Fundraising day

Having sprayed my hair blue and met up with my new BF Tundra, Jo and I set off to rattle the tin in the local town - lots of lovely people stopped to chat and we even raised some money... One kind lady said that the Dogs Trust needed more nutter like me.

Tundra is a malamute and she drew a lot of attention, with nearly everyone wanting to get to know her better (apart from a lady with a very, very tiny dog, who though she might it it for breakfast).

We used the collecting bucket to store the treats, which Tundra earned for being so very good, but when we got back to the stables at the end of the day she found the hiding place... she talked at them for some time.

5 DAYS TO GO!

dodadog.com

The team from dodadog.com came to visit and we talked for hours about dogs - no surprise there then. The site is BRILLIANT and has advice from the resident vet, news, walks that have been logged by members and even recipes for making your own dog food and treats. In fact there is a batch of liver treats to their recipe in the oven as I type.

They recorded some of our chat and have very kindly featured me on their home page, in order to raise the profile of the Arctic Challenge, I hope it will help the sponsorship and raise awareness of the Dogs Trust as well as giving them support too.

http://www.dodadog.com/

Nighttime murder

Hoping for a good night's sleep was simply that, a hope. We were woken 3 times by the serial murderers who live with us, they had heard and chased a mouse under the fridge and demanded, very loudly, our assistance. The first time Mertz went down and moved the fridge and they got a mouse. The second time, they were just as insistent that there was something that needed to be killed and sure enough, he moved the fridge and Willow pounced... on a dog biscuit that had fallen down the back. The third time they were ignored.

Getting the body ready

Today was scheduled as a day of physical preparation for next week, but not in the way of exercise. Although I went for a run this morning as usual, I kept it short because it was icy and the last thing I want to do is fall. I do tend to fall a lot, in fact I am still cleaning the stair carpet from the tumble with the coffee cup.

The next part of the day was all about getting my body ready on a deeper level with a deep tissue massage from Anna Colman-Wilson, who I suspect may have magic coursing through her veins. I'm a massage junkie and have been pummeled in places that range from the high end spa to the deeply unsavory Thai finger clicker's huts, but I have to say that today's experience eclipsed the best of the best. The last deep tissue treatment I had in Maida Vale in the 90's kept me in bed for a couple of days, I'm sure this was partly due to the bollocking I got from the practitioner for my debauched lifestyle, but he did introduce me to skin brushing, so he wasn't quite the devil.

Anna is a friend. Having never been treated by a friend before, I was surprised at how much the level of trust I have in her made me able to relax and allow her to do her thing without my feeling any fear. Whilst I am not quite a wreck, there was a lot of work to be done and 2 hours later I floated out into a blizzard and have no recollection of how I got home. I then followed her instructions to the letter and ate a lunch of salmon with roast veg and anchovies (thanks to Abi for the recipe) and then took to the sofa for an hour. I honestly don't think I could have been of much use anyway as I hardly slept last night and so the massage and big lunch sucker punched me.

The weather continued to get colder and once the snow had stopped I took the girls out and visited Mother and the build, since then all I've able to do is listen to music and read Doris Lessing. Working tomorrow, so hope to sleep well.....



(news coming up about a new website for dog lovers)

Thanks for getting me over the target and beyond!

I've always had a problem with Dragon's Den speak and that whole "I'll give 110%" thing, but it was quite nice to see the figure come up on Justgiving. I suppose that I should change the target to £4000, but as Justgiving has a different way of accounting to the Dogs Trust, it has all become quite confusing. Justgiving doesn't count the Gift Aid in the total, presumably because I haven't raised that myself and the DT count the money they have cashed, so the figure will vary. My total comes from the online total raised + Gift Aid + the money I've sent in to the DT including my deposit to secure the place + the money in my bucket in the hall, giving a total of £4,328.59 today. SO.... thanks this week go to:
Lizzie Woodman
James and Sarah Long
Daniel Boase
The Button Family (again!)
Hugh and Sue Smiley
Katrina Young
Tony and Lydia Reed
Sarah McKinley
Warwick Comer-Stone
Sandie Tolhurst
June and Graham Ward
John Olivers
Mertz
David Webb
Pam and Wally Webb
Mark and Mandy
Mary King
Anneke, Marcel, Sven and Iris
Mimi Merttens

£4,200 reached

Including Gift Aid and my initial £300 to secure my place on the team - pleased and spurred on by by the boys at dodadog.com who are offering to support me on their fab new site for dog people. More of that later.

The last few days have been lovely and cold, great training for me but the girls are not so keen. The sun did come out today and we went for our regular Wednesday walk with Anna and Maisie - Maisie is on a diet and in her insatiable hunger she had eaten rather a lot of flotsam and jetsam from the beach and been 'slightly unwell' overnight. Poor Anna had been woken regularly by demands to be let out.

Kit List check

This evening was spent going through my kit list, as the January Sales are all coming to their final reduction stages:

Kit List 

8.1 Personal Equipment 

There are a few personal items, which will make all the difference to the enjoyment level of this trip 

because of the cold and the nature of what you are doing.  (Please avoid purchasing cotton clothing, as 

it won’t keep you warm if you get wet). Always remember when buying your kit cotton kills, wool 

wins!  An Arctic suit, mitts, hat and boots will be provided for you. 

Main rucksack or holdall that should not weigh more than 12 kg (please make sure it 

doesn’t have wheels, is around 40-45 litre and is a soft bag) and contain;  

 2 x thick wool long underwear, both top and bottoms are very important as they do keep 

you warm.  (got 2 sets but could do with another)

 Down jacket  (check)

 Fleece trousers or track suit bottoms. (check)

 A small towel and bathing costume for use in sauna or hot tub. (check)

 Several pairs of socks and outer thick socks that can be used for walking around the 

lodges/cabins. (check)

 A sleeping bag liner possibly made of fleece or silk will keep you much warmer at night.  (check)

 Sleeping bag - 4 / 5 seasons if you have one otherwise you will be provided with one. (hiring)

 2 x fleeces (one thick and one thin) or woolen jumpers (one thick and one thin).  (check)

 Waterproof / windproof (Gore-Tex) jacket to cut out the wind. (check but the team leader says we don't need it)

 Long sleeve tops (avoid cotton).  (need)

 2 x bin liners to line rucksack and put sleeping bag in. (check)

 Wet wipes for personal hygiene. (need)

Day sack / small bag to be kept at the back of the Sled for easy access (15-20 litre holdall); 

 Gloves  - 1 x waterproof hard wearing gloves (gardening gloves would be perfect) for 

feeding the dogs, 2 x thin woolen gloves are needed because you have to work with your 

fingers when putting the harnesses on the dogs.  1 x thicker pair to keep you warm when 

travelling.  You will be given over-mitts, but these are just to keep out the wind-chill.  (need thin ones)

 2 x 1 litre water bottle, plastic ones are better than the metal versions (may not be 

necessary on shorter trips) do not bring drinking systems as the pipes freeze in very low 

temperatures (check)

 Head torch - must be kept close to hand and you must know where it is. (check)

 Toilet paper.  

 Thin thermo hat to be worn under the fur hat provided. (check)

 Neoprene face mask  (need)

 Sun screen - minimum factor 15   (need)

 Lip salve. (check)

 Goggles are best, but good sunglasses can also be used if temperatures are not too low 

(n.b. in mid winter, un-tinted goggles are best).  (check)

 A warm neck guard and a balaclava - will help stop a lot of the cold air on your face (balaclava in hand, but need neck guard)

 Small waterproof bag containing; passport, airline tickets, credit cards and money.  (need - and need money!)

 Camera, lots of film memory cards and spare batteries.  (Manual camera, as back up, is 

recommended). (check)

My Mother is in charge of this:

Personal first aid kit to include all of the following; 

 Painkillers (paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen (400mg strength). 

 Antiseptic wipes. 

 Plasters. 

 Gauze pads  

 Crepe bandage 

 Zinc oxide tape, adhesive tape. 

 Moleskin and/or 'compeed' for blister treatment. 

 Imodium or Lomitol for diarrhoea. 

 Dehydration mix such as Diarolyte. 

 Small tub of Vaseline to put on lips at night if lips get windburn 

 Tweezers, scissors, safety pins (to be packed in the main bag and checked-in for flights). 

 If you take regular medication, please make sure you bring a plentiful, but reasonable 

supply.

So, just a few bits and bobs to sort out, and make sure I pack the loo roll!