Support From River Cottage

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has expressed his support for the Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund charity climbers by being photographed holding a personal message. The morale-boosting note reads 'Good luck Help a Friend Help a Friend Climbers! Don't stop 'til you reach the top! Love Hugh x x'.

River Cottage regularly supports the Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund and Hugh's message has been well received by the climbers set to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro next month.

We will be following the journey of the climbers so keep checking back for updates or click to subscribe on the panel to the right.

If you would like to donate, please click on the climber you wish to sponsor above or visit http://hafhaf.co.uk/.

Altitude Training

By Jaime Burton

When I research how altitude can affect you, I often read it’s like your worst hangover and you have to climb a mountain. So a few of us thought it would be a good idea to try this out. Tommy, Jack, Tim, Lee and I took part in a night of Wine Tasting at Kingston Country Courtyard - a fantastic and funny night which went on into the early hours. I decided I liked the champagne which is odd as I normally don’t like it at all! There was a Sancerre to try and on first thoughts I was not overly impressed.. I didn’t dislike it but it was nothing special. I think I said…‘I’ve had more exciting things on my palette!’ Anyway after trying everything else I went back to the Sancerre and decided it was actually rather lovely! The port was pretty special too! So as you can imagine after a few hours of these lovely wines and some cheeses, we were definitely set for some altitude training the next day!

8.30 was time for breakfast and I woke at 8.10 which for me is a lovely long lie in. I woke up raring to go. I was actually quite well behaved on the wine tasting and skipped most of the reds so wasn’t feeling very hung over. Lee was also rather spritely! There was a loud knock on the door and there stood Jack looking a bit like death! Our call for Breakfast. Yummy. Lee and I headed over to meet the others but there was no Tommy...apparently he wasn’t feeling very well! Jack struggled with his breakfast although managed it in the end after a lot of complaining about being ill!.Then there he was...Tommy. Oh my I have never seen such a sight. He was very white and not looking very good at all. He attempted breakfast but failed, couldn’t face it. So we got our boots on and set off! 

It was a gorgeous walk and very much needed to blow the cobwebs away. The first hill was almost the last for Tommy! Him and Jack were struggling with 'altitude' sickness and it almost became too much. We supplied Tommy with Lucozade and a banana to try and keep him going. If you know Tommy you will know he is always chipper and full of banter. There was none of this, he was quiet and kept his head down. He used every inch of will power he had to get round the walk. It was tough! 

At one stage we decided to leave Tommy in peace and let him take his own pace while Tim, Lee Jack and I walked on ahead. He needed some time to focus! And focus he did as after about 20 minutes we looked back to see where the others were and were surprised to see Tommy had picked up some pace. When he got to us he said that he had given himself a good talking to and snapped out of it. He was ready to go! So we all picked up pace and ran past the car park to beat all the other walkers back to Kingston to get a shower before lunch. In fact we even decided to run the last bit up the road. After the state they were in first thing Tommy and Jack managed it back. Tim didn’t seem to affected by the altitude training method.

After a quick shower and change we sat down for dinner. Well some of us did...the place was manic and Jack ended up helping out in the kitchen and serving, so he didn’t get to sit down and eat his dinner. We left at 4pm and he then started on the washing up! So thank you Jack for allowing us to sit on our bums and enjoy a lovely meal. 

So all in all a fantastic weekend. Our altitude training method did work and gave us a taste of how hard its going to be. The hills that we normally run up could hardly be walked up! Legs were like jelly and overall feeling very sick. So you see its not a walk in the park this Kilimanjaro stuff and for 7 days we are going to be hurting, but do you know what will get us through it? Knowing that we have raised money for a great charity, helping out families likes Rian's. He will certainly be on my mind and helping me focus to get through it. Now we have a leaving bash at Durnovaria on the 6th January so it would be good to see some people there supporting us and giving us a bit of a send off.

Click here to sponsor Jaime:

Charity Chill Out Night with Usborne Books and More

By Lee Burton

Fancy a chilled out evening with a chance to maybe cover some Christmas shopping??

The Wessex Royale Hotel in Dorchester has kindly donated the function room for this fundraiser on Sunday the 3rd November from 1900 hours FREE ENTRY.

Present will be a selection of traders promoting their business, some offering on the spot services or indeed the opportunity to buy products. So far confirmed we have (in no particular order):

• Usborne Books Independent Trader
• Scentsy
• Herbal Life
• London Bombay - Imported Indian Craft
• Weight Watchers
• Gellish Nails
• Ann Summers
• Jamie At Home
• Tiny Treasures
• Avon
• PartyLite
• Head and Neck Massage
• Cake, Craft Stalls and some more yet to confirm

Also we will hold the obligatory raffle with items donated by these and other companies to be drawn on the night.

The bar is offering a partner sitting service to keep them from being under your feet and seeing what you spend.

All funds raised are going to The Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund - Rian's Appeal, supporting a Dorchester Thomas Hardye School student's family cover travel expenses and coffees on their daily trip to Southampton whilst Rian undergoes lengthy treatment.

Click here to RSVP.

Lillington in the Atlas Mountains

By Tommy Lillington

Back in January this year, my wife Natasha booked us a trip to Marrakech to give us a break in October. 'How lovely' I thought, 'I've never been there before and culturally it will definitely be an experience.'

So for most of this year that was how it stayed in my mind - a trip I was looking forward to as precious time to be spent with my wife exploring yet another city.

What I didn't realise until I found out a month ago, was that one of the reasons my wife chose Marrakech was because the Atlas Mountains are close by and so I could use one of the days as a training day.

Now all of a sudden the trip was not just a short fun break, but also the opportunity to try another Mountain. After finding this out I said to Natasha "OMG we just have to do some trekking out there'" and she responded with a smile and "Yes we do and that's why I've already booked us a day's trekking up Mount Toubkbal." Imagine my delight!

How sad have I become? I'm no longer content with just a city break  - a trekking day makes it all the more exciting!! So here I am writing this blog post from a sun bed in 35 degree heat about to recall yesterday's amazing day in the Atlas Mountains. Here goes....

Natasha and I were greeted by our driver at 9am who walked us from our Riad to where he was parked. Now you have to understand Marrakech to appreciate that you really do need to be greeted and walked to a meeting place. Why? Because the narrow streets are a complete maze to the first time visitor and whilst it's great to get lost and explore it's not good when you have to meet someone at a given time.

So off we go, spending what seems like an age just getting out of the walled city. You really do take your life in your hands when you drive out here - there seem to be no rules at all! Every man for himself seems to be the order of the day. Crazy!

So after eventually leaving the city we are on the open road. I use the term road very loosely, perhaps 'one series of crater sized potholes connected with small amounts of sometimes tarmac but mostly dirt' would be a more accurate description. The mountain range is approx 65k from the city so we were both now preparing ourselves for a bone shaking experience.

As is customary out here you go nowhere without the driver stopping for the opportunity to 'buy goods' from his 'friends'. In this instance it was a small little abode at the foot of the mountain range that had a number of women extracting oil from the Argon nut using hand tools, and so we felt duly obliged to buy the Argon oil which I'm sure like all other purchases of this type will be yet another completely life changing experience!

We got back in the car for what was by far the scariest part of the trip -  the drive up the winding narrow roads around the mountain at what can only be described as lunacy speed. Trucks were only at the last second swerving to avoid the, what seemed like, inevitable head on crashing!! Aaagggghhh get me outta here!!

Phew !! Eventually we arrive at the Village and meet our guide for the day Muhammed. Muhammed leads the way at a very very slow pace. Now all of my Kilimanjaro friends will tell you I am a slow walker but even for me this was very very slow. In over 30 degree heat this was probably just as well.

The mountain itself stands at 13,300 ft so it is no small mountain. It would take 3-4 days to trek it from sea level (knowing what I know now that probably would have been a lot safer than the car ride)!!

We trekked for approximately 3 hours and experienced the most amazing views. We walked across streams, saw some of the most wonderful waterfalls and crossed some very dodgy bridges. The views at the highest point made it all worthwhile - they were truly stunning.

On our return back to the village we were made to feel very welcome in Muhammad's home where we were provided with what can only be described as a feast, wonderful traditional Morrocan food. 

So after saying farewell to Muhammad and his family I realised that the day's adventure hadn't quite finished. We still had to prepare ourselves for the manic car trip down the mountain!!

A little tip for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation and one I wished I'd thought of on the way up: close your eyes!! Even if it means pretending to be asleep, just close them all the way!!

So with our hearts still in our mouths we did eventually get down and finally back to Marrakech. What a day that was - simply amazing. It was one I won't forget in a hurry and for once not just because of the climb! From now on coastal walks in Dorset will seem somewhat tame in comparison.

Click here to sponsor Tommy:

Snack Bar Donation From Dorset Cereals

It's no secret that we will be requiring lots of energy for climbing Kilimanjaro, and we are going to need all the help we can get. That's why we are truly grateful to Dorset Cereals for their charitable offer to provide us with 46 nutritional snack bars per person - that's nearly 600 in total!

The Dorset Cereals website says these bars are perfect if you need something to pop in your pocket when you're out walking....because you can't put muesli in your pocket. We couldn't agree more and we will be doing A LOT of walking!

Here's the latest conversation between Help a Friend Fund and Dorset Cereals on Twitter:

An Evening Coastal Walk

By Benny Wain

Well this is the first blog I've done ever in my whole life.

For once I managed to finish work a bit early yesterday, so I managed to persuade Jack to pick me up and it was off to the Lulworth car park to meet up with Tommy and Lee.

It was a beautiful afternoon/evening and as Tommy later pointed out, probably one of the last evening coastal walks we would be doing as the nights are drawing in.

To be honest I was dreading it...and the flash backs of nearly being sick the last time (for over doing it) had been haunting me for months.

So off we went, waking up Lee from a post work snooze in his car, and headed up the first hill. This walk is always a killer because you go straight onto the steep hill at the start.

As I hadn't done this walk for a few months I had forgotten about the land slide, so as we got to the top I stopped to have a look at what mother nature had done to the coastal path. Jack pointed out that soon the Caravan Park at Durdle Door would have cliff top views and we headed inland on the new detour.

It wasn't long before we hit the killer hills so I just tucked in behind Tommy and kept my head down. He was setting a nice steady pace and that's how it stayed until we got to the monument.

After a quick banana we turned around and headed back. It was getting late and as we were heading back up the final steep climb we were overtaken by a squaddie guy running! We were all very impressed by this until he stopped for a breather at the top.

It wasn't long before we were back at the car park. We managed to complete the walk in about 2 hours 20 minutes.

Although I haven't been doing much walking recently, I have been cycling a lot, and this seems to be paying off as it didn't kill me yesterday and I didn't ache this morning.

Finally it was pointed out that if we go for one walk a week we only have 16 more walks left...eeeek !

Click here to sponsor Benny:

Saturday Morning Training Walk

By Lee Burton

Saturday morning. A small group of the team met at our house to start a training warm up of bacon and sausage sarnies. Tommy was in need, after all he had a Friday night with a few drinks clearly forgetting his age. Then the four of us - Tommy, Jack, Jaime and moi, set off on a more gentle but longer round robin around Dorset. Not hitting the altitude but making sure we put miles and hours on our feet.

A few hills thrown in for good measure but none good enough for Sir Daniels who continued to chunter on his way around. The weather was excellent, better than expected. 3 hours, 10.5 miles and plenty of banter all the way around with each individual being systematically bullied through one form or another. I think I won the overall Jaime 'F-off' requests.

Tommy managed to pass all three of his shirt front sponsors on the trip so they know they are getting value for money and he is putting his miles in.

Rounded off with a cuppa on our patio and some forward planning.

Until the next walk.

Click here to sponsor Lee Burton:

Let's Do This

By Jaime Burton

Today Donna and I went for a stroll to get her moving after her op. I don't know her at all, so this was a great opportunity to get to know her and see why she is climbing. 

Donna may have been quiet and has struggled to make the practice walks as she works long hours. I can see a pretty determined person though! She has given up smoking for around 16 weeks now and we chose her walking boots today.

This event is amazing as well as raising some much needed funds for The Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund. It has given me the chance to meet some new people. This challenge scares the hell out of me but I'm not the only scared one! It's the fear of the unknown. We have no idea how the altitude will affect us, all we can do is pull together as a group of random individuals and help each other get up this mountain! 

We all have our reasons for wanting to do this but if we pull together we can all make this! In the words of Tommy Lillington .... let's do this.

Click here to sponsor Jaime:

Warm Festival 2013 Roundup

The Warm Festival 2013

By Jack Daniels

On Sunday 11th August 2013 The Steve Charles Help a Friend had its 4th annual “Warm Festival” at The Borough Gardens in Dorchester. The event is not only a day to make more people aware of the Charity but also to remember absent friends who are no longer with us, such as Steve Charles & Julian Slade.

This year the team climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for The Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund came along to run stalls and activities to help with fund raising.

The sun shone and the gardens were packed with nearly 1000 people all enjoying the live music. The day went amazingly well with over £2000 being raised for the charity.

Since Sunday we have also had people requesting help from the charity, so as an awareness day it was a great success as well.

The Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund now has funds available to anybody from Dorchester and the surrounding villages who are seriously ill and need a little extra help, and to aid in giving people a better quality of life.

You can apply for help by emailing help@hafhaf.co.uk

The next event will be The Hecklers Ball on Good Friday 2014. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.

Click here to sponsor Jack:

We Thought Golden Cap Was The Hard Bit

By Jaime Burton

So I haven't been out walking for a while, so I text Jack to ask if he fancies a stroll. We end up walking Charmouth to West Bay!

Tim brings some friends along to join us on this mammoth task. I joke beforehand and ask "can we run up any hills?". Rule number 2 is no running according to Tim... I've yet to learn what rule number 1 is!

So we set off and it's a gorgeous sunny day and a very enjoyable start. Jack is not happy unless it hurts. So he starts to run up some of the hills!! Now he is showing me up so I attempt to catch up. I manage it but my legs are seriously burning.

We make it to the top of Golden Cap and have a short rest before continuing to West Bay. We thought Golden Cap was the hard bit....it wasn't really, it was the next 3 hills!!! Yet more running up the hills from Jack and speedy walking from Tim long legs.

We eventually make it to West Bay and head to the pub for a shandy. It was an amazing training walk and we really are so lucky to live by the coast. I never appreciated it before this challenge! I would love to arrange this walk for everyone as it's a real good one.

By the way Lee and I had a great day on Sunday at the Warm Festival. We aimed at keeping children busy (and adults) by luring them in with Lego! I build boards for a knight race game and a pirate v shark game. Plus we sold soft drinks, sweets and craft items.

Thank you to everyone who supported us. I think everyone had a fantastic day. We were pleased to provide the winner of our golden bucket with £55 which was a good return for their £1 entry!

We had some lovely words from people wishing all the Kili team the best of luck and it was lovely.

This challenge is getting closer now and very real. I best get on and buy some new boots soon as I don't think mine are going to make it! Until next time ...

Click here to sponsor Jaime:

New Joiners, Fundraising, Appendicitis and Training

Carole in a kit bag!

By Jaime Burton

So we have all been a little quiet for a while now but we are all really busy preparing for the climb! We had a meeting recently to discuss arrangements. We met in the Chalk and Cheese as Ally Murray is now joining us on our climb. Jack brought along a duffle bag which we need to fit all our kit in and to prove how big it really was, Carole kindly got inside it!

We are all trying to fit walks in as much as possible in-between our day jobs and busy family lives. We have some great events coming up to help raise funds for our climbs.  I have a Christmas Party on Friday 13th December at the Corn Exchange. I am also holding a cake stall at work on Friday 13th September. Carole Landon is holding a Wine Tasking Night at Panini's on Friday 13th September. We also had the annual Warm Festival in Borough Gardens on Sunday 11th August.

Lee and I still have some kit to buy and have spent a few hours looking through eBay for those bargains!

Back at the end of May a number of the group went Kingston Country Courtyard for an excellent hike followed by wine tasting. We walked from Corfe Castle to Swanage and there were some amazing coastal views. We rushed back in a taxi, then had a quick shower and change ready for wine tasting! A great night was had by all.

The Lillingtons and the Burtons went on a camping weekend and also managed a hike to Golden Cap early one morning, so training is never far from our minds!

We currently have a poorly climber...Donna who has had her appendix out. We are all wishing her the very best and hope she is back on her feet soon and climbing up the hills. Before her operation Donna held a fantastic Quiz night in the Colliton Club. I believe she raised around £500 for the cause and again we all had an amazing night..

Jane has now moved back from France and will be joining us on our training walks. She is also undertaking a half marathon in Cardiff in September, again raising money for the Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund. I am attempting some training runs with her and wish her the best of luck. Go Jane!

Al Murray is getting waxed to raise his funds...that's got to hurt!! Good Luck Al, I saw how hairy your chest was! Ouch!

So we are all really busy working towards raising lots of money for our amazing local Charity - The Steve Charles Help A Friend Fund.

Click here to sponsor Jaime:

Tommy Gets Sentimental About Old Boots

Goodbye old boots, hello newbies!!

By Tommy Lillington

There comes a time in all our lives when for whatever reason we have to say goodbye to dear friends. I have to say, regrettably, I have just reached such a point. Two dear friends of mine have just reached the end of the road and I have had to make the tough decision to say goodbye to my old walking boots. "Why so sentimental about an old pair of boots?" I hear you cry.

Allow me to explain; I bought these boots just after I made the decision to get fit and lose weight, and decided that hiking was going to be my thing. I then started a nine month training programme to climb the three peaks (Ben Nevis, Scaffel Pike and Snowdon) which entailed walking the wonderful Dorset coast week in and week out, gradually upping the distance and difficulty as time went on. Not once during this time did my old boots complain; in fact I have to say from the first time I put them on they felt as comfortable as a pair of slippers.

Over time the weight came off, my stamina and fitness increased and my old pals took me up the three peaks in July 2012. This was followed by a lovely hiking break in the Lake District with my wife later that year. Kilimanjaro is now on the horizon, (please see my earlier blog posts for how the training is going to date) and I have to say I couldn't have got even this far without my old friends.

So you see to me these are not just any old pair of boots, they have taken me on a journey in more ways than one. Of course I won't just discard them to one side never to be seen again, I will keep them for the odd dog walk and maybe some gardening and will certainly never forget that they have changed my life.

Click here to sponsor Tommy:

Lillington's Training Goes to Europe!

By Tommy Lillington

I'm always looking for something a bit different when it comes to training so imagine how excited I was when I was offered the opportunity to climb Pic de Neulous by fellow Kilimanjaro hiker Jane Massey who has a holiday home very close to this mountain. So my wife Lou, my son Albert and I flew down to the beautiful Laroque des Alberes in the south of France.

 We were greeted by beautiful weather and spent a lovely weekend with Jane and her family. On the Saturday, Jane, myself and Albert headed off on a brief walk to the village where we met our guide for the day Bernard.

Bernard is a veteran of this mountain and could probably climb it with his eyes shut!! so we were in safe hands. Mount Neulous (1,255 metres high) stands at approximately the same height as Ben Nevis so we knew we were on for no small climb. The immediate difference between the two mountains is that this is a wooded mountain and so lovely shade was provided for most of the way up.

It was a good steady climb with some very steep scrambles in places. It took us just about four hours which wasn't bad considering we couldn't help but stop and take pictures of the stunning views. Eventually we got there and the first thing you notice is that despite leaving in searing heat it was significantly chillier at the top. But wow what a view – it was well worth it. The best bit though was to come which was lunch at the restaurant at the top with Lou and Mark, Jane’s husband, who drove up to meet us. It was fantastic and well earned I can tell you.

 Next for the 2 hour descent. Anyone who has done any form of mountain climbing will tell you that coming down is as hard, or harder, than going up. Most trips or falls happen on the way down. In this case it was Jane and Bernard who took a tumble but nothing too serious just bruised bottoms!!

 I always feel that when you are coming down a mountain you see and appreciate the views even more simply because you’re facing away from the mountain and can take it all in. That day was no exception. The views were stunning all the way down. After a couple of hours we were back in the village where Bernard made us all a well earned tea.

This was my fourth mountain and I have to say my favourite. l loved every minute of it and to have my son with me made it that little bit more special.

Thank you Jane and Mark for a wonderful weekend.

Click here to sponsor Tommy:

Update From Lee Burton

By Lee Burton

Things have gone a little quiet at the moment but various fundraising events are popping up.

Moby's in Weymouth have started collecting 10p from every pint of guest ale sold until the end of the year.

Moby's is also the venue for our quiz night on 8th May - starts at 8pm.  Teams are a maximum of 6 people, £5 a head including nibbles.  Come and test your knowledge.


Click here to sponsor Lee Burton:

Bonus Ball Challenge!

By Lee Burton

As part of my on going fundraising on behalf of the Steve Charles Help a Friend Fund, I thought of doing a friendly bonus ball game using the Saturday lottery bonus ball.

I am starting tomorrow - yes I know short notice, but may as well get started.

Basic rules:

£1.00 a number between 1-49 on a first come first serve basis.  (You can pre book weeks in advance and no limit to how many balls you buy each week)

Following the draw the money is split 50/50 basis half to the winning ball owner and half to my charity pot.  If the winning ball has not been purchased - the winning 50% will roll over to the following Saturday's draw.

Please send an email lee_burton2000@yahoo.com to enter.

Click here to sponsor Lee Burton:

Training and Fundraising Update

By Tommy Lillington

To say the last few weeks has been busy would be an understatement - it has been full on on all fronts , work , social and of course Kilimanjaro training and fundraising.

Both work work and social have seen me travelling up to London a fair bit so its been quite manic.

Training

The weather has been and still remains very cold but the good news is that it didn't seem to put anyone off the training, in fact aside from my weekend walks a lot of the other guys have been walking like bilio in the weekend and some on consecutive days!! Brilliant.

Because of the cold weather I have used that as an opportunity to buy and try out some cold weather clothing I purchased at Great Western Camping in Dorchester, I've got to say I have felt warm as toast with my new Gloves, socks and thermal vest!!

From my perspective I've upped the midweek training to Include 2 circuits or 1 circuits and 1 swimming session or kettle bells. That combined with the weekend walking is working really well and I'm already feeling fitter or should I say knackered!!

We have started walking on Tuesday evenings now and its great fun ,because of the darker nights we are walking from Dorchester out to Stratton (Saxon Arms) back to the Sun Inn and into town its around 10 miles and yes I admit it does sound like a pub crawl its still very good training.

As with my last challenge the most enjoyable part is the banter with the rest of the crew it seems no matter who the walking group of the day is everybody seems to be in good spirits and they seem to be enjoying the company as much as I am.

Fundraising

From my perspective I've had a an amazing few weeks on the fundraising front and since my last blog I've had an amazing donation of £2000 from the Hangers Heroes Charity, this is a great organisation run by Nina and Roger Hanger which is there to provide help for small local charity's, and was my chosen cause last year when I did the three peaks.

On Wednesday 20th March I was guest speaker at a local farmers wives gathering near Blandford my speech was focused on the three peaks and the trials and tribulations of how an overweight unfit man (myself) got to the stage he could climb three mountains in three day days. I'm glad to say the speech was well received and in fact I have been invited back next year to do the same talk about Kilimanjaro!!

You can imagine my joy a couple of days latter to receive a lovely letter from the lady that organised it with also a cheque for £500 that combined with £60 the ladies raised on the raffle makes a total of £560 !! how amazing !! This takes my total raised so far to approximately £2700 excluding any gift aid.

Meanwhile my fellow fundraisers have not let the grass grow and they are already well into organising many events we went to a race night organised by Lee and Jaime Burton it was clear they put a lot of hard work into that night and it was great fun, with a total of £894 raised - fantastic!!

We are looking forward now to another weeks training and next weekends fundraising events, the hecklers ball on Good Friday and the legless walk on Easter Monday - Bring it on!!

Click here to sponsor Tommy:

The Race Night

By Lee Burton

Saturday night saw the 'Race Night' (16th March 2013) which was held at Weymouth Football Club.  Weymouth Football club kindly let us have the venue for free!!

The event was supported by another charity team, the Windy 500 crew, who despite an offer of some of the money, turned it down leaving the pot all to ourselves.  They supplied the horse models and knowledge and Spooky Blackmore’s expertise with the horse racing.  A raffle was also held with a large number of prizes donated by people and local businesses.  The night was a success and we left at the end of the evening with a grand total of £894.00.

I have been busy organising the link between the charity and another local fundraising project, Scarlett’s Starletts – Scarlett is a 9 month old girl from Weymouth who has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.  Her parents are fundraising to purchase a special physio machine which will prolong her life by clearing the build up of fluids and mucus on a daily basis.  The fund has donated £500.00 towards their efforts and I am pleased to say they have almost reached the £8,500.00 required to buy the machine.

There is currently a raffle being run amongst the wargaming community which has some top notch prizes. This will also hopefully see some local clubs running some little events to pass us some £££!!!

Nicki's Hairdressers of Maud Road Dorchester are also running their regular charity raffle on behalf of the fund this year so Clan Burton are tapping into as many sections of the community as possible ;-)

As for training we have both managed some training sessions but sadly none together, due to work and little people so far we have to share training dates.  I am combining my training with some friends who are working towards three peaks this year so should see some more training time.  I have been dribbling over new kit and purchased a new jacket to replace my buffalo which has served me well for years but far too warm to keep up with Mr Daniels.

Click here to sponsor Lee:

Horse Racing Night

By Lee Burton

As you know this year a group of us are raising awareness of the charity in a bid to help more local people in need. We will be fundraising for a year and to round off the event we are dragging our butts up that small hill known as Kilimanjaro.

To add to the events we have a Race Night on March 16th at Weymouth Football Club from 7:30pm, run in conjunction with the Windy 500 guys 'n' gals who are letting us take all the proceeds from this event.  Not a DVD in sight, a more hands on horse racing affair with the usual compulsory raffle.

The evening will give you the opportunity to own your own race horse (for a few minutes. It's not a real one, so no stabling fees), to race your horse against others, to bet on the outcome and win cash prizes. There will also be a raffle with some excellent prizes to be won.

Tickets are £1.00 each but no need to be present for the draw on the night, apart from missing a good night!

Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Click here to sponsor Lee:

Tommy gets the chance to spread the word!

By Tommy Lillington

I have received an invite from a group of 'Dorset Farmers wives' to do a after dinner speech on the trials and tribulations of training for and completing the three peaks challenge

Now I'm never one to turn down the opportunity of an audience so I have gladly accepted.

What they don't know yet is that I'm also climbing Kilimanjaro so bringing that into the speech will allow me to spread the word and hopefully raise more funds. I will let you know how it goes its on the 20th March.

That's all for now

Tommy x

Click here to sponsor Tommy:

Lulworth to Osmington: My First Practice Walk

By Jaime Burton

Today was excellent. The weather was on our side and spirits were high! A couple of the group had a heavy night but managed to make it and walked really well today. We ended up in the Smugglers Inn for some lovely food and a pint! (oh and 3 bottles of wine I think!). Today was my first chance to meet some of the team and I am now really looking forward to the next few months of training with them. Excellent day.

  

Click here to sponsor Jaime: