Fun day held in memory of Shropshire backpacker Harry Greaves
A family fun day complete with unique yurt maze was being held on Saturday in memory of a backpacker who died in Peru.
Simon and Sarah Greaves were hosting the event along with the community in Bronygarth, near Oswestry, to raise funds in memory of their son, Harry, and nephew, David.
Harry, 29, died while trekking in Peru in April last year while his cousin died of Motor Neurone Disease five months later at the age of 31.
The family say they had been through grim times but wanted to do something in their memory to celebrate their short, but full, lives.
Proceeds from the day will go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, which helps sufferers by giving them special equipment to help them communicate when they are trapped inside their bodies.
Mr Greaves said the yurt maze was formed by a series of structures built inside each other.
He said: “Harry helped make some of the yurts with the community before he died.
“He had been fascinated by them after building one on an adventure trip with school. We are fixing up an old school bell in the middle of the smallest yurt and children will be able to see who can reach the centre and ring the bell in the quickest time. As far as I can establish, the yurt maze is a world first and, thanks to the light shining through the material, is quite beautiful.
“Along with the yurt maze there will be a bouncy castle, skittles, games and refreshments.
“We hope the day will be colourful, fun and uplifting.”
The family has also had a book of their son’s poetry, written during his travels and lifetime, put together for people to enjoy.
The book includes more than 20 poems, with the family’s favourite pictures of Harry also inserted into the book.
His mother Sarah said she was so proud of her son’s work and the poems had been a help to her over the last year.
She said: “Not long after Harry died we had the idea, and found poetry around the house, even some on the computer, and there are some beautiful poems from his time in New Zealand.
“The poems came as a real comfort to me and have been helpful to a lot of people.
“They are beautifully written, his father is good with words but we had no idea how gifted Harry was, we are so proud of him.
“The book is not a commercial thing, it is something that keeps Harry’s legacy going.” Books are available at £13 and £18.50 for hard book copies. For further information search for Harry Corder Greaves on Facebook.
