The Trek - Part 1

So I had trained as much as I could, taking up Bikram yoga and walking all over north London, south London and even across the south coast. I am not much of a fan of camping and I never really enjoy the beach, but that aside I was as ready as I could be for the 4 day trek across the Sahara Desert... Lots to say and many photos so I'll do this in 2 parts...

Day 1 - Thursday 16th October
I stayed at my parents place near Gatwick and the alarm went off at 3.15am. I'll give you a moment to digest that... 3.15am... now this is more the time you should be going to bed rather than getting up, and it was as grim as it sounds. Ouch. Still, fair play to Su and my Dad who also both got up and came to the airport to see me off. Flight was fine although immigration took a couple of hours after the Easyjet flight attendant told us with a laugh "oh I'm sorry we picked up the arrival cards for Egypt by mistake". I see, is that ok then ? Can we just laugh that off ? Good job the pilot didn't have such a lackadaisical approach to his job is all I can say. Still, we ganged up and pushed her down the stairs and all had a laugh about her broken ribs so it evened itself out in the end.
On the other side of baggage claim I sensibly eschewed the first in a long line of fleecing attempts in Morocco, by not changing my cash until we got past security. You have to know what you're doing, not be intimidated, and if you have a grasp of one of the local languages and can stand your ground so much the better. I failed pretty miserably at this, but believe me we don't want to get into my 'well its just luck they live there and I live here and I have more money than them' justification for evening it up in the tiniest of ways !
We then met our tour guide, a guy called Jamal who turned out to be the nicest guy you could ever wish to meet - knew his job inside out and looked after us 'as if we were family' as he told me one day. This was our first taste of Moroccan hospitality and it was impressive. He had assembled a good team of drivers, a cook, and the hired Berber help to pack and unpack the camels.
So after taking in the first of the water they had brought (400 litres in all !!) and it being just after midday in Marrakesh we set off for Ouarzazate (pronounced wa-za-zatt) where we would be stopping overnight, and it would be a 5/6 hour journey.
This was the bus that would take 14 of us and all our bags to the desert and then pick us up afterwards. There was no room to spare...

We stopped after a couple of hours for some lunch prepared by the Berbers in virtually no time at all, and was to be our first experience of the skill these guys possessed in making tasty nutritious food on the go:

Ouarzazate is in the High Atlas Mountains in the centre of Morocco and so we then had to wind our way up narrow mountain roads that contained plenty of traffic, spectacular views (I took pictures on the way back - see part 2) and sheer drops. This didn't put off most of the drivers who overtook with impunity and into non-existent spaces - we even saw a genuine road rage incident where one guy clipped another and it all kicked off in the middle of the road where matey picked up a big rock and threatened to smash up the perpetrators nice new audi... the capability of Moroccans to go from zero to mental was something we would see a few times in the trip - must be the heat. Still, we think this was resolved, although they were still there when we saw that part of the road again from higher up a few minutes later so who knows !
The drivers kindly made a couple of stops to stretch legs and use the facilities and this was my first chance to take in the scenery in the blisteringly hot sun...

Quite a view !
We made it into Ouarzazate just before 5.30 and the travel company had done us proud with a really nice hotel that had ok rooms, a great setting and amazing food:

Not to mention the worlds happiest musician serenading us while ate a delicious soup and tagine:

With the heat and the early start tiring us all out, we were all retired by 10pm. Day 1 negotiated, but day 2 would be our first foray into the desert...

Day 2 - Friday 17th October
Up at 7.30 for breakfast, and then back in the van for a 9am ish start - everyone sat in different seats which I found unusual as usually people stick to the same seat don't they ? Anyway, I found this very refreshing as part of the trip for me was getting to know people so this boded well. We stopped for photos along the route:

and I got my first glimpse of the spectacular and vast emptiness that lay ahead of us:

We even had time to stop and buy headscarves for the complete Lawrence of Arabia look - something I decided against, a decision I was going to rue on Sunday...

We made it to the starting point by 1pm, where we met the camels for the first time...

And I was soon to see just what a shit life it is being a working camel - rope tied through the back of your mouth, your legs tied when you're not working and carrying exceptionally heavy loads without having the biggest legs. Still, they didnt spit at any of us which was appreciated, although this lad certainly made his feelings known every morning ! Animal welfare hasn't made it to Morocco, something we would see more of in Marrakesh with the monkeys and snakes...

After our first meal in the desert (including the first of many glasses of 'Berber Whiskey' - which is very sweet mint tea with no alcohol) and at about 3pm, we began the trek to camp for the night. As we discovered, the guys with the camels went directly, while Jamal took us on a more circular and scenic route. We could experience more variety in the desert where possible and the Berbers got to the camp site ahead of us and could get it set up. Sweet.

Now anyone who stayed awake while I was telling them about this trek may remember that I said that actually most of the desert isn't sand, and it would be quite rocky. However I can verify that, contrary to my belief and - spoiler alert - the desert is almost entirely made up of sand, I know, its a shocker, but its true. Well actually, it isnt, but certainly our trek was made up almost entirely of sand and so in keeping with this we encountered our first sand dune almost straight away:

Gaiters on for those that had them. I didn't bother as my shoes weren't waterproof and the sand pretty much went in and came out equally, pausing only to nestle in my socks and coat my sweaty feet. Which was nice. Still, not a single blister baby ! Thats where the training and breaking in the boots paid off I reckon...

I'm not sure if the pictures convey exactly how hot is was - difficult to know exactly what the temperature was and today was late afternoon, but I think mid-thirties would be fairly accurate

After trekking for the rest of the afternoon, we made it to camp just before the sun was going down

There were 3 main, larger white tents - 1 for eating in, 1 for cooking in (for the Berbers) and one for lightening one's load - as well as 7 smaller, orange 2 person tents. Although down to some administrative brilliance they had not counted on the fact that there were 5 guys and 9 women so we actually needed 8 tents as a man and a woman could not share. I offered to go into the big tent as it was the guy I was sharing with who had dropped out so that was easily sorted. We then paused to watch the sunset which was none too shabby - excuse me it went down fast and I was a little slow:

After the standard Berber Whiskey and a cracking meal the Berbers sang songs for us and played on their 'instruments' which a couple of the guys got involved with:

After that, everyone arranged their sleeping bags outside of their tents and we got to see the most breath-taking sky at night. I didn't take a picture as I didn't think my camera could have picked it out but I think that was a mistake as it was so vivid. The Milky Way was clear, there were hundreds of stars and so many shooting stars, it really was quite something. I retired into the big tent eventually as it did get quite cold and we had the first of 2 full days trekking ahead of us.

Day 3 - Saturday 18th October
Saturday began with taking in the sunrise:

And we had the first experience of the extra companions you get on this kind of trek, which they dont mention in the brochures - the flies. They attached themselves to us early (me especially !) and stayed for most of the day and get 'all up in your grill' as one of the girls said. You get used to them (they mostly just sit on your backpack, hat and arms (in my case)) but they are still annoying ! We set off for a dune filled morning:

The dunes got progressively bigger and were hard to get up, and even getting down required a kind of surfing approach, although it did mean it didn't matter how high up you were or how sheer the other side was, it was always possible to walk down.

 I was typically at the back, although occasionally I made it further forward:

Saturday was all about variety as we walked and climbed across all kinds of different terrain. I think it's fair to say that Saturday was the best day all over - I thought Sunday would be the hardest for obvious reasons - although that did become a whole lot harder after what then happened (more on that in part 2) but Saturday was really good. After the dunes we walked across dried, parched mud (which was like walking over Easter egg fragments !):

Then it all got a bit stony before we passed through a small village and stopped for drinks at a hole in the wall shop. All the kids know one or two words in french and can only say 'Bonjour' or ask for 'un stilo' which is a pen, somewhat unusually.

At the far side of the village we found a shady spot and stopped for lunch, once more beautifully prepared, and managed to have a little snooze if needed (like I said, I'm not camping's biggest fan) before we set off into a change of scenery once more as we headed towards the hills, and it was very hot - even hotter than Friday:

After walking through some lush and fertile parts of the plain we got back into some proper desert business:

and saw the hill we had to scale:

It was a bit stepper and longer than we were expecting, although it could be made with some scrambling needed and it was a great feeling to get to the top:

...where the views were spectacular:

The plateau was big, and we traversed the top while taking in even more great views on the other side:

Even my man Jamal paused for a photo:

We then descended on the far side and set off across the plain, again there was just nothing-ness really, just an expanse of desert...

After a hard day's trekking, we made it to camp, in a seemingly perfect setting between the sand dunes:

And were once again fed and entertained by the wonderful Berbers, who got us to dance, to sing, and had us fail abysmally at coming up with a song we all knew and could sing back to them !

As I said before, I expected Sunday would be the hardest day - last full day of trekking, already been out for 2 days and I was so right. However it was much harder than I expected because of what happened Saturday night... I had 4 of us in the big tent with me, but it it didn't make any difference.

Find out what happened Saturday night, the slog across serious desert on Sunday, and the final trek and return to Marrakesh on Monday in part 2 which will follow later...

Thanks for reading !

Rob

The Walking Weekend

Well, the plan was solid. A walking weekend on the south coast, along the North Downs way, 4th and 5th of October, get some serious miles under my belt alongside my dedicated girlfriend Su. Lovely B&B booked, route all planned out - by Su I might add. All I really had to do was get dressed and go... simple you might think. However, I hadn't counted on the fact that Friday October 3rd was my leaving drink at work after almost 11 years there.

I think we can all see what happened.

So after a killer hangover and a gentle, loving reminder from Su that this was also a weekend away for us both I staggered to a great place in Forest Hill for breakfast and then we were on the train to Folkestone. Having already decided that a shortened walk was in order due to my physical state (hangovers generally take days rather than hours since my late thirties) we emerged to some quite appalling weather and were very glad we'd gone with the waterproofs. It was hammering it down, with a driving wind meaning it was coming in sideways. Lovely. After a couple of detours, a steep hill and over an hour later we spied the picturesque b&b in the distance and dreamt of hot showers, hot drinks and a hearty meal. But... there had been a power cut. It really wasn't the best of days so far ! However, the hospitality was excellent and we got a lift to the local pub that 'opened at 7' (not in London now !!) and had power so all was well. I even got to see my teams abject performance on Match of the Day.

So with only 3 miles covered, we were up for some serious walking on Sunday, and what a glorious day it was, and after a wonderful breakfast we set off at around 11 from the comfy b&b:

Just look at that azure blue sky !!

Heavily equipped with fruit, snacks and much water we trotted off. Now Dover was only 9 miles away which was not enough, so armed with the North Downs way guide we decided to walk to Etchinghill and back first which would add about 6 miles to the trek. We walked high above the Eurotunnel entrance:

Stopped to admire the view out to sea on several occasions:

And generally made a reasonable fist of following the albeit a little vague at times directions in the guide, with only a few detours:

We made some new friends along the way:

We also paused to check how far it was to go

And really rather enjoyed a romp around the outskirts of Folkestone in the first couple of hours

It really was a gorgeous October day, and I even attempted an arty shot

That's right. Check ME out !

The hillside was covered in pillboxes which were used during WWII to spot planes coming from Germany - it seems incredible that 74 years ago you could have stood where we were and watched a firefight in the skies as the Battle of Britain unfolded

As we moved along past Folkestone and towards Dover the scenery became even more beautiful in the sunshine:

And we passed the Battle of Britain memorial (cap doffed)

And saw the train line cut into the hillside

Quite a feat of engineering, although it paled into insignificance alongside the Channel Tunnel, and incidentally they used all the earth dug up from the tunnel to enhance the causeway underneath the hills. Fascinating eh ? You'll be a hit at dinner parties with that nugget my friends !

The path continued up and over plenty more hills:

There were more helpful signs:

And all things considered it was a great day, even if, with the shadows lengthening, our feet were beginning to hurt a bit !

But we put a brave, and some might say self satisfied (in my case) face on it:

It was quite a long way down:

And that in the distance is France !

I pondered for a while about how we actually are the daddy of that particular relationship - I mean there's a part of France called Brittany but is there a part of Britain called 'Francey' ?? Hell no. And damn right too. And our cliffs are better ! In your face France !

So at just before 6pm we boarded the train back to London and had been on our feet for almost 7 hours with only a couple of 5 / 10 minute stops and had covered about 16 / 17 very hilly miles with all the detours. Quite pleasing, however it was meant to be a 2 day deal and so I knew that despite my aching limbs that I still had to get a second day in a row in the bag as the hardest part of the trek would include that (days 1 and 4 are not as long or as far as 2 & 3 I think).

So, on Monday, in the rain again and on my own this time I set about doing the Green Chain Link walk around the area - these really are superb and brilliantly signposted - and after a first hour that was no fun at all it did get better for a while and the pig-headed part of my nature decided I was going to do 21 miles as that fit with one of the destinations being 10.5 miles away (a place called Elmstead Wood). It was a miserable day and the only real highlight was the walk through Crystal Palace Park where they have dinosaurs...

It really is well worth a visit and beautifully kept

But after making it to Elmstead Wood in about 3hrs 15 minutes, I needed a sitdown and tucked into my wonderful sanger made by Su (she's such a star) and took the weight off for 10 minutes or so. Refreshed and revived I made my way back as fast as I could (ie slowly) and to be honest I really was in bits by the end, but it was another 7 hour walk, and approx 37 miles covered in 2 days gives me plenty of confidence about the trek ! And I had a hot bath and a hot chocolate waiting for me (I think I may have the worlds greatest girlfriend).

So most of the kit is bought, one more training walk to do on Sunday and then we're good to go.

The final blog will be from the Sahara (written when I get back, I dont think the wifi is great out there !) and hopefully I have some nice pics and cool stories.

One week to go...

Thanks for reading ! And thank you so much for the donations :)

Rob

Back in the Badlands

Its been an eventful couple of weeks since my move back south of the river, and I now reside in East Dulwich / Forest Hill in a kind of no mans land - trust me, my address just has a street name and a postcode these days. And contrary to what you might think, you don't need to carry a weapon at all times. Just Saturdays. And Fridays. And every other Tuesday.
It has meant that the journey to the hospice is a bit longer than before, but you have the joy of the replacement bus service up to London Bridge, which is a treat at any time and especially so at 6.30am on a Saturday. Sadly, last time out I sliced my hand open on a broken glass at the end of my shift which resulted in a tour of local hospitals, 1 x-ray, 2 stitches and several pleasant hours passed reading my book and sitting in A&E, soaking up the ambiance.
I did manage to not bleed on the floor in the hospice, although I did leave some of the washing up uncompleted which did jar my professional ethos. A big thanks to Louise who did a great job bandaging me up and to Shane who selflessly drove me around until I got sorted which I really appreciated. Although you should ignore his stories about me crying like a baby - anyone who was there would tell you I was crying like a marine. A tough one.

So with a new locale to explore my girlfriend and I wasted no time in getting some trek training in for me. I'd also been very kindly given a merino base layer by my good mate Stuart and his now wife Charlotte after I was their best man last week so it was a good chance to try it out. Not only does it wick away sweat from the body and not smell at all, but it's also very complimentary to my figure:

And despite what anyone says I am definitely NOT breathing in. Well, not much anyway. Dulwich Park is a stones throw from the new flat and is very ace. It even has a dirt track which is largely flat and exactly one mile long, great for running. There is everything you could want from a park - gardens, boating, cafes, football pitches, play areas, work out machines, tennis courts and even table tennis tables. And it has quite the history:

And some of the gardens are simply exquisite:

After a jaunt through there, we picked up a 'green chain link' which is a walk through south London that is as green as possible, and it next took us up to the Horniman Museum, which is also a stones throw from the flat, on the other side. Its a cool museum that I will explore further as it could be a venue to write every day, but on this day we just took in the gardens. Very nice they are too, with some great views of London in the distance:

From there we walked around and back past the flat to the other side. As I have found both north and south, any 'green' walk in London invariably involves some cemeteries, which to be honest are always interesting places to walk through. The nearest to us is Camberwell Old Cemetery and it had a rather touching plaque in the paving stone as you walked in:

From there we continued our walk into a smaller park, before another 2 cemeteries, and there was this very fetching map to help guide us:

You maybe can't appreciate the detail, as that actually covers quite a wide area. Although what Thomas the Tank Engine is doing there was not explained. But who doesn't like Thomas the Tank Engine ? Especially when Ringo Starr does the voices. Visionary. Anyway I digress. Quite a bit further on, and after Camberwell New Cemetery, we were in Nunhead Cemetery which is also woodland, and if you ask me most modern cemeteries are missing a trick when they clear out the trees - it gives the place more of an aura and a sense of the dead being back with the earth to me. It also makes the scenery so much better:

After here the Green Chain Link ended, but I still had boots on the ground time to rack up so we wandered back towards Peckham Rye and explored the park and woodland there before making it back to East Dulwich for a well-earned Sunday Roast while QPR got stuffed by Man Utd on the big screen. Which was nice. I was too tired to take any more pics though ! But 4 hrs in the bag.

As a final note, I was back at the hospice yesterday after missing the previous week for my friends wedding. I decided to walk back to the flat from Woodside Park which is 15 miles, although I decided to stop for lunch in central London, and then as I was going by, I just had to visit my girlfriend in St Thomas's hospital - the work she does on the neo-natal ward really is incredible, I'm so proud of her. Some of the babies were incredibly tiny, and filled with tubes which was so sad, but the success stories and letter from grateful parents on the walls made up for it. Anyway, I completed the walking part of it in 4hrs 19 minutes, although the whole thing was more than 6 hours. Plus 3 hours on my feet in the hospice before I started. Its fair to say I was hurting in the end but hey Shane - boo sucks to you sunshine !!

Until next time...

Its all about the Training

Training has begun in earnest, and not my usual, where I think about doing lots of cardio but then find myself in the weights section because you hardly ever feel like your lungs will explode and don't end up dripping with sweat and looking like a pulmonary embolism is only seconds away... no this is proper, you'll really regret it when you still have 3 hours to go on the second day, and still a 3rd and 4th day to contemplate kind of training, and I have been walking...

During the week is all kind of easy really - only around 30 to 45 minutes each day at various speeds and you might as well just walk to work. Even more so now as since I have moved back to the badlands of south London, its a good 40 minute walk to the train station - deliberately, for the trek - and that works out peachy. Even if the train station is in Peckham Rye, which is all kinds of grim, believe me.

Anyway, the weekends are where the training schedule gets really serious: 1-2 hours on a Saturday and 3-5 (to begin with) on a Sunday, increasing over the weeks. I'm fortunate that my wonderful girlfriend (Su) likes a good walk, has some previous, and likes arranging things. A winning combo I'm sure you'll agree ! So hey presto, deep into the last month of a 9 year stay in Finchley I was finally going to see all the green spaces on a walk around the way, all within a couple of miles of the flat. So with boots on and Su navigating and a decent supply of water and a bag of 'Colin the Caterpillars' (don't ask) we set off.

It turns out there are some really really big cemeteries around Finchley (surely that means something portentous ?!) and our first green space was around the East Finchley cemetery which had a nice rose garden and as ever was very moving.

A swift detour through a small church and before we knew it we had chanced upon the enormous Islington and Camden cemetery, which is so vast it has its own streets. The below is St Luke's path.

A peaceful and tranquil walk ensued. Out the other side and we made our way past the powerleague where I play 5-a-side on a Tuesday night, and out towards Friern Barnet. A dash across the A406 and before we knew it we were in Friary park where a funfair was in full swing on a Sunday - was never the case in my day, kids don't know they're born these days etc etc. Anyway a nice contrast of old and new with the Statue of Peace nicely contrasted with an large inflatable tiger.

We continued up the road towards Totteridge and Whetstone and must have been really setting a pace as a sign above us on the pavement flashed up '30 SLOW DOWN' as we went past.

Yes, Su didn't think that was funny either. Made me chuckle though.

After a really interesting walk that even had us on a path that ended in the middle of a pond before the end and with about 3.5 hours under our feet we made it to the Griffin pub in Totteridge and Whetstone where a fully deserved Sunday roast was enjoyed in the garden.

I think its obvious how hungry I was. Caterpillars only go so far !

The training has continued on from there and I will report back soon - have even taken up hot yoga to get used to the temperatures and to see if I can get my legs behind my head without causing myself a mischief. Neither so far...

Anyway a final mention must go to the volunteer gardener Shane Marco at the Woodside property. As I am about to embark on (hopefully) a writing career in one form or another I was intrigued when Shane told me he was a published writer and furnished me with a copy of his book 'the devil's cellar':

This story follows a bottle of wine as it is passed from person to person and is finally used in a murder, and the police investigate all the fingerprints (which is where the book starts) and each set contains a juicy story where passions run high and the devil reaches for potential victims.

It really is a fine read, I got through it in just a few days, and like it says on the cover 'there are more twists and turns than there are in a corkscrew'. Cracking effort Shane !

That's all for now - have to get my kit ready for 'FierceGrace' tomorrow

Rob

Please sponsor me - Im almost there !!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobertDuffySahara2014 

A load of cock and bull

Its been an interesting few weeks since the last update (didn't meant to leave it so long !) and one of the highlights was the Cock and Bull Festival over the weekend of the 25th to 27th July, held on Lenton Farm and in aid of Jamie's Farm, which, if you've read the earlier blog entries you will know is a charity that helps kids on the brink of exclusion from school - they go to Jamie's Farm for a week and through a combination of high expectations, support and positive reinforcement, can hopefully find a way out of their current situation. An hugely worthwhile cause, and the Cock and Bull Festival helps them raise funds for the charity.

My girlfriend Su had been there all the previous week working herself into the ground helping them get ready, and I was coming down for the festival on Friday evening after work. Or so I thought. Unfortunately a lightning strike on a signal box outside Paddington at rush hour meant that wasn't possible, and after having tried to negotiate Network Rail's chaotic shambles for over an hour I headed home. Thankfully all was well the following day and I headed out in bright sunshine to the innocuous little venue...

Doesn't look like much eh ? But believe me there was plenty going on - the lambing shed had been transformed into a gig / nightclub venue, there was an acoustic tent (just out of shot of the bottom of the picture there), and a further 2 rooms of music, one which had been hosting children's cartoons all day. I met up with Su, my sister Helen, my brother-in-law Andre and my niece Logan just after lunchtime and we went and explored.

To the right there you can just make out "Doug's Den" which was where all the drink was served - there was a proper burger stall, a hog roast stall, a deli counter, a curry counter, as well as ice cream teas and coffees all catered for too. Pretty much every taste catered for.

During the day while low key music played, the farmer olympics took place on the field, starting with egg tossing (messy) and culminating in bale tossing (nothing to do with the footballer...) where various folk tried to launch a bale of hay over a high jump. Harder than it sounded, especially as the winner managed to clear around 12 feet I think. In between these was a sack race with extra animal headgear, which Su and I took part in...

You can just make out Su 'Two hats' in the background, and sadly for our chances it was me that was driving the sack. I think we made it about 4 feet before falling over and making it no further. Oh if only Su had been driving ! (I am told). Notice the guy in the white jump suit who was in charge and looking rather like Dr Emmett Brown from Back to the Future. This is because the theme was 'tractor the future' and festival goers were encouraged to dress up for the parade at 7pm, and they duly did...

A band led everyone around the site and it was quite a thing to behold. After bidding farewell to the family who were only there for the day, Su and I continued to enjoy the music in the acoustic tent and then the Big Wings Sound System (2 djs in suits and big beards, 1 MC and 4 dancers) and they were brilliant - real party djs playing fun dance music and pogo-ing behind the decks - a dance version of the pink panther entirely in keeping with the vibe of the night. Much cider was drunk, and then when they finished at around 3, an impromptu band struck up in Dougs Den where Tequila was administered by water pistol (from Doug) while piano, double bass and harmonic were played. There was much rejoicing.

We staggered back to our tent in the small hours with bacon and egg baps awaiting us the following day and some great memories to go home with. We will be back next year for sure  !

As for the blog, I'll be back soon - training proper starts on Monday 11th August so I'll report on how I'm getting on...

Rob

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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