Dog's Bum & A Scary Man

So, here's the script. I'm in bloody agony. The whole of my left side between neck and waist is ... a 'bit' sore (that's British understatement) ! Compressed vertebrae, trapped nerve, ouch, f**k-me-that-hurts kind of sore. But I need to carry on with fitness trg otherwise I'll never be 'good to go' at 6500 m in July 2010.My legs are still ok so I'm thinking ... go for a 20 minute run and take the dog (Louis) along for company. So, on goes the lead (Louis, not me) and off we go.

BIG MISTAKE ! Dog sets off like a rocket with me dragged screeching in his wake . Louis is, by the way, a tiny little Bichon Frise with the strength of an Ox, the stubborn streak of a Mule, the stride of a Great Dane and the pace of a racing horse !

Anyway 10 minutes later and I'm still chasing Louis's arse. Ahead I spy an elderly (ie older than me) couple. As we draw parallel with each other I wave a cheery "good day". They just completely ignored me !! Suddenly I realised why. The "compressed vertabrae" is crushing a nerve; that crushed nerve is affecting my gait so badly that when I run, I run like a drunken, hump-less, cartoon Quasimodo. With my shaven, hair-less head, less than impressive height, and manic grin, I have become the SCARY MAN!

REMEMBER - You can help me to help Macmillan, at the expedition's Just Giving page

If you have a Facebook account you can also really help in a big way (no donation needed here) by joining the Facebook support group "I Support Macmillan Cancer Nurses"

Help Needed For A Good Cause

As part of this years fundraising efforts for Macmillan Cancer Support a support group has been set up on Facebook. The group is, believe it or not, called I Support Macmillan Cancer Nurses. If you have a Facebook account then PLEASE JOIN this group.

For this group to be of any real benefit to the fundraising cause we need A LOT OF PEOPLE to join. We have to be able to show that there is suficient interest in receiving Vlog and Blog reports from me whilst the expedition is in progress. The best way of doing this is to show that the event has a good following on the social networking scene.

Please, if you have a Facebook account, join the group, ask all of your friends to join, and ask them to do the same with their friends. Make I Support Macmillan Cancer Nurses viral. Joining the group is a small gesture of support that will make a massive difference.

Way To Go Phil !

Well he's done it. Phil Packer and his climbing team have reached the top of the route on El Cap'. Nothing else to be said except congratulations. Absolutely magnificent.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090612/video/vod-phil-packer-achieves-latest-goal-f1a0497.html

Phil Packer - Awesome Human Being

Former Army officer Phil Packer is nearing the end of his climb on El Capitan. Major Packer's efforts to raise money for "Help For Heroes" are simply mind-blowing. The Daily Telegraph elaborates on Phil's latest challenge:

"Maj Packer began his slow climb up an overhanging rock face that is considered a challenge even for able-bodied climbers. For the past four days, he has been hauling himself up the rock in a specially-adapted paragliding chair, using his arms to do what, in effect, will be more than 4,200 pull-ups. With no shelter and nowhere to sleep, nights have been spent on a "portaledge" – a collapsible stretcher suspended by ropes from the rock face. He accepted the gruelling challenge to raise money for Help For Heroes, a charity for injured servicemen and women."

Abosolutely amazing. I can only hope that I would display such courage and determination in similar circumstances

Raising Funds for Macmillan Cancer Support

Between the 3rd - 24th July 2010, I will be joining a commercial expedition to South America. The aim of the 22 day expedition will be to climb four high altitude mountains in the Cordillera Real region of Bolivia. In the months before, during and after the expedition I am aiming to raise a minimum of £20 000 in support of Macmillan Cancer Care.

Leadership, and logistics for the challenge will be provided by an experienced expedition company whose leaders have organised expeditions all over the world. They have led teams to the summit of Everest - north and south - 12 times. Another of their impressive achievements was the first British led ascent of the NE face of 8,601 m Manaslu - the eighth highest mountain in the world.

This expedition should prove a challenging experience, and an exciting way to raise money for a truly deserving cause. Although the £20 000 target is a daunting one, I believe that it will not only be reached but surpassed. There are a lot of good people out there on Facebook, Twitter who I will be looking at to spread the word for me.

One immediate boost that anyone who has a Facebook account can provide is to join the Facebook group Bolivia6000 In Support of Cancer Carers. The greater the number of followers the group has, the better the chance I have of gaining good quality business sponsorship, and the better the quality of the sponsorship the more money I can raise for Macmillan. So if you have a Facebook account PLEASE JOIN the group - the only cost to you is the time it takes to click your mouse.

From minute one of the adventure I will be posting daily written reports and bi-daily video reports. I am joining the expedition for two reasons: to have a wonderful but challenging adventure, but also, more seriously, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The serious nature of the second reason for my going does not mean that my expedition reports will be 'serious'. The reports will reflect the nature of my feelings towards mountains - FUN !

You can find out more about the expedition at the Bolivia6000 website

Donate to Macmillan by visiting my JustGiving (FirstGiving in USA) page