SEVEN of Chepstow’s Pontio Lounge staff braved the harsh weather conditions on Thursday, June 12, as staff walked and ran 18 miles to Newport’s Drago Lounge, in aid of Mencap.

Mencap is a charity that supports people with a learning disability, their families and their carers, and it was the favoured charity to fundraise for this year by the team, as part of Lounge Aid Initiative.

Five of the staff walked for six-and-a-half hours, while another two decided to run the distance, arriving in around half that time. Their efforts managed to raise £500, with more coming in.

The walk began around 10am, with unscheduled stops here and there for safety, and to get out of the heavy rain.

Andrew Murray, General Manager of Pontio Lounge said: “We were really starting to feel it on the calves and blisters on the feet!.

“Weather-wise, we picked probably the one day where the heavens just opened and we got caught in torrential downpours for the first three hours. We were absolutely drenched. I wore what I thought was waterproof clothing, but on the first stop, I had to wring out my coat. It was sodden through. Thankfully, we’d prepared very well for it.”

Upon completing the walk, the Chepstow team were greeted with confetti cannons, balloons and a finish line by the team in Newport. The walkers were also given little awards for completing the feat.

Andrew added: “The walk has really brought people together. We receive emails, letters and messages from the community saying that we’ve done such good work, but we do it selflessly - it’s not about us, it’s about Mencap.”

The walk was not the only fundraiser that Pontio Lounge has been involved with for Mencap. On Wednesday, June 18 from 7am to 7pm, the Lounge worked with local tattooist Linked Studio, acting as a ‘waiting room’ for its ‘Flash Day.’

Last year, Linked Studio held ‘Flash Day’, where they offered certain tattoos which can be done quickly for a small fee. It was massively successful and resulted in queues all day. The Lounge and Linked Studio worked out a way for this to be beneficial to Mencap this time around.

Linked Studio donated proceedings from the tattoos this year to Mencap, and the Lounge acted as the go-between, with staff directing customers over to the tattooists when it was their turn. The day managed to raise £903, through suggested donation amounts.

Andrew said: “This is where the local links within the community come in handy. I think it’s the basis of everything.”

In addition, Pontio Lounge is running a quiz night (Thursday, June 26) and bingo night (Friday, June 27), which already have lots of bookings. All of these efforts are ultimately going towards Mencap in a fundraising push throughout June.

If members of the community would like to donate to the cause, they can do so by visiting Pontio Lounge on the High Street, or online via GoFundMe. More about Mencap can be found on its website.