Very Cold Claire

The Last Post

2011-05-11T14:27:00.000+01:00

Well, for the time being anyway.

You can still sponsor us here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

And there is a short clip reel here: You Tube

Till next time...

verycoldclaire x

The A Team

2011-05-03T20:40:00.000+01:00

One of the unexpected joys of the trip has been the pleasure of being with a great team of humans, as well as the stars with four legs. It's been a privilege to have had such an amazing team of friends to travel the arctic wastes with. They were all on the wish list for different reasons, but what was so reassuring was how well everyone got on with each other and how quickly we all fell in to living in challenging spaces and environments together so easily.

Laura

My tent mate and trusted friend, we've done two trips together now and it doesn't end here.... we are already plotting, watch this space. Laura's boundless enthusiasm and calm in the face of snow, wind, extreme sledding keeps me sane and she's always 'up for it' even when 'it' involves a bikini in a blizzard. We just slotted in together, even down to the design of our luxury girly latrine. She's practical, caring and can colour co-ordinate thermal underwear in a tent 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, how does she do it? Our very own Brown Owl, the girls has class.

Steve

Seasoned traveller and expert in all things airport, we worked out that Steve has a micro chip embedded in his passport, which allows the queue masters to recognise that he means business and the waves part as if he's Moses. You might think that this would put him above mucking in and getting down and dirty but nothing could be further from the truth. Steve's the first to offer his services for the tricky jobs, digging dogs out of the snow, finding vodka on the snow, keeping the sauna stoked and bringing up the rear of the line with the constant call of "Come on BABE!" and the team wouldn't be the same without him, I'm so glad he came.

Mark

Mark's a star, pure and simple. We knew his training in the RAF would come in handy but it didn't just give him the skills to build a habitable ice hole for two, it clearly gave him the ability to take the Micky out of us all just enough to keep us amused but not annoyed, a fine line.

Mark is a Doer with a capital D, trips like this need doers. Not many people would have thought of bringing a blow up beach ball to the Arctic - Mark did, few would have dressed as a life guard on a frozen lake - Mark did, only a fitness fanatic would have offered to carry all the water back from the lake so that he could "get a work out" after 60km on the back of a sled - Mark did. How many would have admitted to being chuffed that his girlfriend had sent a letter with him, which exploded with glitter hearts all over the tent? Mark did, and we love him for it.

Andy

Andy did say I should use this photo - mmmm.... pancakes! If positive energy could give you wings, Andy'd have flown all the way home. He's got such a great attitude to life and I know a bit of it rubbed off on all of us over the 9 days. The grin on his face after the first training session on the sled had to be seen to be believed, I though he might pass out. We discovered his talent with the guitar too, such an unexpected bonus. I knew he played but had no idea he had such a great ear and could just listen to something and play it, we were all silenced by his music and I thought that Britt Marie might try to steal him when she heard him sing. I also have him to thank for getting me out of some pretty tricky situations in deep snow, I might have just melted if it hadn't been for him (but I could have done without his rendition of Chumbawamba's "I get knocked down, but I get up again").

Rob

In Andy's words: "Man he so cool, without even trying to be". I've known Rob for nearly 30 years, so I knew he could do this without having a hissy fit and I guess I expected him to be able to handle a sled, care for his dogs and produce pretty good food - but not to restaurant standard in a log cabin, using a wood burner. Cool? Yes, but human; he loved his dogs, missed his family and snored enough to keep all the bears in in Northern Scandinavia away from camp.

Gaynor

Although Gaynor will tell you that she's forgotten how to be a girl and is now a "farmer's wife, with dog meat on her trousers" we all beg to differ. Gaynor could look beautiful in a bin bag, which is pretty much what our outer layers look like, but hers is trimmed with Artcic fox... We're all here because of Gaynor, it's her generosity that allowed me to put a team together to do this trip, which she never taken anyone on before. She's the boss, and now even the dogs know that. It's been so great to spend time with her and Milos together too, if I had a fiver for the number of times I've heard "My Man's a real man Claire" I'd probably have reached our fundraising target!

A real man

A real man opens tins with a knife, a real man can start a fire in a blizzard, he walks to the sauna in nothing but boots and chops dog meat with an axe. A real man leads a team of rookies across uncharted territory, up vertical drifts and over roads, lakes, mountains and rivers. A real man tells stories in a language not his own that have us all doubled up, he charms Sami women, hardened to the world and turns them into giggling girls. He says the right thing at just the right time. A real man knows where to find clear water (almost all of the time) and can drill through ice a meter thick. A real man wins 900km sled races and gets the award for being the man who cares most for his dogs. He loves his dogs, he loves his girl.

Final Day

2011-05-02T22:02:00.000+01:00

I wimped out. I couldn't face the tent after realising that Milos was preparing to bring the short haired dogs into the cabin and that there was still the relative comfort of Scuzzy Sofa free so I left Mark and Rob to brave the elements and just managed to get on to the sofa before 4 very cold and very grateful dogs ran inside. They snuggled up with whoever would have them and eventually Laura, Andy and Steve climbed into their cosy roof space, Milos had the sofa to himself whilst Gaynor encouraged the dogs to lie on a mat on the floor by lying with them and Cute and I fought for space on Scuzzy Sofa. She soon worked out that if she made herself long and thin she could lie in the space behind me and not be seen and we stayed like this till there was movement from Balto.

We all got some sleep, however disrupted for our various reasons and began the day with the laborious task of packing up after a relatively laid back day, when pretty much everything had been unpacked (including the beach ball). There was little food and drink left once we'd eaten breakfast so we all had light sleds, but the dogs were not as eager as they had been so the first few miles were good sledding across icy wastes. No features at all for some way and slowly the wind got up and the snow blew in horizontally from nowhere and gave us a disorientating white out. Again the team separated and Milos kept us all in sight by stopping regularly but it was a good final run nonetheless.

The terrain turned to tundra as we dropped down from the high ground and soon we were back in the kind of land that we had camped in on the first night, surrounded by tiny, stunted birch trees. I've been reading all about these trees in my wonderful book 'Cold' and in some sub zero regions other trees can survive but in miniature, bonsai willows grow a few inches high, but in perfect proportion.

Finally we came out by a road, where we we met by Jan, not a very salubrious end to the trip, it rather hit us like a train, but we made it and we are all in one piece. The journey in the van back to Per Nils house was silent, and I was very grateful to Mark for lending me his iPod, filled with 80's music to keep me from slipping into the abyss, although I have to admit to letting a few tears run down my face staring out into the snow, listening to Depeche Mode.

Snow

2011-04-28T15:24:00.001+01:00

I did finally get up, having the dogs on my mind. I know that they are working dogs and their coats are used to being snowed upon but they make a pitiful sight, especially those who had clearly been ousted from their snow holes by their teammate. One of the first jobs was to dig them out again and Steve made a head start. As I joined him I realised it was quite a job; first you have the heartbreaking task of getting the dogs out from under their layer of snow so that you can remove the straw and dig a deeper hole, whilst making a higher wall around the side. The wind was coming in from the lake and the snow was falling into the hole because the walls were not high enough. Digging into the snow was easy but making cube shaped bricks and lifting them out to build up the wall proved harder. Within an hour they were all back in their cosy holes, relined with straw and seemingly happy to stay there, whilst the wind blew.

Once they were all protected and newly bedded down the team set about their day. Ice fishing was the priority as we were looking forward to the chance of some fresh fish for supper.

Andy

Andy's a veteran fisherman and Miloš has clearly got it taped so they lead the guard down to the lake and soon Laura, Steve, Andy and Mark were settled on the ice with their reindeer skins.

Miloš

Our very own gnome

Steve

Having spent time together in Norway when we were at college, Rob and I decided to walk there, Rob had been plotting the route on his GPS and it claimed we weren't that far from the border so we set off into the wind, in sight of the fishing team, which was reassuring bearing in mind that our journey was across a lake and the temperatures are rising. It had also been reassuring to watch Miloš drilling through the ice with a meter long drill and only just reaching the water.

Off to Norway

The Norwegian shore, being much the same as the Swedish one, held our attention for a while but as we hadn't thought about taking any celebratory food or drink, we returned, finding the route back warmer with the wind behind us but still hazardous as we kept breaking through the top crust of ice into the snow beneath.

Mark had found his special snow when we got back and was well on the way to completing a double ice hole. It's very impressive, even my claustrophobia couldn't stop me trying it out. He'd built them before in the RAF, over the border, but we were all very impressed.

Snow hole expert

Anyone there?

Somehow Rob had conjured up a reindeer stew from the leftovers of last night's feast which was warming and so tender. Andy was still guarding his fishing hole so I took a bowl down to him, trying to keep it warm by covering it with bread. He said he was fine and not really hungry but I've never seen stew disappear so fast! He'd had no luck and had been there for about 5 hours, he's done a72 hour wait before so I wasn't expecting him to go back to the cabin with me.

As well the ridiculous photo Mark had to take of himself in his Speedos as part of a fundraising bet, he decided (in his wisdom...NOT) that we should take a series of 'Arctic Madness' photos to make into a charity calendar on our return and somehow he managed to persuade Laura, Andy and I to put our beachwear on and cavort about in the snow... fortunately most of the photos are quite dark as we were in the middle of a snowstorm, so I'm not sure that they are quite print quality.

I really don't know where the the day has gone, I went to my tent for a rest and before before long the dark was looming and the wind was getting more and more powerful. We've all taken refuge in the cabin now and I am seriously thinking about making the scuzzy sofa my bed for the night. I've been to look at my tent and it's got snow half way up the outside and it's bouncing up and down like jack in the box. No doubt the boys will tough it out and I'll feel like a wuss.

And rest...

2011-04-27T09:43:00.000+01:00

The cabin is tiny, enough room for a stove, cooking shelf, a table with 6 chairs and two wonderfully scuzzy sofas in 1970's browns and oranges. One even has a fake fur Bambi cushion on it. There is a ledge above for sleeping on but Rob decided he'd rather sleep in his tent, Mark and I exchanged glances, realising we'd be jealous and it was soon agreed that we'd pitch 3 tents for us and the others would sleep inside, unless Mark could find the right snow to dig a snow hole.

We sit on the eastern edge of a vast lake, with shores in Sweden and Norway, surrounded by hills. The sun sets over the western shore and as we unpacked the sleds, secure in the knowledge that we'd be camped here for more that 24 hours, we were treated to a spectacular sky.

Mark and I began to pitch the tents whilst Laura, Steve and Andy set up and helped Gaynor and Miloš with the dogs. Although the weather was calm they sensed a change and as we are to be here for a while it was important to dig out holes for the dogs to sleep in and line them with straw that it kept in the long-drop shed for that purpose.

Cosy now

Rob took over the kitchen and was in his element. Once the fire was lit in the wood burner he could start on the culinary highlight: reindeer steaks and 'brown sauce' with Gjetost/Brunos and Aquavit, potatoes, peas and spinach. Quite how he managed to cater for us all with such an ambitious meal using a wood burner and a tiny camp stove is a mystery to us, must be the Norwegian ancestry. It's certainly a step up from the hot dogs from a can and now we're keen to keep him tied to the kitchen during our stay at Kamaz, in fact Gaynor and Miloš are thinking of offering him a job as expedition chef.

Miloš got the sauna lit and we brought water up from a hole, which had been left in the ice, close to the sauna hut. The hut is not the most efficient of saunas, being uninsulated and full of holes, but any opportunity to get clean was most welcome and once camp was set the girls took first crack. When you haven't undressed for a few days and your hair has been under a hat and hood, we discovered that even the sound of someone else washing their hair can be a joy as we took turns to pour the cold water over our hot, sweating bodies. We toasted Elsie, our companion of last year, who always screamed "it's divine" at the top of her voice when dousing in the sauna.

The boys were desperate to get in and hurried us out by stamping on the doorstep as we all tried to get dressed in a space no bigger that a cubicle. We made our way up to the cabin determined to have a 'girlie chat' before they returned, we talked shoes, shoes and shoes. Gaynor got a shock about an hour later when she thought she saw the boys retuning through the window but realised it was time for a their naked snow roll.

Sauna

By the time we all retired to our various sleeping areas the wind had really got up. I've lined my tent with skins and have all my kit inside but once I was in my sleeping bag I discovered that my tent, being the most westerly, was acting a both sail and windbreak for the others and felt as if it might take off at any moment, I felt like Dorothy. By morning it was snowing and so I've grabbed my warmest clothing and am back in my sleeping bag, after all there is no schedule for today and this is an interesting way to have a lie in, in a blizzard, in fact I might just stay here...

Friday - the northernmost point

2011-04-26T16:18:00.002+01:00

North

Despite the good rest last night everyone is showing signs of tiredness, and where my team of dogs are concerned this is a relief. Having Rune and Refat again has been reassuring and yet challenging as they are so strong and have such stamina. Uno, my single dog just keeps and going and the wheel dogs, Zero and Brenda appear to be looking for promotion, always pulling as if they want to overtake the rest of the team. Today they slowed slightly, which meant I wasn't standing on the soft brake all day.

Zero and Brenda

Brenda is so endearing that I am afraid she has rather stolen my heart from Rune and Refat, this and the fact that the boys will not kick their bad habits. They have one particularly disgusting trait, which seems to be paying them back today as they eat that which has already been eaten and are both now suffering with bad guts. Brenda is perfectly behaved at all times however and runs so tidily, tucking her feet up beneath her and her ears back against her head. She is built like a tiny wolf, big strong shoulders and a wonderful thick coat. She and Zero have a great relationship and constantly look out for each other, helping each other out of the thick snow. She's affectionate without being clingy, independent yet supportive, sensitive to those around her, strong, fit and gorgeous to look at, what's not to love.

Rune and Refat

Gaynor ran into trouble as we set off this morning as she and Steve became entangled and she battled to free the dogs. Babe was badly caught up and was in pain, whimpering and nipping at Gaynor as she finally managed to free them. Laura's team also struggled today, they found the long climbs, as we headed north, difficult and Rob had to battle to hold back as his team gained speed behind her. The climbing was constant all day, and even though we stopped for quite break at a fishing camp it is clear that we will need our rest day.

Fishing camp

The fishing camp was intriguing, snowmobiles came and went as we arrived, some of them stopping to take photos of us and it appeared to be well used. Gaynor told us they'd stopped there before to try to buy milk but had no luck, this time Miloš had a better idea and he disappeared, returning with 2 carrier bags full, apparently the only thing they sell is beer - that'll be interesting on our breakfast cereal...

Andy

Andy's team really began to struggle in the afternoon and as he was behind me I was very aware of his frustration as he tried to encourage them onward with whistles and calls. Those of us in front of him stopped occasionally to allow the second part of the line to catch up. Andy found that he was doing lots of scooting and running to support the dogs and as a result he needed to drink a lot of water, and as a result he needed to pee. Being behind us by some distance, and feeling confident, he decided to keep going and risk sideways relief off the runners, this coincided with a post and some indecision by his dogs, should they go to the left or the right? Whichever way they ended up going didn't really matter, Andy had to turn suddenly, with disappointing results.

Gaynor sporting the arctic fox trimmed coat

Kamaz

In the final stage of today's run the team separated into 2 with Miloš leading us onwards and upwards until eventually Laura, Rob and I lost sight of him and the group behind, making it seem as if we were on our own adventure. Then suddenly there he was, waiting for us at a lonely fingerpost, pointing off the trail. Here we pulled off the track and into deep snow, holding back till we could see the others coming over the brow of the hill. This was to be our last journey for a couple of days and we are now at our rest place - Kamaz, Per Nils's cabin, where we will stay for a day.

Thursday night

2011-04-26T12:47:00.001+01:00

Gordon and Heston

It's time to set off again after a great night's sleep. We reached the camp area by 6 last night and this time it all went much more smoothly. No runners. Andy built a dining table from snow and we warmed up the Gulaš that Miloš had prepared at home. Laura and I dug a really deep hole for our tent and the combination of the soundless depths of our camp and exhaustion saw is all retiring by 9.30. We woke to silence, no dogs howling for their breakfast, and so we assumed it was early but when Laura checked her phone we realised everyone had slept in. It was 8.55am! We must have all needed it.

I felt as if I'd been run over by train though and the bruises are already coming through (note: copying this from my diary a week later I am still black and blue). Before we leave I am going to make sure that I have a good breakfast, that was my mistake yesterday - forgot to eat...

Thanks

2011-04-26T12:25:00.000+01:00

A quick update:

Thanks to the Anchor for raising £58.20 in our absence and thank to Marie Ayers for paying £100 for this single photo of Arctic madness by Mark Nussey.

He is quite mad...

Thursday lunchtime

2011-04-24T21:40:00.001+01:00

This morning's drive ended with two memorable quotes: Laura to Gaynor - "I didn't realise we'd signed up for Dog Sledding Extreme!" and Miloš to Rob - "Challenging enough for you...?" So you'll get the gist.

We started early this morning as Miloš gave us two options last night, we either travel for a few km by road, which would have meant a bit of man handling of sleds and a lot of slush or we risked a short cut across a region not normally used as a trail by sleds or snowmobiles. Gaynor and Miloš had tried this route the previous year and had found the snow so soft that it had taken them 2 and a half hours to cross as they'd had to push the sleds through. This year there is a thin, crispy crust of ice over the snow, which only yields if the dogs' paws pierce it and there are only 8 sleds, so we voted to leave before the sun's warmth had thawed the upper layer. It was the right decision. This was the most exhilarating route I'd taken.

Short cut

The dogs rose to the challenge and when their feet pierced the ice and they plunged into the soft fluff beneath they forged on, even though they must have felt as if the ground was disappearing below them. It felt amazing to be crossing virgin snow, following Miloš as he chose our route. We had to go slowly for the majority of the journey as it's necessary to brake whenever the dogs hit a soft patch so that we don't run into them, then we have to release the brake immediately as they pull themselves out and onwards. It was an exhilarating drive, which lasted for about 45 minutes.

Then it all went a bit Pete Tong. We stopped for water at a stream and Rob and Gaynor filled the containers and we also had to go onto the road for a very short run. At the top of a ridge Miloš dug through a drift to get us back into the snow and the dogs had to climb through whilst we pushed. Those in front of me managed, with some effort, to jump back onto their runners as the dogs gained speed but I just couldn't. My team is so strong and they took off downhill at a pace with me dragging behind, hanging on with the words "never let go of your dogs" ringing in my ears and snow covering me (apparently) as I tried to get up but just kept falling between the runners. Eventually we ran into the back of the team in front of us and I managed to get my sled almost upright, but exactly the same thing happened again as I saw them all disappear over the horizon. At the bottom of the hill my dogs stopped. Not because they were ready for me to get on at last, but because by now the leaders had disappeared altogether. We couldn't see a track at all, other than and old one going vertically up the hill to our right. Andy weighed anchor to help me pull me team around and get them going up the hill but within 100 yards Zero lay down and refused to go any further. It took me at least 3 minutes to realise he'd slipped his collar and this was why he wouldn't move, thank goodness for Andy, he saved me. Sadly I was so jiggered that I fell off the edge of the top drift, landing on the road and covering the sled, my coat, boots and trousers with sludge. I felt terribly guilty, their beautiful new kit was filthy.

Mud

Lunch

When we stopped for lunch I realised I was still shaking and necked half a bottle of rescue remedy, before settling down to hot dogs round the fire. Having got through 'the worst', according to Miloš, we relaxed and recouped for about 2 hours. Actually it was the best as well as the worst, the short cut had given me a notion of how it would be without human evidence in the snow and it had sent my mind into dreamland, or that could have been the rescue remedy...

Camp

2011-04-22T08:34:00.000+01:00

The sky is full of squiggles, I'm sure that's not a technical term but they're not technically clouds but strings of white that twist all over the sky and have followed us from Soppero for most of the day.

Setting up for camp for the first time was an education. Once Miloš finds a site he's happy with - sheltered, deep snow, enough room for 41 dogs, 4 tents and 8 sleds - he pulls off the hard, compacted snow and we trudge into the soft deeper stuff. The idea is to make a coral, much like the old western camps, so the all the dogs can be secured to the one in front and behind and this is done be making a huge circle. Once Miloš begins to close on the last team he stops and anchors his team. On this occasion the team were anchored to a birch tree, the birch tree was rotten and his team were over excited. As
he left them to secure Laura behind him the team broke loose and took off alone. He was so confident that they would stop, the anchor being loose and the team being his prize dogs that he didn't seem too concerned at first but Cute was on a mission and off she went, leading her team towards the horizon. We realised things were serious when Miloš set off after them at speed. It was important that none of us moved and the natural instinct of all the others is to 'follow the leader' so we dug in our heels and hung on.

After what seemed like an eternity he appeared at speed with the team looking under control and yet rather pleased with themselves.

Girlie latrine

The snow that is drifted up against the rise in the land, by which we are camped, is deep with a crisp layer on top. We dug out our tent spaces to a depth of around 2 feet and erected the tent in no time, in fact we cheated by stamping the snow down rather than digging as the "shuffles" (as Miloš calls them) aren't really man enough. The tents are very simple and when pitched in a hole they don't even need to be pegged. There was much discussion about where the communal latrine should be dug but Laura and I felt that we had time to dig our own personal one. It is a work of art, with a twig arrangement and a loo roll holder made from a stump. There's even a little hand cleaning area with soft powdery snow.

Night night

Tuesday morning - from my iPhone

2011-04-21T17:52:00.003+01:00

Regardless of the verycoldclaire tag it was a delight to be able to feel the sun on my face and the joy of warm toes and fingers made me realise that there is a possibility that we could actually be comfortable en route. Of course the temperatures will be much lower further north and they will drop at night, but it was a blissfully different experience from last year (we are not allowed to say 'last year' today, it's been vetoed)

We've just had the expedition food meeting and shopping trip. Very exciting. We have 5 camp days once we leave Soppero, tomorrow, where we will be using Per Nils and Britt Marie's facilities and I think the plan so far is the following:
Day 1 Lunch - niste which is Rob's term for take with you food and we will have pålegg (on bread things) as we will be tight for time. Supper - Miloš burgers (as in made by Miloš not of Miloš) and cooked on the new camp stove with potato in white sauce, this comes ready made and in a bag.
Day 2 Lunch - BBQ pork cutlets.
Supper - Gulaš (already made by Miloš)
Day 3 Lunch - hot dogs cooked in the tin. We tried these yesterday, quick and tasty, not sure about the nutritional value but needs must etc...
Supper - reindeer steaks on a BBQ grill type thing with something frozen and frozen mixed vegetables.
Day 4- today we are dependent upon our success with the fishing rods, so there is a plan B of pytt ypanne. We all got our fishing licences this morning, which came with a brilliant map of the area we will be covering. The hope is that we will get to the cabin in time for our rest day and catch enough fish to feed us all.
Gaynor and I are keen to have some fruit but Miloš say bananas are sensitive to the cold and go black too easily, so we bought pineapple chunks in tins and dried fruit as neither of us would naturally chose a menu of meat but we know we're going to need it. We bought the meat and fish from a huge truck, parked in Kiruna this morning.

Reindeer steaks
Then we went to the hypermarket for all the other supplies.

Now Miloš is packing up and once we've had Andy's delicious looking kebabs we are off to Soppero. Food sorted.

Hanging about

2011-04-21T17:47:00.000+01:00

I can think of worse places to hang about but it's still not my favourite occupation. Rob, Andy and Milos are sharing responsibility for food for the camp and over breakfast there was a discussion about meals and a long shopping list was written. I posted a blog by iPhone this day, explaining what had been decided upon and showing the images of the butchers and supermarket so I'll skip over that. Steve came back to the lodge and then set off on his snowmobiling session with Jan, returning exhausted and grinning from ear to ear just in time for a chicken kebab.

Once everything was sorted into boxes for the sleds and loaded, along with the equipment and clothing we'd need we set off for Soppero at about 4.30pm. The rest of us are a bit jaded today, not having any activity other than shopping made us all a bit grouchy and sleepy. Jan will bring the dogs and the rest of the sleds in the morning so that they can sleep at home in their huts tonight.

We arrived to a warm welcome from Per Nils and Brit Marie, and the familiar attic space with bed slots. No fire this time, just a little electric stove, a sign of how much warmer everywhere is. There are some gorgeous puppies here at the homestead, Per Nils said he wouldn't miss the one with the patch over his eye...

We settled in to a lazy Soppero evening of sauna, sunsets, salmon and songs with Gaynor valiantly attempting to get a tune out of a squeeze box that per Nils magicked out of thin air. Andy played the guitar and blew everyone away with his ability to listen to a track on an iPod and play it straight back at us.

This is our last day of communication with home and we will not have any signal until our return. In case of emergency we call 112 and this will connect us to the satellite, Gaynor said that we don't really need it as the most efficient back up is for the Sami people to be aware of your trip. Apparently they appear from nowhere when you need them. Let's hope we don't.

Training day

2011-04-21T11:39:00.000+01:00

It's Monday April 11th and the weather could not have been better for dog sled training. The sun glinted off the shiny new sleds Milos has built; they are sleek and have additional soft brakes which fall between the extra wide runners, just behind the main brake and their addition makes downhills much easier. The runners have a kind of poly carbon material underneath and this makes them smooth, even over the wet roads which are melting fast. We spent some time getting to know our way around the sleds and harnessing up 4 dogs each, not the teams we will take on the main trip, but some familiar faces nonetheless.

The first run itself went smoothly, Rob came off at the first corner - he said he'd forgotten everything Milos told us about not being able to steer the sled and the fact that this is nothing like skiing - but it was a good place to come off and to get it out of the way. Despite the slushy nature of the snow we were able to get up some speed and travelling along the river, by the Ice Hotel was infinitely preferable to last year's run in the same spot, when we had temperatures of -30 and windchill on top of that. For Steve, Laura and I it was a revelation to be sledding in this weather. None of us really had any sense that the trip could be enjoyable!

We travelled for around 26 km before stopping to practice lining out with the cables that we'll be using in camp. Each team is secured to the team in front with a thick cable, which we carry in our sleds and any lines which are not wire are removed from biting distance for our overnight and long stops. It seemed very complicated but as usual Milos made it look simple. He also made the cooking of hot dogs in tins very straight forward: hit the tin with a knife a few times and shove it in the fire, delicious hot dogs 10 minutes later. We did a big loop home and by the time we returned the boys all had big grins on their faces, they are naturals and now none of us can wait to get going.

In the evening we went in to town as Steve was staying at the Ice Hotel, so we had a tour of the dripping, melting and slightly dingy site. What a difference a month makes. It was sad to see it like this, having been blown away last year, especially as I'm determined to build a room there one day. We had a drink on Mertz and then went back to Mushers for supper, connect 4 and backgammon. There is no need for an early night tonight as we will not be sledding tomorrow, there was a sense of real disappointment when we realised this. Now that we're here we just want to be sledding everyday.

Cryophiles

2011-04-19T19:33:00.001+01:00

It is Sunday April 10th and a bright, crisp evening in Kiruna. The hand picked team of cryophiles are getting to know the dogs, learning the feeding ritual, being fitted for the new boots that Gaynor has provided and trying on various other items of protective clothing. The kit we will be using this year is far superior to anything we had before, even the sleds are brand new and hand made by Milos. Tomorrow we will acquaint ourselves with the sleds and take a team of 4 dogs for days local sledding by way of training. I'm delighted to see that Rune and Refat are still here and they are on the list of possible team members for the big trip. It's also good to see Milos's dogs - the champs!

We travelled as a group from the UK today and the signs that this team will be a joy to work with were not hard to spot as we moved through airports and connections smoothly. Meeting Gaynor and Milos at Kiruna airport was wonderful, additionally so as I haven't seen them together since their relationship developed from being purely professional. They are so good together.

Mushers Lodge has also changed, the business has split since we were here last and the combination of the local season being almost over and Daniella and Jan having taken over the lodge itself means that we are in a quiet, clean and dry environment, which we have to ourselves. A stark contrast to the steamy, bustling and slightly smelly lodge of last year. Laura and I have a lovely twin room, overlooking the kennels and the boys are either side of us.

We are a day early due to flight changes, when given the choice we decided to enable ourselves to do some training and to get more involved in the planning of food etc. which is certainly the right decision, but I do feel that we are all chomping at the bit and can't wait to get out there. Steve, Laura and I have the itch because we know we love sledding and the boys are all so keen having committed to this 6 months ago. It's not cold enough for Mark, he wants silly temperatures, but I'm pleased that it won't be crippling.

Tonight it's fondue and briefing and a nice early night, tomorrow we can get our mushing boots on.

Home

2011-04-19T13:58:00.000+01:00

We're back in the UK after a long journey home and the reality of work, unpacking, washing etc. has hit us all, but once my brain is back in gear I'll start transcribing the diary of our journey and posting photos. The hardest reality to come to terms with is that it's over. Apologies for the sporadic posting but there was no signal for 5 days.

Huge thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. We intend to continue fundraising and you can still sponsor us by following the link here: Sponsor us

Thanks also to MUNCHY SEEDS for keeping us going!

Safe and sound

2011-04-17T15:44:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post now that we have a signal, we have arrived back at Soppero all in one piece! What a great team of dogs we had, they got us through thick and thin snow and the tents survived (just) the blizzards. Temperatures we not debilitating, only the wind chill on the last drive knocked us all out a bit.
Once I'm back I'll post a day to day breakdown.

Posted from my iPhone

Training run a success!

2011-04-11T13:44:00.001+01:00

We're back from our practice run all in one piece, a couple of falls, one at the first and then two of us got stuck in the deep snow on the homeward stretch, but all in all it's been a huge success.

- Posted from my iPhone

A beautiful morning in Kiruna!

2011-04-11T07:09:00.001+01:00

We woke to sun and the gentle dripping of melting snow. Now is dog feeding time and so the noises have changes to howling, barking and the clanking of bowls. No time to waste.

This is the dog kitchen at Musher's Lodge.
Posted from my iPhone

We're off!!!

2011-04-10T10:05:00.001+01:00

- Posted from my iPhone

Munchy Seeds Sponsorship

2011-04-08T16:51:00.000+01:00

We have been sponsored by the lovely folks and Munchy Seeds

These little packs of energy are exactly what we need to keep us all going on our long days and just happen to be rather delicious too, which is a bonus! Our supplies were delivered yesterday and I tried to take a picture of the packs, but a certain four legged person wouldn't get out of the way.

The newest addition to the range are their Choccie Seeds, which have a higher calorie value than the savoury mixes and they come larger packs - I am already an addict. I was given some to try a couple of weeks ago as we thought we should put them in the freezer to see if they were OK at minus temperatures, but only half a pack made it to the freezer, in fact most were eaten in the car on the way home.

We have the Chilli Mix for extra warmth, the Omega Mix for serious health benefits and now the Choccie seeds for extra energy. Each team member will be given their rations at the start of the route and it'll be interesting to see how they last, my money is on Gaynor's Choccie seeds being gone after day 2...

Checking my blog app

2011-04-06T12:35:00.001+01:00

The air temperature is certainly warming here, and judging from my Kirunans on Instagram there is quite a melt going on in Northern Scandinavia. Hopefully there will still be plenty of snow where we are headed and whilst the verycoldclaire label has stuck I won't mind if temperatures are higher than last year. 42 below was just that bit too challenging.

I'm on the train on the way to London and once I've finished my other commitments I'm meeting up in the evening with fellow Arctic challenger Rob. I'm reading a book he gave me, sitting on a warm train with sunglasses on. The book is called 'Cold' and is about adventure in cold places. So far there has not been a positive outlook.

- Posted from my iPhone

Inaccuracies

2011-04-05T08:06:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to anyone who watched the Channel 5 show, the prize money is NOT £100,000. And there I was thinking the drinks were on Milos.

Feeling of goodwill

2011-04-04T19:23:00.000+01:00

This morning the children and staff of Grove Primary School made me feel very welcome and I spent the morning there talking to 2 different groups, both KS1 and KS2 had great questions. The KS1 children were joined by the Nursery and they were all very attentive and a delight to talk to. We made a human thermometer and the Head teacher became 42 degrees below, he was very chilly. They will be having a fundraising, no uniform day for us, as will Northfield school, which I visited this afternoon. I'm hoping this will raise around £400 and the goodwill from the children and staff was so encouraging, although I am starting to worry that every time anyone wishes us luck they pre-empt their wishes with "Of course I think you are mad but..."

I also received a wonderful card from Ice Queen Annie today (thanks Annie) - it's going to be framed. We have never met in person but I feel as if we know each other very well as she is a very dear friend of my friend Jan, who has clearly described me in detail to Annie - her card shows a remarkable likeness.

She even has my fave Merrill boots on!

Our hero Milos featured in a programme on Channel 5 last week and I have only just found the chance to watch it, it's great and shows the dedication he put in to win La Grande Odyssee the first time he entered. The programme is still on the 'On Demand' part of the website here: Extraordinary Dogs

From our team at EACH

2011-04-03T18:36:00.000+01:00

Injury...

2011-04-03T15:44:00.000+01:00

Having swum in the wonderful calm of a Sunday sea for too long this morning I think my nerve endings were a little numb and it probably wasn't the best time to prepare mussels. I've never had a mussel injury before and this was very painful, but it's unlikely to hold me back in the way that a muscle injury would!

The dish was a success though: mussels with leeks, bacon and Aspalls cider and a dash of blood.

Thanks for getting us over £5,000 (£5795 inc. Gift Aid)

2011-03-30T10:02:00.000+01:00

The last three weeks have been wonderful for our fundraising and we hope to keep the momentum going, that you so much to our supporters:

29.03.11 Co-op collection in Bungay - thanks!

29.03.11 Wishing you all an amazing adventure and may the Norse Gods be with you.

29.03.11 Happy Sledding

29.03.11 We hope you enjoy the experience just as much as you did last year!

29.03.11 Good luck and enjoy - proud of you all for doing such a great thing for a great charity xxxx Don't forget to pack your thermals !

29.03.11

29.03.11 Good luck! Not sure I'd fancy those freezing conditions!

26.03.11

25.03.11 Good Luck Clare

25.03.11 Good luck Andy! Stay warm!

24.03.11 good luck..... xx

24.03.11 From Mark Botwright in lieu of payment for work

24.03.11 From Peter and Marjorie, the Garden Pots. Thank you!

23.03.11

21.03.11 Lo siento, only half a pair of wellingtons this time!

21.03.11

21.03.11 Co-op collection in Bungay on Saturday - thanks!

21.03.11 From Walberswick residents

18.03.11 I will be sending you warm love! Well done!

18.03.11 N'ice ice ice work baby! x

16.03.11 A great person, doing a great challenge for a great cause. Much love Anita, Adam, Samuel and Emily xxx PS Claire - there's a chance to 'earn' more money tomorrow when I see you - I have a little challenge for you...

14.03.11 Hope those gloves keep your hands warm!!

08.03.11 Thanks for your help and support and for being a great teacher!

08.03.11 Best of luck

07.03.11 good luck

07.03.11 Good Luck

05.03.11 Items sold at auction donated by Anna Colman - thanks Anna! More items going in next week's sale too.

04.03.11 Good luck Nuss. The years trogging across the North York moors on 58 Sqn should put you in good stead. Per Ardua.

04.03.11 Money raised by the pupils at Roman Hill Primary School - Non school uniform day.

03.03.11 Good Luck Claire, we are very proud of you ! and will be thinking about you and sending you warm thoughts xx

Press campaign!

2011-03-29T15:29:00.000+01:00

My rubbish scanner doesn't do anything bigger than A4 nor will it let me print and scan a smaller article from Steve, but hey, you get the gist.

Update

2011-03-28T09:33:00.000+01:00

Just before I go to St Mary's Primary School in Lowestoft to talk to them all about the importance of teamwork, a quick post about the weekend.

Mark's event was a great success, with Lowestoft's fitness elite turning out to show their support, one collection tin already counted up with £175 and all the individual pledges still to be paid in to the fundraising site here:

Donate here!

Andy's mum held a cheese and wine evening and raised £150 too - what a great effort, thanks Andy's mum!

The schools will be holding 'No Uniform Day' to support us following the talk today, so I hope that we will be able to collect and count that up before we go.

Finally another big thanks to Kay Ungless for (yet again) lending me her Macbook for the talk today.

Busy day, short night's sleep - time for a siesta?

2011-03-26T14:04:00.000Z

Last night was spent under the stars on my camp bed in order to start acclimatizing myself to sleeping bag sleep. It was lovely and toasty and much quieter than it was in the bedroom. Since cracking a rib Mertz has had to sleep on his back, resulting in the kind of snoring that could wake the dead, so I may be out there every night till he's fixed!

I did attempt getting into bed a t dawn when the dew started to settle but ended up dozing downstairs with the dogs till it was time for a swim. Really windy today and the sea had whipped up so we didn't stay in for long, especially as I had to get off to Mark's fundraiser.

He has a day running today at the local fitness centre Bannatynes, with people taking part in classes, rowing as far as they can, running marathons etc all to raise funds and awareness. Loads of willing and fit people turned up this morning, but:

Mark was rather crestfallen that he was the only one to arrive in fancy dress, which was on the ticket - still we all had a laugh as our very own Peter Pan (wishful thinking Mark?) got the day going with a circuit class.

This evening brings huge excitement to me and a small group of friends who have become irrationally obsessed with Danish Crime Drama "The Killing", after 9 weeks of twists and turns, red herrings and shock plots we have the final 2 episodes tonight. We will gather (in our Lund Sweaters) for a scandinavian feast which is cooking as I type, prepared by Astrid, our most expert Scandi. When I called in with the salmon this afternoon the smells coming from the stove were almost enough to make me forget about the tragedy of last week's episode. There will be tear tonight no doubt as we hope to finally discover who did what to whom and why. There are so many theories that I feel a sweepstake coming on.

RIP Jan Meyer

The sea

2011-03-24T19:39:00.001Z

The last three days have been some of the best for swimming for a long time. The tide is low at our chosen time of 7.45 and the sands are smooth and clear of all but our footprints as we make our way to the water's edge. The disadvantage is that we then have to wade about 20 yards before we can consider actually swimming, but as it has been so calm it's been a gentle baptism.

The water sits at about 8 degrees at the moment, presumably helped by the calmness; the cold stuff doesn't seem to get stirred up and it certainly helps that it's not hitting me in the face. The sunny mornings do lull you into a false sense of warmth though, and whilst my mind could have carried on swimming for at least 15 more minutes, my body still begins to shut down. Brave Charlotte joined us this morning and not having swum since November she found the water bracing, but soon relaxed into it. We agreed that when your skin starts to tell you to get out it just as if you are being beaten by handfuls of nettles.

19 days to go!

2011-03-21T12:36:00.000Z

This time in three weeks we will have set off on our first day's adventure, I can't believe time is flying by so fast!

The local Co-op in Bungay very kindly allowed us to take our banners and tins over on Saturday and the shoppers donated very generously. We've cashed up 2 of the tins and they held £63.92 so once the rest is counted it should be over the £100 mark. There was one lovely chap who came over in a Norwich City Football Club T-shirt and gave us £10, I made a few ill-informed comments about the team as I do at least know they are doing well, and as he was leaving he said "I'm a great supporter of EACH, my son spent quite a bit of time in the Quidenham hospice, they are amazing people." It tugged at my heartstrings.

Big thanks to Liz Kennedy who had the idea in the first place and helped us set this up.

(Any 3 for £12 seemed like a good deal on this lot)

The boys arrived in shorts and Andy even wore flip flops, bonkers, but good to see they are in training for the cold weather.

Mark swam - yes really!

2011-03-15T12:26:00.001Z

Whilst he is our most seasoned Arctic explorer, having trained there during his time in the RAF, Mark has recently lost a great deal of body fat and also had a serious back injury some while ago and the combination of the two mean that getting in to the sea this morning wasn't easy for him - but he made it! He was allowed a wet suit today. Then he wouldn't get out, even after he started to look a bit blue... boys huh? Here he is waiting for me to take 'proof photos':

And here he is getting out at last. It was pretty grey and miserable this morning, but that just means he's started at the best time - it can only get easier...

New socks

2011-03-15T06:57:00.000Z

Having put my toe though 2 pairs of socks in the last week I realised that not all of my stash were going to make it. The only ones that survive year in year out are my dear old Pa's, which are considerably larger than my feet, so they have to go on the outside. I found these 50% merino ones at half price yesterday though and they are tubes, so should fit all. I'm not sure about calling a sock brand 'Ego' though!

I think I'll crack a pair open this week, just to give them a trial, even though it is warming up on the east coast. There's been fresh snow in Kiruna but I can't check in with @iscooler this morning as we lost our wireless connection overnight and my phone dropped off. The password is hiding at the moment.

This time in exactly a month...

2011-03-14T09:13:00.000Z

we'll be setting off on our adventure!

Time has really flown and it has accelerated dramatically in the last month, in February it all seemed so far away, but now that I'm having to think about the last fundraising push before we go and starting to put together my kit list, first aid and sorting out timings for getting three of us to Heathrow it's suddenly very real.

The training needs to pick up in these last few weeks and I'm actually really enjoying swimming in the sea as often as possible in the mornings, I never thought that would be the case, but I need to make time for some longer runs and strength training sessions. This glorious weather we've been having helps with that as it's sunrise at about 6.20 now and getting up earlier isn't a chore.

There are more talks at schools in the pipeline and I'm hoping that they will also allow the children to support us with no uniform days as a result, the last one raised £240. Fundraising is paramount at this stage and the villagers have been great recently, putting another £50 in my collecting tin. Whilst we can carry on once we are back we are also holding events over the next couple of weekends and I now have some large banners and flyers from EACH to show our support.

It's all a bit full on and I have to admit to having the fear. This could be because I've been a little poorly over the weekend but I really have started to wake up with butterflies. It's not just excitement it's trepidation. Last time I ventured out into the Arctic wastes I didn't know what to expect and I was not responsible for any aspect of the trip other than ensuring I was fit enough to do it. This time I feel personally responsible as I've persuaded friends to come with me and we are going to be tested. I know things can go wrong, I've read the blogs and heard the reports but I don't think that's what I'm scared of. It's more a worry that we'll be freezing and exhausted and the others will wonder why on earth they are there and want to go home.

World Book Night

2011-03-07T11:21:00.000Z

On Saturday I went over to the Hospice at Quidenham to give away 20 books. It was a miserable grey day and the reality of the day to day running of the hospices really hit home. I can see why all the fundraising material we have been given is so bright and colourful. The visit only served to make me even more determined to raise as much as we can.

Due to the confidentiality needed for the families it was arranged for me to hand the books over to the staff on duty and I met Kate Jay, who welcomed me in and introduced me to other staff and to Chloe, one of the residents. Whilst Chloe needs constant care she was very keen to help us unpack the books and Kate asked if she would like to have her photo taken as our PR contact would like one. She was brilliant and is a natural in front of a camera.

Treehouse Appeal for EACH

2011-03-04T12:24:00.000Z

With lots of support from Radio Suffolk the new development: 'The Treehouse Appeal' for EACH has just reached it's £3 million target, hurrah! We have not been raising funds for the unit but to help with the running costs so now we really need to get on with it.

DONATE HERE

From BBC site

An appeal to raise money for a new children's hospice for Suffolk and north Essex has reached its target less than a year after it was launched.

East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) needed £3m to build and equip the new hospice when it outgrew its three-bedroomed bungalow in Ipswich.

It began its Treehouse Appeal in March 2010, and reached its target on Friday.

The new hospice will provide care and support for life-threatened children and their families.

Set in mature woodland in a single-storey building, the hospice has purpose-built rooms and equipment, including a hydrotherapy pool and sensory room.

Melanie Chew, director of fundraising at EACH, said she had been overwhelmed by the support.

"The community has exceeded all expectation and we would like to express out heartfelt thanks to everyone who has played a part in reaching this goal," she said.

"To achieve this, we hope those who have been a part of the Treehouse Appeal will continue to support us so we can continue to deliver vital care and support to those who need us most.""The Treehouse Appeal has provided us with a brand new purpose-built hospice with the potential to deliver better care to a greater number of families across Suffolk and North Essex.

The appeal has reached its target, but fundraising continues for the day-to-day running of the three EACH hospices in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

The good, the bad and the really very ugly side of World Book Night.

2011-03-03T18:03:00.000Z

It's a great thing, it really is. Giving away books that you love, for free for goodness sake, how could it go wrong? I guess I should have seen it coming when the online application process was disastrously clunky but I didn't think for one moment that an organisation with as much backing as this could make such a mess of their communication.

I registered on the 23rd of December and was told there'd be a decision by the 21st of January. On the 18th of January we all get an email saying that as they have had 22,000 applications they are extending the deadline to the 24th, perhaps this is because they haven't got enough people to turn down as they only need 20,000? There is no explanation. However at the bottom of the email the personal details of Tom Williams are given; home address, telephone numbers, email etc. so presumably the 22,000 of us can now contact him to ask what is going on. 2 hours later Tom has clearly had enough and we get another email explaining that his details shouldn't have been given out and would we please use the contact details they are now providing.

This has now taken up so much of their time that they haven't been able work out how to choose the givers so they write again on the 28th, (oh sorry had we missed the deadline?) and tell us they'll make up their minds on the 31st, they've had 3000 more applications.

On February the first I get my 'congratulations' email, telling me I have been chosen and that I should click on a link to find my nearest book shop to arrange delivery, which I duly do, finding that our local bookshop (which is sadly about to close) is on the list, hurrah, at last things are coming together. I register the book shop as my chosen collection point and get an automated response:

"Thank you for choosing the location from which you'll collect your box of forty-eight World Book Night books. We will deliver them to The Orwell Bookshop (your chosen bookshop) in the week before March 5 and send you an email to let you know when you can collect them."

Followed three hours later by:

"Congratulations once again on being selected as a World Book Night Giver. Some of you are having problems identifying your local library via the online form. If you are have difficulties and can't find the library that is nearest to you on the form please email us at info@worldbooknight.org instead telling us which library you want to pick your books up from. We will check with the library to make sure it's possible and will be in touch before Friday to let you know whether you can pick your books up there."

I hadn't had any difficulty as far as I was aware so I didn't contact info@worldbooknight.org, or Tom Williams for that matter. But they didn't care, they were determined to force me into going through the whole process again with this interestingly worded message:

Dear Claire
Things haven't quite gone as planned...

Thanks for your response to our email asking you to select your pick up point for your World Book Night books. However, we are very sorry to report that due to problems with the database of available pickup points many of you could not find the correct pick up point relating to their area, or the post code was not recognised. This has now been corrected, but it means that some of you may have chosen bookshops or libraries outside your area.

We'd therefore like to ask you to go back to the website and make your selection again.

Clicking on this link will take you to the form on our website that lets you choose your preferred pickup point. We know it's a hassle, but we would rather have you do this now than send your box of books to the wrong place.
Please do this even if you have sent an email to us with your choice. And please do not email us unless you have a further problem when using the selection page.

We're very sorry for the inconvenience and any anxiety this has caused - this is the first World Book Night and we're still feeling our way, so we hope you'll bear with us. And thanks again for applying to be a World Book Night Giver.

You are not kidding - feeling your way? It's at this point that I start to check other information to make sure this isn't some huge scam. Apparently not, I need to be patient, all projects have glitches, right? So another form is completed and I sit back and wait. Something makes me think I haven't heard the end of the 'chooses your collection point saga' process. Yup, here it comes. Another email saying that:

"We're writing to you now because we haven't got a pickup point registered for you. This may be because you tried but the system didn't work, or because you sent us an email instead, but it would help us enormously if you could take a moment today to follow this link and choose from the list of bookshops and libraries - even if you have emailed us. "

OK, really, really bored now.

Next another one saying exactly the same as the first "thank you for choosing your location" message. 3 days have passed. I don't check my emails for the rest of the day, I simply couldn't face another one, but that's fine because I don't actually hear from them for over 2 weeks when they tell me, again that my books are being sent to my chosen book shop. Unfortunately they haven't told my local book shop. The book shop are very understanding when I go in, just in case they haven't been informed (now I'm thinking for them - gawd) and sure enough they don't even know what World Book Night is, but kindly agree to call me if anything turns up, neither the bookshop nor I hold out much hope.

Next there are a couple of emails inviting us to apply for tickets to the event in Trafalgar Square, with the chance to get a free signed t-shirt by Anthony Gormley and whilst I am a fan of his work I don't really have the confidence i the organisation to apply.

The books arrive, now I'm happy and I briefly unpack them all just to look at how lovely they are.

Then they really get the proverbial icing ready to smother the cake. Today they launch their new website, which will allow us all to "shape discussion" about World Book Night, now I'm not sure that's a good idea, considering my experience so far, but nonetheless it would be foolish not to login as I am informed that I am already pre-registered so I scroll down to what they refer to as a link. It's not. They do provide me with a user name and password though, my user name is my email address and my password is March5th. So I guess this means that every giver has the same password...hmmm, I'm no security expert but surely that's not a good idea. Anyway I copy and paste the web address and it opens the new look site, which asks me for my user name and password, then it asks me to 'register'. Once I try this step all hell lets loose. It crashes, finds blank pages and generally pisses me off, so after 5 attempts I go for a walk.

Whilst I'm on my walk I get 8 emails from 2 other givers, direct to my inbox, one of whom says:

Please stop spamming my inbox - over 150 emails in last 10 minutes. Website organisation has not been your forte so far WBN and it's wearing very thin now. Especially as I use my work email account for this!
You can read the message at: (I have removed the link as it's spam)
Have a nice day!

I receive this 4 times from the same giver. She's right, my patience is wearing thin too, but I can't blame her.

In amongst all this from World Book Night I cannot find any messages of support or guidance for how to be a good giver. No ideas of how to promote the event, work with the community to give books to those who need to be encouraged into reading, no suggestions of the best way to give books away and stay safe. No opportunity for feedback, oh, until today, when they offer us a community website that doesn't work. I'm beginning to wonder how many people are feeling like this and will do as my friend Lins suggested "just give them all to me for the car boot sale and go down the pub".

Actually I'm not going to do that, On Saturday I'm off to Quidenham Hospice to give half to them and then my class of 10 - 12 year olds get one each and the rest are being handed out at the Anchor at the end of the night. I'm not doing it again though.

Rant over.

Counting up the support

2011-03-02T08:05:00.001Z

It's been a great week for the Challenge team, since our event last Wednesday we have begun to see all the hard work pay off. In the last week we have raised £1,767. If we can keep the momentum going we'll make our target.

Thanks to:

Everyone who attended our event on Wednesday, this raised £806
Erica, who gave Mark and I a £20 note at the class yesterday
John and Pamela for their kind donation of £100 (+ £28.21 in Gift Aid)
Mark and Andy's collection tin, counted up and paid in at £150.67
Keith Drayton, who is helping us with an event on the 19th for a personal donation of £50 (+ £14.10 in Gift Aid)
Linda and Colin Malcolm for their donation to Rob of £20 (+ £5.64 in Gift Aid)
Martin for his £10 (+ £2.82) in Gift Aid)
Mertz's family for getting together and donating £250 (+ £70.51 in Gift Aid)
Roman Hill Primary School for raising £240 with a no uniform day following a talk on teamwork

Virgin Money Giving

Cold

2011-02-28T16:11:00.000Z

Whilst I'm loving being back in the sea on a regular basis it has been difficult to find the time to both run and swim so this morning I decided to try doing both. Mertz agreed to meet me on the beach so that he could carry my rucksack of wet towels home after the swim and I would then be free to go for a run. All very good in theory but what I hadn't accounted for was the drop in temperatures today and the fact the cotton socks may be great to run in but they don't warm your feet up.

I struggled into my running leggings/tights, not an easy task on the beach in 3 degrees when you are still slightly damp, and put on my trainers ready to go but couldn't feel my feet... running on the spot didn't work either. 15 minutes of jogging up and down as Mertz walked alongside didn't bring the necessary blood to my feet so I think it's going to have to be one or the other whilst the temperatures are this low.

It's still pretty miserable out there, with lots of cloud. I really hope it clears tonight as I'm planning an evening on the green roof with the telescope, the ISS is due to go over again and there were some great sightings of Discovery docking yesterday. I missed that but I'd still like to see its journey.

It's particularly poignant as I associate all space exploration with my Uncle Clive, who died yesterday. He was involved in the Apollo moon landings and once sent me a postcard from Cape Canaveral during the launch of Apollo 12. He was an innovator and inspirational man who will be missed by friends, associates and our family. A glass will be raised, even if it's just water.

Uncle Clive messing about with jet engines, as you do...

Back in the swim

2011-02-26T09:18:00.000Z

Now that the mornings are getting lighter it's been possible to start swimming again. In this weather I don't feel that it is prudent to swim alone and so I haven't been going for a morning dip because John and Denis have been going at about 8.45, which is too late for me. This week I managed to persuade them to bring swim time forward. It's been 4 weeks since I last swam and even though the water has now warmed to around 6 degrees, it's still a shock after such a long break. Yesterday was glorious, calm and almost sunny.

This morning was, however, a farce. It had rained all night, the wind was blowing so hard that we had to put stones on our towels to hold them down and the rain got us soaked before we even ventured into the sea, and yet the boys were still on flying form. As we undressed they sang at the tops of their voices, songs I knew existed but had never heard in this context - "I remember you-ooo" and something about the rain. Once in the current was strong, and I wimped out after about 2 minutes as I felt myself being dragged towards the harbour and panicked, but Denis and John tell me that the trick is just to go with it and off they went, floating for a bit, then swimming back. I shall endeavour to have the courage to do that next time.

I was hoping Andy would join us this morning but he didn't show....!

Virgin Money Giving is back

2011-02-25T09:47:00.000Z

Murphy's law meant that the site was down on the night of our fundraiser, but it's back now and should be more efficient.

DONATE HERE

Wine Tasting event success

2011-02-25T09:44:00.000Z

On Wednesday night we held our fundraising event, hosted by Adnams Cellar and Kitchen Store in Southwold and although we have not done a final tally, we know that we raised around £850. Thanks to everyone for the support and especially to Jez at Adnams for their efforts.

The evening was a really pleasurable experience, even though it's hard to go to a wine tasting event when you are not drinking. I've done 51 days without alcohol so far, 49 to go and this was a real test. The raffle prizes were great and Abi, who was on our original team, won the magnum of champagne. Judging by her squeals, she was quite happy. As Jez picked the tickets out of the bucket it seemed strange that only our friends were winning and there was heckling from the crowd, especially my Mother. What I realised was that we were actually surrounded only by our friends, so their winning wasn't really that surprising, however Mother's heckling paid off and she won the second prize of the zinc planter full of spring bulbs.

We are now looking towards a fundraising event at the Co-op, more details later, and Mark's fitness event at Bannatynes. Following our experience working with Jez, we think there are opportunities to put on more wine themed fundraisers too.

Thanks again to Jez and the team.

Fundraising

2011-02-22T18:49:00.000Z

Thank you to all my supporters.

Today I calculated that I've raised just over £1000 on Virginmoneygiving.com, which I am pleased about but as I have pledged to raise as much as £4000, I need to get on with it as we only have 46 days before we go! WE will continue to raise funds after the event and hope that we will reach our target.

We have our wine tasting event tomorrow, and that should help to raise our total considerably and the Anglia Co-operative have agreed that we can have a fundraising day in Bungay on the 19th of March, so we need to start planning for that too.

I'm hoping that we will have a more efficient service from Virgin as I received this today, but I'm not holding my breath:

Dear Claire

On Wednesday 23 February and Sunday 27 February we will be making some exciting improvements to the Virgin Money Giving website and adding new tools to help you promote your fundraising. As a result virginmoneygiving.com will be unavailable between:

	22:00 Wednesday 23 February and 06:00 Thursday 24 February, and
	09:30 and 19:30 on Sunday 27 February.

The changes include:

	Enabling your supporters to make donations through their Paypal account.
	Making it easy to share your fundraising page using Facebook Connect.
	Adding Twitter tools to help you tweet a link to your fundraising page.
	Enabling your supporters to tweet and update their Facebook status with a link to your fundraising page once they have donated.
	Enhancing our email tools to help you thank people who have donated and follow-up with people who haven't.

We will be completing our final testing over the next few days and updates will be posted to our blogafter these improvements have been made. Help guides will be available on how to use the new features after the update is complete.

If there are any other features you'd like us to add to Virgin Money Giving in the future please let us know by emailing feedback@virginmoneygiving.com

Kind regards.

The Virgin Money Giving Team

Wine Tasting and Pasta Party

2011-02-14T09:20:00.000Z

Wednesday 23rd February at the Cellar and Kitchen Store in Southwold, thanks to Duncan and Jez, and it promises to be a great night.

There will be three pasta sauces, chosen to compliment the wines chosen for the tasting and Adnams are providing the venue, wine and sauces at no cost to the team. We are so grateful! In addition there will be a Magnum of Champagne as the star prize in the raffle. The Cellar and Kitchen store is a wonderful and inviting venue, where I have spent many hours, not just browsing and buying, but meeting friends and eating cake! The store boasts a great cafe as well as the standard of wine we've come to expect from Adnams.

When I lived at the Crown Hotel many years ago the store was just behind our flat and I'd often pop down for a chat with Helen, who used to be the manager. We are still friends to this day. Now the store has an amazing building down the road and will be our home for the evening of the 23rd. The tickets have sold well so far and I think we have about 5 left. I need a couple more raffle prizes to add to the list: the aforementioned magnum, a large zinc planter filled with spring flowers, a token for treatment with Anna, a token from Rosie at the Haven, a china egg designed by Thea full of choccies. I'm off a begging this afternoon.

Ice Music Festival

2011-02-08T17:08:00.000Z

The BBC has been to visit this amazing festival, which is on my bucket list, and still is having listened to a report on the iPlayer:
"Every year on a frozen fjord in Norway, musicians gather under the full moon, and a canopy of Northern Lights, to perform ice music. Over a weekend, instruments are carved from blocks of ice, and music played in an arena of carved ice blocks to a well wrapped audience, who arrive on cross country skis. Sometimes standing in flurries of snow, sometimes in the light of flame torches, under the northern lights, they listen spellbound (and a bit chilly) to the magical sounds produced by instruments with a short life span - each one as unique and short-lived as a sandcastle."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00y8v0w

http://www.icemusicfestival.com/

As with the concept of the ice hotel, this festival takes from nature, makes music and returns to nature as the instruments melt.

Animal Aiders

2011-02-07T17:49:00.000Z

Yesterday I attended a canine first aid course, set up by Animal Aiders, who run courses covering emergency aid for different kinds of animals. My very 'capable with canines' friend Naomi felt it would be good for us both. She rescues Bull Terriers and has always got between 3 - 6 dogs at home. I learned a great deal and certainly came away feeling much more confident, especially about anatomy and wound dressings. We had cuddly toy dogs to practice bandaging on, well I say dogs, those of us who got there in time did, others had to make do with cows.

Our patient was not well, he had a number of imaginary injuries and we had to bandage his paw, ear and tail, which is the hardest of all if you have skinny tailed lurchers, but as I'll be working with huskies we picked a very well behaved, but rather tatty Collie. We had been shown how you can use their hair to keep the bandage on by teasing bits out and laying them over the bandage, one student misunderstood when the Veterinary Nurse told us to pull the hair out from under the bandage...

He doesn't look very happy, but he didn't complain.

This is Sophie, who runs the courses

In other news:
We heard from Gaynor that the sled-dog World Championships in Norway in the 400km and 600km distances have just been won by two women. There is more information here: www.femundlopet.no As Gaynor says "I can't think of any other sport in the world where women compete equally alongside men and come out on top!!"

Anna clearly felt inspired and harnessed up the local Lurcher team for a burn across the common.

The lovely people at Radio Suffolk

2011-02-04T17:35:00.000Z

Another lovely warm reception for verycoldclaire, this time from Lesley Dolphin and Darren Rozier at Radio Suffolk. It was great to be able to sit and chat to Lesley, who really does understand why we are doing what we are doing. In January she climbed Kilimanjaro from the Tanzanian side to raise funds for EACH, her story can be found here: Lesley's story

She kindly gave out information on how to sponsor us as well as this blog address, so here is a link to our Virgin Money Giving site:

EAST ANGLIAN ARCTIC CHALLENGE FOR EACH SPONSORSHIP LINK

Thank you to Roman Hill Primary School

2011-02-04T12:09:00.000Z

I've just returned from talking to the 300 or so children at Roman Hill Primary School who were very, very polite and well behaved. They sat quietly whilst we tried to get the projector to work (to no avail) and were very patient, considering that we ended up viewing all the pictures on my iMac screen. The children all asked great questions, mainly about the dogs and the temperatures and some of them told me afterwards that they had watched the Human Planet episode on the Arctic, which had interested them.

One child asked which was my favourite dog and I know I'm not supposed to have favourites but I found myself saying 'Rune' straight away. I told them about his habit of hugging you first thing in the morning and explained that this was why I liked him best... everyone needs a hug at -40 degrees!

I have promised them that I will take a photo of Andy, who works at the school, in his swimming trunks in the Arctic and Mark has just sent me a picture of a beach ball which he is planning on talking with us. We thought that an Arctic calendar, along the lines of the ones that firemen do as fundraisers, might go down well. The boys had better remember to do a Gavin Henson and take their fake tan with them...

Costing the Earth

2011-02-03T18:42:00.000Z

A great edition today on Radio 4: Into the Arctic on the iPlayer

In 2010 the Canadian Arctic experienced its warmest year on record. Suddenly the area's resources - oil, gas, iron ore, uranium, even diamonds - seem accessible. From Siberia through Greenland to Canada and Alaska energy and mining companies are descending on the north, eager for a slice of the profits they believe to be waiting for them in the gathering slush.

In the first of two programmes Tom Heap is in Arctic Canada to find out more about the new goldrush and to ask if the scramble for resources could reignite the great Cold War rivalries.

The Arctic has held a fascination for Europeans for centuries. Vikings, fishermen and whalers plundered for short summer seasons and in 1576 Sir Martin Frobisher sailed around Baffin Island in search of the North-West passage to the riches of the east, a search that would obsess sailors for the next 350 years.

Today the passage is clearing and shipping lines are examining the possibility of a high speed route between Western Europe and China. The clearing of the ice is also making oil exploration easier and allowing mining companies to access the mineral wealth of the north.

That wealth is also attracting the attention of the national governments that claim a share of the Arctic. It's three years since the explorer, Artur Chilingarov piloted his submarine to the seabed beneath the North Pole, planted a flag and claimed it for Russia. The diplomatic repercussions of that dramatic act are still being felt around the Arctic today.

Does that make economic, diplomatic or even military conflict inevitable or can the Arctic states share out the spoils without further damaging one of the most fragile environments on earth?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

A lot can happen in a week

2011-02-01T18:06:00.002Z

Things seem to be taking a turn in general now the Blue Monday has passed. Even Mark is finally putting on weight!

Our screens are full of programmes, good and bad, about the Arctic and I was especially impressed with Human Planet, which not only made me feel cold, but reminded me how long a single shot can take, although I have never been in a life threatening situation whilst filming, as their crew was. It was really compelling, as was Bruce Parry's series, which continues. One of the upshots of this is that people are certainly more aware of the kind of temperatures and terrain we'll be undertaking. There are some amazing photos on the Human Planet Explorer.

The good news is that Adnams of Southwold, our local brewery and owner of most of the hostelries in the area have offered us their support in a wonderfully practical way, thanks to Andy. They are hosting a fundraising evening at their Cellar and Kitchen Store in Southwold and will be cooking the pasta, kindly donated by Pasta Foods in Great Yarmouth, as well as providing a wine tasting. Duncan Gooch, the manager there has been brilliant and has even donated a bottle of bubbly for the raffle. We are still looking for other prizes but the have a massage voucher from world famous Anna Colman and a Spring flower arrangement. The Event will be held on Wednesday 23rd of February and tickets are £10 each. They are selling well so far and Duncan has said that if we are over subscribed he'd be happpy to do another one.

Mark is setting up an amazing day at Bannatyne's in Lowestoft in March with sponsored spinning, adult ballet and all sorts of other physical challenges. More details nearer the time.

Friday this week is a busy day, in the morning I'm giving a talk about the importance of team work in challenging environments to a Primary School and I'm hoping to recruit some young adventurers, as well as raising the profile of the challenge. In the afternoon I'll be the 'sofa guest' on Lesley Dolphin's show on Radio Suffolk, about which I am rather worried. She has very interesting guests, with far more exciting lives than mine. She seems to be brilliant at the informal chat type of interview though, so I feel assured that there won't be any awkward dead air moments, but I just hope the listeners aren't bored.

I'm also very excited that I have been chosen as a World Book Night giver and will be giving away 48 copies of Northern Lights by Philip Pullman on March 5th. I'm hoping to be able to give them to families of children and young adults involved with the East Anglian Children's Hospices and we are trying to work out the logistics, with help from Danielle and Simon at Quidenham.

Hopefully all this will help to raise the necessary sponsorship for us to continue towards our target of £3800 by the end of February and our total of £20,000 by June 2011

DONATE HERE

Milos and Gaynor's triumph

2011-01-26T13:20:00.001Z

We are all so proud of Team Milos! Here are some wonderful shots of them on their way to the winning line taken by Dana Václavíková and Helmut Dietz

The dogs look so happy, he also won the prize for the Musher who looks after his dogs best, you can see why!

75 days to go!!!

2011-01-25T08:58:00.000Z

I had forgotten that when we first set up our fundraising we were due to leave on the 15th and then the trip was brought forward due to flights etc. which means that we actually have 75 days to go, rather than the 79 that are showing on Virgin Money Giving. Whilst this shouldn't really be a problem for anyone it has an impact on my bet with myself that I couldn't go without alcohol for 100 days as I started using the original countdown. Ultimately it means no booze till the trip is over...oh dear...

Heartwarming

2011-01-20T13:37:00.000Z

A combination of "Blue Monday" at the start of the week and various practical problems of life meant that my mood was very dark when I set off for my run on Tuesday morning and when I couldn't reach the beach due to flooding I thought the week may simply continue in that vein but a happy set of circumstances, along with the support of friends have dragged me up.

Milos and Gaynor worked so hard for the win yesterday and beating the competition was not just a testament to the hard work they put in but also, as becomes clear in Gaynor's blog, down to Milos's understanding of his dogs' needs. It was wonderful to see someone who does all the right things coming in first. Heartwarming.

The power of the internet came to the fore in another heartwarming moment. A friend with more creative talent in her little finger than most have in their entirety has always been very supportive of my Arctic endeavour, both financially and psychologically. Last week she mentioned that she had been making some bags out of off-cuts of furnishing fabrics and wondered if I'd be interested in selling them for the fundraising pot. As usual she was not convinced that anyone would want to buy them, and as usual I was convinced that she was putting herself down. Once she had sent me a shot of one of the bags it was confirmed, she's brilliant with colour and she'd made a delightful feminine bag, which looked not unlike the kind they sell in Liberty for about £200. She put the shot on Flickr and within moments a mutual friend in the US had seen it and asked if it was for sale! 24 hours later and our American friend had made a contribution to our fundraising and the bag is winging its way across the sea. Hopefully this will start a trend and she'll realise how fab the bags are (maybe she'll even read this...?)

The full story unfolds here.

Finally I had a call last night from the Village Hall Committee; always a bit scary when a committee of any kind calls you, especially when the lady who called used to coach the England Women's Hockey team. I was quaking in my boots. No need though. A couple of months ago all the lamps in the hall were replaced with new funky ones and they removed the old ones, which I loved. They are huge 60's/70's pendants with opaque glass shades so as an habitual recycler I asked in I could buy a set to split up and hang in my 60's/70's style house, and they obliged. It transpires that no-one else likes the style (perhaps this also applies to my house...) and so they were going to chuck them, but remembered our charity, so have offered them to me to sell to raise funds. I'm delighted. There is an auction of modern design coming up, which should be perfect for them and usually does well, so I'm off to pick them up on Saturday. More heartwarmingness.

So all in all I'm feeling somewhat better and what with Sheyne's tip on apps to help you do 100 press ups and 200 sit ups, things could be back on track soon. All I need now is an app that keeps a food diary for me, which adds up calories/protien/carbs etc. and tells me how much I need to eat if I've eaten too much or too little, whilst all the time encouraging me to eat fresh veg instead of Green and Blacks.

(Amusingly the disclaimer on this app says "the two hundred sit ups logo is not meant to be an indicator of how the exercise should be performed")

CONGRATULATIONS TO MILOS!!

2011-01-19T17:15:00.000Z

He won The race: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/picturegalleries

Milos and Gaynor - More drama!

2011-01-15T11:05:00.000Z

I had no idea how very political and dramatic the life of a race team could be. Yes, I had a taster from Sally and Ali in the UK, with their team always doing so well, but what is happening in the Alps at the moment seems to be the stuff that screenplays are made of... now there's a thought.

Alpine dramas unfold here

On the UK drama front we only have 43 days till we have to pay our essential costs to secure the dogs and support team - eeeek! Anyone thinking of sponsoring us, now would be a good time!

Please donate via our website here!

More HUGE Thanks!

2011-01-09T17:46:00.000Z

09.01.11 What a challenge, but a good cause will benefit from your frost bite!! Good luck to you all. Jo, Cat & Chloe

09.01.11 From one Ice Queen to another. . . enjoy the vistas and keep warm!

06.01.11

And to the Walberswick WI, who donated £40 following my talk in the village hall. Also thanks to Vida Connick, who gave me £10 yesterday.

Go Outdoors...?

2011-01-08T17:16:00.000Z

I have just discovered this wonderful chain of shops as a new one has opened near us, oh dear... this could be very dangerous. I could have spent a fortune on my first visit.

Fortunately I have no money to spend but I really was blown away by their range of clothing and sleeping bags. I am now determined to start saving for the Rab womens' 700 Ascent sleeping bag, as I had no idea that they made a smaller version, what bliss that would be! I think it might take quite some time to save up though...

La Grande Odyssee 2011

2011-01-06T19:42:00.000Z

Milos the Magnificent is about to start an exceedingly difficult dog sled race, covering 900km in the Alps. He and Gaynor have just set up a blog so that we can follow them here: http://teratours.blogspot.com/

Good luck guys!

More Thanks

2011-01-06T11:23:00.000Z

A great start to our countdown is seeing sponsorship coming in, thanks to:

06.01.11 Good Luck !

05.01.11 Good Luck Buddie! x

05.01.11

I'm going to start my talk this afternoon with "My Name's Claire, and I'm Arcticohlic." Too much...?

99 days to go

2011-01-05T18:28:00.000Z

Scary or exciting...? I can't quite work it out.

We need to start raising some serious funds now that the holiday season is over as our total is currently only £1,355. We want to make it a grand total of £20,000. Whilst we still have 99 days to do that we need to get to the £7,200 mark by February to ensure that all the costs are covered.

So here's the link, incase anyone reading this is inclined to help: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

In the mean time it means that tomorrow, when I give a talk to a local group, I can actually say "We are going to the Arctic THIS year"! I have to say that I am a little frightened as although it is only a local event, and I will know 50% of those attending, they are a formidable bunch here. Many of them are very used to pubic speaking and the standard of speakers over the years is rather intimidating, still I can only do what I can do....

Annie Woodford - Ice Queen

2010-12-31T09:57:00.000Z

Annie's work has struck a chord with me and her obsession with frozen environments and the nature of ice brings another dimension to the forthcoming trip.

Her book, Tracing the Line of Existence was one of my most treasured Christmas presents, reminding me of the ability ice has to encapsulate time. Sledding across lakes and landscapes which hold untold stories had a deep impact on me in February but only retrospectively as my body and mind were too engaged in concentrating on the task in hand; staying warm and upright. Next year I hope to be able to open my mind to the landscape, whilst staying upright.

A quote in Annie's book, from Stephen J. Pyne's The Ice is wonderfully profound, he refers to ice as "..a white warp in space and time". Her website is really worth a visit:

http://anniewoodford.co.uk/

and she will be exhibiting as part of Collect at the Saatchi Gallery in May 2011

Collect 2011

Thanks!

2010-12-30T12:26:00.002Z

To Victoria and Nicholas for their kind donation!

Christmas day swim

2010-12-30T10:57:00.001Z

Snow was melting but it was still verycold

Mulled wine being served

Our Christmas card

2010-12-21T17:24:00.000Z

is here:

http://ea-ac.com/

Oh what a night...

2010-12-21T14:52:00.000Z

late December and all that, but this year it's particularly magical as we experience the lowest temperatures in the UK for many Christmases and today, the winter solstice, also brought a Lunar Eclipse: The BBC has some great shots here .

I celebrated by getting my Father's old telescope out of storage and finally getting it working.

The cloud cover was too dense at the actual moment of the eclipse but the sky was pretty spectacular over the sea as a result.

Rob celebrated by sleeping out in the snow in preparation for Arctic nights to come.

Sponsorship link

2010-12-12T17:49:00.000Z

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

Toasty warm

2010-12-12T13:39:00.001Z

I shall now be verywarmclaire whist feeding the dogs on our trip as I had a birthday yesterday and my Mother-in-law gave me the best gloves ever! They are windproof, waterproof and have huge cuffs, which tie up over your out layers. I now need the weather to get cold here again so that I can wear them in as they are rather stiff.

Mertz gave me some sheepskin boots too, so my extremities are well catered for.

The weather really has warmed up though and this morning I was able to swim in the sea again, although I didn't stay in long as the tide was so far out that it was hard to get under. A great way to start a new year though.

Pasta Power

2010-12-03T12:42:00.000Z

The Lovely people at Pasta Foods have offered to provide us with the right kind of nutrition to keep us going in the Arctic in the form of a case of pasta! We are looking forward to Rob and Andy's pasta power recipes...coming soon?

Only 136 days to go!

2010-11-29T09:54:00.000Z

Snow and a swim in the sea:

First onto the beach this morning (apart from the dogs)

Getting out was quicker than getting in

Then the sun came out - I wish we had the keys to the beach hut and had a fire lit.

PLEASE SPONSOR US

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

Or if you are local, buy some kindling from our stall, only 50 a bundle!

The detail

2010-11-28T19:59:00.000Z

This is a direct copy and paste from an email from Gaynor to explain how she ended up with a fractured knee:

Milos has been training 16 dogs for his race (La Grande Odyssee – www.grandeodyssee.com) in January and has had to be doing two sessions during the strength training stage which involves a lot of weight and brake pressure to make them pull for long periods. He started out with a quad bike which was manageable as you have the mechanical power and weight of the bike to slow them down, however, since the snow came and winter temps have dropped to –20 and –30 he’s had to take the sled out with all 16 dogs. It’s pretty impossible as you can’t get enough weight on the sled to slow them down so although he’s now switched to speed training (intervals of gallop and brake induced trot) he needs help to train two teams at the same time. I was supposed to be that help!!

First day was fine and although I hadn’t trained in a while, it wasn’t too bad. The dogs are so strong though as they’ve been training for a month or so already so it was a bit of a baptism of fire. The second day was going really well, felt great, the dogs were responding to commands and I felt confident, but as I was coming around a corner at quite a speed (normally not a problem as you can kinda ‘skid’ your way round) I saw someone through the trees around the corner and then heard a yelp! I thought there had been a pile up on the trail where Milos had met someone coming the opposite direction, so like a rookie my instinct was to brake... Well, I was going too fast, breaking on a corner, and with absolutely no weight in my sled which meant the tiniest imbalance tipped the sled sideways.

Now you’ll know that that doesn’t necessarily mean you come off but I my left foot got ‘caught’ by ice on the ground which twisted it to the side and I found myself running for a few steps before the 6-dog team took off without me! I went head first into the snow.

When I got up I realised Milos had passed the girl coming in the opposite direction and she was ‘parked’ having to hold on to her lead dogs in order for anyone to pass (that’s badly trained dogs for you... I guess they’re not used to dogs coming the other way!). She said nothing to me and I just looked at her as I passed noticing how she had practically zero control over her dogs just then. But to be fair, the whole thing was my error, a rookie mistake as I was just getting into the swing of things again, and you have to remember these are race dogs, almost race ready, running about 24kmph so it’s easy to get flung off – there’s no room for error.

Luckily the dogs were fine and that was my first concern. Losing your team is every mushers worst nightmare! Luckily Milos saw them coming from behind but didn’t know how to stop them, bearing in mind he had the other 10 dogs on his sled! But as a testament to how well trained his dogs are, and in slight desperation, he shouted at Falco in lead to “stop!!!”. Falco looked around at him (they were now infront) and then came to a stop. That is unbelievable really. Bless Falco, he likes to play, but this season he’s really proving to be a strong runner and good part of the team!

As for me, I was hobbling after them as fast as I could with what I thought was a twisted knee. Getting back on the sled was a really painful experience, and slightly precarious as I was basically sledding on one leg with no use of the brake.

That night my knee swelled to double it’s usual size and the next day I went to the hospital A&E (quite another story!). After an MRI scan and some pretty cool xray photo mementos, I was plastered from ankle to thigh and sent home with crutches with a tibial plateau fracture (top of the shin bone fracture that has been plastered to stop it being displaced). Ooo, and you must mention the crutches... With flip-down studs to stop me slipping in the snow and ice! I’ll see if I can send you the picture we took on the camera... Most dangerous adventure I’ve ever had? Walking down a snow/ice covered street at minus 30, on crutches!!!!! ;o)

I see the orthopedic surgeon next week to find out how long I’ll be off my feet. :o(

Words of wisdom on the subject of cold...

2010-11-25T20:06:00.002Z

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." -- Sir Rannulph Fiennes
"And today the most appropriate clothing is a house. With an open fire. And tea" - my friend Steve..

Medical update

2010-11-25T19:05:00.000Z

Gaynor has broken her knee... this is a disaster! She's one of the most active people I know and she and Milos had just started to prepare for the race season so it couldn't have come at a worse time. She's in plaster from ankle to the top of her leg and there is even a chance that they may need to operate on her knee. The thought of Gaynor sitting around, putting her leg up is one that just doesn't work for me (and I'm sure it doesn't for her either). Thinking of you Lovely...

Oh and I've got a brain, look, proof:

It may not look like much but I'm relieved there is evidence. I've finally been discharged and haven't had to take painkillers for 6 hours, so I'm feeling a bit more positive.

Training set backs

2010-11-23T15:14:00.004Z

I had such good intentions, having had a week of little physical exertion I'd got a chart ready for this week with distance objectives on the running, new trainers planned for the end of the week when I get paid, and dips in the sea everyday. On Friday we had a wonderful evening at the British Larder, on Saturday Anna took me to see Akram Khan's Vertical Road and then on Sunday I woke up with double vision. I tried to ignore it, thinking it may just have been a result of the strobe lights on Saturday night, but even after pint at lunchtime it didn't get any better and by the evening it was pretty clear that something was wrong with my eye.

Having had some bones taken out of my head a couple of years ago I need to be a bit careful about infections, so on Monday morning I introduced myself to my GP (we'd never met) and he sent me to hospital. No running then... The hospital people were brilliant, and having sent me for CT scans and poked about at my head for a bit they established that the infection wasn't causing a bleed on my brain - which was what they were looking for.

The specialist was determined to get blood tests to check the infection and when he realised that the blood test people had gone home he rolled up his sleeves and set about me with a needle, it was only when he started tying the elastic strap into a knot (it has a fastener) that I realised he wasn't joking when he said he hadn't taken blood since medical school. He got a real ticking off from the nurse who walked in and found him gloveless and wandering about with a couple of tubes full of my blood with no labels. Still this meant I was allowed home as apparently I was 'far too well to put into a bed'. Poor old Mertz had to drive around for hours as he can't bear hospitals and I didn't get out till about 6.30.

The swelling continued to get worse even after I'd started on the antibiotics and at about 5am this morning the infection peaked, sending me a bit delirious but at least it was the beginning of the upward journey. Still, no running and I missed Marks' classes as I had to get straight back to the clinic today to make sure it was all subsiding. I'm going to be sensible and rest for another day, I have to go back to the hospital on Thursday for the all clear, then I can start again with my plan:

Friday: Run 45mins
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: swim in the sea and yoga practice
Monday: Run 45 minutes
Tuesday: Step and Circuits
Wednesday: yoga
Thursday: Run 45 minutes and cycle to Dunwich

Then just as I was leaving hospital this afternoon I got an email from Gaynor, who had also just left hospital! She's been in Sweden for 3 days with Milos, getting ready for race season and she's taken a tumble, rather a nasty one. She came off a sled and she's not absolutely sure what the full extent of the damage is but she's torn a ligament and damaged the cartilage in her knee. She's on crutches so not on a sled... What a nightmare - poooor Gaynor. Thinking of you Lovely, get better soon.

Thanks for getting us over the £1000 (including Gift Aid)

2010-11-19T16:58:00.000Z

Only another £19,000 to go! It's wonderful to know that we have support in our 'totally mad' adventure (according to some neighbours who I just met on my evening dog walk). It can be hard to imagine that we can raise so much, but I remember being so daunted last time I started and look where that ended up. I know we can do it and it's much more fun trying with a group of friends rather than on my own.

I'm waiting to hear if our applications for corporate sponsorship so far have come off and the one I'm most positive about is http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/ as even if they decide we are not right for them, I hope they'll at least send us some of their delicious products as I am an addict, and they will be great for the trip.

But so far - HUGE thanks go to:

18.11.10 What an amazing challenge Laura - I really admire (and envy you) for it

15.11.10 From Wendy Longman

15.11.10 Mark's collecting tin

15.11.10 Good luck guys - and don't forget the thermals! Ax

20.09.10

14.09.10 You're going to have to be very creative with the fund-raising ideas. Another fab adventure! Much love from me and Spikey

14.09.10 Personally I'd go to the North Pole and back again to get away from Mertz so it looks like remarkably good value.

11.09.10 Amazing stuff, but isn't it an extreme way of getting away from Mr Merttens??? Good luck and warm hugs!

10.09.10 Sounds like a great adventure! Good luck and have fun! Andrew

10.09.10 Best of luck, sounds good fun

10.09.10 Deep respect to you, the "huts" were a lifeline for me last year, so the thought of being so far off the beaten track is not for me :) Wishing you every success!

24.08.10 First online donation, makes up for me forgetting my £1.

Back to the blog

2010-11-12T11:13:00.000Z

The last couple of weeks have had a sense of 'one step forward, two steps back' and as a result the East Anglian division of the team has begun to bond. The first week of fundraising and training didn't start well, with Andy having to cancel the activity days as a result of no firm bookings. This was a real disappointment to us all, but particularly to Andy, who had put in so much work - along with Mark's support. They were gutted and we are at a bit of a loss to understand why there was no interest. Perhaps people had already organised their half term activities, or maybe the idea of filling out forms was too much, but they would have been really good, fun days, and not just for the children!

We attempted to make use of the planned time well though, as Rob had come up from Oxford, and so we contacted the Fire service to see if they'd let us have a go at pulling a fire engine, as you do... The idea being that if we could manage it then we could set up a fundraising and PR event, where we attempt to pull an engine through Southwold. I'm so pleased we had a trail run. It is not as easy as I had expected, although I'm not really sure why I expected it to be easy, they weigh about 15 tonnes. The Fire Service were amazing, helping us to find the best way to use harnesses and ropes, but making sure we pulled the machine uphill, not sure that was so helpful!

Mark decided we should let him try to pull it on his own first, just incase he could but it soon became apparent that it wasn't budging. Andy joined him, then Rob and they did get it to move. once we had all of us attached it was just about possible to keep it moving, but certainly not a walk in the park.

Later that day we met up with the Lovely Gaynor (yes, Lovely is her first name) and she talked us through the kit needed and showed us a number of photos from her recce trip with Milos. I was surprised to see how sunny it was and she assured us that the temperatures would probably not be as low as our last trip (-40). There again she had warned us to expect - 25 last time...

Press release issued by EACH

2010-11-12T09:47:00.000Z

News Release

Group to endure subzero temperatures for children’s hospice

An intrepid group of fundraisers are hoping an arctic pursuit will raise thousands of pounds to support a local children’s hospice.

Claire Whittenbury, of Walberswick, has organised an arctic challenge which will see her and a group of friends completing a 225 km husky drive across Northern Scandinavia in subzero temperatures which could reach -40 degrees.

Claire, who is a teaching mentor and felt maker, will undertake her challenge with team mates Mark Nussey, of Avondale road, Lowestoft, who is a self- employed Physical Activity Consultant and Andy Deacon, also of Deacon Road, Lowestoft, who is Assistant Partnership Manager for the Lowestoft and Beccles Schools' Sport Partnership.

They will also be joined by Laura Neale from Mill Lane in Great Leighs, Chelmsford, who works at Pets at Home, and Rob Bevan from Didcot.

Claire took part in an Arctic challenge last year with Laura, Rob is one of Claire’s oldest friends, Mark helped Claire train for last year’s adventure and Andy is a friend of Mark. The group hope to raise more than £20,000 for EACH with their efforts.

Claire said: “We wanted to do this challenge for EACH. We feel it's important to challenge ourselves to raise a minimum of £20,000 to help EACH to continue the amazing work they do. Some of us work in schools and children's clubs and our motivation is to do the best we can for children and families who need the kind of care EACH provides.”

The group will travel to Northern Scandinavia in April 2011- where they will each drive a team of six Alaskan huskies across the frozen wastes for a week.

They will camp in tents and ice holes, and hope to reach their northernmost point in fours days, covering around 60 km a day.

Similar challenges are currently being undertaken by celebrities on the ITV programme 71 Degrees North which began airing since September this year.

Viewers will have seen the celebs undertaking tough challenges including dog sledging, ice swimming, ice climbs, snow cave digging and rope holding and will understand the extreme limits the team will endure.

If you would like to know more please contact Claire Whittenbury, or visit the team’s fundraising webpage: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

If you have been inspired by this challenge; EACH has a number of fundraising challenges you can take part in including: a London to Paris cycle ride, a Kilimanjaro Trek, a Channel Islands sail and a Peru trek to Machu Picchu. For more information call: 01223 205180.

Ends

Notes to Editors

EACH needs to raise £4 million in donations to deliver our services this year. This amounts to £11,000 a day, every day of the year.

We support families and care for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

We deliver a range of services that includes: short break care, specialist play activities, music therapy, hydrotherapy, parent groups, sibling groups, care at end of life and bereavement support for all family members.

We provide care and support wherever the family wishes– in the families’ own home, in hospital or at one of our hospices in Ipswich, Milton or Quidenham.

We continue to develop the quality and range of our services to support children and their families. Last year we helped 464 families by delivering 75,000 hours of care and support - an increase of more than 15 per cent on the previous year.

For more information about EACH, including forthcoming events and how you can help raise funds, visit www.each.org.uk or call 01223 205180/ 01953 715559. Registered charity number 1069284.

Ends

For further information about this release please contact:

Lindsey Newton

Press and Media Officer

01223 205183; 07501 432788 lindsey.newton@each.org.uk

Training and fundraising to start this week

2010-10-25T16:01:00.000+01:00

This week we are all due to get together to start fundraising with our Children's Activity days and a meeting with Gaynor. It's all very real now and I started the week as I mean to go on with a swim in the North sea, just as the sun was coming up.

This was my view as I walked back from the beach and the rays warmed my slightly battered back (a large wave had caught me unawares as I was coming out of the sea and being distracted by my barking hounds).

I can't wait to get us all together for the first time, despite there being a disappointing number of bookings for the activity day. Maybe Half Term isn't the best time to plan these things. Andy has done sterling work getting it all ready, even training me in the dark art of the Dance Mat - hardly dancing, more like a physical computer game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nqGT69I2Wg So I really hope we fill up in the last few days before our first one on Thursday. A local radio station has offered to promote it today, so fingers crossed.

Laura's a celebrity!

2010-10-21T12:23:00.001+01:00

A date in the diary

2010-10-21T10:41:00.000+01:00

CHILDREN'S ACTIVITY DAY

12 - 16 YEAR OLDS

THURSDAY OCTOBER 28TH

St Felix School - Reydon - Suffolk

12.30 - 4PM

POWER KITING/ZIG ZAG DANCE MATS

(Weather permitting)

To book call Andy on 07841 435543

More 'giving' probems

2010-10-18T16:16:00.000+01:00

The frustrations of not having the Virgin giving site working properly has been really getting to me. I really hope no-one has been put off supporting us...

Dear Claire,

I am sorry to hear that you have experienced problems when accessing the site and understand the frustration that this has caused.

There has been a requirement to undertake maintenance on the site recently which all our Charities were notified of.

In addition, we unfortunately experienced an issue from our card service provider on Friday that impacted donations for an approx 2 hour period. Full service was restored as soon as possible. There is no underlying issue with the site.

I would like to assure you that Virgin Money Giving take comments made by all our site users very seriously in order that we can continue to provide an excellent service and the recent period is not a reflection of our normal service standards.

Once again, please accept my apologies.

Kind regards

Neil Johnson
Head of Customer Services
The Virgin Money Giving Team

Motivation

2010-10-04T17:35:00.000+01:00

I'm in dire need of some motivation, my op has set me back on the running from, and whilst I'm back at the classes with Mark and regularly practicing my yoga, it's the running that really gets the stamina going. To help me get back into the swing of things I am going to employ 2 techniques:

buy new trainers (the old ones are dying and if I get new ones I'll feel guilty if I don't use them
get a mentor

Trainer wise I'm looking for something that can withstand the winter weather and so far these are the winners, but it'll depend on what I can afford.

Columbia – Ravenous Womens Trail Running Shoe

A gusseted tongue to keep out unwanted debris
3D Techlite heel system provides conforming fit as well as stabilizing the foot over the midsole for protection on technical terrain
Contour Comfort 1D single-density EVA footbed
AgION® anti-odour treatment
Dual density Techlite moulded midsole
Soft lateral foot strike zone to provide greater cushioning in the heel
Lower profile geometry provides stability
Non-marking Omni-Grip® dual rubber compound that provides traction on wet surfaces as well as loose and soft surfaces

And I have also found myself a mentor, I don't think I'll get away with anything where Milo is concerned

Get a grip

2010-09-24T19:21:00.000+01:00

I must, get a grip that is. There I was feeling all pathetic and wondering if could do it and then I read about Wim Hof, who featured in a C4 programme called Ice Man:

In sub zero temperatures 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Dutch Daredevil Wim Hof attempts to run a full 26-mile marathon clad only in shorts and a pair of sandals.

Hof currently holds nine world records for exposure to extreme cold, but this awe inspiring act of endurance surpasses all his previous adventures. Exposing the body to temperatures of -25C for more than four hours is an extraordinary challenge, one which experts fear is beyond the capabilities of human beings.

This film follows Wim's preparations in Amsterdam, which include taking midnight dips in freezing canals and meditating in a meat freezer.

I suppose that's my weekend viewing sorted then.

Ice holes

2010-09-22T20:24:00.000+01:00

Having watched 71 degrees North this evening I am beginning to have serious doubts about the whole sleeping in ice holes concept. Cosy? Yes, and practical too, but the idea of putting claustrophobic thoughts out of my head has been annihilated by the contestants and judges taking part, who said things like "ice tomb", "buried alive" and "danger of collapse". What am I thinking?! I don't fear the cold, the physical challenge of covering 60K a day, staying on a sled at speed or even my team mates' snoring, but I am terrified of confined spaces. I don't even use the tube for crying out loud. Lifts are a challenge for me.

I really hope the Mark and Steve, our ice hole diggers are good with "all things spadey", which was what Diarmuid Gavin was described as (and then swiftly got voted off). And I also hope that Miloš remembers to pack the spades. Maybe we could build and igloo or even copy some of the Ice Hotel's ideas? Laura and Steve seemed to like the design last time.

I could live in this forever, I don't think I could live in an ice hole for one night.

I don't suppose having cold feet at this stage is allowed...?

Hurrah

2010-09-20T18:34:00.001+01:00

It's official, I am better. I have just been for a swim in the sea, and Mark (team member and fitness instructor) has approved my going to my first fitness class tomorrow.

We had a good 'team meeting' yesterday, with entertainment from Milo, Laura's dog, and tapas. Mark, Andy and Laura came over and we Skyped Rob to go through our fundraising targets and events. So far we are planning:

A children's activity day with power kiting and dance mat challenges (28th October at St Felix school)
Abseiling down Gulliver - the tallest local wind turbine
Pulling a fire engine through Southwold
Possible further kids activities, including a yoga session.

The East Anglian Arctic Challenge team who are going to raise £20,000 for EACH are:

Mark Nussey: Accommodation adviser and physical endurance expert who will be responsible for digging ice holes, setting up tents and setting our physical goals to prepare us for the trip as well as training us to pull a fire engine.

Andy Deacon: Head Chef, Children's Activity co-ordinator and Freddie Mercury impersonator. Responsible for menu plan, sushi making and providing dance mat instruction to Laura, Rob and I as well as attaching up to 40 children to power kites.

Laura "I'll have a little something in that" Neale: Dog Wrangler

Rob Bevan: Head Chef and designer. Responsible for menu plans and making us look good.

Ooops - I've just noticed that we appear to have 2 head chefs... that should make for an interesting trip.

The rest of the team:

Steve Hubble: Accommodation Supervisor and Entertainment manager, fundraising for his own local hospice. Responsible for Digging ice holes and pitching tents, with special responsibility for digging latrines.

Gaynor Leeper - Voyage Active: The Boss

Miloš Gonda: The "really" Boss (sorry Gaynor)

71 Degrees North - ITV

2010-09-14T12:44:00.001+01:00

Ok, I'm hooked and may have to watch them all now... even if I'm not sure who half of them are. My money is currently on Michelle Mone, who is the only one who I know anything about and seems to have what it takes to deal with the trials of the show: how to get a flattering swimming costume to stay on whilst swimming in frozen fjords, not taking Shane Ritchie seriously, making sure the boys keep the tent tidy and smiling through hyperthermia.

According to ITV's controller, they are in "one of the most alien environments in the world" so how come it's where I feel so at home?

Hopefully we can capitalise on the success of the show to raise the profile of our own challenge to get more funds in for EACH. and funds are coming in again, so hopefully the site is fixed. Thank you Dom for your contribution, you appear to have gone to the Middle East to get away from Mertz, no need to get cold!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

They are all at it...

2010-09-12T18:11:00.000+01:00

Vogue, Tatler, ITV, why has the Arctic suddenly become fashionable?!

Somehow I don't think our team will be looking quite as glamourous as this, or indeed the celebs on ITV's 71 Degrees North, who have (apparently) been struggling with their tinted moisturizer freezing. But I may only be speaking for myself, maybe the others have different plans, I know my main fashion statement will be trying to make sure that my long-johns stay up. Not having a telly I can't comment on 71 Degrees, but I'll check it out on the i-player this evening so that I can at least be informed bitchy, rather than just bitchy.

My recovery is going really well and this afternoon I walked to the sea and almost felt human. Hopefully by the middle of the week I'll be allowed to go to yoga (if you are reading this Anna - it is my aim to be able to do a standing up tree, rather than just lying in bed with my hands above my head). The first question my surgeon asked me was "Are you going back to the Arctic next year?" and when I told her that I had every intention of doing so she rubbed her hands and said "Well, I'd better get you better then, hadn't I?" Looks like she's done a pretty good job so far. The only set back so far is my own stupid fault as I put Germaline on the wound last night and I must remember to never, never put Germaline on a nasty wound, even if I am still fuzzy headed. It's gone a bit icky, but nothing too serious. Mertz is determined that I'll be swimming in the sea by the end of the week and that might do the wound more good.

My task for tomorrow is to investigate our fundraising site, Virginmoneygiving.com. I had problems trying to sponsor someone on the same site a couple of weeks ago and I've just had a friend let me know that the site crashed when she was trying to sponsor us today, so I hope it's not going to cause problems. Hopefully people will let me know if it's not letting them donate but there will, no doubt, be some who get put off at the first hurdle, which is very frustrating. All we can do for the moment is apologise and keep an eye on it. There is also a glitch with their widget, which won't let me attach it to this blog, hence the link below.

One of the team members is going to look at getting an outdoor clothing company to provide us with kit and someone who considered joining us may be able to help with military issue First Aid kits, I wonder if Channel fancy sponsoring our trip...

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge

EACH

2010-09-11T11:53:00.001+01:00

Our fundraising site is up and running and already I have thanks to give! I'm really grateful to Carolyn, Anthony, 'Uncle' Andrew and Andy for getting the ball rolling, as well as Richard for supporting us from the beginning, even though he won't be able to make it with us as planned.

By donating to EACH donations will be helping to support children and their families with the challenges that having a life-threatening condition can often bring. Services may be provided in the family home, the community or the hospice.

The range of services include...

Day care in the family home or hospice, or both
Overnight breaks in the hospice
Support for parents, siblings, grandparents and others close to the child
24 hour telephone support and advice
Therapies - music, physio, occupational and specialist play
Family information service
End of life care in the family home or the hospice depending on family preference
Annual Memory Days and ongoing support for bereaved families

It feels great to be able to support this valuable charity.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/eastanglianarcticchallenge

It's official!

2010-09-10T09:27:00.000+01:00

As you know last year I undertook a challenge which, thanks to you, led me to raise just under £5,000 for Dog's Trust funds and meant I lived up to the name 'verycoldclaire'. It was a huge adventure and pushed me to my limits, but that's what limits are for isn't it? So, with out further ado I'll explain the next challenge: further, faster, colder.

Now that I know what I'm doing in April 2011 I will be setting off with a hand picked team of like-minded fools to Northern Scandinavia where we will travel further north to start our journey. Each day we'll cover twice the distances, which will mean we need more dogs in each team and as we are further from civilisation there will be no strategically positioned cabins to use overnight. We'll be sleeping in tents or digging ice holes for the human and canine members of the team to shelter in. Our aim is to make it to the northernmost shelter of Per Nils, the Sami Herdsman who I had the pleasure of meeting on my last trip and who featured in this blog.

Whilst this may seem hard enough in itself, our real challenge is to raise £20,000 for EACH, the East Anglian Children's Hospices and to cover the costs in the Arctic (we will be paying all our own personal expenses). EACH supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. They provide care and support in families’ own homes, in hospital or at one of their hospices in Ipswich, Milton and Quidenham. They are a registered charity (no. 1069284) and this year need to raise £4 million in donations to deliver their services. This amounts to £11,000 a day, every day of the year.

As a group we hope you will support us by sponsoring us here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit company, so all the money will go direct to EACH. (You can also search http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com for my name.) Please put a note so that I know who is donating - I'd like to thank you individually!

I'll be introducing the team here over the next couple of weeks and asking for input on how we can raise our target, as well as charting my progress on the fitness levels. As I have just had surgery, which has had me laid up for a few days, I'll be starting off gently, but the aim is to be as fit as my team mates by Christmas; so that we can pull a fire engine through the local high street... eek.

Plans...

2010-07-28T13:03:00.000+01:00

are coming together... April 2011, further, faster, colder...

Watch this space

2010-07-07T19:39:00.002+01:00

There are plans afoot...

February 24th - DIARY ENTRY from a month ago

2010-03-24T17:53:00.004Z

This was our final drive and so we all woke with heavy hearts and there was a slightly gloomy start to the day. The temperature began to rise from the -41 which we had clocked on the thermometer by the window but it was seriously cold and I was suffering. I had been shaken awake early, thinking that it was another ice crack on the lake nearby reverberating through the cabin but I realised that it was my body shaking with cold in my sleeping bag on the top bunk. Those of us on dog duty wrapped up and went out to make a start, feeling so sorry for the dogs, some of whom were covered in a bloom of ice. It appeared that my team had been swapped round on their chain but on closer inspection I realised that Uno had been painted white by the frost and snow.

Within 10 minutes of starting dog duty Miloš sent me inside. My hands had stopped working and I couldn't lift the bowls. It was a devastating moment, and by the time I got to the cabin I was in tears. I felt angry that I had let the dogs down and I was in pain. Gaynor and Richard received me with such kindness, immediately understanding my distress and using their warmth to thaw me out both physically and mentally.

This was the first time I'd seen the dogs drag their heels, they weren't keen on getting up out of their straw beds for breakfast or even to be harnessed, a low point for us all. Miloš even gave me coats for my lead dogs and Sara hadn't eaten all her breakfast. The dogs had lost weight over the last few days and I realised that Miloš was concerned when he said I should be prepared to carry any dogs who were too tired on the journey, as my team are so strong.

We all made it. The last few kilometers were touch and go for a few of us as the wind chill on the lake was high and feet went numb, hands went numb and any bits of face that were exposed went numb. As we finally pulled in to Musher's lodge only the dogs seemed happy, many of us had tears in our eyes at the thought of leaving our dogs, although their obvious delight at being home and snuggling down into their kennels was heartening, as was the thin whisp of fire smoke coming from the chimney.