The blood we give as individuals is precious, despite the corny taglines of
TV adverts and poster propaganda found in hospital corridors your blood is
Amazing and very valuable to you but it's even more valuable to someone
Else. I'm not going to lecture on this because the truth is people that want
To give will give, you've had years of opportunity and now it's easier than ever.
I give blood regularly and believe it is one of the few completely altruistic acts
You can engage in today. Find out everything you need to know at -
http://www.blood.co.uk/
Go on bleed for someone.
Boot Camp with Charlie Wall and friends. A successful event with a lot of
Panting and muscle making. A stunning morning at Cherry Hinton Hall Park
With a fantastic turn out of 26 participants and one Mike Power from Optimise-
Fitness providing professional massages. Without having met the troupe before
It was difficult to guage what kind of level we were working with and to what degree
We could beast them. Turns out they were all very good, and enjoyed the pain even
Giving requests for less rest breaks and more cardio!... Well next time I personally
Will be shouting the pain into them and making sure the feel something a little more
Punishing (Charlie, Amy and Ed - I'm targeting you, so be prepared...)
All in all it was a very fun morning and we were pleased to have met such a great bunch of people, Both Tom & I are hoping to stay in touch and keep you updated with our progress on our all our challenges. Just a quick note; The Prize of an official Oar Raisers T-shirt went to the person that worked the hardest and deserved it the most - Well done Lavinia for completing the whole session in wellington boots and still smiling at the end!...
http://www.purplefitness.co.uk/
http://www.optimise-fitness.com/
This weekend The Oar Riasers were in Gosport, a small and interesting place between
Southampton and Portsmouth. Arriving on Friday evening and staying at a place called
Jim & Joan' B&B (thank you for being so friendly and accomodating). Saturday involved a full day of First aid at sea and Defibularator training. Highly intense and vey interesting, Remarkably easy to use and hugely important!... People that have an electrical heart failure have a 5% survival rate without a Defib but getting one in time can increase chances of survival
To 50%....!!!
Sunday was our VHF radio course and exam to get the license. I think we both underestimated just how hard this test would be. I for one was sweating and very anxious about the exam, something I am normally quite good at and capable of as I am - this was tough. Both Tom & I spent the day learning the theory and proceedures, having practical experience with the radio sets and going through all kinds of scenarios. This was a lot of fun and very interesting - people think as long as you know the phonetic alphabet that using Radio comms would be easy…
It's not, and there are specific proceedurs and protocals for good reason. Finally after a day's training we sat down to an exam sheet on opposite sides of the room we nervously picked up Our pens. The examiner went through our papers together a little while later and the suspense was agonising… I hadn't felt like this since my finals at uni. Torturing us that bit longer the examiner made a few disconcerting grumbles as he looked over things, finally delivering the lines -
" well, you've both passed" Extatic I felt relief that I hadn’t let Tom down and I think that feeling was returned in Tom for me…. What is weird is that we both only got one question wrong and bizarrely it was the same one!... Two courses down we were homeward bound and very pleased with ouselves, progress comes in all kinds of ways right now and this was brilliant!..
Stay tuned folks.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Monday 14 March 2011
Cycling, fundraising and Networking...
This is a brief but important entry, whilst The Oar Raisers have been very busy the last few weeks we'd like it to be known that our current thought are with those devastated by the recent natural events in Japan. HeaterMeals our primary food sponsor has shipped an enormous quantity of aid to assist the one million or more homeless - suffice to say The Oar Raisers are truly grateful and priviledged to be working with such kind and caring people.
To business then, last week the Kent contingent from the Frog & Toad Pub Gillingham pulled in a collection from the walk of around £1200. Adding to their previous efforts this is an absolutely astounding contribution and goes a long way to aiding our cause. We' like to thank everyone of you fantastic individuals that completed the last twelve miles of the walk event and we want to express our fondest gratitudes... Thank you all.
The weekend just gone saw both rowers and Abigail up at the changing of the light for a car boot sale - something we hope to make a fairly regular money maker (so all donations of old junk or good no longer needed are appreciated, we can use anything and everything). Making over £100 pound for a mornings work is successful enough in our position as every little helps.
The cycle event is coming along and approaching faster than we thought it would, training for it is really very enjoyable as the cardio is challenging, working different muscles to those we're used to and shockingly painful at points - endurance is king and we beast the bikes!... bring on Paris, if you want to get involved their is still time please get in touch for full details.
Extending our network and sharing it with other causes we have a soft spot for, we have agreed to help in any way we can with a project called 'Save The Falcon', for those of you that know us well enough you'll probably have assumed that The Falcon in question is actually a Pub not the Great British bird of prey.... This grade II listed building is in need of serious restoration - a public interest and a decent campaign to bring the world of Cromwellian era debauchery back to live. The guys working on this project are very passionate and need all the help we can give them so anyone that wants the chance to do a little restoration of a very old building should get in touch with me in the usual fashion - Let's not see another pub fall victim to our financial climate and negligence, we all have the power to stand up for the things we want to see thrive so come stand with us.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SAVE-the-Falcon-Huntingdon/183647998342774
finally this coming Saturday is the Oar raisers bootcamp session at Cherry Hinton Hall Park - 10:00 AM £10 minimum donation in conjunction with Charlie Wall and Cambridge Boot Camps.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-Boot-Camps/103641436378297
http://www.purplefitness.co.uk
http://www.cambridgebootcamps.co.uk
ok that's all folk, be well and keep those chins up.
R2.
To business then, last week the Kent contingent from the Frog & Toad Pub Gillingham pulled in a collection from the walk of around £1200. Adding to their previous efforts this is an absolutely astounding contribution and goes a long way to aiding our cause. We' like to thank everyone of you fantastic individuals that completed the last twelve miles of the walk event and we want to express our fondest gratitudes... Thank you all.
The weekend just gone saw both rowers and Abigail up at the changing of the light for a car boot sale - something we hope to make a fairly regular money maker (so all donations of old junk or good no longer needed are appreciated, we can use anything and everything). Making over £100 pound for a mornings work is successful enough in our position as every little helps.
The cycle event is coming along and approaching faster than we thought it would, training for it is really very enjoyable as the cardio is challenging, working different muscles to those we're used to and shockingly painful at points - endurance is king and we beast the bikes!... bring on Paris, if you want to get involved their is still time please get in touch for full details.
Extending our network and sharing it with other causes we have a soft spot for, we have agreed to help in any way we can with a project called 'Save The Falcon', for those of you that know us well enough you'll probably have assumed that The Falcon in question is actually a Pub not the Great British bird of prey.... This grade II listed building is in need of serious restoration - a public interest and a decent campaign to bring the world of Cromwellian era debauchery back to live. The guys working on this project are very passionate and need all the help we can give them so anyone that wants the chance to do a little restoration of a very old building should get in touch with me in the usual fashion - Let's not see another pub fall victim to our financial climate and negligence, we all have the power to stand up for the things we want to see thrive so come stand with us.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SAVE-the-Falcon-Huntingdon/183647998342774
finally this coming Saturday is the Oar raisers bootcamp session at Cherry Hinton Hall Park - 10:00 AM £10 minimum donation in conjunction with Charlie Wall and Cambridge Boot Camps.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-Boot-Camps/103641436378297
http://www.purplefitness.co.uk
http://www.cambridgebootcamps.co.uk
ok that's all folk, be well and keep those chins up.
R2.
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Washing Cars, Boat Show and cycling...
The last week has been a tough one with a little fundraising and a lot of hard work...
Recently funds have been coming in dribble and we are putting in a lot of effort and work for what seems like very little pay off, however each £100 pound raised counts for an awful lot when you consider the total fund we have to raise. Now into March we are looking at new ways of raising larger sums with events and still pursuing the corporate sponsor route - we need help, as much as ever. So new strategies have been drawn up and ideas formulated for potential sponsors, although the existing packages are still in place, our negotiations and presentations have taken a new twist. to be revealed in good time.
On Friday 25th Feb myself and one very special volunteer ran a car wash day at Cambridgeshire County Council... I never realised just how big and dirty some cars could be. By the end of the day a total of 22 cars were washed at a minimum donation of £4.50 I actually had to turn cars away at one point, a situation I did not want to be in but had the extra volunteers perhaps we could have accommodated more vehicles. Despite this failing I was pleased with the funds raised and must make my very sincere thanks known to Berni who helped on this event tirelessly from start to finish.
On Saturday 26th February Tom & I attended the Birmingham NEC Boat show, winning free tickets from Star radio Cambridge we took advantage of the day parading the halls in our Oar Raisers T-shirts and buttering up potential sponsors and suppliers. We made some very positive connections and hopefully a few good working relationships may come of it.
Having posted the next big event on Face book, we've been training a more sport specific regime for an endurance cycle ride. The Oar Raisers Paris to Cambridge cycle challenge is open to all and will take place at the end of May, details are on Face book and various posters but are also available by email on request. This is a really tough event requiring massive amounts of organising where logistics are concerned so any help is appreciated and greatly needed...
That's all for now gang, keep following and hopefully March will bring some good news for all of us!...
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193009884052405
Recently funds have been coming in dribble and we are putting in a lot of effort and work for what seems like very little pay off, however each £100 pound raised counts for an awful lot when you consider the total fund we have to raise. Now into March we are looking at new ways of raising larger sums with events and still pursuing the corporate sponsor route - we need help, as much as ever. So new strategies have been drawn up and ideas formulated for potential sponsors, although the existing packages are still in place, our negotiations and presentations have taken a new twist. to be revealed in good time.
On Friday 25th Feb myself and one very special volunteer ran a car wash day at Cambridgeshire County Council... I never realised just how big and dirty some cars could be. By the end of the day a total of 22 cars were washed at a minimum donation of £4.50 I actually had to turn cars away at one point, a situation I did not want to be in but had the extra volunteers perhaps we could have accommodated more vehicles. Despite this failing I was pleased with the funds raised and must make my very sincere thanks known to Berni who helped on this event tirelessly from start to finish.
On Saturday 26th February Tom & I attended the Birmingham NEC Boat show, winning free tickets from Star radio Cambridge we took advantage of the day parading the halls in our Oar Raisers T-shirts and buttering up potential sponsors and suppliers. We made some very positive connections and hopefully a few good working relationships may come of it.
Having posted the next big event on Face book, we've been training a more sport specific regime for an endurance cycle ride. The Oar Raisers Paris to Cambridge cycle challenge is open to all and will take place at the end of May, details are on Face book and various posters but are also available by email on request. This is a really tough event requiring massive amounts of organising where logistics are concerned so any help is appreciated and greatly needed...
That's all for now gang, keep following and hopefully March will bring some good news for all of us!...
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193009884052405
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