Help save 'the Sistine Chapel of the UK'

Many of my friends, family & colleagues may know that my darling fiance Vittoria is an Ambassador at this impressive World Heritage Site that was designed more than 300 years ago, that has been the backdrop of many period and spectacular films.

I am delighted to have completed the Vitality Run Hackney half marathon with 15k other runners on the route around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London. It was an incredibly hot day with temperatures rising to 27C, but feeling much more like 30C+. I finished 13.1 miles at 2 hours 16 minutes 43 seconds.

Thanks to everyone's generosity, our tally excludes off-line pledges which currently stands at an additional £99! So we have made our target with many thanks to all our colleagues, friends & family and now this will be doubled by the Department Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) & Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to become £708! Many many thanks to all & we hope that you will come to visit Vittoria & her colleagues at the Painted Hall to see the transformation of this magnificent hall back to its original splendor as it was designed 300 years ago!

In October 2016, the magnificent Painted Hall will be undergoing a much needed facelift and need public support to make sure this impressive site is protected for another 300 hundred years for future generations to enjoy, so I did my bit by taking the challenge of running the Vitality Run Hackney half marathon on the 8th May to save this spectacular visitor attraction which is recognised as the greatest piece of decorative painting in England and has been described as 'the Sistine Chapel of the UK'. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, it was originally intended as a dining hall for the naval pensioners who lived here at the Royal Hospital for Seamen.

Over the next three years the Greenwich Foundation plan to clean and conserve over 40,000 sq ft of the magnificent Painted Hall wall and ceiling paintings.

This ambitious £7 million conservation project will not only bring back the vibrancy of Thornhill's paintings, but it will also help the site's team to tell all the stories of this 18-century masterpiece. Throughout the project they will provide opportunities for people to become involved in the process of conservation, learn about conservation techniques and work with them to tell the stories told by Thornhill within this masterpiece. There will be an opportunity for every visitor, during and after the project, to take away a new memory, skill, a message or new understanding. to more people. It will enable their team to create new educational opportunities and help develop conservation skills.

So we are so grateful for the many pledges to help the Foundation to conserve more of the Painted Hall and secure Sir James Thornhill's wonderful works of art for both present and future generations.

All donations made to the fund by June 2016 will be doubled by the DCMS & HLF.

So your gift will be doubled and will enable the Foundation to fund their free events and learning projects, as well as care for the iconic site.

In the meantime, enjoy some of the film clips & catch a glimpse of the spectacular work that Sir James Thornhill took 19 years to create or better yet, why not come down to Greenwich and have a look for yourself & find out which window Johnny Depp jumped out of?

Many thanks for your generous gifts and helping to preserve our 'Sistine Chapel' for future generations to enjoy & we hope that you will go to the Pained Hall for a visit soon!