Congratulations to the highest bidder on our very first eBay auction! Once we clear up the paperwork Rose's Tribute Fund will rise by a fantastic £130.66!
We can't wait to see what our next auction will raise. You can find our eBay Shop HERE!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Showing posts with label Justgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justgiving. Show all posts
Ch ch chchanges!
As many of you will have noticed by now, there have been a few changes around here! Please take a look through the menu on the left and explore some of the new sections including BritBallRun, Sponsors and Our Auctions.
Seamless link here...
The new look to the website also coincides with the opening of our eBay Shop. Following on from the auctions we held via the website earlier this year we have decided to open an eBay shop to give us a wider audience for any future auction items. You can navigate to the auction page by clicking on 'Our Auctions' in the menu on the left.
At the moment we are still putting the finishing touches to the RoseBuddies Auctions shop front and trying out the auction template that our web guru, Dave, put together for us. We currently have 1 item listed which you can find via the shop front or by clicking HERE.
As we put together more of our auction pages we will let you all know here in the latest news section.
For now it's back to work!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Seamless link here...
The new look to the website also coincides with the opening of our eBay Shop. Following on from the auctions we held via the website earlier this year we have decided to open an eBay shop to give us a wider audience for any future auction items. You can navigate to the auction page by clicking on 'Our Auctions' in the menu on the left.
At the moment we are still putting the finishing touches to the RoseBuddies Auctions shop front and trying out the auction template that our web guru, Dave, put together for us. We currently have 1 item listed which you can find via the shop front or by clicking HERE.
As we put together more of our auction pages we will let you all know here in the latest news section.
For now it's back to work!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
We're Still Here!
We thought it was about time we popped in and let you all know that we are still around!
After catching up on some well needed sleep we have spent a lot of time discussing where we go now with our fundraising! Over the coming weeks, with the help of our web guru, Dave, we will be setting up the next step in our fundraising. There is a lot of excitement here in the Team SMARTies camp, but, for now we'll have to keep you all in suspense! Keep checking in here and as soon as we have everything ready we'll make a post to fill you all in on the details!
In the meantime if you have any fundraising ideas of your own that you think we might be able to use please get in touch with us either via the Contact Us section on the website or by sending us an Email!
More from us soon!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
After catching up on some well needed sleep we have spent a lot of time discussing where we go now with our fundraising! Over the coming weeks, with the help of our web guru, Dave, we will be setting up the next step in our fundraising. There is a lot of excitement here in the Team SMARTies camp, but, for now we'll have to keep you all in suspense! Keep checking in here and as soon as we have everything ready we'll make a post to fill you all in on the details!
In the meantime if you have any fundraising ideas of your own that you think we might be able to use please get in touch with us either via the Contact Us section on the website or by sending us an Email!
More from us soon!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
The Route
To give you all an idea of where we went on our travels Paul (from Paul and Sarah!) has put a little map together...
Day 1 - shiny sunset orange (to the left)
Day 2 - slightly grubby (to the right)
Day 3 - dirtier again (slightly south!)
We'll try our best to get a map up of the exact route that Team SMARTies took as well. That's Andrew's job so if it doesn't appear soon you all know who to blame! ;o)
Day 1 - shiny sunset orange (to the left)Day 2 - slightly grubby (to the right)
Day 3 - dirtier again (slightly south!)
We'll try our best to get a map up of the exact route that Team SMARTies took as well. That's Andrew's job so if it doesn't appear soon you all know who to blame! ;o)
Important Announcement
Team KillerViralThe winner of this years BritBallRun not only got a great trophy but free entry to next years event. Chris from Team KillerViral had a few words to say about the big win and prize over on www.theroadster.net:
"We had an incredible time, met some wonderful people saw some amazing places, laughed more than I have for a very long time and most importantly I feel that the car really enjoyed it too! The organisers did a fabulous job and I can't wait to do it all over again next year! All that said... One of the main reasons I feel embarrassed is that I don't think we were the true winners. We had a good sat nav (and the best car for the job clearly), had a few strokes of luck along the way and I have a pretty good memory which really helped. The real winners however were Ecce and Talj. I am brim full of admiration for what they achieved, how much they raised and the work they put in. They are the true champions and deserve all of our respect and admiration. Three cheers for team smarties! Hip hip..."
We were both moved by Chris' words but had not expected his next move...
"After giving it a bit of thought and chatting with Talj, Ecce and the Britball guys, I've decided to donate the free entrance we get for winning this years event to team Smarties. I was mainly in it for the fun of it and partially in it to raise awareness of Killerviral.com. Team Smarties however raised loads of cash for a great cause (although of course they had a great time too) and it makes more sense that they should have it"
What does this mean for Rose's Tribute Fund? Well, thanks to the kind donation from Chris and Paul, although our fund still shows £4,500.99 it is actually £5,200.99! We are absolutely delighted to have achieved the target we set for ourselves.
When we visited Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology a few days before the Britballrun it brought home to us just how important the work they do there is. So many people are effected by this terrible disease and they have so much to go through. Clatterbridge offers a peaceful, clean, friendly environment for those receiving treatment and we know that every penny of the money we raise will be put to good use.
So, from Team SMARTies, a VERY BIG THANK YOU to Chris and Paul. The beers are on us next time boys :o)
Diary - Day 3
Team SMARTiesMonday 27th August 2007
T's Diary...
When I woke up this morning the first thing I thought was I hope I can walk! Having been like this for a long time now I have got used to my body and know that rest, more often than not, helps to relieve some of the pain, swelling and discolouration. I was pleased when I stepped out of bed to find that it was a little easier to put my foot down today and the purple colouring had disappeared.
I hadn't been looking forward to having to tell Andrew I couldn't carry on so I knocked back a double dose of painkillers and hoped I'd be rid of most of the pain without totally knocking myself out! Thankfuly it did the trick and I had a brilliant day.
I was a bit anxious when we set off as I didn't want to miss any of the clues we needed but once I had the first few I felt a lot better. We drove through some beautiful little villages and down some great windy roads, I think Andrew was a little upset that he kept getting stuck behind such slow moving traffic but I didn't mind how fast we were going!
It didn't seem so warm today so we had the roof down for most of the drive and apart from the fumes when we were behind the vicars it was very pleasant :o) Judging by my rather red bits it was warmer than we thought and I should have been a little more careful with my application of suncream...something to remember for next time!
No sooner had we set off than we seemed to be heading back. It was great to get to spend a little time as a 'convoy' and Grez and Chris in the Mini were great entertainment via the walkie talkies! I don't think I was the only one who was a little sad to see us drive straight past the Aston Martin plant ! But we were headed for bigger and better things, the finish line!
I couldn't believe that the event we had been waiting all year for was almost at an end!
A little moment of reflection...
When Andrew asked me if I wanted to take part in the BritBallRun with him I don't really think I knew what I'd be letting myself in for! I've been able to travel to places I have never been before, meet some fantastic people, see some lovely cars, do things I wouldn't normally dream of doing, experience many different emotions and all of these things have been done alongside my best friend.
Just over 2 years ago life was very different for me but when things suddenly changed I was lucky enough to have someone step up and lend an ear when I needed one most. We've been through a lot the pair of us and I am so pleased that we were able to take part in this event together.
Here's to best friends and next years BritBallRun!
Andrew's Diary...
Monday came only too soon and after breakfast and a quick bit of revision it was off to the classroom to see the current positions and take our test. As we thought, we were still in 5th place and baring a disaster from either us or the 4th place car thats were we would finish. 11 out of 15 for the quiz was not a bad score (thanks Talj)
I'd parked the BRCx away from the rest of the BBR'ers cars on Sunday (right outside the Hotel) and after packing for the final time we set off to the car park to meet the others and prepare for the final (short) trip. This was about 70 miles and strictly following directions on 3 pages of A4 (with 10 observations to make).
We were travelling around the Cotswolds and scenery much like on Saturday (read stunning). After 30 minutes or so we caught up with Grez and Chris and their mini. As we drove through Broadway admiring the wonderful village and counting flagpoles Talj forgot about directions so had to retrace out steps. As I did a 3 point turn in the centre of Broadway the unholy Vicars arrived in their Lotus and as we pulled up behind them Grez and Chris arrived back in the village (they had obviously got lost as well). The 3 BBR'ers continued to collect the last few clues and had a little fun indicating right when we should have been going left. Most of the journey was behind caravans horses and the general public but we did have a couple of blasts up to almost 70mph (I think that secretly the vicars were impressed with how my 698cc 3 cylinder motor kept up) mind you, never follow a lotus with the roof down as both Talj and I seemed to be suffering from the fumes. We were all having so much fun Talj had stopped following directions and sadly the vicars path was not as straight as we thought and all 3 of us ended up in a car park trying to work out where we had gone wrong. Methinks the Vicars called their boss and they were soon off again whilst I got directions from some amused passers by.
Much of the past hour Talj was chatting away to Grez and Chris and their chirpy banter carried on (a very dry humoured pair). It would seem that Batman wasn't too honest with the directions as 'bear right' actually meant take the second exit on the roundabout and, as most people got 'lost' at the same junction as we did we are blaming it on Andy :)
I was both happy and sad when I saw the signpost to the Heritage Museum as it meant we would be finishing where we started on Saturday morning and all too soon we arrived back at the Museum and were greeted by Batman and an assortment of soft drinks.
We had an hour before lunch and the prizegiving and Talj was found a chair to sit in (as if 3 days sitting in a car wasn't enough lol). We were all waiting for the RAF guys to arrive wondering if the smoke would be on as it was on Saturday and sure enough it was but sadly Talj and I missed it as Talj needed to be 'somewhere else'.
We set off a few minutes before the rest so had a free run on the buffet, we had to beat RAF Jim because he is always hungry! The final scores were announced and yes, you guessed right - we were fifth. A big congratulations to all that took part and most especially to our ever smilling organisers - you made the event what it was!
I'd clocked up about 1,100 miles since Thursday and with just over 400 miles left to drive today Talj and I said our farewells to all except Chris and Paul - fantastic news their Bluewave Roadster was triumphant and they were busy being interviewed as the newly crowned BBR2007 champions (more about them in another thread).
After a quick dash up to Leeds to drop Talj off with relatives I headed back down to Norfolk and the bed that I was now longing for.
Sunday 26th August 2007 - Day 2
ickle brcXNo lie in for us today! We were ready and in the car for the 9am start and soon found ourselves heading to Cambridge for today's first checkpoint. For 15 - 20 minutes at the start of our journey we had a little fun with the Blues Brothers in their cobra but that all came to a sudden end when they pulled into the services to refuel....again!
Andrew and I weren't so excited about driving to Cambridge or the prospect of today being mostly East Anglia based, not that there is anything wrong with that part of the country it's just we enjoyed the rolling hills and element of surprise that Wales gave us yesterday. Today we would be driving around rather flat countryside in areas we both knew fairly well.
As we travelled the lonely road to Cambridge we decided we'd try and collect 2 of the days 'must get' items, so, we pulled into a services to pick up a MacDonalds sugar pouch/packet and a blue smartie! Now, blue smarties went out of production quite some time ago but thanks to having a little brother who likes cookies I knew that blue 'smarties' could still be found on cookies...but not in this services!
The first control sheet also included a riddle. I am useless at things like this and, after reading it before we set off, Andrew didn't seem to be much better. A little silence followed and then Andrew asked me to read the riddle to him again. It seems men don't always read things through properly (isn't that right Andrew?) and once he'd processed the correct wording he said '182'. I have every faith in Andrew's abilities (honestly) so I wrote it down and looked forward to getting back tonight and seeing if he was right!
Time seemed to go quite quickly and it wasn't long before I recognised the streets of Cambridge and began to look for our first checkpoint of the day. Cambridge is full of footbridges over the river but thankfully we knew that this one was opposite a particular house number so whilst Andrew slowly drove along the road I began number spotting and soon found 71. Thanks to my disabled badge we were able to stop quite close to the bridge and Andrew was sent to look for the answer to the first clue.
The RAF boys (Lotus) and Team KillerViral (Roadster)The only item we needed to collect in Cambridge was the cheapest pay and display ticket we could get. Easy you might all say! Well you'd be wrong! Parking in Cambridge on a Sunday is free, this meant that the pay and display machines wouldn't accept our money and there was no way we could get a ticket! This item was quite important as it would have seen us getting 50 points added to our score (team with the LEAST points wins!). We resigned ourselves to the fact that there was nothing we could do and began to drive to our next checkpoint. Before we left Cambridge I asked Andrew to stop for a moment and listen to an idea I had come up with!
The night before, over dinner, the RAF boys had been talking about thinking outside the box. So, with an unhappy silence in the car I was busy trying to think outside the box. Explaining my idea to Andrew I fully expected him to say 'stop talking nonsense woman' but he actually managed half a smile. So, as Andrew went off to try and execute my idea I hobbled over to the local shop and managed to find our blue smartie. It would seem that landlords in Cambridge aren't very obliging and once again it looked like we'd end up without our pay and display ticket.
This called for some drastic action so I adjusted myself accordingly and headed for a car valeting place on the corner of the street where I thought I would try my luck and see if they could provide us with a receipt for parking on their forecourt. The first slightly tanned young man I saw stopped and asked if he could help. I explained 'my' situation and he then called another of his colleagues over and their boss. A few minutes and a little harmless flirting later I exchanged 1p with 'the boss' and he handed me a 'pay and display' ticket. Job done! Getting back in the car I desperately hoped that I'd not have to do anything like that again for a very long time!
'That' Pay and Display Ticket!From Cambridge we headed for Kings Lynn. The journey seemed to be taking a while so I decided to keep myself busy and wrote Andrew a list of instructions for when he got out at the next stop:
1. Press walkie talkie and tell T the answer to the clue
2. Complete brass rubbing and then use enclosed wet wipes to clean your hands (don't wipe them on your trousers!)
3. Check paper shop or knock on someones door and obtain an old or new copy of the Lynn News
4. Now have a cigarette and head back to the car
Perfect teamwork I'd say :o) At this point our control sheet was telling us we should be 35% into Day 2 and we were pleased to see that we were making good time :o) From Kings Lynn we went to Peterborough where I got talking to a couple of bikers whilst Andrew searched for something 'Posh'.
We'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the kind gentleman in Peterborough who asked what we were doing and then went to a cashpoint and brought back a donation for Rose's Tribute Fund :o)
I'd like to have written more about Peterborough but in Andrew's search for our 'must get' items he mislaid the information sheet...sorry Andrew but you didn't think I'd keep quiet about that did you? ;o) From Peterborough we made our way to Leicester, not before stopping so I could stretch my legs and we could have lunch. On opening my door I was greeted by a rather disgusting smell and asked Andrew to kindly move away from the drain as there was no way I could eat lunch with this smell in the air! Once we had taken a wander we got back in the car to find a message on the NavMan...
"are you in a lay by just past peterborough on the a 47?"Thanks to Andrew's work colleague for really making us chuckle! Due to the smell and a rather odd sandwich containing mashed up pear we didn't stay for very long and we were soon back on the road to Leicester and searching for a used bingo ticket with our car number on (33).
Leicester was quite a good stop and we managed to find the bingo ticket, used cinema ticket and a toilet quite quickly! We could also see the Walkers Stadium where we needed to collect our next clue which would open the envelope containing what we hoped would be our final control sheet for the day! We weren't disappointed.
I was begining to get very, very uncomfortable and was fighting the pain in my leg the best I could but I already knew this wasn't a good sign :o( As we hit the motorway heading for Warwick Andrew remembered that we had a quiz tonight and we suddenly realised what all the 'Did you know?' sections on the control sheets were about! I began reading them out in the hope that we'd remember at least some of them but it really was no use. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than my leg and Andrew needed all eyes on the road so we decided to leave it for now and hope that we'd get a bit of time to revise before dinner.
'Our baby'I was suffering a great deal by the time we reached the end venue in Warwick, my foot was going funny shades of purple and putting it to the floor caused me quite a lot of pain. Not good news, but, a sip of Andrew's nice cold beer made me feel a little better :o)
Once we had gone through all of the items we had collected with Batman it was then the moment we had been dreading. At the navigators briefing on Saturday morning Andrew had been given an egg and told that the egg must be returned on Sunday evening with no damage or cracks. Andrew placed some 'packing' in his top hat and put the little egg in the middle then put a little more 'packing' on the top and we hoped that it would be good enough to keep it from breaking! Thankfully, as a new top hat would cost us £200, the egg was perfectly intact and we received our minus bonus points! :o)
There was just enough time for us to get changed before dinner and divide the control sheets in 2 in the hope that we could each remember enough from our sheets to get us through the quiz. I wasn't doing too badly with my sheets...
Aberaeron is famous for honey and especially honey ice cream and honey mustard.
70% of it's inhabitants spoke welsh (2001 census)
There were a few more too but I felt confident that I would do ok should the quiz contain any questions about my sheets! Andrew took advantage of my very slow hobble over to the pub to go through the facts on his sheets, don't think I didn't know you were trying to get me to remember your sheets too Andrew!
What on earth is this??Although waiting for dinner and drinks became a little annoying after a while we were entertained by allsorts of stories and jokes which made the time pass quite quickly. It wouldn't be right for me not to at least tell you one of the things that made us chuckle...
With my legs giving me a lot of trouble it fell to a few of the other participants to help me to and from the toilet during the evening. The funniest of those trips was the first when I was escorted by one of the RAF gents. As we approached the door we both burst out laughing, what on earth was the symbol on the door?? Definitely something worthy of a photo and a mention here I thought! After much laughter about just what might possibly be wrong with this poor fellow on the door Porky and Algie decided that this wasn't a bad case of constipation but the new symbol for Apples iBog! Laughter is most definitely the best medicine and sitting with these guys there was certainly plenty of it!
Another successful day, now all we had to worry about was whether I'd be able to walk when I woke up, what the mornings drive would have instore for us and if we'd done enough revision for the quiz!
Here's a few shots from the evening of Day 2...
The Lovely Natalie (camera lady) :o)
Front to back: The Blues Brothers, Team KillerViral and Paul and Sarah
They teach them allsorts in the RAF but not how to text!
From Left to Right: The 'scenic' boys, Car 74, Peter Parker and Bruce WayneDiary - Day 2
Sunday 26th August 2007
T's Diary...
Today had been going really, really well until we were almost home and I began to feel quite unwell. I've spent most of the evening trying to find a position for my leg that would ease the swelling, discolouration and pain but just had no luck at all. Standing up seemed to make the discolouration disappear but I couldn't do that for very long. I am just hoping that the rest tonight might help and that I'll be ok to carry on tomorrow.
Apart from not feeling so good I have had a great day. Finally I was comfortable in the dress and a lot less self conscious which really helped me to relax. We found some of the T/Andrew banter early on in the day and I was pleased to be having a laugh and a joke whilst attempting to look like I knew which way up the map went ;o) I was also really pleased that we managed to collect all our 'must get' items for the day and the egg managed to make it the 2 days without a single crack! Things have gone well!
This evenings meal was a bit of a disaster due to extremely poor service! However, the company more than made up for the wait and before long it was time for me to get some rest. I really hope that I will be feeling better in the morning and that I can make it to the 'finish line'. It's hard to feel that you may not be able to complete something you have worked so hard for :o(
Andrew's Diary...
Cambridge
Kings Lynn
Peterborough
Leicester (Walker stadium)
Warwick
After what seemed like only 10 minutes sleep we were up again and preparing for day 2. A task we were given on day 1 was to protect an egg from any damage for 2 days and it had its own little nest in my Top Hat. Talj was feeling a little worse for wear after day 1 but like the trooper she is she brushed off the pain and after breakfast we were soon heading to Cambridge.
I've driven the route to Cambridge many many times and for me this stretch was rather boring and along the way we picked up some MacDonalds sugar sachets. The Navman was busy with messages this morning and, if I use it again next year will have it on the passenger side as I shouldn't reply whilst driving ;)
We picked up the clue for our next destination but got stumped on finding a cheap Pay and Display ticket (the meters are turned off on Sunday's as its free parking). After a failed attempt to get a cheap ticket in a car park (cost me £1.10) for a 30 second stay Talj dreamt up an idea of paying a business to park on their land. I tried this at a pub but failed miserably and, when Talj returned with another item (blue Smarties) she adjusted her dress and headed over to a valeting shop. We parked up there for a minute and displayed our P&D ticket that cost a penny (well done Talj).
Next we drove over to Kings Lynn and we found the reason for the chalk in our pack (Brass rubbing). After checking out the flood levels at the church it was over the road to the Guildhall to do the Brass Rubbing and quite a queue of BBR'ers was building up to rub their brasses! There was a guy outside the Guildhall waiting to cover the brass with a poster and I asked him if he had a copy of the Lynn News. He returned a few minutes later without a paper but with a big bunch of keys and he took me next door to the Gaol Museum and handed me a bunch of papers. For a small donation I was promised this stash of papers would not fall into any other BBR'ers hands.
Next was a drive to the centre of Peterborough and we parked up close to the Cathedral and I set off to gather the required treasure. We had to change radio frequencies as we were sharing our band with a local Taxi Firm and ended up on the same band as the shop detectives lol.
Talj radioed me to say that the 'posh' item I needed was nothing to do with horse and hounds or Victoria Beckham but that Peterborough FC are also known as 'The Posh'(I should have known that). Talj wasn't that clever that she worked it out herself, 2 motorcyclists had stopped at the car and were chatting to her about the event and my car (one of the guys had an 80bhp Roadster). They had no money on them but went away to the cash point and came back with a generous donation. I'm sure the donation was for the BBR but they had spent a while leaning through the open roof (I'll say no more).
It was now well past lunchtime and the only place we could find to stop was a layby on the A47 and Graham H (my old boss) sent a message via Navman wondering what we were doing lol.
We then headed into Leicester to pick up a used Bingo Ticket with our car number on it and a used Cinema Ticket before heading off to the Walker Stadium to find our final destination for day 2 - its was Warwick.
As we headed 'home' I remembered we were having a quiz tonight and suddenly we realised that on each clue the 'interesting facts' at the bottom of the clues were there for a reason. Talj read the facts out in the car but none of it was sinking in (plus I'd lost the Peterborough clue)
Again, we were greeted with beer and soft drinks at the car park as we all chatted about the days 256 mile drive before changing ready for what would be a rather long dinner!
Just before we left for dinner we split the interesting facts and wrote down the important facts hoping to have time during dinner to revise (Talj had just about learnt all of hers and was starting to learn mine). I won't go on about the service at dinner because I enjoyed the almost 2 hours of banter waiting for the starters to arrive. The quiz was postponed as it was now so late which meant we might be able to learn some more before breakfast.
Talj was now having great difficulty walking and in great pain so we went to bed agreeing if things were no better in the morning we'd have to miss the final day.
T's Diary...
Today had been going really, really well until we were almost home and I began to feel quite unwell. I've spent most of the evening trying to find a position for my leg that would ease the swelling, discolouration and pain but just had no luck at all. Standing up seemed to make the discolouration disappear but I couldn't do that for very long. I am just hoping that the rest tonight might help and that I'll be ok to carry on tomorrow.
Apart from not feeling so good I have had a great day. Finally I was comfortable in the dress and a lot less self conscious which really helped me to relax. We found some of the T/Andrew banter early on in the day and I was pleased to be having a laugh and a joke whilst attempting to look like I knew which way up the map went ;o) I was also really pleased that we managed to collect all our 'must get' items for the day and the egg managed to make it the 2 days without a single crack! Things have gone well!
This evenings meal was a bit of a disaster due to extremely poor service! However, the company more than made up for the wait and before long it was time for me to get some rest. I really hope that I will be feeling better in the morning and that I can make it to the 'finish line'. It's hard to feel that you may not be able to complete something you have worked so hard for :o(
Andrew's Diary...
Cambridge
Kings Lynn
Peterborough
Leicester (Walker stadium)
Warwick
After what seemed like only 10 minutes sleep we were up again and preparing for day 2. A task we were given on day 1 was to protect an egg from any damage for 2 days and it had its own little nest in my Top Hat. Talj was feeling a little worse for wear after day 1 but like the trooper she is she brushed off the pain and after breakfast we were soon heading to Cambridge.
I've driven the route to Cambridge many many times and for me this stretch was rather boring and along the way we picked up some MacDonalds sugar sachets. The Navman was busy with messages this morning and, if I use it again next year will have it on the passenger side as I shouldn't reply whilst driving ;)
We picked up the clue for our next destination but got stumped on finding a cheap Pay and Display ticket (the meters are turned off on Sunday's as its free parking). After a failed attempt to get a cheap ticket in a car park (cost me £1.10) for a 30 second stay Talj dreamt up an idea of paying a business to park on their land. I tried this at a pub but failed miserably and, when Talj returned with another item (blue Smarties) she adjusted her dress and headed over to a valeting shop. We parked up there for a minute and displayed our P&D ticket that cost a penny (well done Talj).
Next we drove over to Kings Lynn and we found the reason for the chalk in our pack (Brass rubbing). After checking out the flood levels at the church it was over the road to the Guildhall to do the Brass Rubbing and quite a queue of BBR'ers was building up to rub their brasses! There was a guy outside the Guildhall waiting to cover the brass with a poster and I asked him if he had a copy of the Lynn News. He returned a few minutes later without a paper but with a big bunch of keys and he took me next door to the Gaol Museum and handed me a bunch of papers. For a small donation I was promised this stash of papers would not fall into any other BBR'ers hands.
Next was a drive to the centre of Peterborough and we parked up close to the Cathedral and I set off to gather the required treasure. We had to change radio frequencies as we were sharing our band with a local Taxi Firm and ended up on the same band as the shop detectives lol.
Talj radioed me to say that the 'posh' item I needed was nothing to do with horse and hounds or Victoria Beckham but that Peterborough FC are also known as 'The Posh'(I should have known that). Talj wasn't that clever that she worked it out herself, 2 motorcyclists had stopped at the car and were chatting to her about the event and my car (one of the guys had an 80bhp Roadster). They had no money on them but went away to the cash point and came back with a generous donation. I'm sure the donation was for the BBR but they had spent a while leaning through the open roof (I'll say no more).
It was now well past lunchtime and the only place we could find to stop was a layby on the A47 and Graham H (my old boss) sent a message via Navman wondering what we were doing lol.
We then headed into Leicester to pick up a used Bingo Ticket with our car number on it and a used Cinema Ticket before heading off to the Walker Stadium to find our final destination for day 2 - its was Warwick.
As we headed 'home' I remembered we were having a quiz tonight and suddenly we realised that on each clue the 'interesting facts' at the bottom of the clues were there for a reason. Talj read the facts out in the car but none of it was sinking in (plus I'd lost the Peterborough clue)
Again, we were greeted with beer and soft drinks at the car park as we all chatted about the days 256 mile drive before changing ready for what would be a rather long dinner!
Just before we left for dinner we split the interesting facts and wrote down the important facts hoping to have time during dinner to revise (Talj had just about learnt all of hers and was starting to learn mine). I won't go on about the service at dinner because I enjoyed the almost 2 hours of banter waiting for the starters to arrive. The quiz was postponed as it was now so late which meant we might be able to learn some more before breakfast.
Talj was now having great difficulty walking and in great pain so we went to bed agreeing if things were no better in the morning we'd have to miss the final day.
Saturday 25th August 2007 - Day 1
The Start07:30 All entrants to this years BritBallRun were asked to meet at the Heritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire. Great line up when we arrived and luckily we pulled up in time to see the RAF boys make a grand entrance! Coloured smoke billowing from the back, very loud patriotic music blasting out of the speakers and one of the guys sat on the back of the lotus waving a large GB flag! What a great start to the weekend!
Navigators had then been asked to head over to the meeting room for Day 1's briefing! Thankfully the organisers were aware of my bad legs and made Andrew do the walk to collect the information for the first day!
Parked up in WalesCars were let loose at 1 minute intervals and it wasn't long before we were following the first set of instructions and heading for Checkpoint number 1! From this point on it would be down to the 'skill' of navigation to get us from checkpoint to checkpoint whilst keeping the mileage to a minimum.
From Worcester to Llangurig we opted to get TomTom to take us the shortest route. We also programmed the Navman for this part of the journey but after about half an hour of the male voice on TomTom saying one thing and the female voice on the Navman saying something completely different we decided they were sounding far too like us and we couldn't stand it! TomTom won and we followed him through allsorts of tiny little roads around the back of beyond before hitting checkpoint number 2!
Strange Toilet in Aberaeron!Over the next 8+ hours we visited Llangurig, Aberaeron, Abergavenny, Hereford and a fair few other places! Having never really been to Wales the scenery really blew us both away and Andrew could be heard more than once saying 'these really are perfect roads for the roadster'! Some of the strange items we had to collect along the way included a leek, a red dragon, a daffodil and a postcard from Aberystwyth! Around 7.30pm we pulled into Solihull which we would call home for the night!
The Jewel of Cardigan BayBeing cooped up in the car hadn't done my legs much good and when we arrived at the hotel I needed to feel the wind in my hair before dinner so Andrew headed for the bar and I hit the streets of Solihull for a very, very slow hobble and a little fresh air!
Dinner and drinks gave us some time to get to know a few of the other entrants. Sat at our table was half of the blues brothers and the RAF boys, Porky and Algie...what a great laugh! Steak for dinner and a couple of pints (for Andrew) then before we headed to bed I had to endure the moment I had been dreading!
At the navigators meeting in the morning Andrew had been given a sheet with 52 different playing cards printed on it. It was my task to memorise ALL of the cards in the right order for a memory test to take place after dinner! Due to illness and my medication I don't have the greatest memory so had agreed with Andrew that I'd do my best to remember 5! Even he looked shocked when I told him I'd managed to get 14...I can even remember them now...3 of Hearts...2 of Clubs...erm...
Diary - Day 1
Saturday 25th August 2007
T's Diary...
What a day! It feels like I have been in the car forever. I was kind of in awe as we weaved our way around Wales today, I really had no idea that it was such a beautiful country. Everywhere I looked was rolling hills, streams, sunshine and...erm...lots of sheep!
I will never forget us pulling up in a tiny little welsh town by the name of Llanguilo. It appeared to have just one shop which doubled as the local pub! I needed to stretch my legs so me, my ballgown and walking sticks began to hobble along the road in this little village. I stood for a moment to admire the view and saw a lady heading towards me, prepared with my 'Good Morning' she replied and then said 'You look really beautiful'. Now, I don't speak welsh but hoped that I had heard her right! I'm more of the jeans and t-shirt type of girl and dresses are something I have only been seen in on very, very rare occasions. This event was probably the most public of those occasions so to have somebody I had never seen before remark on how I looked really made me feel...special I suppose! Thanks to the lady in the little welsh village on the way to Llangurig!
As well as seeing some great places I've also met some great people! Once we left Worcester we didn't see many of the other entrants till dinner...apart from the RAF boys! They have been great entertainment and I can't wait to see what they'll do next! The evening allowed us the chance to talk to some of the other participants too and get to know a bit about what had brought them here.
I had a really lovely conversation with Natalie, the camera lady, after dinner. Just a simple question lead to the exchange of stories and those are the moments that change lives. I'd like to say thanks to Natalie for listening, asking questions and sharing some of her evening with me.
It's very late here now and as I write this my thoughts can't keep from straying back to the reason we are here. Rose. Team SMARTies has had a tough day but whatever has happened I am proud that Andrew has got through and that we have been able to continue to do what we set out to do all those months ago...to share Rose with those we meet on our travels...
Andrew's Diary...
After a reasonable nights sleep the alarm went off at some ungodly hour and quick as a flash I was up, washed, dressed and began packing the car.
There was a light mist and the car needed demisting but sadly the control arm broke so I had to open the roof (shame) and just after 07:00am off we set wondering just what the BritBall run 2007 had in store for us. Turning a bend I hastily stopped the car to save us ploughing into 100+ Hunt Hounds going for their morning walk. They made a path for us and as we slowly drove through them a couple of the hounds peered into the window (ickle brcX is quite low).
Some 10 minutes later we arrived at the start and were welcomed by Batman who directed us toward Spiderman and our parking spot and the other cars. After a few brief introductions to the Flintstones, Blues Brothers, RAF Guys, KillerViral and the others we set off to the navigators briefing (I went to save Talj making the longish walk).
Now came the time Talj and I had looked forward to since Christmas, the start of BritBall Run 2007. Stage one was a simple(ish) line by line set of directions taking us to our first checkpoint at Worcester. There were some great roads and we were soon behind Team Alfa and the Evo (all 3 of us sensibly overtaking at safe points) and it was here that I caught the first glimpse of the 3 foot flames popping out of the Evo's exhaust.
A 10 minute break at checkpoint 1 and, armed with our next destination off we set with both TomTom and NavMan turned on. BBR is won and lost on total mileage so we took TomToms shortest route and went down some very narrow lanes and I did get a little worried a couple of times when the grass in the middle of the lane was hitting the underneath of the car. TT and Navamn were not on the same wavelength and each wanted to go different directions at each junction. As we got to our destination it was all eyes peeled for an Obelisk and the answer to the next destination. I pulled over and wandered into a graveyard to check out one that I'd seen but it soon seemed obvious that I was in the wrong place. 1st point to Talj as she had mentioned this might not be the right spot and less than 500 yards up the road we found it. We were parked opposite a pub and outside was a bemused man who had seen most of the other cars pass through and wanted to know what I was driving as he'd never seen one before (he must have missed Killer viral as they were ahead of us).
Just as we were leaving there was a tap on the window, it was the RAF guys (who had also popped into the graveyard). They did the same route as us - in an Esprit!
We were now off to Aberaeron via Aberystwyth (to pick up some hunt items) and this time set TT to the fastest route (the mountain roads looked dangerous). More great roads before stopping at a garage to see what goodies I could find. I walked into the shop and asked if they sold postcards "no" came the reply "but you'll find the leeks over there" and she followed me passing me other items I needed along the way. Just before we left Aberystwyth I pulled up outside a post office in search of the Post Card and another 10 points. The nice old lady started by saying she didn't sell postacards "there is no call for them in this shop" but then remembered she had a couple tucked away. As I paid she asked if I was going to a wedding and said she had just had a nice pair of vicars in the shop and I laughed and asked if they were driving a big yellow sports car (another Esprit).
As we approached Aberaeron the sea mist rolled in and we found ourselves behind the Blues Brothers in their rather tasty AC Cobra (a full 5 litres more engine than we had), they must have been very 'cool' lol. We were soon parked in the harbour and though I hate to say it, Talj's disabled badge was a godsend! The next clue was a house number that could be seen from a bridge so off I wandered whilst Talj stretched her legs. As my eyesight isn't that good I took the camcorder hoping to zoom into the house number. I got on the walkie talkie to see if any other BBR'ers were around and got chating to one of the Blues Brothers "there is no number on the door" he said. Funny I thought, there is nobody outside the house "where are you I said" just as a women touched me on the shoulder, turned me round and said "he's over there".
It was now mid afternoon, the next destination was to be Hereford and across brecon. We left the coast to find somewhere to eat lunch and found a nice layby with tables at the roadside. We did get some funny looks from motorists as an old guy in Top Hat and Tails sat eating lunch at the side of the road with a young lady in a ballgown. The drive thus far today had taken in some stunning roads and scenery and this part was to be no different - absolutely breathtaking! It was kind of Surreal when we were stopped to let a large road cycle race pass by.
In Hereford I got a VAT receipt for a 10 pence bag of sweets then we headed to our bed for the night somewhere near Solihull. We arrived at the Hotel at 19:30, 10 1/2 hours and 326 miles after setting off. Being a bad person I left Talj in the car to make a couple of calls whilst I headed straight for the 2 cases of lager in the carpark and a chat about the days events with the other cars.
During our steak dinner Talj had to do a memory test and after some more chats we headed to bed - in fifth place, very tired but pretty happy with the result.
T's Diary...
What a day! It feels like I have been in the car forever. I was kind of in awe as we weaved our way around Wales today, I really had no idea that it was such a beautiful country. Everywhere I looked was rolling hills, streams, sunshine and...erm...lots of sheep!
I will never forget us pulling up in a tiny little welsh town by the name of Llanguilo. It appeared to have just one shop which doubled as the local pub! I needed to stretch my legs so me, my ballgown and walking sticks began to hobble along the road in this little village. I stood for a moment to admire the view and saw a lady heading towards me, prepared with my 'Good Morning' she replied and then said 'You look really beautiful'. Now, I don't speak welsh but hoped that I had heard her right! I'm more of the jeans and t-shirt type of girl and dresses are something I have only been seen in on very, very rare occasions. This event was probably the most public of those occasions so to have somebody I had never seen before remark on how I looked really made me feel...special I suppose! Thanks to the lady in the little welsh village on the way to Llangurig!
As well as seeing some great places I've also met some great people! Once we left Worcester we didn't see many of the other entrants till dinner...apart from the RAF boys! They have been great entertainment and I can't wait to see what they'll do next! The evening allowed us the chance to talk to some of the other participants too and get to know a bit about what had brought them here.
I had a really lovely conversation with Natalie, the camera lady, after dinner. Just a simple question lead to the exchange of stories and those are the moments that change lives. I'd like to say thanks to Natalie for listening, asking questions and sharing some of her evening with me.
It's very late here now and as I write this my thoughts can't keep from straying back to the reason we are here. Rose. Team SMARTies has had a tough day but whatever has happened I am proud that Andrew has got through and that we have been able to continue to do what we set out to do all those months ago...to share Rose with those we meet on our travels...
Andrew's Diary...
After a reasonable nights sleep the alarm went off at some ungodly hour and quick as a flash I was up, washed, dressed and began packing the car.
There was a light mist and the car needed demisting but sadly the control arm broke so I had to open the roof (shame) and just after 07:00am off we set wondering just what the BritBall run 2007 had in store for us. Turning a bend I hastily stopped the car to save us ploughing into 100+ Hunt Hounds going for their morning walk. They made a path for us and as we slowly drove through them a couple of the hounds peered into the window (ickle brcX is quite low).
Some 10 minutes later we arrived at the start and were welcomed by Batman who directed us toward Spiderman and our parking spot and the other cars. After a few brief introductions to the Flintstones, Blues Brothers, RAF Guys, KillerViral and the others we set off to the navigators briefing (I went to save Talj making the longish walk).
Now came the time Talj and I had looked forward to since Christmas, the start of BritBall Run 2007. Stage one was a simple(ish) line by line set of directions taking us to our first checkpoint at Worcester. There were some great roads and we were soon behind Team Alfa and the Evo (all 3 of us sensibly overtaking at safe points) and it was here that I caught the first glimpse of the 3 foot flames popping out of the Evo's exhaust.
A 10 minute break at checkpoint 1 and, armed with our next destination off we set with both TomTom and NavMan turned on. BBR is won and lost on total mileage so we took TomToms shortest route and went down some very narrow lanes and I did get a little worried a couple of times when the grass in the middle of the lane was hitting the underneath of the car. TT and Navamn were not on the same wavelength and each wanted to go different directions at each junction. As we got to our destination it was all eyes peeled for an Obelisk and the answer to the next destination. I pulled over and wandered into a graveyard to check out one that I'd seen but it soon seemed obvious that I was in the wrong place. 1st point to Talj as she had mentioned this might not be the right spot and less than 500 yards up the road we found it. We were parked opposite a pub and outside was a bemused man who had seen most of the other cars pass through and wanted to know what I was driving as he'd never seen one before (he must have missed Killer viral as they were ahead of us).
Just as we were leaving there was a tap on the window, it was the RAF guys (who had also popped into the graveyard). They did the same route as us - in an Esprit!
We were now off to Aberaeron via Aberystwyth (to pick up some hunt items) and this time set TT to the fastest route (the mountain roads looked dangerous). More great roads before stopping at a garage to see what goodies I could find. I walked into the shop and asked if they sold postcards "no" came the reply "but you'll find the leeks over there" and she followed me passing me other items I needed along the way. Just before we left Aberystwyth I pulled up outside a post office in search of the Post Card and another 10 points. The nice old lady started by saying she didn't sell postacards "there is no call for them in this shop" but then remembered she had a couple tucked away. As I paid she asked if I was going to a wedding and said she had just had a nice pair of vicars in the shop and I laughed and asked if they were driving a big yellow sports car (another Esprit).
As we approached Aberaeron the sea mist rolled in and we found ourselves behind the Blues Brothers in their rather tasty AC Cobra (a full 5 litres more engine than we had), they must have been very 'cool' lol. We were soon parked in the harbour and though I hate to say it, Talj's disabled badge was a godsend! The next clue was a house number that could be seen from a bridge so off I wandered whilst Talj stretched her legs. As my eyesight isn't that good I took the camcorder hoping to zoom into the house number. I got on the walkie talkie to see if any other BBR'ers were around and got chating to one of the Blues Brothers "there is no number on the door" he said. Funny I thought, there is nobody outside the house "where are you I said" just as a women touched me on the shoulder, turned me round and said "he's over there".
It was now mid afternoon, the next destination was to be Hereford and across brecon. We left the coast to find somewhere to eat lunch and found a nice layby with tables at the roadside. We did get some funny looks from motorists as an old guy in Top Hat and Tails sat eating lunch at the side of the road with a young lady in a ballgown. The drive thus far today had taken in some stunning roads and scenery and this part was to be no different - absolutely breathtaking! It was kind of Surreal when we were stopped to let a large road cycle race pass by.
In Hereford I got a VAT receipt for a 10 pence bag of sweets then we headed to our bed for the night somewhere near Solihull. We arrived at the Hotel at 19:30, 10 1/2 hours and 326 miles after setting off. Being a bad person I left Talj in the car to make a couple of calls whilst I headed straight for the 2 cases of lager in the carpark and a chat about the days events with the other cars.
During our steak dinner Talj had to do a memory test and after some more chats we headed to bed - in fifth place, very tired but pretty happy with the result.
Countdown...3...
3 days to go!
Actually, for us, things kick off tomorrow! We have a photo shoot for the Liverpool Daily Post in the afternoon and hopefully we'll have a photo of us with the car and in our outfits up on the website by tomorrow night!
The Daily Post feature will appear in Saturday's newspaper.
Andrew completed his interview with Radio Norwich and you should be able to hear him in each news bulletin on Saturday morning.
I have picked up my shoes today and will have one more practice run with my dress before packing everything away for tomorrow. Hopefully, Andrew has collected his suit today too, I'm awaiting confirmation on that one!
All the graphics are now on the car and I am really looking forward to seeing how it looks. Again, we should have some photos of the car up in the gallery tomorrow evening.
The leaflet layout is now with the printers and we will be collecting them on Friday afternoon.
All thats left is for me to pack, get an early night and try to keep calm!
More from Team SMARTies tomorrow!
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Actually, for us, things kick off tomorrow! We have a photo shoot for the Liverpool Daily Post in the afternoon and hopefully we'll have a photo of us with the car and in our outfits up on the website by tomorrow night!
The Daily Post feature will appear in Saturday's newspaper.
Andrew completed his interview with Radio Norwich and you should be able to hear him in each news bulletin on Saturday morning.
I have picked up my shoes today and will have one more practice run with my dress before packing everything away for tomorrow. Hopefully, Andrew has collected his suit today too, I'm awaiting confirmation on that one!
All the graphics are now on the car and I am really looking forward to seeing how it looks. Again, we should have some photos of the car up in the gallery tomorrow evening.
The leaflet layout is now with the printers and we will be collecting them on Friday afternoon.
All thats left is for me to pack, get an early night and try to keep calm!
More from Team SMARTies tomorrow!
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Countdown...4...
OK...I'm sorry! I missed a day! But, if you hang on a few minutes I'll make sure today's post brings you all up to date!
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Countdown...5...
5 days to go!
But just 2 and a bit days till we set off on our travels!
Andrew has a radio interview tomorrow and if technology works as it should we hope to make the interview available in the latest news section later this week.
The tutorial is now ready and will be up on the site in the next few days. It will help you all download and use the tracking software so you can keep an eye on where we are over the 3 days, send us messages of support or point out where we took that wrong turning!
That's it for today from Team Smarties world, I promise to make bigger updates tomorrow and Wednesday!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
But just 2 and a bit days till we set off on our travels!
Andrew has a radio interview tomorrow and if technology works as it should we hope to make the interview available in the latest news section later this week.
The tutorial is now ready and will be up on the site in the next few days. It will help you all download and use the tracking software so you can keep an eye on where we are over the 3 days, send us messages of support or point out where we took that wrong turning!
That's it for today from Team Smarties world, I promise to make bigger updates tomorrow and Wednesday!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Countdown...6...
6 days to go!
As we get closer to the Britballrun I am finding that a little excitement is managing to creep in alongside my anxiety!
This weekend has been my chillout time and I'm now feeling refreshed for the week ahead.
Dave, our web guru, is putting together a tutorial for those of you who might want to track our progress and send us messages over the 3 days. It will be available on the site from Wednesday. BIG thanks to Dave for all his hardwork!
Not much else to update you all on today as we've just been relaxing! I'm sure I'll have more to tell you tomorrow!
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
As we get closer to the Britballrun I am finding that a little excitement is managing to creep in alongside my anxiety!
This weekend has been my chillout time and I'm now feeling refreshed for the week ahead.
Dave, our web guru, is putting together a tutorial for those of you who might want to track our progress and send us messages over the 3 days. It will be available on the site from Wednesday. BIG thanks to Dave for all his hardwork!
Not much else to update you all on today as we've just been relaxing! I'm sure I'll have more to tell you tomorrow!
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Countdown..7...
7 days to go!
This time next week Andrew and I should be reaching our 2nd checkpoint of the day. Hopefully we will still be talking to one another and we'll have collected all the things on the first list!
After a hard week at work Andrew said last night, "All day today I have been looking forward to the weekend when I can wash the little Roadster and begin putting the decals on her ready for the Britballrin". I hope it's not raining for him today!
Hopefully we'll get some pictures of the car over the next couple of days which I'll put in the photos section.
Today is my day off! Taking my little brother to a football match and then off to see the Simpsons movie...it's good to relax!
Thanks, as always, to all those who are supporting us. It means a lot to us.
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
This time next week Andrew and I should be reaching our 2nd checkpoint of the day. Hopefully we will still be talking to one another and we'll have collected all the things on the first list!
After a hard week at work Andrew said last night, "All day today I have been looking forward to the weekend when I can wash the little Roadster and begin putting the decals on her ready for the Britballrin". I hope it's not raining for him today!
Hopefully we'll get some pictures of the car over the next couple of days which I'll put in the photos section.
Today is my day off! Taking my little brother to a football match and then off to see the Simpsons movie...it's good to relax!
Thanks, as always, to all those who are supporting us. It means a lot to us.
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Countdown...8...
8 days to go!
I asked Andrew how he was feeling about things a few days ago and he said he is still excited! I, however, am just incredibly nervous!
There is so much happening here right now that it would take me forever to write it all down! Rather than do that I am just going to leave you with a wonderful smile, take a look...
Rose is what it's all about and peeking at this photo every once in a while helps to keep me going.
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
I asked Andrew how he was feeling about things a few days ago and he said he is still excited! I, however, am just incredibly nervous!
There is so much happening here right now that it would take me forever to write it all down! Rather than do that I am just going to leave you with a wonderful smile, take a look...
Rose is what it's all about and peeking at this photo every once in a while helps to keep me going.All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Countdown...10...
10 days before the madness begins! :o)
As you may have noticed the website has under gone a few changes, hopefully you can all still find your way around! The Justgiving donation page has now been integrated into the site and you can find it if you click on Donate Here in the menu. BIG thank you to Dave for all his help with the website!
Thanks to Prontaprint of Leamington Spa for arranging a fantastic deal on the printing of our leaflets and for accommodating our requirements!
Press interviews are going well, hopefully we will be able to get a few copies up on the site soon for you all to see.
Between now and next Thursday we need to get lots of rest and I need to get acquainted with my map! :o)
Thanks again to everyone for their support. It's great to know there are people out there cheering us on!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
As you may have noticed the website has under gone a few changes, hopefully you can all still find your way around! The Justgiving donation page has now been integrated into the site and you can find it if you click on Donate Here in the menu. BIG thank you to Dave for all his help with the website!
Thanks to Prontaprint of Leamington Spa for arranging a fantastic deal on the printing of our leaflets and for accommodating our requirements!
Press interviews are going well, hopefully we will be able to get a few copies up on the site soon for you all to see.
Between now and next Thursday we need to get lots of rest and I need to get acquainted with my map! :o)
Thanks again to everyone for their support. It's great to know there are people out there cheering us on!
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Update 11: Saturday 11th August 2007
Today Rose's Tribute Fund hit a fantastic £4,000!
With just 14 days to go till the start of the BritBallRun it was great to see us growing ever closer to our target!
Things are very busy in the world of Team SMARTies right now! This week has been 'press week', hopefully as articles are printed we'll be able to place them here for you all to see!
A few other things happening over the next 14 days...
* In the week leading up to the BritBallRun we hope to have a page on the website with details on how you can follow our progress and even send us messages over the 3 days.
* Decisions will be made this week about the layout of either a leaflet or business card that we hope to be able to give to people we meet during our travels.
* Press interviews and photo shoots will be completed and articles printed.
* Ballgowns and suits will be collected and Andrew will begin his battle to fit everything we need into the car!
All these things and many more will keep us busy right up until we set off on Saturday 25th August!
On a more personal note...
Some days I find I am getting totally lost in the organising of so many things! My 'to do' list seems to grow and grow and there are even times when I feel 'stressed out'. But, after one phone call this week I took some time out to 'refocus'...
As many of you are aware I haven't been in the best of health for sometime now. When Andrew asked me in December 2006 if I would like to join him on the BritBallRun, without hesitation, I said yes. After a stay in hospital I was left housebound for the first few months of this year, setting up this website and putting all my energy into fundraising helped me feel that I had a purpose, that there was something for me to get up for each day.
During a conversation with a journalist this week I suddenly became aware that this 'platform' we were being given wasn't just a way to raise awareness of our fundraising. More importantly, it was a way to allow those reading/listening/watching to get to know this beautiful smiling girl...
From the very beginning this was what I wanted more than anything, to keep Rose's smiling face in the hearts and minds of all who read about her and I am so grateful for every opportunity we have been given to do just that.So, as you watch us creeping ever closer to our £5,000 target I'd like to ask you to just stop for a moment and take a look at this Beautiful Angels smile...
Now that's what this is all about!
All the best,
Natalya
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Justgiving Article 3!
We've been lucky enough to be given a 'Guest Blogger' spot over at the Justgiving Blog. If you get a moment go check it out...
Team SMARTies article
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Team SMARTies article
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: www.rosemcgill.co.uk
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Last Day of Auction
Thanks to various companies we have been given items to auction off and help us reach our £5,000 target!
Today is the LAST DAY of the auction. Please, if you get chance pop by and check out what we have to offer. Items include an Autographed copy of a Gordon Ramsay Cook Book, Paintball Experience - 8 passes, Makeover Days and Odys 10.2" flatscreen TV/DVD.
To checkout all the items click on Auction in the menu on the left.
All proceeds from the sale of each item will go to Clatterbridge Cancer Campaign where Rose received here radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Thanks to you all for reading and for taking a look at the items.
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: http://www.rosemcgill.co.uk/
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
Today is the LAST DAY of the auction. Please, if you get chance pop by and check out what we have to offer. Items include an Autographed copy of a Gordon Ramsay Cook Book, Paintball Experience - 8 passes, Makeover Days and Odys 10.2" flatscreen TV/DVD.
To checkout all the items click on Auction in the menu on the left.
All proceeds from the sale of each item will go to Clatterbridge Cancer Campaign where Rose received here radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Thanks to you all for reading and for taking a look at the items.
All the best,
Natalya and Andrew
Team SMARTies
Email: fundraising@rosemcgill.co.uk
Website: http://www.rosemcgill.co.uk/
Donate at www.justgiving.com/rosemcgill
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