Pavement Rage

This maybe how the three of us will feel by the early hours of Sunday morning!

We did our last long walk at the weekend before the real thing, now this week it is a case of a good brisk walk every day.  I know the week will fly past and I'll soon be faced with Friday complete with self doubt, nerves and sheer terror.

I sometimes ask myself whether some householders ever walk out onto the pavement outside their houses.  How is anyone supposed to get around giant bush?

And another moment of pavement rage, do the council ever check trees?  This pavement is impassable to anyone with a pram or in a wheelchair, and you have to step into a main road to get around it.

We drove past Battersea Power Station at the weekend and I had not realised just how enormous a building it is and how dismal, spooky and gloomy it looks.  I do hope they manage to make the venue look a bit more welcoming on Saturday.

I am having a complete ban on any fancy fashion shoes this week to make sure I preserve my feet from any damage.  I may look a bit silly, but comfort is the order of the week if we are going to succeed.  The support we have received from family and friends has been tremendous and the knowledge that the money we have raised will do so much to help advance the work of Cancer Research UK, will keep us walking through the night on Saturday, no matter how much pain we may be feeling we will keep on going to reach our goal.

http://shine.cancerresearchuk.org/events/london-2012

Any donations to www.justgiving.com/LOLmum

10 Days to go

Less than 10 days to go until the SHINE2012 London overnight marathon raising funds for Cancer Research UK

I've been very good at leaving the car behind and walking whenever I have enough time.  It quite amazing just how much more you can see from pavement level and being the curious person that I am, I feel I am discovering a whole new neighbourhood, getting ideas from people’s front gardens and noting the variety of architecture around the local area.  It's also quite relaxing having the chance to be alone with my own thoughts and no distraction from driving, or the car radio.

I did another long walk at the weekend with the Darlings and we decided it was better going out early afternoon as all the eager beaver joggers and cyclists have already been and gone, leaving the riverbank rather peaceful for us.  We’d love to know what this is, any ideas?

It is now time to seriously look after the feet, no high fashion shoes for the next two weeks and we have discovered a great new use for the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serum  

Simply spray onto feet and toes and it forms a barrier to protect against rubbing shoes and blisters forming! Added to that, it makes your feet lovely and smooth.  Thank you Mr. Frieda!

Anyone who would like to make a contribution to Cancer Research UK by sponsoring me can do so at:
http://www.justgiving.com/LOLmum

I behaved like a 16 year old!

What came over me? I am a grown up woman but I’m embarrassed to say that last week I found myself repeatedly calling out to an 18 year old boy, to try and get him to turn around and smile!

Maybe it was a mass hysteria, joining in with the enthusiasm of the packed streets around me, I hope so.  It would be rather worrying if this is a new habit I am about to develop.  Tom didn’t turn round in time to get a photo, just got the back of his head whilst he did an impression of Mo!

The Victory Parade through London was an  emotionally shattering day as a member of the crowd, so I can only imagine the impact it had for the Olympic and Paralympic athletes.  Some of them did look as though they could hardly believe their eyes, others wanted to make firm eye contact to make sure the moment was real and others just looked deliriously happy.

I bagged a great spot at the front of barriers in the Strand and soon made some very amusing friends alongside me, and we waited 2 hours for the Parade to begin.  Time slipped by fairly quickly with a great deal of people watching, banter with the police and passing TV crews and chat with my ‘transitory friends’. 

The motorcycle and mounted police can never resist a high five with the crowds these days, so nice to see them enjoying a happy occasion.

I have never seen the streets of London so packed and happy.   With a good knowledge of the side streets in Covent Garden, I managed to avoid the crowds and dash over to Trafalgar Square at the end of the parade.  

My National Lottery foam hand was extremely useful as a cushion when I finally reached the steps of St. Martin’s in the Fields church, where I watched the fly past and then observed the sight of so many people mingling and enjoying themselves. 

I didn’t want it to end, but knew that this really was the end of a summer of Olympic and Paralympic fever which will never be forgotten.

It was good to meet up with my nephew to 'unwind' and enjoy a glass of wine on the Festival Hall balcony, whilst we looked out across our beautiful city and chatted about how we had enjoyed this memorable day.

I think we need to be reminded how good it feels to celebrate, at least once a month.

Walking the Streets!

The training walks for the London SHINE Marathon are now serious, we only have 4 weeks to go.

The Darlings and I set off on Sunday to walk through the park and over to see Mo Farah's gold post box outside the Fara charity shop!

I love the way the shop have already changed their branding!

Having taken inspiration from our great athlete we returned to the park for a couple of laps, manoeuvring our way through large groups of families enjoying the last few days of the school summer holidays.

Then we had that feeling that someone was watching us, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

But look closely, there is a family of deer enjoying a quiet Sunday get-together!  Aren't they clever!

Back home after a good stretch out and freshen up, we were rewarded for our effort with a tasty BBQ in the garden from our logistics lead - The Chief and a well deserved glass of wine.

http://www.justgiving.com/LOLmum

Just imagine, a freshly picked cucumber

As I drove home this morning, I remembered the piece of smoked salmon left over from the weekend.  My taste buds began to excite as I visualised a perfect yummy sandwich with the salmon, cream cheese with black pepper and fine slices of cucumber. Yum!

Imagine my disappointment to find that someone had a left a stump of cucumber in the bottom of the vegetable drawer, time to rethink my lunch.  But no, my garden was to come to the rescue!

The two cucumber plants I have grown this year have not cropped as well as they have in previous years, but this was the moment to pick the prickly cucumber which was just about the perfect size.

Yes, that is the drainpipe the plant is clinging to!  It is the perfect sunny spot on a warm white wall and no need to fiddle with sticks to support.

One of the great joys of growing plants you can eat, is the smell of freshness and knowledge that no grubby hands or chemicals have touched the skin, maybe just the odd snail on it's way to have a chomp on some leaves.