, family and colleagues, I was able to present a cheque for just over £9000 to Maggie’s Edinburgh.”

Inspired by a Linlithgow Running Buddies fellow member, Angela Frater, Bryan decided to start fundraising again – this time for Maggie’s Forth Valley.

For it was here that Angela was receiving support after being diagnosed last summer with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and vital organ failure.

Bryan said: “Maggie’s were amazing in the care they provided to Angela and her family during her chemotherapy treatments and regular hospital visits.

“She helped me organise the second movie night in May this year, when I hired the Hippodrome and we showed the original Top Gun movie, which raised just over £2000 alone.

“Angela is now thankfully in remission; she’s an incredibly inspirational lady and spoke about her cancer journey and Maggie’s at that movie night.”

Not content to rest on his laurels, Bryan roped another friend – Katryna McLeod, a fellow member of Linlithgow Athletics Club who also ran the London Marathon last year – into taking on a tandem skydive in aid of Maggie’s Forth Valley.

The pair took on that challenge on June 30 – Angela had hoped to do it but it clashed with Fair Day!

While most folk would be scared of freefalling from a plane, Bryan was most worried about his weight.

He explained: “You had to be under 15 and a half stone with all your gear on – so I was on an extreme diet and exercise regime. I made it with one pound to spare!

“It’s an incredible experience – you feel like your head’s going to explode and the cloud water droplets feel like someone’s hitting you with a hose in the face!

“The instructor joked that the landing would have been the best bit for me – so I could go and get a decent breakfast!”

Between the movie night and skydive, Bryan has now amassed more than £5500 for Maggie’s Forth Valley.

Next year, he’s leaving the daredevil stuff to others but is planning to run a movie night fundraiser in the Hippodrome, with Mamma Mia being the likely film.

He added: “I’ve made some great connections at the cinema and they’re looking forward to staging the event again.

“I'd just like to thank everyone who has helped me raise so much money for Maggie’s; no amount can come close to repaying the debt of thanks that our family owes to this quite wonderful charity.”

If you would like to support Bryan, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bryanallam2023.