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We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re currently in the Malvern Hills<\/a>, marketed by the local council as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcElgar Country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. A<\/span>ccording to Brian Micklethwaite, writing on the Icons of England<\/a> website\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Malvern Hills\u00c2\u00a0epitomise England’s ‘green and pleasant land’. They are not an icon solely devoted to London but represent all England, especially when associated with the quintessentially English music of Sir Edward Elgar.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n We were in Malvern visiting some old friends of ours, Margarette Rolle and her partner Vassily Savenko<\/a>. Margarette is the promoter of the Boyan Ensemble of Kiev<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(I spent a month on tour with the Ensemble in 1997 producing one of my first photo essays after graduating). Vassily is an acclaimed bass baritone.<\/p>\n During our stay I spotted a poster in a local shop window advertising a sponsored walk across the Malvern Hills in aid of\u00c2\u00a0St. Richard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hospice<\/a>. I went along this morning to watch as a few hundred people walked across this stunning landscape to raise money for the hospice,\u00c2\u00a0which <\/span>cares for patients and families in Worcestershire who are living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. As Judy Hughes, one of the walkers I met, said to me “In my opinion spending your leisure time helping others is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things to do”.<\/span><\/p>\n