Ysgol Cemaes and footsteps!,

Hello, sunday evening and tomorrow will be march 1stand the day before we leave!

What a crazy few days - I think everyone just realised we're really going to do this. Trish and Dave have gone into hyper-drive and a quiet drink with friends to say cheerio has turned into something more with posters telling everyone to be at The Harbour tomorrow evening at 7, and then the original idea to leave early on tuesday has gone to pot completely. We can't leave til after 10am cos we're having a great big send-off, with dignitaries, balloons and the children from Ysgol Cemaes. Speaking of the children, they have been amazing - our car was taken to school and came back covered in footsteps! The children drew feet and coloured them beautifully, then they were laminated and cut out, then stuck all over the car. The inside was filled with balloons too and they'll be tied on on tuesday morning. We're going to order a poster map from The South West Coast Path Association tomorrow so the children can follow our progress as it shows the route with a running total of miles. we'll send them lots of postcards and pictures too.

Getting excited now but very tired - need to go for a walk to get over all these preparations!!!

Charlie's out with Angela tonight, so it's just me, the dogs, the cat and the telly. Oh, and some washing, drying, packing, printing and blogging! Just remembered another job I haven't done so better stop this two finger typing, tyhere's some sewing to do on Mac's jacket for when he's working.

I'll try to write again tomorrow after the pub 'do'.

Tata, Susan x

Hello again.

Today was a very strange day, but yesterday was stranger still!

Yesterday was a day of very high highs and very low lows - one minute being 'got at' by people who had no business sticking their noses in, then being phoned by the local paper and told what an amazing venture the walk is, then being seemingly criticised for no reason except that I'm me, then being left a gift by an anonymous person wishing me good luck, and all before lunch! Then the photographer from the paper arrived and made Charlie and I pose for some really cheesy pics. I told him that the camera never likes me but he assured me a good photo was possible. I'm a cynic at the best of times but this man had caught me on a day I was gasping for breath with bronchitis, running a temperature, needing a hair wash and slightly rattled by cross people!

Anyway, the pictures were taken amidst fits of giggles, the gift of a beautiful jumper to wear on the walk was much appreciated and all in all we all decided to focus on the positives and allow those more negative than ourselves to be miserable on their own!

And then today the Daily Post came - almost a full page and on Page 3 - never thought I'd be a Page 3 girl and certainly didn't expect my daughter to be one. And what is more, its actually quite a nice pic of me. Charlie has always been photogenic and so she looks great as usual and the article is good. Just a couple of things like saying I walk with crutches when I use sticks but otherwise very accurate. One good thing may come of it - I, as well as Charlie, hurt a good deal, but very few people see past the smiles and grins, probably, if truth be told, because they would rather not see. Well, the journalist did his homework and says in the article just how painful our condition is - not something I find easy to do myself, but perhaps it will clarify things a little for some.

Enough of boring things. We are all soooooo excited as the day draws nearer to set off. The dogs, of course have no idea exactly what is going on but they do know ' somethings up'.

The article had quite an effect - a phone call from a journalist wanting more of the story, Facebook comments for Charlie from people who know about Chiari Malformation and then to cap it all we had an email on the web site from the Royal Naval Police in Plymouth offering us an escort for a part of the walk near them. What fun!

I think it's time for some shut-eye soon - feeling loads better today but still coughing quite impressively.

Just one funny thing that happened - went to Caernarfon to pick up the ferrules for my sticks. Snowdonia Adventure had managed to find me a dozen and at just 50p each I was very pleased. I do wear them out rather quickly as I use my sticks for walking, not just going for a walk. Anyway, picked up the ferrules, looked at them when we got home and two of them are a bit grubby and rather worn!!! I realise the company went to extraordinary lengths to get me them but I think someone at head office will find they're walking with steel tips on their next weekend ramble - oops.

Gotta go, my duvet is calling,

Susan

Hi all,

Only two and a half weeks before the off! Milo's paw is better except when he jumps off the windowsill without thinking about the landing area - so much stuff about a smooth landing is not guaranteed and he keeps forgetting. Not the brightest button in the box, our Milo, but great fun and good company!

It's been a busy time both at home and in the Village Venture. Juggling it all and keeping up to date with artwork for college has kept me on my toes. Art has been great - I sculpted a clay head from a life model and it actually looks like her, and then I learned to carve and made a shell from a block of plaster. I'll have to do some more one day but not til we're back from the walk.

The Village Venture shop was re-wired last week so we took the opportunity to have a bit of a turn around - the result has been well recieved by our customers who say it feels bigger and more welcoming. Today we put a map on the wall of the South West of Britain, showing our route around the coast path and showing where the campsites are (so far). We'll be sending postcards to the shop as we go along and hopefully someone will put them up around the map so people can follow our progress.

Mac is still a bit under par but something of a mystery. We're just keeping an eye on him at the moment and monitoring his fluid intake, behaviour pattern etc. Something's not right and hopefully soon we'll know what it is and get him well again.

We needed photos today of Roz and I out walking. Charlie came out with us to take the pics and made some very rude remarks about our ability (or not) to pose for a decent photo - she told us to 'act natural' then asked what on earth we were doing because we kept looking at things and nattering! That's us 'acting natural', very nosy and taking an interest in all around us. Apparently the best pictures were those she took from the rear!!!

Time to do something about supper,
Be back blogging soon,
Susan