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...

Please sponsor me - Im almost there !!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobertDuffySahara2014 

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...

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobertDuffySahara2014 

The Book of Joe

This is Joe:

He's a determined chap as you can see. Although if the below picture is to be believed, I also think he believes he can fly. Who knows, maybe he can ?

Joe is the guy who showed me round on my first day back in August 2012, and tried his best to scare the bejesus out of me with one of his stories. He almost did. But his help and guidance was absolutely invaluable in my first few weeks as I got used to the hospice and its unique environment. He's one of the nicest people I have ever met and a big reason as to why I'm going on the trek.

Now if you asked Joe, he would tell you he is going as my interpreter, however Joe is barely able to speak English himself, being that he is from 'ooop north' in some god forsaken place called 'Bolton' (at least I think that's what he said) where for example they have a word 'hurrr' which describes what Joe has on his head and I do not.
No, he is a big reason for me because Joe gives so much of himself to the hospice. After his wife received care here, Joe retired from work and is either here at the Woodside Park hospice or at the Enfield day centre, most day of the week, for several hours at a time. He can always be found in patients rooms chatting to them or their families (he literally has no idea what happens in the 'kitchen') or taking them out for walks, bringing in papers and reading to them. He has meant so much to so many families over the last few years that he has been asked to give talks and presentations on behalf of the hospice and recently won the 'Volunteer of the Year' award from the International Journal of Palliative Nursing Awards 2014 (http://www.northlondonhospice.org/north-london-hospice-volunteer-wins-international-award/) and rightly so.

Joe is always in a good mood and infects the place with his cheerful enthusiasm and his desire to help others. He means so much to so many people and I am privileged to call him my friend. Without people like Joe and places like the North London Hospice the world would be a much lesser place.

"Whose turn is it to do the dishes ?"










Mr Attridge, I salute you sir !

Now the running. Now thats not been going so well ! Still havent managed to beat my PB of 46:15 and have had some difficulties it might be said. Paula Radcliffe style difficulties. And before you jump up to say 'what, wondering how on earth you can beat the women's world marathon record ?' well no that wasn't the issue. Lets just say that the fully kitted out film crew trailers outside Hampstead Heath that morning rescued me from a potentially very embarrassing situation. Working on the Banksy principle of 'its easier to get forgiveness than permission' I made use of the facilities. As I went to leave a posh looking film type chap was coming in but rather than question what a sweaty runner with a backpack was doing there he stood aside to let me out like a quintessentially polite chap. Thank you my friend ! I hope he only needed the urinal...

Out for a run shortly and going for the first trek in my new super comfy trekking boots tomorrow - Hampstead Heath here I come !

Please sponsor me here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobertDuffySahara2014 

Toodles...

Boots bought, it now feels real...

So the boots are bought for the trek across the Sahara, got a good deal from a very helpful young lad in a very nice shop just off Covent Garden. He asked where I was going, and when, so I told him - Morocco, October, the Sahara Desert. He considered this thoughtfully and told me it was going to be hot. I waited for him to tell me it was also going to be sandy but he didn't. Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise. 

Still, the boots were £50 off and didn't have a gore-tex membrane, so I was in, and already familiar with trekker lingo. I could possibly hold my own at a gathering of such people.  

So, the blog then. Well as anyone reading probably knows i'm doing the trek to help raise funds for North London Hospice, where I volunteer most Saturday mornings, and here it is looking resplendent in the sunshine last Saturday at 8am:

You see its very nice. The reasons why I volunteer and why I do it are on the just-giving site where all sponsorship will be gladly received:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobertDuffySahara2014 

So last saturday was a fairly typical shift, although I did spend more time with one of the patients than I normally get to do, as he needed feeding and all the nurses were busy. Its fair to say we hit it off, although my squash making skills were brought into question as it took me 3 goes to get it just how he wanted it. He was doing really well, although sadly his illness made it difficult for him to speak so conversations took quite a while ! None more so than when his wife called and I acted as the conduit - a lack of knowledge of sanding and varnishing floors on my part didn't help, but we got there in the end, with poached eggs on toast polished off and one satisfied squash drinker. 

Back in the kitchen and all the nurses were hard at work (ie striking poses):

From left to right - Gulad (the other volunteer on the breakfast shift), Katherine, Anne and Angie. All wonderful people who help make the atmosphere what it is in the place.

My training has had mixed results so far, as I try to lose weight as well as run as much as possible. The running is going well, and am up to 3 times a week running the 5 miles to work from Finchley Central to Kentish Town, however the eating well is not, meaning the weight isnt going down and the runs arent getting any easier !  

Last week I did Monday in 47 mins 39 secs then I played football on Tuesday and despite my best intentions it was pretty much impossible for me to run on Wednesday morning as I just ached ! Thursday it was 46 mins 48 secs, and here's a lovely picture of me finishing at the gym in Kentish Town at around 7am:

I do seem to be rather shocked by it all. On Friday it was much harder (2 days in a row) and I only managed 47 mins 47 secs (which im blaming on my girlfriend Su and her 'welcome home doughnut' of Thursday evening). Ah, shes brilliant - but not helping my cause there ! But I did seem a little happier - possibly because I knew it was 3 days until the next run ! 

Ok that's enough of the sweaty selfies... 

Until next week :)

Rob (sponsor me please !!)