Rochester People

STOP PRESS
Thanks to your votes we have won the Rochester People Local Legend competition.
This is amazing. I will be able to get as much publicity as I can to help raise awareness about breast cancer in the local area. In Kent 1,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and over 350 lose their battle against the disease. Early diagnosis is the best weapon we have at reducing the national figure of 12,000 deaths which includes 300 men.
Winning this fantastic award is a testament to the hundreds of fundraisers throughout Kent and the fighting spirit of the men and women close to the disease either a fighter or supporter, and to the tireless medical teams serving the community.
I will be saving a tipple until after the London Marathon or my coach will be on me like a shot.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen I toast you all.
Click here for the Rochester People announcement

An almighty thump belted out from the front door of something crashing on the floor! It had arrived, the magazine, not any magazine but THE magazine. The London Marathon Newsletter. That means it's a month to go before the big day. Am I ready? I hope so! I think so! I have a lot riding on my pink and white shirt. Tell you what though, I'd love a boost in sponsors! A fiver? Tenner? £26.20? have an ebay frenzy and sell some old tat! Please use the Virgin Money Giving Link to the right and please remember to tick the “Gift Aid” box squeezing 28% out of the government. (This will soon drop to %25!)

The last couple of weeks have been frantic. No change there then. Steamimh Away on Project 350, Training for my first marathon interrupted by the occasional night's sleep, a gig in sunny Bognor, good to see everyone there, and a trip to Glasgow and back.

Our mate "dave" with a new life size 200 seat jet. "Of cause you'll all fit in!

Breakthrough supporter and breast cancer survivor Palma McKeown had arranged a dinner and cabaret evening. I had once again opened my big pink mouth and said I'd pop up and compère the evening. No, I am not going to have a dig at Ryanair. They provide a good service and we did have very cheap flights. For Sarah and I it was £70.00 return all in, total, finish, that's yer lot, not each, TOTAL. But boy do you pay for it! Why oh why do people sit in an aisle seat when the two other seats are still free then grumble when surprise surprise they are asked to move so I can get in? Plonka! The brilliant TV comedy Fly With Me missed some tricks too. The speed speaking, high pitched voice and unrealistic technical terminology of the make up girls. “Oohh your skin looks dehydrated, you need PH 34567 YH 4 version 2c with hello Vera concealer! Only £456.57 with a free poodle” That's nuts. Dehydrated? Boots have bottles water for a quid next door and if Sarah was that worried about concealer she would have stayed in! Anyway, poor Sarah was taken in by this spell casting witch doctor and she spent the price of an average semi detached house in Barnsley on two tins of pink stuff and tube of yellow. I gave the poodle back, it bit me! The TV program also missed the opportunity of ripping in to the veritable parade of cabin crew marching up and down the aisle. First on the bill, and the only thing free on Ryanair, the magazine giver-outer (I nicked one just for the hell of it!) Then the smokeless cigarettes, then laminated menu with hideously over priced burgers that stink if the person behind you is munching on one, then the scratch cards, then the drinks, then the rubbish bag, then the perfume trolley, then the rubbish bag again (Supposedly because the perfume is bought in Turkey and is crap) Then train tickets to London and finally the rubbish bag again for uneaten burgers with one bite taken out of them (some with teeth in) followed by a staff member expert in the Heinrich Manoeuvre. . All it lacked was a clown on stilts, dog jumping through hoops and a fire eater called Smoky. Disney's tune “It's a Small World” blasting through the distorted intercom wouldn't have been out of place either. Still we arrived in Prestwick (Ryanair's Glasgow) to a fanfare and announcement that the flight was on time, in what seemed like only six hours and met up with Palma in arrivals. 

Would I fly Ryanair again? Yes. It is good value if you time it right and it's a right laugh!!!!!

A short drive later we were in the Avonbridge Hotel, Hamilton. Lovely! Time for a quick kip.

We met Palma's hubby,Tony, early in the evening and enjoyed a great meal at the hotel restaurant. Tony had arranged a rehearsal for the acts performing the next day and he had asked me if I would tap along on an electronic drum pad, one that a six year old would get as a fill in present at Christmas because the parents couldn't think of anything nice to buy besides rat poison!

Had a good time though and it was nice to meet up with the performers.

I had been talking about running all night and found out that Strathclyde Park was not too far from the hotel. Ideal for my run in the morning. To make sure I went and didn’t bottle out in the cold, Andy the bass player very “kindly” offered to pick me up in the morning. 09.00am Saturday I amble into the reception and Andy is there as bright as a button. Outside it's snowing! I just could not bottle this one! The jacuzzi was calling me, so was a far heavier breakfast than the "fitness" one I had sort of enjoyed an hour earlier.

We left and soon I was at the stunning Strathclyde park, or what I could see of it through the mist and now rain! I warmed up (well, snapped the icicles off of my nose) and set off on a 4km or so lap of the loch. It was freezing. Scottish runners should be really slow because they are made from concrete! There's me wrapped up for the Arctic and they are jogging round in tartan budgie smugglers and a summer hat! That's just the ladies. During the one and a bit laps that I covered to make up my full session, and I kid you not, I had, snow, hail, rain and sleet throughout. Scottish precipitation goes sideways, and hurts! Did you not know? I must contact scientist of the moment Prof Brian Cox and ask why! Unavoidable puddles were made up from the only water on this planet that can reach temperatures matching that of liquid Nitrogen. My feet would just about settle to the temperature then SPLASH a 

-250c refill. Joyous. Still, I made it round and Andy picked me up and delivered me back to the hotel shaking like one of those hairless Sphynx cats trapped in a fridge.

The room prepared or the event. Brilliant

The evening was brilliant. A fundraiser for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Four acts and then a “big band” made up of all the performers with me on the toy drums. Which, incidentally I did not break and sounded great. My task was to “run” the stage, compère the evening while telling people about Breakthrough, their work and achievements. £3,300 was raised via a raffle, tombola, silent auction and profit from the very nice meal. I could list names until the haggis comes home but in a few words, thanks to to everyone for supporting Palma and Breakthrough. It was fantastic meeting you all and I look forward to seeing you again some time.

The morning came all too quickly and after a very nice lunch with Palma and Tony we were back on a Blue and White Boeing 737/800 heading south watching the character parade again. The landing was horrendous. THUMP! I was gathering my thoughts while the captain was checking the mirrors for any bits of wing that may have dropped off, then, and this is no lie, over the speaker system someone announced, “We hope you enjoyed your flight with Ryanair and hope that you enjoy your week in Stansted!” WEEK IN STANSTED!!! Pins in my eyes first please.

Cliffe Bowls Club
Barking Mad!

Thank you very much to Cliffe Bowls Club £118.00! Top folk. Thank you to the customers from Longfield Fish Bar £48.00 (Apart from the twat heads who put dummy coins, washers and foreign coins in the pot. Not big, not clever and not funny. This is a charity that saves lives, not a failing comedy club!)

Voting has closed for Rochester People's Local Legend contest and thanks to your support we are in the final. The results will be announced on March 22nd. I am neck and neck with another gent at 20% of the vote. Should we get the top spot we will endeavour to make the most of the publicity to raise breast cancer awareness in Kent. Thank you.

Today (Monday 21st) I have some press to sort out including a call to a Scottish Newspaper! A little off patch me thinks but there was a journalist at the Hamilton event and she wants a natter.

I am looking forward to visiting Canterbury University on Tuesday to collect a cheque on behalf of Breakthrough. I have been given the fantastic opportunity to talk briefly to the students about the work Breakthrough does and how well their money is spent. Then it's straight up to London and the Breakthrough office to see Viv about presentations, how to plan my talks better without rattling on at a thousand miles an hour! (I am speedy keen......)

For Peeps in Medway, or not too far from Wainscott, there will be a coffee morning on Wednesday 23rd March at the Temple Mill Children's Centre, Cliffe Road, Strood, Rochester ME2 3NL. 10.00am until 12.00. Cakes, coffee and a chat. I will be there to say hi, tell you about the valuable work Breakthrough is doing, how your donations are being spent and other activities Breakthrough does in the fight against breast cancer. I will also be introducing folk to Project 350. A new local initiative aimed at raising awareness and funds locally for our battle against breast cancer.

Meanwhile any one in Kent who would like to find out more about Project 350, cannot make the coffee morning and fancies a very small but very worth while challenge, please email me.

On Friday I am on a visit to the research centre. Breakthrough have invited all the Breakthrough Marathon runners in for a look-see and I am looking forward to telling you all about it. Also I am looking forward to meeting some other runners and we can bore each other stupid talking about crappy knees, bruised bums and not enough time!

Couple of last bits. Sometimes something happens that knocks you sideways. In my last blog I mentioned meeting, albeit very briefly, Simon Weston at the Vodafone World of Difference launch. He sent me a tweet last week and I quote..... or rather copy and paste “All the best of luck with the London Marathon this year. I think you have more energy than me for doing that. Best of luck” I was gob-smacked! Thanks Simon the message meant the world to me.

Please remember, top trouper Anna Wallace has been nominated for Divine Woman 2011, please follow the link and vote for her. There are two Anna Wallaces, they are both the same lady, nominated twice, now there's well deserved popularity!

On a non-Breakthrough note, I am taking part in “Heartbeat” In Rayleigh Essex. This is a day of all things Drummy! I will be giving a drum clinic during the day. The timetable is to be 100% confirmed, but sometime during the the day I will be presenting my “Starting on Drums” master class. It is designed with beginners to intermediate players. All ages are welcome. Come along for a bash about. I will post more details next week.

I hate to end a blog like this but we lost “chat buddy” Lou to breast cancer this week. Another life taken to this terrible disease. Heart felt condolences to her fiance and young children. Scientists are making in-roads in this battle  but still need as much support as they can get. After all, it's why I am here in the first place.  Please dig deep and help me reach my target for Breakthrough and look forward to a “world without the fear of breast cancer.”

See you all next time.

Dogs, Dames, a Difference and a Real Hero.


Tuesday evening I spoke with amazing campaigner Anna Wallace. I met Anna at a Breakthrough Breast Cancer “do” a few weeks back, Tuesday evening she was packing her pockets to busting with Smarties, jelly babies, fruit gums, concentrated Red Bull shots and anything else that would keep her awake after three days whizzing around Scotland and back before a flight to Orlando to a breast cancer conference. She was looking forward to meeting up with other campaigners at the C4YW, The Annual Conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer. I have sent my best wishes to all attendees and maverick campaigner Dusty Showers a man who one day I will meet.

Anna' s charity, Living Beyond Diagnosis, is running a very important and valuable conference in November this year so here is a date for your diary. November 17th -19. at the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster Bridge, London. This is their inaugural event and will be for 500 attendees affected by breast cancer. It is open to all breast cancer survivors and co-survivors spouses, caregivers, children, parents, friends, relatives etc. Use the link tagged to visit their website and register. Exhibitors are also invited to do so. This will be an amazing few days and the first of its kind in this country. Follow the website on Facebook and pick up on their Twitter feed for up to date details. I for one will look forward to seeing you there. (We could even have a mass jog around St James’ Park before breakfast!!! How cool would that be?..... (Or freezing cold seeing that it will be the middle of November!) Pack your woollies!

Shock Horror!! Wednesday I nearly missed the earth shatteringly important Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day! (Honestly!) I would never have slept a wink had I not realized that I was thoughtlessly ignoring this amazing day of culinary canis lupus familiaris celebration. I was agog to see that Clintons and WH Smith had sold out of cards and balloons marking the crunchy occasion! (or at least I couldn't find any). I did ask the assistant in Smiths for a button badge and flag but she just looked at me as though I was speaking Latin and needed a doctor. Oh well, next year perhaps. The world's gone barking mad! (Pun intended!!!)
With the doggie treat disappointment still ringing in my ears, I boarded a train to London. I had a meeting arranged with Anna and Becky at Breakthrough Breast Cancer about Project 350 and the Vodafone World of Difference scheme. A nice train ride from Chatham to London Victoria where I looked all business like with a small brief case and I wrote, all posh like, on a pad during the journey. I was however only playing hangman against myself. (It's the only way I get to win) From Victoria I took in a sardine experience on the underground that got me, somewhat squashed, to Holborn. (I think the underground was that full because we could be approaching Oily Fish in a Small Flat Tin Awareness Week) We dotted I's and crossed the the “Ts” of the Vodafone paperwork and I came away all happy with things called “Key Objectives and Mile Stones.” Well, I know what a key's objective is but I think the neighbours might object to milestones in the front open plan garden... we'll see

Where to put a milestone?

While I was there I also met with Jane (From the Running Team) She runs everywhere, even jogs on the spot during meetings, even during breaks! Now there's dedication. She gave me my running shirt for the marathon. As soon as I got home I just had to try it on with everything! Just for a look-see. (Photo later Sloat!) Pulling that shirt on felt amazing. What it stands for, who it represents and who it will help in the future. Emotional moment. Thank you Breakthrough for trusting me with it. I look forward to lining up with the other 140 or so runners in the “Team Breakthrough” shirt on London Marathon day.


Project 350 will be raising awareness about breast cancer in women and men, although the figures for male breast cancer are far far lower than women (around 300 a year in the UK) it is something to just be aware of. This week there was an article in the Daily Mail  about Policeman Mark Cross, who noticed a lump only after knocking himself with a ladder. I emailed a comment to the paper's website and they published it. Do have a read later. Click HERE for the report

Oh no here we go again! Dogs! (See last week) This week (Friday) I had my long run. I would be away all weekend so I had to get the 10 miler in early. It was going as well as could be expected, what with it being my longest run on 90% concrete or road since my double knee tweak. So yes I was feeling it. At about eight and a half miles in I see a dog, short gold fur clad tank like thing weighing in at about about 5 tons lolloping towards me with his useless owner shouting commands like “Stay” “Heel” “No!” "back" "Eat!" All of which the mutt duly ignored as he homed in on me with laser targeting eyes, “MMMM Yummy a runner!”

WOOF!!

I stopped and this thing rugby barged me full on to say a playful “Hello” I grabbed a tree and was able to keep upright. Now, I know I have lost some weight, I'd just had my hair cut, was wearing black tights yellow top and a cap. I thought I looked ok. The bloody dog thought I looked fantastic and proceeded to put his giant paws around my chest and try and “do stuff!” As he wasn't my type I pushed him away to which he obviously though “WOW.... GAME!” and jumped up again. The owner took an age to get over, he was apologetic and said “he's only a puppy” PUPPY!? He's as much a puppy as I am Charles bloody Dickens! You could saddle the darn thing and ride him off into the sunset now! Any bigger and you'd expect it to turn grey and grow a trunk! I checked that I was all in one piece and took up a jog. I was relieved that the extra weight and minor battle hadn't caused any problems. (Paranoia) Nope all there, counted my limbs and picked up my pace. About five minutes further on a tiny bead of sweat dripped into my eye, as I brushed my sleeve across I was greeted by a glob of your finest doggie slobber! My shirt was covered in it. “Love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day is hereby cancelled next year, they can take a run and jump!

The running this week has been just brilliant. I made all five of the sessions including the ten mile long run. The knees (and their owner) are back up to working speed, the Walkman's fine (See blog a few weeks back, plus other MP3 format players are available!)

Dame Donna Kebab! I think I've pulled!
Thanks Fay for the photo

I attended the Panto in Worcester, spoken about last week, and it was brilliant. Many people go to the “big ones” in 2,000 seat theatres, watch people from soap operas no one has really heard of outside of Coronation Enders Farm Hospital, plus a couple of folk from a reality TV show three years back, since taken off air because it was rubbish! Plus there's the £20 a seat, crap view and some of the chorus, going by the looks on their faces, would rather be down the pub. Panto belongs in the village hall! 100 people had crammed in waiting for a cast of all amateurs about to embark on a two hour mission to entertain. All nervous from the drummer, in the simple trio, to the to the seasoned director. It was all there, brilliant dance routines, a sparkly Dick and a baddie played by the local vicar BOOOOOO! HISSSSS!! (That's not me taking on a non Christian religious bent you HAVE to Boo the baddy or you get thrown out!) I was involved in a charity show last year and was helped immensely by a brilliant graphic designer from Worcester called Jeremy Field, He took up the all important role as Pantomime Dame and was fantastic. So realistic in fact I went on the “pull” in the interval! Well done to everybody. Roll on next year.

I'm staying on!

Sunday, during a lunch to celebrate the end of the Panto run my daughter Becky turned up from Wales unannounced! Great to see her and thank you to everybody involved in the sneakiness.


Monday was the day. Off to Birmingham's Custard Factory for the Vodafone World of Difference induction. 500 of us winners filled the venue all excited to see videos, meet other winners and hear talks from past winners and guests. The project’s ambassador Gok Wan was there giving a great welcome speech. The organisation of moving 500 people from one hall to a number of smaller rooms and back, and off for photos was seamless. (Well done everyone) A talk by Simon Weston OBE would be enough to make you feel like you could take on the world with a hand tied behind your back and no pen! He was amazing. Knowing his story or not, (I do) he was a truly inspirational speaker. I had the total pleasure of a brief hello and hand shake at the end so I am ready to turn the county pink! Taking a section from his talk: Life is a carousel full of coloured horses . Each coloured horse is an opportunity. Choose one, climb on and hold on tight. Hold on to that opportunity until your hands grow blisters, hold on until your fingers bleed. Stay on for all life is worth. My horse is pink, with a blue trimmed saddle. Breakthrough and Vodafone have given me the once in a lifetime opportunity to ride it. Ride it I will. With pleasure, with pride and with passion. Pass me some of the best riding gloves you can find. I am not getting off.

Still time to vote for my Local Legend place! If we get it it will be more awareness for breast cancer so please just make a couple of clicks.
See you next week.