A Good Send-Off

Last night we gathered at Durnovaria in Dorchester to officially wave goodbye to our Kilimanjaro charity climbers before they leave for Tanzania on Friday. It was emotional and exciting as all 13 climbers posed together for a group photo with Stella Jones, the Mayor of Dorchester.

Dorchester Town Crier Alistair Chisholm cited some verses written specially for the occasion, which went down very well. Following this Mayor Stella Jones said a few words of support and our very own chairman Ben King gave a moving speech to recognise the huge difference the climbers are making to the lives of those struggling in our local area.

Amongst those in attendance was Kalli Wright, a 2 year-old girl suffering from Wilms Tumours on her kidneys (pictured above with mum Jodie Critchell and climber Ben Wain). The Steve Charles Help A Friend Fund has been helping to fund trips to Southampton for chemotherapy as well as travel and accommodation expenses for two major operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Also mentioned as a recipient of charity support during the event was 14 year-old Rian Harvey, a student from Thomas Hardy School currently receiving treatment for acute Myeloid Leukemia. Unfortunately he was unable to attend as he was staying in Southampton General Hospital at the time.

We would like to thank the staff of Durnovaria for hosting the event and providing nibbles and drinks. They are great supporters of the charity and will be keeping you all updated on where our climbers are on the mountain by writing on their wall - no not their Facebook wall, their real wall!

Our 13 climbers are scaling Kilimanjaro not just to raise awareness but to collect funds for The Steve Charles Help A Friend Fund. Please support them and us by donating on our JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/schaff.

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 ...

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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.

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