A friend and I will do a sponsored walk to raise funds for the Newcastle Buddhist Centre this summer.

The walk will take place on either June 21 or 22 along the cost from Saltburn to Redcar return, so we'll cover about eight miles in total.

Money raised will go towards the running costs of the centre, which is a registered charity (reg. 1044379). The centre offers a range of courses on meditation and Buddhism.

It also runs over events such as retreats, yoga classes, Shiatsu activities and the celebration of Buddhist festivals.

Fund-raising is underway already and I do hope that readers of this blog will consider sponsoring me or Alison O'Neill. To support the walk, contact me via the Contact form on this blog. Many thanks.

Last year I adopted Charlie, a six-year-old black Labrador who'd been given to the Dogs Trust at Sadberge, Darlington, for rehoming.

It's a risk when you adopt a dog, but with Charlie I've been lucky. He's smart, has a fantastic personality and draws friendly reactions and affection from almost everyone.

Charlie settled in quickly and was thrilled to receive love and attention. Going out for walks became a highlight of his life. But it soon became apparent that something was wrong.

Charlie couldn't walk far at all without eventually limping and running out of breath. A long walk would leave him feeling stiff and very tired the next day. He had bags of enthusiasm, but his lack of energy and stamina held him back.

I took him to the vets and learned that Charlie had poor muscle tone and soft pads. The vet said it was obvious he'd hardly had any exercise at all in recent years and was slightly overweight too.

But I'd already figured that Charlie hadn't had much exercise, or play for that matter. He had no idea what the word "fetch" meant and didn't know how to play with a ball. He knew the "sit" command, but not "walk", "stay", or "come". Poor Charlie had probably spent hours and hours inside a house - he'd not experienced the freedom of the outside that any healthy, happy animal should be able to enjoy.

The vet gave Charlie a week's course of rimadyl, an anti-inflammatory, and prescribed lead walking on the pavement to improve muscle tone and wear down his nails a bit. No running across fields or through woods for the time being because it would be too hard on his joints. The best way to strengthen his legs would be to take him on well-paced walks that slowly increased in distance.

Now, almost eight months later, Charlie is a different dog. He is stronger, has more stamina, and is able to run and play without suffering the following day.

Probably the most important thing in Charlie's life is a wicker basket containing a collection of tennis balls and rubber balls and, his favourite, a ball on a rope.  Yes, Charlie now gets to run after a ball and retrieve it every day. Play is central to his life and, it seems, is almost as important as food!