School dinners blogger Martha Payne served up hearty porridge to welcome Perthshire-born former Scottish rugby captain Rob Wainwright and his friends back home from a mammoth cycle to raise money for Mary’s Meals.
The 11-year-old, who made headlines for her NeverSeconds blog, provided the nine-strong cycling team with mugs of likuni phala, the nutritious porridge-like dish which Mary’s Meals feeds to children at its largest project in Malawi in order to attract them to the classroom.
She was waiting to greet them on arrival in Oban where the team were close to completing their gruelling 811-mile cycle. They nicknamed the route North of the Fault after the Great Glen fault line, which runs down by Loch Ness.
The challenge took the riders from Oban to John o’ Groats via Applecross and Ullapool, then down through Beauly and back to Oban for the ferry to Mull.
Wainwright and friends, who have been camping en route, officially completed their nine-day challenge when they took part in the Isle of Mull Sportive an 88-mile cycle route with 3,500ft of ascent.
The team has so far raised just over half of their £20,000 target for Mary’s Meals.
The charity, which provides a daily meal to attract children to the classroom and improve their chances of a brighter future, reaches 894,288 children every school day.
Congratulating them on their efforts, Martha said: “It’s really cool how they’ve managed to cycle so far for Mary’s Meals. It’s a huge effort and it’ll have a huge impact.”
Wainwright described undertaking the cycle to raise money for Mary’s Meals as a “no brainer”.
He said: “The generous reaction we’ve had to our fundraising target has been great, with support flooding in from both friends and businesses, including our main sponsor, Alliance Trust.
“Clearly we are not alone in thinking Mary’s Meals feeding hungry children in school is a great idea.”