To attract attention to their quest, Glen Tonkin and David Campbell decided to dress up in drag and mount spacehoppers to demonstrate a new "sport" they believe will soon become an international spectator sport – spacehopping.

Last week, the 'Strathy' reported the pair's plan to take part in a sponsored cycle through the Rocky Mountains this summer, but their fund-raising does not end there.

This weekend, the pair and their supporters will host a series of events to bring in money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Local charity campaigner Sandra Cheyne will lead a sponsored walk along the nearby Wildcat Trail, starting at the village hall at 9am on Saturday.

That evening at Newtonmore Village Hall, the public will be invited to take part in a horse race night sponsored by a collection of local firms from 7.30pm.

To publicise this, the pair fitted horses' heads and legs to two space hoppers and dressed up in drag before being filmed hopping around their village.

This video was posted on the YouTube video-sharing website with details of the race night.

Fund-raisers Glen Tonkin (left) and David Campbell.

Mr Tonkin (33) joked that he hoped the clip would be seen by more people than the 47 million who have so far viewed Susan Boyle's performance on 'Britain's Got Talent'. Failing that, it might make its way to the top of the chart of the most viewed items on the Strathy's on-line edition, which he acknowledged was more likely!

The two players decided to raise money for Marie Curie after relatives and friends were affected by cancer.

Mr Tonkin's father, Ian, died four years ago after a battle with pancreatic cancer, while Mr Campbell's grandfather and uncle were diagnosed with cancer recently.

The video is accompanied by a well-known local shinty song, 'Jock Paul's Bike', played by local musician Davy Holt, and had been viewed on YouTube more than 1,100 times by the time the 'Strathy' went to press yesterday (Tuesday).

"With the video clip, we have four ambitions," Mr Tonkin said. "Firstly, to use the Internet to support a good cause; secondly to get to the top of the Strathy website's 'most read articles' chart; third, to get 'Jock Paul's Bike' into the charts, and last but by no means least, to get space-hopping into the London 2012 Olympics!"

The video can be viewed on-line at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvgV6QO772s. Details of the Canadian bike ride can be found at www.justgiving.com/glentonkin and www.justgiving.com/davidrcampbell, where donations can also be made.

g.burke@sbherald.co.uk

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