Bargains ...

I've been mulling in my head what to take on this trip that is practical, sensible, cheap and weighs as little as possible. I've decided that careful planning is required to get the most out of my 50 litre ruck-sack. I have therefore been purchasing items from certain retail establishments that I have so far never considered. I have bought cotton knickers from Asda (I know! Listen people, I'll be leaving them behind - no pun intended). Six t-shirts from Primark. Go on! Guess how much ...........thirteen English pounds! How great is that? Please don't lecture on the origins of these items, I'm on a budget here! The Yellow Fever jab cost me £50, the malaria tablets are over £60 and the visa just to get me into Tanzania was £34 plus £10 recorded post so I could have my passport back.
Then there's the bikinis, the full on Madonna outfit for the last evening party. Well, I have the gloves, can anyone loan me a full length pink dress and a diamond bracelet?

No fear of Flying .....

My friend Richard is helping me to overcome my fear of flying. In order to prove that flying is not something to be scared of, he somewhat laboured the point by jumping out of a plane from 10 000ft on Saturday. Why would a sane person exit a perfectly good, working aeroplane before it had taxied to a complete stop and the seat belt signs were switched off? I conclude that he must be more barmy than his client ..... please make a donation to show your approval for this new level of madness.
I bought my self-inflating mattress today. I think it is very likely that my flight back will involve me using a wheelchair to get out of the plane.
Also bought a bum-bag. Colour coordinated to match the khaki shorts I stole from Number One Son! Apparently I need to carry all my worldly good with me at all times. I guess I'm taking nothing then!

Helping me to get there ...

I know I have set myself up to do this, but did I mention my fear of flying? Not the Peter Pan and Wendy sort of flying, which would be great, but the getting into a plane type of flying. I'm so scared.
Anyway, I would usually take drugs to address this, but it's a long flight and I don't know how much it is safe to take drugs for that long.
I have therefore enrolled the help of my good friend and fellow traveller Richard who just, conveniently happens to be a hypnotherapist.
After a brilliant session of therapy this evening where we didn't even mention 'the flights' I am beginning to feel a lot more positive about the whole 'up in the air without strings and where gravity has no power' thing. Thank you Richard x

Back on Your Heads!

After having spent 4 weeks away from my desk and exhausting myself with fund raising events and ideas, I have now returned to the relative peace and tranquility of the office in sunny Ashington - language barrier notwithstanding!
After 4 minutes I feel as if I haven't been away at all. Nose down, backside up. Some swine emptied a waste paper bin onto my in-tray and a bigger swine sellotaped the phone so it kept ringing when I picked up the receiver. Thanks for that! It's lovely to be loved.
Will be having hypnotherapy tomorrow to help me overcome my terror of flying, hopefully. Has anyone got any helpful tips on how to be less scared when in a plane?

And I will post those photos I promised later this evening....

Lost in Newcastle 4th September 2010

And what a day it has been! WOW. Unfortunately my Southridge Team had to pull out at the last minute as we could not find replacements for two team members who couldn't get to the event. Thanks for trying girls, but we won't be stopped, will we? That Team will run the Event for COCO at a later date.
Today's Treasure Hunt was amazing. Eight Teams all on a mission. Twelve Secret Codes and a determination never before seen on this scale. The level of competitiveness was incredible. People were running! Yes, actually running to beat the other teams. Sweating even. Urgh!
Photos will be posted as soon as I have them....

Losing my Focus

19 sleeps 'til take off so I am really concentrating on the two most important things - sorting what I'm going to take, and fund raising in a frenzy. To that end, today I have been to a colliery museum and for a plodge on Tynemoth Longsands with the Beautiful Boy.
The house is being decorated and it was supposed to take three days, but half of the paint splashed dudes (they arrive paint splashed, do they work night shift?) are sick, so we are now heading for day five and I haven't had a lie in all week.
My Lost Team has declared itself two short. Anyone want to step into the breach and be a hero on Saturday?
Tomorrow I promise to retrieve my focus, unless it's sunny ....

! 1st September 2010 ! Already!!!

Where has time gone? Need to focus my mind on what is happening. This weekend we have a Lost Event. That's a mad Treasure Hunt type of day out where teams of 5 run around like crazy people trying to solve location clues and the finale is finding the 'final destination' and getting there as quickly as possible. Very funny event. Grown ups running around the city and getting hot and sweaty - sometimes a good thing, sometimes I think we should have the St John's Ambulance people on stand-by.
With any luck the Teams will have managed to have everyone they know make a donation which will add to the pot for buying the raw materials for the build.
My other attempt at fund raising was a washout. Car Boot Sale last Sunday. You know when it rains? Well, this was nothing like rain. It swept across the field like a message from God! We were soaked in seconds. Thank the Lord for waterproof mascara. Everything ended up in the Oxfam skip at Sainsbury's, so I guess it's still for a good cause in the long term.

Panic!

I've been awake half the night and woke up sooooo early. I need to start making lists of what I need.
List of Lists:
1. What I need to take
2. What I need to buy
3. What I think I need and need consultation on.....

Help Me!!!

Before!

This is the project at the moment. Check out the barbed wire around the play ground. Why, oh why would you do that? We need to complete the dormitory for the girls. At the moment they are sleeping on the classroom floor.

24 Sleeps!!!!!

Good grief, I just realised that there are only 24 sleeps 'til I fly out to Tanzania to help build a dormitory and a playground at a school in Mehida. Terrifying thoughts:
1. I've never been further than Tunisia
2. I'm very afraid of flying and I have to do two flights there and three flights back
3. I fly on my 45th birthday which means that for at least 50% of my 'special' day, I will be in the sky and feeling poorly - deep joy, and nice planning! Stupid.

I'm going to keep this blog up to date with plans, mistakes, ridiculous mistakes, adventures and photographs of my progress.
The first mistake being that I thought it would be months before this date arrived, and it has been, but I think the world has been spinning faster and now it's less than a month away. My knees are shaking, and not in a good way.