Max Camps Beside Twickenham Pitch
Max Woosey, who plays rugby for Barnstable rugby club, has been sleeping in a tent since March 2020.
The 12-year-old is raising money for North Devon Hospice.
Recently recognised in the Pride of Britain Awards, he slept beside the Twickenham pitch with his dad, after receiving this accolade, and will be on the pitch as an England mascot for the Autumn Nations Series England v Australia Test.
Max’s neighbour, Rick Abbott, used to chat to him about sport and camping and, before he died and was cared for by the local hospice, he gave Max his tent and told him to go off and have adventures.
Max has now raised over £560,000 for the hospice which is at least 50% of the fundraising they lost during the coronavirus pandemic. Presented with his award on stage, he was taken to Twickenham Stadium, where he appeared live on TV and then slept in his tent as the rain fell through the night.
"Rick was the only man in his seventies I knew to have a climbing wall in his garage," said mum Rachael. "He would come round to dinner and talked to Max about camping and sport. When he was ill a group of us promised to look after him at home and Max saw how amazing the hospice were in helping that happen.
"When he asked to camp out in Rick’s tent in our garden we said no initially but he persuaded us. Then when he wanted to fund raise, we said nobody would be interested in a boy sleeping in a tent. I suppose he will always prove us wrong."
Due to the pandemic, most of Max’s nightly camping has been in his garden, although he did camp at London Zoo and set up his tent in the garden at 10 Downing Street, drinking hot chocolate with Boris Johnson.
Most nights his tent is shared by his labradoodle Digby and, laughs Rachael: “Each morning there’s the smell of boy and dog, but they are both happy and Max has no plans to return to his bedroom any time soon. He wants to camp at his West Buckland school to be their first ever boarder.”
