That was the year that was ...

It's 17:04hrs on 30th December 2011 and I've just done a review of the blog entries I've posted since I first came back from my charity cycle ride across Cuba and subsequently 'hinted' at the North Pole Trek; that first blog was on Tuesday 28th December 2010 and boy oh boy what a year it's been.

What you have below are some of my personal highlights of the blog entries as well as the occasional reference to some of you, my loyal and my sporadic readers from around the world. From the giddy heights of that first entry through over 92 previous entries and it all boils down to this summary (if you can't be bothered to read through all the others).



1. Just a few of the key points: January to December 2011

January - I announce to the world that the North Pole Trek is my next adventure. Even Andrew at work said he felt proud; that tone changed as, over the course of 2011 he, Pete and Stephen decided to discuss a sweepstake of how I would die. Nothing quite like team spirit in the workplace.

I announced also how chuffed I was to complete 3 miles in 90 minutes at Level 4 on the cross-trainer at Iveridge Health Club. Last month I did an hour on Level 16 followed by an hour working my way up from Level 0 to Level 25 (maximum) and back down again; oh how I would only have dreamt of doing that back in January 2011.


February - I opened a Twitter account and Capitol Radio Yorkshire said they wanted to talk about giving my challenge some airtime. Sadly all their apparent enthusiasm came to nothing.

It was also the first mention of a proposed fundraiser at Zinc in Manchester; it turned out to be a great night in June but more of that later. A key part of this was to display and hopefully sell some art by friends and colleagues including Ben 'Diego' Tynan, Alison who had only recently picked up charcoals for the first time ever (see below) and a young woman from Starbucks called Lucia who had been my regular barista (that's 'barista' Salford University, not 'barrister') and was soon to become a little more than that (I hoped).

The first charcoal Al (Alison) showed me, just 6 weeks after she picked up a charcoal for the first time.

March - Thanks to the lovely Denise at Heart Research UK I had my first e-mail conversation with the legendary Sir Ranulph Fiennes and, thanks to the just-as-lovely Sara Wilcox (nee Benson) from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign I had an invitation to a Parliamentary Reception to launch some new research. More of that later.

Selling tickets for Zinc began and a second Manchester Starbucks branch offered to fundraise for a day for me after the Hanging Ditch branch did the first one.

This actually led to 4 Manchester branches in total doing some fundraising for me (Halle Mall being the most successful with £60); oddly the Leeds branches I use from time to time were not in the slightest bit interested. I mean it's not as if I'm FROM Leeds or anything like that is it?? It's not as if I've lived in Leeds my entire life is it?!?!?!

The Halle Mall team under branch manager 'Shig' (don't ask) raised £60 with cake and coffee; buns baked by Claire.

April - I complete my first tyre drag and have what I believe to be the funniest hour or so ever; tyres rolling down hills, dogs peeing on the car tyres and the first introduction to 'The Twitchers' who live across the road from the entrance to the park.

I emailed, tweeted & text the link out to my contacts. The best response was from 'Scottie the hottie' who wrote that she and her sister had tears rolling down their cheeks from laughing; that made me smile to think these two found it funny enough to want to text back and so did a few others who were also complimentary.

The blog entry (First tyre drag completed) is the second most popular one according to reader figures and it still makes me smile at just how wrong it all went. Loved it !!


May - Lucia and I attend the House of Commons. This was the most wonderful and yet the most humbling of days. The blog entry entitled 'A Dose Of Reality' currently stands at my 3rd most popular blog entry as read by you.

The excesses of our brief holiday in London and the House of Commons itself paled into ridiculous comparison when we sat and listened to some of life's realities for a number of the attendees. I think this was my third most emotional entry and well worth a read. The feelings evoked by my blog entry prompted two £100 donations within hours of it going 'live'.

Hold steady ladies, but yes a blog entry contained the first (and last) 'topless' photo; have to admit I'm getting sick and tired of Playgirl Magazine ringing to ask if I'd pose for their 'blooper' edition.




June - The first video clip was featured on my blog, although it wasn't me. My 'boss' brought his son to see me so (his words, not mine) "We can throw stones at you and generally laugh at your legs". Well they certainly did the latter although the 300 yards he dragged the tyres gave him an insight into the cardio value of the training and it earned the charities £10 as he promised he'd pay me £10 every time he laughed at my training regime.

Apologies for the 90-degree tilt of the video part way through.

His son Josh had a go but sadly couldn't move the tyres (although he is only 9 or 10 years old), but he seemed to enjoy throwing the stones at least. Stephen did bring a REALLY big bag and they looked professionally sharpened too.

I also reported on a hugely successful event at Zinc in Manchester; 68 people turned up and had a truly enjoyable evening (and yes, that's what they said). I loved writing this entry and looking back through the 300 photographs Tomas took in his role as official photographer for the evening; here's just a handful that still make me smile.

It was also in that posting I highlighted my routine with Paul (my 'strength' PT at Iveridge Hall) which had included me lifting 2 x 14kg weights in my 60 seconds of squats. Well how some things have improved; at last weeks PT session I lifted 50kg during my 90 seconds of squats.



July - A blog entry, entitled, 'A moment of reflection, another dose of reality' is the highest viewed blog entry ever and has remained so (and continually grown in popularity) since it was posted. MacMillan Cancer Support had invited me to the launch of an event known as em2ee (Emmerdale to Eastenders) where 5 members of the cast announced they were cycling from the Wool Pack to the Queen Vic in 24 hours.

The real story that evolved though was of James Golding and I can still feel the knot in my throat when I read and recall how he broke the news of the discovery of yet another tumour. It made me feel insignificant with the challenge of the Trek, it made me realise just how lucky I have been in life.

If you only read one blog entry you just might want to make it that one.



August - This was all about the excellent support I received from Smiles SMS. It's owner, Mark Evans, offered the services of Rosie to outbound call companies to see who would support me with PR and exposure for my Trek. It also featured Paul on video RUNNING round the block with tyre in tow.

He made it look so easy .... until at the end he said he felt sick. Ahh sweet revenge (sorry Paul).

There was also an eclectic posting featuring my fantastic birthday present from my girls (a day at the Trent Bridge test match between India and England; the best day's action with England crushing the Indian team), the sad news of the death of schoolboy Horatio Chapple as he tried to rescue a friend from a polar bear attack on the island of Svalbard, a photo of my eldest and a friend of hers at the LeedsFest in fancy dress (don't try this at home folks) and another video; this time it's Jon Gregg who has been fantastic in his support of my Trek and had his second go at dragging the tyres up the final slope in Rothwell Park.

It's the last 12 seconds that tell the tale .....

Jon Gregg's uphill tyre-drag

September - Recently returned from a holiday to remember; tranquil bliss, amazing company, great food, even better weather and free quadruple upgrade into the most fantastic villa simply because ours wasn't available and the rest of the complex was full ... although you wouldn't know it.

The blog again though drew the comparisons between this amazing holiday .....

..... and the harsh brutal yet sensitive content of a blog by a breast cancer sufferer called Ellie Jeffrey that really created such an evocative description of her daily emotions and challenges it brings guilt once again to the fact that I've had and hope to continue to have great health and happiness.

In the coming months I would get to know a little more about breast cancer as a friend of mine, the amazing fundraiser and bubbly personality known as Mandy Barwick smiled her way through (and continues to smile through) her treatment. Mandy and Ellie, you know I consider you both an inspiration !!



October - It started with a profound and emotional day for me as I realised I was nowhere near getting nor would I reach my £100 000 target. I make it no secret that I not only wanted to do for the good that it would do but also to ram it down someone 's patronising throat when they said it was "an awfully big number and just going in the newspaper won't get you a penny". No sh*t Sherlock !!!

The thing is a guy going to the Pole the week before me has raised over £95 000 but I noticed all his published donations were £1 000 or £1 500; I just don't 'move in those circles' I'm afraid.

Talking to the open and honest Karen Asemper and then meeting Mandy Barwick I finally let go of the aspiration and decided it was more important to focus on not having to give up my quest to get to the Pole due to lack of preparation. It was like taking a huge weight off my back as basically it had all been down to me.

My hopes that people would do fundraising for me or help achieve profile had all but faded (in fact my Mum became my biggest fundraiser after myself whereas 5 of the 7 others who had promised to help in some way simply faded back into the shadows, never to be heard of again.

October also saw the first public showing of this little thing .............. although I'll save the plaudits for later.

Towards the end of October saw my training weekend on Dartmoor and the meeting-up of the then 6 intrepid adventurers. I say 'the then' because 3 women have recently joined the team so we are now 9 plus two Trek professionals.

What an eye opener that weekend was and I look forward to the training week in Norway (March 2012) to see how much I've improved. Oh gawd please let me have improved but I am NOT to compare myself to the others; this is a personal challenge not some sort of race.

November - 'Margo and the 3rd Dose of Reality' started the month with a small insight into the world of an MS sufferer which, for me, re-ignited my passion to fundraise. With her blog entry and the suggestion from Douglas (one of my to-be polar colleagues) I launched the initiative #ontheflag on Twitter and found over 40 companies immediately interested in donating £50 or more to get their company logo on a flag I'll be taking to the North Pole. I now have 60 (although a couple are about to drop out I fear) and want to make it 120 logo's.

That month also saw me take a week off work and drag a 15kg tyre around the local park. I had measured a 2-mile circuit and built in some steep terrain and was chuffed to bits when I completed 63 miles in 8 days. It still isn't akin to the challenge but then what is??


And now we hit December which has two endearing memories for me; firstly a wonderful wonderful Christmas spent partly with my girls and partly with Lucia. They've not met ... yet. Without going into the detail of December let me move on to the next section.




2. So many people to thank

Where the heck do I start? My thanks to: -

a) My family for being so fantastic, particularly my girls for turning into the most wonderful young women who make me so proud to  be their Dad ...... unless it comes to tidying their rooms of course : )

b) Lucia for hiding her fear for my safety for most of the year, but I know you worry. You are amazing and I promise I'll be fine xx

c) To Geoff Shepherd and Sat Mann of the Yorkshire Mafia Group on LinkedIn, as well as some of it's members who are so encouraging. I cannot WAIT to be part of the 2012 YM Conference at the Royal Armouries and thank you for your thoughtful and selfless generosity.

d) Su, Craig and the team at Zinc in Manchester as well as 'Risky' Fitzsimmons for trying so hard at Harrogate Restaurant Bar & Grill.

e) Howard and Kathryn Rushfirth for your creativity, support and endlessly surprising me with your warmth and selflessness. Absolutely LOVE the logo you created and the business cards you gave me to use.

f) Fitz' for paying out the £500 he promised to if I got him a photo of me inside a life-size snowglobe. I (and MacMillan Cancer Support, your chosen beneficiary) thank you. You thought I couldn't do it ha ha

g) Paul at Iveridge (my PT) and Richard (the MD) for your help in turning this fat old blob into something that's still fat and old but a bit less blobby

h) Margo, Daniel, Dr Jon Hastie, Aaron Pask, Sara Benson, Sarah White and Denise in particular for being an inspiration and reality check, plus Mandy Barwick and Paula for being addictively enthusiastic and helpful.

i) Stephen Vickers for being so supportive and flexible as the toll of training hours potentially impact work (and for actually hoping I do survive the North Pole, even though he acts well 'ard). Oh yes and it's your round at Starbucks on Tuesday !

j) All the companies who have so enthusiastically pledged to be #ontheflag (check Twitter for the trend folks) and to those that are still to do so, and to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Rothwell Record, BBC local radio and Beyond Magazine for your features on my Trek and of the charities involved.

k) Marc at Rocca Creative for being there at the beginning and JB for helping on the stand at the YM Conference 2010 and all your support beyond.

l ) All the people in Rothwell Park who DO say hello and ask questions, as well as everyone on Twitter and everyone else I've currently forgotten to thank !!!


3. Penultimate section - what next?

And so we approach 2012 with another event planned at Zinc, one to be planned at Create Restaurant in Leeds, a training week in Norway once I've followed up my first ski lesson last January with a week of them this January.

The Yorkshire Mafia Conference over 2 days in March which will also include the displaying of 'the flag' complete with logo's on.

I still want to learn to shoot and still have to get fitter and stronger (thanks to Paul and now Becky who is my cardio PT) and of course, I still have to make the time for my girls and for Lucia that they deserve, I still have to work and earn money to recoup the £31 000 I have spent to be able to go on the Trek and my best wishes to all of you who for a personal and professionally satisfying 2012.

It's going to be tough for so many reasons outside of our control but I hope we all get through it and see things getting better ... for those of us who have that luxury of outlook in life when so many have not.




4. And finally some stats: -

a) There's been 6353 page viewings of my Trek blog so far (excluding my own reviews and amends)

b) On the 31st January I reported I'd had 343 page views (with 300 coming from the UK). The figures in red below represent what they were back then versus the black text of today's cumulative top ten:-

UK 4388 versus 300
USA 754 versus 40
Russia 193 versus 0
Germany 149 versus 1
Australia 63 versus 2
Ukraine 58 versus 0
Latvia 58 versus 0
France 43 versus 0
Ireland 42 versus 0
Romania 39 versus 0

I've also had viewers from Estonia, India, Belgium, Slovakia, South Korea, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico (more of that in a moment), New Zealand, Burkino Faso, The Maldives, Thailand, Singapore, China, Hungary and Vietnam that I recall.

Of course not all those viewers MEANT to view my blog. On the blog software it tells me that Twitter was the main link for most people but 61 page views were generated by Google searches; the most popular search was for 'a-reet-yorkshire-adventure.blogspot.com' (21 people) but other keywords that sent people to my blog were: -

- six people put in 'Costco putting'
- three people put in 'mexico beach bar' and
- two people put in 'big black special yorkshire'

I'll leave that last one to your imagination as I go remove the turkey from the freezer in readiness for tomorrows' belated Christmas meal with my girls and my Mum. I'm sure a silent prayer will be said for the man missing from the table. I know your spirit is still in our hearts and mind though Dad. xx 

It's coming ...... soon

Over the Christmas/New Year break I'll be summarising 2011 with its highs and lows as I enter the final 100 days before the Trek. Please, when I post it and you get a notification, I'd be thrilled if every reader could forward it to 10 of their friends and/or relatives.

The clock will start ticking faster as I also summarise the next key steps in my preparation.

Can't wait to write it and hope you can't wait to read it ... and thank you for your support so far. Now go and enjoy your Christmas (assuming you celebrate it and, if you don't, have a great Christmas-free week). I'll be getting ready for training to resume on Boxing Day .......

Photo courtesy of Yorkshire Post Newspapers (all rights reserved)

How to earn £500 with a 'click'

I promised this blog entry by noon today but I've just been mesmerised on iTunes trying to select a number of Christmas tracks. Sorry.

Let me give you some context before I explain about my '£500 in 3 minutes' but. err yes, I've just also been  distracted by BBC Radio 5 Live's 'Fighting Talk'; so funny. A guy proposed to his girlfriend on the train this week and everyone applauded; the guest on 'Fighting Talk' said with real comic virtiol that it was so annoying because it was the quiet coach. Tears streaming down my cheeks.

Hmm maybe you had to be there.

Anyway, the story began last year when I was lucky enough to take my girls on holiday to Maui (my brother lives in California and has a timeshare option so it's a lot cheaper than you might expect). A colleague of mine (we'll call him Fitz') somewhat irrationally asked me to get him a snow globe which, despite a fairly extensive search around a whole host of shops on the island, I was unable to do. Still, there are still lots of great memories from the LA/Maui holiday ....

Looking out from Maui to ... err ... to ... erm, another Hawaiian island

A view from my balcony, the round the island helicopter trip, my youngests' 16th birthday evening and 'that' sign

Sauces at the amazing Momma's Fish House on Maui

Driving through Bel Air in the convertible hire car

All too much for someone on the flight home

His disappointment was somewhat tempered as he knew I was heading to Cuba several months later so he again asked me to try to get him a snow globe. I did see one but as I had only just found out I had to pay to get OUT of the country and I was desperate for a sandwich .... I decided to tell him I couldn't find one.

And that was a serious mistake!!

Every time he has been away since he's brought me a snow globe back and the collection has grown as others have got caught up in the spirit of things and decided to also bring me one back from their holidays. I now have 15 bloody snow globes on my desk at work! Yes yes I'll post a photo of the collection next time.

Anyway, as I started to prompt people for donations to the charity pot for my polar trek, Fitz' joked that he'd seen on-line that you could buy life-size snow globes and he would donate £500 if I got him a photo of me in a life-size snow globe. And so the challenge began.

Google is my friend but although I found what I was looking for within just a few days, it has taken months to organise but this last week was the week I was going to make it happen.

I woke on Friday in London after a good night out with people I work with. Thursday night was excellent but the wind and hail had already made its mark as we left Manchester (yeah I know, rain in Manchester ... WHAT a surprise). A few special mentions if I may: -

- Special mention to Jason who was still in Edinburgh at 2pm when he text to say all flights out of the airport had been cancelled so he was hoping to get down to London to meet us on a train. And  he did!

- Andrew, you don't need to say to a Manchester taxi driver "Manchester Piccadilly station please"

- Thanks to Fitz' for the education on pugilistic donkeys. Think we'll leave that topic alone and apologies to Peter Barden for making him nervous in the restaurant.

- The Windmill hotel (Windmill on the Common) remains a great hotel at a reasonable price and we all enjoyed the bar, but only a couple of us enjoyed breakfast.

In contrast to Thursday, Friday started beautifully & I walked through Clapham in the mild morning sunshine watching joggers, cyclists and just 'life' going on ...........

Who needs a holiday when England is this beautiful

The train ride north was enjoyable and relaxing and when I returned to Manchester .... I got caught in yet another hail shower. A quick trip back to the car and I headed to Bury to find The Rock shopping centre.

Before I go on, my thanks to Pete Barrett for saying yes to helping me with the challenge. Within minutes of parking I found the attraction that is the Snow Ball Experience ...........

Apologies to Phil (in case it wasn't Phil as I'm sometimes rubbish with names); he was managing the attraction and very patiently took numerous photographs and offered all sorts of product in support of my £500 challenge.

The people walking by the attraction must have wondered what the heck a grown man was doing inside the globe alone, throwing fake snow over his head and onto the fan to create a haze so thick it was difficult to see it was actually me in the globe, but whilst the photograph below shows me (vaguely) I can promise you Fitz' has the proof he needs that is was me and I'll be looking forward to the £500 donation.

I text Fitz' several times on Friday afternoon and his final text, once he knew I had the proof, was "A deal is a deal ..." and I am already looking forward to the presentation ceremony. Fitz' will finally get his first ever snow globe from me, of me.

And now it's time for me to email a few companies who have promised to be #ontheflag and need instructions on how to pay, as well as package the Lucas Radebe signed football shirt ready to mail out to the winner of the silent auction (item courtesy of and funds already with the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign).

Wonderful news about the #ontheflag campaign although not quite as much fun as a life-size snow globe and a mini-snow globe to go with Fitz's growing thimble collection.

But that collection is another story. Revenge is sweet though.

It started with hail and ended with a biting wind

What a week I had when I went training in the local park; 50 miles over 7 days with a 15kg tyre and a Saturday morning PT session with Paul. The picture above is how the weather looked on the Friday and, thankfully, it's just got colder as we progressed through the week to today (Sunday 4th December).

Of course that didn't stop it from hailing and raining on Friday 25th November while I was out pulling for another 8 miles. That day also saw me bask in the glory of a sports massage on my legs, or rather it saw me squirm with pain as Becki (or 'crazy Becki' as the brave and the (now) dead dare call her) seemed to have such fun dragging what felt like a cross between razor blades and a bradawl up and down my muscles, laughing with glee at every gasp and yelp.

The weekend activites also saw the SECOND technical hitch of the week and another hurried trip to B&Q but this time, success!! I now have a hooked bolt through my tyre and weather and abrasion-resistant rope so no more of this hopefully .............

I was back to work last week but after my fun week training, on the Monday evening I decided enough pussy-footing around, I needed a cardio PT as well as a strength/endurance PT and so, with Paul not working on Mondays at Iveridge Health Club, I decided on 'crazy Becki' instead.

Bless her she's not really that bad but she does ride mountain bikes VERY fast down VERY steep hills and argues with trees a lot on the way down. She also 'boulders' and 'North Shores' in her spare time but if you ever want a role model for abs (on a pretty woman, not a flicker of 'butch' about her I hasten to add) then Becki is the one.

That had to be the hardest 26 minutes exercise I'd done for a while but I'm now committed to the next ten 30-minute sessions as it's going to prove invaluable. Hmm so there's that, Paul on a Saturday morning, my Wednesday morning self-managed sessions (by far the hardest of course) and I have to fit in more tyre drags. Looks like I might need to swap Monday evenings for Wednesday mornings as Lucia and I need to head to the gym too.

I also met up with my friend Al(ison) on Wednesday and she's offered to help me organise and chase potential PR and fundraising opportunities. This is her on holiday, not waiting for me outside Zinc in Manchester. She will be an AMAZING asset to help and ... if anyone in Manchester is looking for a lively, creative, energetic internal PR-type person/sales co-ordinator then this is your woman !!

Today's tyre drag was hard work but also had a great sense of achievement. Time was limited and the weather was foul (although nowhere near cold enough). In 2 hours I managed 4 miles with two tyres (a big one and a little one, totalling 21kg) and the ground wasn't secure .......

That drag mark was actually 18 inches long and was just one of several as I tried to go up a hill three times in a row as part of every 2-mile circuit. I did of course manage all three climbs both times I attempted it, but it was a wee insight into what climbing ice might be like (but without the icy consequences).

Today also had a first; a car pulled over and the couple inside stopped to ask what I was doing and wanted to know more. Trust me not to have packed some of my new 'business cards' courtesy of Rushfirth Creative.

Earlier this week (jumping around a bit aren't I) a colleague at work asked how I occupy my mind as I drag the tyres if I don't listen to music or an audio book on my iPod? Well apart from the odd hello to either people inquisitive to know more or people who I see on a regular basis, it's mainly thoughts about the challenge itslef, the cost, the usual things in life and Twitter take up lots of time. Here are a few thoughts from today I thought I;'d share with you: -

a) I'm up to 50 companies who want to be #ontheflag; wonder how I'll get the other 70? That reminded me of Twitter and a smile crossed my face as I recalled a photo someone posted last week ...

b) After that I thought about how I need to plan what I'm going to do for my stand at the Yorkshire Mafia Conference 2012 in March; the layout, the aim and the 'special offers' to attract fundraising, which then made me think ....

c) Must not forget I need to work for YEARS to recover the cost of this trek; £26 000 for the trek, £1 600 for the insurance, £2 000 for training, another £1 000 for the proposed Norwegian training week in March, £500 I've currently spent on training equipment & sundry spend on 'stuff' like leaflets. Hmm total = £31 000

d) I briefly reminded myself of a discovery during the week too (which p*ss*d me off); a guy doing the trek the week before me has the same £100 000 fundraising aspiration. I'm approaching £12 000 and, looking at his JustGiving page, he's on ............................ £95 000 !! Oh crap. Mind you most of his donations appear to be £1 000 or £1 500 from individuals and couples and I just don't move in those circles. I still want to show a particular person how WRONG they were when they said I wouldn't get near the £100 000 though.

e) Then I began to think through the implications of my proposed 2014 adventure ... and got a headache, so I decided to focus on one adventure at a time, which brought me back to the news that ....

f) We have 2 additional Trekkers as of this week; Sara and Selena. That makes 8 trekkers now.

And so that's it for tonight (or rather this morning as the clock tells me it's 00:07hrs now). So much for an early night again and looks like snow is falling. After today's biting wind it just might start to get a little bit cold. Hurrah !!!! Err why is everyone staring at me???

Better finish off with a cute picture to make everyone go "Awww" and stop wanting to hang me out to freeze.

Phew, it worked. Good night.

Twitter campaign to be #ontheflag

Day 3 completed, another 9 miles done, another 8 'Trek' business cards handed out and just one dog barked at me and one pee'd on the tyre today. That's not happened since a blog entry back in April !!

Used my nordic ski poles again today thankfully so cleaning the leaves out of the tyre was much less fraught which was good as I'd scooped up some dog poop on one of the circuits. Thank goodness it wasn't squished otherwise the stench would have stayed with me for the remaining 6 miles.

Gives the phrase 'needle in a haystack'  a whole new scratch 'n' sniff angle

Anyway the main aim of this blog entry is to let anyone who doesn't already know about the #ontheflag campaign I'm running on Twitter .... about the #ontheflag campaign I'm running on Twitter (is that poor grammar or just rubbish English?). The proposition is: -

If your company donates £50 to my Trek charities via the Virgin Money Giving sites I've set up (or via cheque through my Trek accountants, Bartfields UK,) you can have your logo on a flag I'm having made to take to the North Pole.

It will be photographed and one of the companies will win the flag when I return. Now how amazing an offer is that!?!?!?!?

Note : Minimum £47.50 to charity, maximum £2.50 to make the flag itself. If the flag costs more I'll cover it (on top of the £26000 it's costing my company for the Trek + £1600 for the insurance, just in case you were worried YOU were paying for the Trek, which is a rationale concern for some and a valid question for all).

Don't leave it too late as there are only 120 spaces and it's definitely first come first served.

Come see the flag at the Yorkshire Mafia Conference in March 2012 at the Royal Armouries in Leeds and think how proud you'll be if you have the flag hanging in your reception after April, but you've got to be in it to win it (I'm sure that's a good marketing slogan SOMEONE could use).

Conference webpage link

So far there have been 42 pledges and the first payments are coming in ... and so are the logo's. Already guaranteed to be #ontheflag are: -

@eatatcreate
@callmejoecoffee
@clarky
@MillenniaIT (who has already sent their logo too)
@smartartsUK (yup and so have these)
@boutiquemc
@ipPatrol
@kokino_marvo
@gwdandp
@tassociatesltd (she has too)
@Zinc_Manchester
@RoccaCreative
@VictoriaQtrLds
@SimplyHealthUK
@GRex_Fitness

.... plus many others such as @MafiaYorkshire and @smilessms for their incredible support to date, @Iveridge for their guidance and generosity, and @RushfirthLeeds for just being amazing people.

As Howard @RushfirthLeeds says, having a tall wife means they always see eye to eye

Some companies are also part of it but I can't find a Twitter address yet but they include iSource, Rullion, Touchpoint Change, 3 Co's, Journey Management, London Clubs International and Hermes Europe and then there are the 19 companies who have promised via Twitter and will be paying shortly.

So what are you waiting for, an official invite? Either get on Twitter [@northpoletrek] or leave a message on here or contact me through other known means. Alternatively just write to me at the address below.

...... I'm waiting : )

The 'Involve' ethos
c/o BlueDucks Limited
Round Foundry Media Centre
Foundry Street
Leeds LS11 5QP

In the meantime I've got 4 more days of tyre-hauling to go so I'll be enjoying this vista ...

..... and getting even more like this ......

Well someone's got to look good in Helly Hansen other than chav's ...

..... before my vista returns to this .......

The M62 westbound on a glorious Autumn morning

If only I could do this training and fundraising thing full-time.

A nice guy called Alan (and a 'flag' update)

It's Tuesday evening and today was the second day in a row I've completed 9 miles, dragging a 14.5kg tyre across, up  and down Rothwell Park.

My tyre trails from the first 3 two-mile circuits yesterday

Yesterday was good, if a little hot whereas today started mild but gratefully dropped in temperature after 2pm, but the weather isn't what I'm here to write about. Today it's about 'people' and we'll start with the generosity of a guy called Alan.

Out walking his dog he was kind enough to ask what I was doing (as did 4 others today). I explained and handed him one of the new 'North Pole Trek' business cards that the wonderful Rushfirth Creative provided (what LOVELY people they are). By the time I'd looked down to zip the pocket shut and looked back up there was a crisp £20 being thrust towards me.

MacMillan Cancer Support are the receipients so I'll be sending the equivalent by cheque to the client account Bartfields UK hold for me at Barclays Corporate.

I also had two more pledges today to be #ontheflag (check out the hastag on Twitter); Nicola Hanson from Leeds Victoria Quarter and Sarah Jayne Walker who is supporting London Clubs International both confirmed they will be donating a minimum of £50 to have their respective company logo's on the flag I'm taking to the Pole. That's 42 out of 120 spaces taken and I intend to close applications by 25th February so I can display the flag at the Yorkshire Mafia Confrence in March 2012.

In fact I need to send out the PDF Rushfirth created as they are co-ordinating the creation of the flag; goodness I really am SO very fortunate to have their expertise and involvement.

And now its time for a rest before bed .... and another 9 miles tomorrow.

Nipple rash and my 'flag' offer starts well

It's been a while but here I am again.

Today is Thursday; thought I'd try to post this out on a Thursday evening rather than extremely late on a Sunday night at stupid o'clock to see if it gets more readers. Here's where I'm up to: -

- Last two weekends saw my first two x 24-minute non-stop PT sessions for quite a while (and I mean non-stop; even the rest periods had lower level activity in them) and both Sundays saw a 4-mile tyre-drag (which felt great as not only wasn't it too warm but only one dog went crazy at me for pulling the tyre).

I have a 2-mile circuit now and although I can see it will get  r-e-a-l-l-y  b-o-r-i-n-g   next week when

I try to drag a tyre for 9 miles a day, 8 days in a row!!!!

then at least I know the distance I will have done.

Part of the circuit includes me yomping up an down a particular slope 3 or 4 times in a row which may not sound much but when it's every 1.75 miles it gets your legs when you get back down to the bottom. Oh how it gets your legs !!

The slope of doom (ok so maybe that's a LITTLE melodramatic) and there's an even bigger one I do every two miles

I've also found myself doing PT session (Saturday), 4-mile tyre-drag (Sunday), gym for cardio (Monday night) and gym for strength (Wednesday mornings) so there's a pattern forming I hope to maintain.

Hopefully though in this packed schedule I will have time to relax and enjoy my new DVD; 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein', which is a real hark back to my days of youth when I'd watch the Saturday morning matinee on TV which sometimes featured films with Laurel & Hardy, or Jerry Lewis, or Norman Wisdom and some of the old black and white Abbott & Costello films.

I'm not sure precisely what decade that was but I recall it was just before the era of 'Swap Shop' In the mid-late 1970's. Remember that? The stuffed dinosaur 'Posh Paws', Keith Chegwin acting like a demented child after a triple shot of concentrated Red Bull (no change there then), and those bl**dy hideous jumpers Noel Edmonds used to wear that demanded you use sunglasses to watch TV?

YouTube clip from SwapShop

So pleased when I discovered Chris Tarrant and Sally James on TISWAS.

Chris Tarrant before WWTBA£m

Speaking of black and white images of days gone by, my mate Sammi sent me a text last Saturday after several months of radio silence. Presumably she was on her way to some drunken posh party with her mates looking at the photo, probably squiffy already with something she's trying to pass off as champagne. Oh ey ar' Sammi, thas great mayte; a bird from the 'Pool poshing it up : )

Actually you underestimate Sam at your peril; a GREAT commercially-minded Director, a fantastic mother, a bezzie mate to those she cares for and has the capability to make an entire room rock with laughter. She's my notional sister and I'm her 'big bro', offering advice when needed.

She's doomed isn't she. Darn.


- Nipple rash. We now come to the comments about 'rash'. Sunday before last when I did the 4-mile tyre pull, I had the harness a little tighter than usual. OK a LOT tighter than usual (which would probably explain why no blood was getting passed my shoulders and into my arms) and it dawned on me that with every step made the harness scraped on my 'nippular' area. Not in itself a problem because it was only a short drag but it did remind me of the risk of saddle rash we had as we cycled across Cuba.

(Hold on, hold on ... what's a tight harness got to do with the obvious but very different challenge of friction rash when cycling in 85-degree heat on a mountain bike with little suspension ... and is 'nippular' even a word in the Oxford English Dictionary? - Ed)

Sorry about the interruption; as I was about to say the challenge of nipple rash seemed a small but timely point to consider but when I extrapolated the current discomfort by a factor of 20 (given I'll be dragging the sled 20 times further than the 4 miles I was doing) I realised there will be an additional problem over and above frostbite, leg ache and general fatigue.

How will I cope with friction rash in an environment where going for a wee is potentially dangerous to ones appendage let alone having access to areas where cream might be required when you can't leave the area exposed too long for the cream to soak into the skin, not the clothing. At least in Cuba we had time and the weather to allow the cream and affected skin time to gel.

At least while I was thinking about that prospective problem I was enjoying a Sunday night treat ......

Best gingerbread in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD !!!
(and you can buy it on-line too)

The 'flag' offer - Douglas, one of the other Trek guys, has managed to persuade 2 companies to donate £10 000 EACH to an epilepsy charity if he takes a small flag with their logo on it to the North Pole (and photo's them). Great job Douglas; well impressed !

Now I don't move in those circles but figured maybe companies would be interested in donating £50 to have their logo on a multi-logo flag I'd take. The price? £50. The benefit? Immeasurable AND one company will win the flag when I get back, courtesy of a raffle.

Well the initial interest was encouraging (27 companies all asked for more info) and a few have already paid their donation on-line. I think I need to keep this going as the target would be to raise £5000 this way but I must be sure I can carry the flag given all the other weight in my pulk (that's a sled to you non-Polar adventurers).

If you know of any companies interested please either get them to contact me via e-mail which I'll put in code to avoid SPAMbots picking it up hopefully (it's northpoletrek and that's at ymail dot com), or via Twitter which is @northpoletrek or they can search for the hashtag #ontheflag.

Already had a begging e-mail into my 'npt' email address so I hope the above attempt to conceal it works.


And finally - I've suffered a couple of setbacks with fundraising events in the last 2 weeks and probably found myself in an ever-decreasing circle of trying to fit more things in to an ever-decreasing time as I fight to get anywhere near back on track.

Lots of kind words of support from people and a few notes from charity friends who say they too are struggling with fundraising in these economically challenging times, so I found the cartoon below a beautiful way to summarise my current dilemma; two possible targets, one bullet, which 'opportunity' do you fire at to get the best return and who says either of them will give you a return?

And with that I'm signing off tonight as I have my last couple of evenings of freedom before the big slog starts on Sunday afternoon. If you've got any spare time in daylight hours (or at least between 11am and 4pm) next week then feel  free to pop along to Rothwell Park (also known as Springhead Park) and keep me company.

Don't come along (as my work colleagues have suggested) to throw stones and laugh, but also don't come eating cream cakes and crisps either. Think I'd prefer the stones to be honest.

Of course I've got another PT session on Saturday to get through so let's hope I don't pull anything on Saturday !!!!

A third dose of reality; Margo & MS

Over the past 8 months I've joked in my blogs,  I've asked for involvement and sponsorship, I've exclaimed my surprise at the global followers I have, or the number of people around the world who simply mis-typed something in Google (or any other perfectly good search engine) and I've been quite serious about my training regime but the biggest responses to my blog entries via email, text or word of mouth have been about two entries: -

- A Dose Of Reality (the startling contrast in my emotions during my visit to the House of Commons and meeting people with Muscular Dystrophy in their lives)

- Another Dose of Reality (the story of the launch of the cycle ride known as Em2ee in support of MacMillan Cancer Support, but primarily of James Golding; an extraordinary cancer survivor)

I know about these two diseases because of personal awareness, experience and education, but this blog is the third in a small series of 'Dose of Reality' entries and it's about MS; a disease I was only vaguely aware of until a woman I know (from when my girls were at primary school 10 years ago) told me she now has MS. It was then I became interested in raising money for the MS Society.

The internet is a great place to learn more from but, I believe, there is nothing as powerful as hearing from someone who deals with MS to understand more about their daily challenges and to remind those of us who are (currently) healthy just how lucky we are!!

This entry is courtesy of Margo.

Hinge & Bracket, not Margo & Sarah

I was introduced to Margo by Sarah, someone who also has MS and both keen users of Twitter. I call them the 'Hinge & Bracket' of Twitter ............. ah yes, for those younger readers of my blogs you'll have absolutely NO idea what I'm talking about, so feel free to go to YouTube for a clip.

If you're wondering why H&B look a bit butch, it's because they are men in drag. Okay, so now that's out of the way perhaps you can concentrate.

The entry below is Margo's work; I found it informative, utterly readable, concise and thought-provoking so I've not edited any of the words nor changed the flow (but the colours and bold text are of my doing to highlight the points that caught my attention). Please take the time to read it as I promise it's worth investing 2 minutes of your life.

"Multiple Sclerosis is the most common acquired neurological condition in young adults. It’s most often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, although increasing numbers of children and teenagers are now being developing it. About 100,000 people in the UK have MS. It’s about twice as common in women as in men. I was diagnosed with MS in 2005, at the age of 43, though I’d probably had it for at least 15 years at that point.

But what actually is MS?

It’s an auto-immune condition: the body’s own immune system attacks the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, leaving scars called plaques or lesions. This potentially causes symptoms anywhere in the body, depending on where the damage is.

If you think of the nervous system as an electrical circuit, the MS lesions cause the circuit to fuse in places so that signals don’t get through at all, or else distort.

So, for instance, I might want to move my leg – a perfectly sound ambition, I’m sure you’ll agree. There’s nothing wrong with my leg. All the muscles and joints are in perfect working order. But the message “Move!” doesn’t get from my brain to my leg.

Also, my brain interprets signals coming back from my body in the wrong way. My arm (let’s say) is fine, but I experience dreadful pain, or pins and needles, or numbness there because of damage in my brain.

The symptoms of MS are hugely variable. If you asked 100 people with MS, you’d get 100 different sets of symptoms! They can include visual and balance problems, fatigue, dizziness, stiffness, spasms, pain, and problems with memory and thinking.

Many of the symptoms of MS – including some of the most distressing, like pain, fatigue, or bladder and bowel problems – are invisible to an observer. This can cause a lot of problems. I’ve heard of, and experienced, partners, family and friends doubting the validity of what’s being experienced.

Many people find “fatigue” particularly difficult to communicate. Everyone’s been tired, and it’s hard to explain how MS fatigue differs from this everyday experience. I’ve seen MS fatigue defined as “an overwhelming feeling of weakness”. I describe it as being like if the house was burning down, I couldn’t move to get out.

I have very bad fatigue, so I can’t often get out. Much of my day is encompassed by the sofa, the telly, and chatting to (or up!) online acquaintances on Twitter and Facebook.

When I do get out, to the theatre, a gig, shopping, for a hospital appointment, or just to meet friends for a coffee, the planning involved takes far longer than the outing itself. How will I get there? Is the venue accessible for me in my wheelchair? Do I need a carer to help me get around? The previous day I need to rest, and for several days afterwards I’ll be unwell.

Developing MS doesn’t have to end your life. But it’s often a very different life from the one you had planned and hoped for before. The MS Society helps and supports us emotionally, practically and financially, and with advice about care. It also invests a huge amount into research about MS – £156 million in today’s money since 1956. They do vital work."

I'd like to publicly thank Margo for taking the time and making the effort to do this; there was I looking for a little addition, some injection of the humour that makes Margo irresistible reading on Twitter, but her fatigue means she couldn't and when I received the tweet from her saying so, I felt stupid, guilty and selfish for not recognising just how sh*t some days can be for her, for Sarah and others with MS.

So the next time I'm stuck in bed with man-flu (albeit a very serious thing), the next time I wonder if I can be bothered to get out of the house and train for my North Pole Trek in the rain or nag someone else for a donation to charity when the last 127 people have all said no, and the next time I'm just too darn lazy to do something I take for granted, I'll remember how lucky I am not to have MS and I'll push myself to DO what needs to be DONE.

A bit like tonight; with my eyes burning with tiredness for the last 2 hours I was still determined to write this blog entry (despite my PC playing up too). Why? Because even if it only makes a small difference to lovely people like Margo, Sarah or the woman at the gym ..... it's bloody well worth it.

Bedtime now but soon it will be time for: -

- A blog entry from Daniel whose brother passed away recently from Muscular Dystrophy; a chance for Daniel to share his perspective of living through such a trauma

- Hopefully an entry from someone I once knew who, on the outside. seems the very opposite of the stereo-typical Samaritans user but, quite literally, they saved her life about 12 years ago. Something as equally difficult to comprehend but yet another dose of reality.

I hope these entries continue to create a big response.

Sleep tight.  x

Dahlink you'll haf to tok to my agent

Hello and happy Halloween from the newest media luvvie in town. Yes the world has finally discovered 'me' ... or rather the people who tuned-in in Leeds and, as part of a six-month trial, in Sheffield and York heard me on BBC Radio Leeds on Friday.

You can listen to it yourself for a few days more by clicking on this link: -

One on One with Liz Green; Geoff Major

But hold on, I'm jumping ahead of myself so I'll start at the very beginning, which is a very good place to start .. yeah I know, hardly Julie Andrews huh.

Clare Young (of 'The Apprentice' fame) sent a tweet to Liz Green suggesting she features me on her 'One on One' slot; an hour talking with the 'great and the good' of Yorkshire (apparently) and lo and behold I got the invite.

The producer Kim (photo below) and I swapped a few emails and it was done, although I have to say I think she let me down over the promised changing room with flowers, space for my entourage of 14 and the fresh Alaskan water I've now started demanding. I mean it's not as if they've created a monster out of me is it?

Oh and before you answer that rhetorical question, just remember I know how to 'tweet' Max Clifford so watch your answer buddy or there'll be lawsuits and counter-claims about your sex-life with Freddie Starr's hamster !! We fledgling celebrities have rights you know.

Anyhow, back to the plot; I duly replied to their questionnaire, selecting 10 songs and exposing the minor highs and some of the significant lows of my life and suddenly the day was upon us.

I tried to recruit a hairstylist called Gaston afor the event and a Feng Shui guru called Miss Teek-Anong-Patayatu (evidently her real name is Shirley Hegginbottam but she found it tough to get gigs what with the name and the floral stripey wallpaper in the background of her Facebook photo). If they had been available along with a rent-a-PA I found on Yellow Pages and the trio of bald bodyguards called the Cannonballs, my entourage just needed a few hanger-oner's and groupie's and we were there, but no, all busy 'washing their hair' that day, including the Cannonballs.

My travel plans were fraught too. Evidently there is no such thing as a 1st Class Day Rover with the local bus company, something to secure a seat next to the window, so I decided to use my car instead only to find that NCP don't do valet parking!

I finally arrived at the door to fame some 25 minutes later ....

.... only to find them locked.

Fortunately a lovely lady behind reception caught my eye and pointed me to an open door. Asked to sign-in I spotted a huge bouquet of flowers on the reception desk and, naturally, assumed someone had simply forgotten to take them up to my changing room. The lovely lady saw me looking at them and said "Oh do you know Agnes from the dining team? She's leaving today and is really well thought of; they're hers".

Ok first Gaston and the Cannonballs were a disappointment and now these weren't my flowers? Thank goodness I had brought my own bottle of Alaskan water with me, fresh from the 3000-year old ice glaciers and bottled without touching human sk ........... oh yes you're right, you CAN see the Nestle label. Err I must have picked up the wrong bottle in my haste.

Kim arrived in reception all smiles and energy and enthusiasm, and whisked me upstairs into the production suite. A short chat and words of advice before I would be invited into the studio, as soon as the news bulletin started. I glanced inside the hosts booth and recoiled in horror - my god Liz Green looked butch !!!

Just as I turned round to Kim a male voice boomed out of the booth asking "What's her surname?" The other lovely lady in the production suite, Jo, replied "Seth, it's Jackson". Seth?

"Liz has had to go to a funeral sadly so Seth is standing in. He's really good too" said Kim.

Seth was closing a feature on 'first dances at weddings' and some guy (Tom I think) had just phoned in to say his was 'Smoke On the Water' by Deep Purple. Ooooooo-kay then.

An attractive young woman with a lollipop stuck in her mouth glided past and smiled, disappearing into booth 4 to read the news (without the lollipop in her mouth); she looked fresh out of University (am I getting THAT old??) and then I was swept into the booth to meet Seth.

Seth smiled warmly and we chatted a little bit as the news, travel and sport were read; Seth intro'd them seamlessly from his control desk ... and then we were on. I tried to get as many of the 10 charities I'm supporting mentioned, I mentioned the organisers charitychallenge.com twice, Bartfields the accountants once and Iveridge Hall once as well. Not sure their client numbers will go through the roof but hey 'every little helps'. You know I'm sure that's a great catchphrase for SOMEBODY to use.

And so the hour simply flew. Soon it was a final photo shoot and time to depart. I looked back at the glistening building and smiled as I'd clearly managed to sneak out before the paparazzi arrived to grab the photos of me for next months 'Hello' magazine.

My greatest fan and harshest critic (my Mum) rang that evening to ask why I hadn't told her I was on and then promptly said she'd heard it and thought I was great. My brother in California is going to listen to it but will probably give me some grief for complaining about his incessant talking through Match of the Day ... but he does.

******************************************

As I type this attempt at a humorous blog entry, I have to remember that there are people out there suffering daily issues due to one of the dreadful diseases we need to find a cure for, like my Twitter friend Sarah who suffers with MS. Tonight her first tweet simply said "I can't cope with this much longer".

She went on to explain she'd had a relapse due to a chronic infection; the relapse was affecting her breathing (described as "... right now it's proper pants") and due to lack of sleep the previous night she doesn't feel well enough to do the exercises which would help her get temporarily better.

And so, whilst I started to create this blog, while many people out there were tweeting about the 'X Factor' show that was on tonight, of making impressive salads and drinking too many cups of tea today, and about wanting to get so drunk tonight in Blackpool that they can't move, Sarah was having a shit night. One of many she may face.

It wipes the smile off my face, and so it should.

RIP Sir Jimmy Savile, sleep well tonight Sarah and now I need my beauty sleep too. According to a friend (Lesley) I have the ideal face for radio so maybe even the extra hour won't do me any good.

One can always hope zzzzzzzzzzzz