FEATURE: How to Hawks your way around Europe

Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
March 30, 2009

A SERIES of bizarre bets carried out by a popular comedian has inspired an intrepid IT analyst to walk 1750 miles.

Tony Hawks chronicled his attempts to honour his friends' daft pub bets in his books Round Ireland With A Fridge and Playing the Moldovans at Tennis.

Now 28-year-old Toby Renouf, from Mayfield, has set himself the challenge of walking from Edinburgh to Bulgaria to raise money for the Tony Hawks Centre, a Moldovan care home established by the comedian.

Mr Renouf, who works at the Sykes Global Services call centre at Calder House, said: "I was on the lookout for a really worthwhile charity to devote my time to.

"I read Tony Hawks' book and did a bit of research on his charity and I couldn't believe that kind of poverty existed in Europe. Moldova isn't that far from Edinburgh but it may as well be a million miles away in terms of the healthcare the Moldovans receive.

"The Tony Hawks Centre cares for children with things like cerebral palsy and birth deformities, many of which are caused by inadequate birth incubators which keep the babies alive but often leave them with brain damage.

"I'd originally wanted to walk all the way to Moldova but because I don't have a definite date of arrival the visa problems were a nightmare, so I'm going to walk to Bulgaria instead, which is about the same distance, and is as far east as I can go within the EU."

Mr Renouf will be joined at various stages along the way by friends he's made on previous travels around Europe. He will also be travelling to London to meet Tony Hawks himself, who has pledged his support for the charity bid.

Mr Hawks said: "The Tony Hawks Centre started with an off-the-cuff remark to my mates while watching an England v Moldova match on telly.

"All of my travels started out with bets in the pub, which is how I ended up hitchhiking round Ireland with a fridge for a month and heading off to Moldova to play every member of their national football team at tennis.

"When I got to Moldova I thought it would be unfair to be the only one to profit from this book, so half of the proceeds go into a trust for the centre.

"When you start travelling you soon realise how gruelling it can be, so it's a very brave and noble thing that Toby is doing."

While much of Eastern Europe is currently emerging from poverty there is still a great deal of crime, which leaves a lone walker like Mr Renouf exposed to danger.

He said: "I'll be sleeping in a tent and won't be carrying a great deal of money with me, just enough for food and the odd unexpected expense. I'll have someone with me throughout certain parts of the journey, and I'll have my mobile phone with me.

"I'll be in contact with friends and family through internet cafes, so hopefully all these measures, and a bit of positive thinking, will keep me safe."

To donate to Toby Renouf's Tony Hawks Centre Appeal, visit www.tobyswalk.com