My Family and Other Animals

Well its been a hectic couple of weeks !  With the World Cup going on in the background I have been travelling a fair bit, seeing the best (and worst) that Barcelona has to offer as well as an amazing week on a farm in Wiltshire. A bit more of that further down the page... but firstly I was greeted by a lovely sight as I returned to the breakfast shift last weekend:

This is the front entrance to the hospice and what you can see is the 'Sow a Special Sunflower' Appeal where everyone who makes a donation to the hospice can hang a sunflower in memory of a loved one or relative. Last year it raised over £20,000. What a nice and moving start to a Saturday that was :)

Inside later on, two of my favourite reception volunteers were working this weekend, Des on the left and Ramila on the right:

Their job is to welcome everyone to the Hospice and advise where they need to go, and as you can see they brighten up everyone's day with their beautiful smiles. They are both lovely and kind and always remember what's going on in my life and I find myself chatting to them for longer than I really should as their company is such a lot of fun. The hospice is so lucky to have them ! Des is an avid Arsenal fan but I think that's possibly her only flaw and Ramila loves going to the gym, in fact so keen is she that she once arrived for a class 24 hours early... she probably just passed the time working out on some other machines because as you can see she's in such great shape - in fact they both are - the stress of being an Arsenal fan surely helping Des keep trim I think...

I asked them what they liked best about working on reception and they both agreed that they love the way the Hospice is not what worried relatives and friends expect, that the positive and happy environment helps to reduce worry for them and is so much better than a regular job. I have to wholeheartedly agree with that and the girls here certainly make sure thats the case from the very first minute. Take a bow Des and Ramila !

I had missed the previous weekend as I had been in Barcelona for a friends stag which was tremendous fun - go karting, wakeboarding, football and a few too many beers was the order of the weekend along with some great tapas. The only downside were the pickpockets on the Ramblas in the early hours of the morning, as they are so brazen and all female ! They are not at all stealthy, one simply aims to distract you in front while others are in to your pockets from behind... thankfully they didnt get anything before being busted but beware the Ramblas late at night if you go. Its a shame because otherwise Barcelona is a brilliant city. Other than that much fun was had and even though photos were largely forbidden here's a picture of the Stag before we went out:

Yes we made him wear that, its not his own choice ! I particularly like the pink marigold glove, which to be fair to him he kept wearing even when it began disintegrating on the go-karting...

I was back on Sunday then on Monday I was straight off to Wiltshire to help out on Jamie's Farm (www.jamiesfarm.org.uk) which is a wonderful charity that is a working farm that seeks to help kids that are on the brink of being excluded from school by raising their confidence and self-esteem through interaction with animals. They usually have around 12 kids a week, but this one was a little different and they had 60 from year 7 this time, however it was a reward week for the best pupils so they were all very well behaved, and really quite something - its amazing what kids and I'm sure people of all ages can achieve when they are given high expectations and loads of support and positive reinforcement. It was 13-14 hour days but so worth it as the kids helped me build a path in the garden, helped cook, serve and clear up all their meals and got involved in loads of different activities from log chopping to preparing a meal to feeding cows, pigs, sheep and horses. They even took the last lamb, Matthew to their hearts as he ran around with them. And here he is:

Around the campfire on the last night they all made hashtag symbols with their hands as they were singing, and apparently it stood for '#savematthew'. Awwww. Its probably best that they dont know that Matthew's future involved a shotgun and some mint sauce. Sorry kids, but lamb chops taste ace.

While all the working outdoors was no doubt good for me, I was so exhausted that no training has occurred and I need the weekend to recover. I have however just run back from work which has twice as many hills as they way there so I'm right back on track. Boom !

Until next time...

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The Love of the Heath

The training for all the time on my feet on the trek had begun. I'm walking the route home that I had been using to run to work. This is because I do really need to get used to walking for longer periods of time and has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I was finding the running to work really hard. Honest. And besides I still have that hill to conquer. One day...

The walk is therefore the 5 miles I was running, with a bigger heavier pack and while I mostly try to walk as fast as I can without looking like one of those strange marathon walkers, I do try and appreciate the route. And quite a route it is too as I walk a lot of it through Hampstead Heath, which is one of my favourite places in London.

Beginning from the Kentish Town end, I walk past the tennis courts and then by the first pond, which is a big hit with the dogs:

Just up from here is a bench, and if you didnt know already, every single bench on the Heath (and there are a lot) has a dedication to a loved one who has passed, with a message - not a million miles away from the 'Light up a Life' event at the Hospice which occurs every November.  In a testament to the character of people on the Heath, a rose had been left on this bench and it stayed there for a couple of weeks and I ran (and then walked) past it every day, seeing it change from a vibrant bright yellow to a dull brown, but still it remained untouched and respected the entire time. Something I found very moving.

Its gone now, but I like to think that the stormy weather and the passage of time has accounted for it. Further along the walk you get to the Mens Bathing pond, where gentlemen who like the company of other gentlemen tend to hang out on the grassy knoll, and can go for a swim here. I understand they like to talk about cottages a lot and seek out others who do too. Which is nice.

The powers that be at the Heath are not at all misogynistic, so there is also a women's pond for like minded ladies. I have no idea what their views are on cottages as I have never been in, and you cant see in at all. Even if you climb trees or stand on the wall. Apparently.

It all then gets a bit steep as you climb the hill that takes you up to Kenwood House which is a picturesque stately home that has been used in many films such as Notting Hill and the recently released 'Belle' which I'll use here as it began to rain while I was taking pictures and is not the best shot !

But the view down the hill and across the lake is quite something and I have one of those already:

So there it is - I'm walking this 3 times a week at present, and it takes me around 80 minutes. This will obviously need to be increased closer to the day, but I still have 3 and a half months to go so I think I'm very much on track.

Until next time...

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