CUBA

So, the gang are 37,000 feet in the air with Virgin on route to Cuba and here I am, at home, typing on my computer! Why? Because I had so many problems hit me all at once.

 

Edinburgh Steiner turned out to be a nightmare school.  I have to say the main problem was Chloe's main teacher who is the most manipulative woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet in my life.  I took Chloe out 2 weeks ago after realising this was NOT the place for my girl to live out her school years.

 

Dad, well he has been diagnosed with the onset of dementia.  He scored pretty low in his test and my GP, who is wonderful and honest, told me truthfully that it was not a good score.  He is to go for further tests on 29 November as there are different strains of dementia and I am praying it is not Alzeheimers.  His memory (short term) is atrocious and it is a very worrying time.

 

My brother, well he has been in and out of hospital the past few months.  At first gangrene was suspected, then we all started worrying the cancer was back, finally, he has been told it is gout.

 

Having Chloe at home is tiring.  I am home schooling and she is being tutored by a retired P7 teacher whom my mum teaches sewing to but it is very, very hard home schooling a 13 year old girl.  Ruaraidh is jealous Chloe is at home and I am trying to explain to him she would much rather be at school but there is still friction between them.

 

So all of the above, plus my bipolar bringing in the depression prevented me going to Cuba.  I am absolutely devastated.  I have raised well over £4,000 and was so looking forward to trekking the Escambray Mountains with my best partner and Canyon mate, Mandy.  I received a beautiful daffodil necklace which lights up from her today.  I have to admit, I cried.  I have cried a lot lately.

 

Then to top it all off, I phoned Chloe's prospective school and because I am applying for a part bursary, I will have to wait over a week for the enrolment interview as the bursars do not meet until next Friday and there is obviously no point in interviewing us unless a bursary is available.

 

Chloe told me there must be a "reason" that I have had to stay at home and that perhaps I might have broken my leg had I went.  It did not cheer me up but I understood where she was coming from.

 

I guess I just have to plod on and I will feel better about things, soon, hopefully.

 

Life is not that great just now.  I think the only thing that is preventing me having a complete melt down is the amount of medication I have to take for my illness.  I guess that is something to be glad about!

Truckfest

So Saturday just past was Truckfest day.  It was amazing! 

The kids and I got up at 7 a.m. and made a picnic lunch as although I parked for free and did not pay the entrance fee, I knew it would be expensive having the kids as there was so much for them to do.

I kitted both kids out in Marie Curie t-shirts.  I need an XS for Ruaraidh as the S still looked a little like a dress.  Not a good look for a boy.  Although I have to say he did not mind one bit and got into the spirit of things by putting on his Marie Curie top hat.

I think it is really great that the kids are involved in fund raising and knowing what Marie Curie does.  Hopefully it will inspire them to carry on good work when they become older.

The Marie Curie HGV Truck was awesome and John, the driver, said to Chloe and Roo "get in and out as much as you want......"! Believe me, they did.  However, the highlight had to be all 3 of us, driving with John into the main arena and waving to the crowd.

George, the owner of the Truck, spoke about why he had painted this HGV to support Marie Curie, Fiona spoke about the statistics of the hospice and then it was my turn to speak about fund raising.  It was really exciting to be speaking in public again especially about another cause I feel so passionate about.  I explained to the crowd how much fun fund raising actually is, that I had walked on the catwalk this year, stood in the streets, packed bags in Marks and Spencers and now rode in the Marie Curie HGV.  I then went onto say, "If everyone here can just donate 50 pence, we can run the hospice for a full day........."!  Well, the volunteers that were there were inundated with kids wanting to put 50 pence and £1 coins into the buckets.  It truly was amazing and people were once again so generous.

This coming Saturday we have Walk Ten at Athlestanesford, East Lothian.  Chloe is walking it with my friend and Ruaraidh and I are working it.  Our job is the memory bags which is a lovely job as we fill the paper bags with sand, put a tea light in and the bags have messages "cut out" so when the walkers return, all the bags are lit up.  Here's hoping the rain stays away this weekend.



Marie Curie Pub Collection

Mandy, Marion and I had a great early evening pub collection for Marie Curie, last Saturday 2 June raising a fantastic £830.

We started at the West End of Edinburgh in Williams Street, moved along Rose Street to the East End and then head back to the car long Princess Street.  A very kind gentleman stopped Mandy whilst we were walking along Princess Street and deposited £20 in her bucket.

Once back to the car, we headed down to the Grassmarket.  It was so busy down there with Stag and Hen do's but I really don't think the younger generation "get" what Marie Curie is all about.  There was a lot of "no change" and shaking of heads when we went near.

That said, we did collect a wonderful sum.  Mandy and Marion made quite a bit due to having their daffodil hats on and getting "paid" for photographs.  I chose the vain route as I had my extensions in so decided to go without my daffodil hat - it needs washed anyway ;O)

Mandy and I are both extremely near our totals now.  Looks like we are going to smash the totals this year which is fabulous!!!!



Marks and Spencers Bag Packing

We had a fantastic time bag packing at Marks and Spencers on Saturday.  We raised an incredible £1,156.80 for Marie Curie with the help of Eileen, Amanda, Sarah and Tina and of course myself and Mandy.

Marks and Spencers are so generous to allow us into their stores for such a worthy cause.

I had a little boy ask me why I was a daffodil and why were we taking money.  I simply said to him "we help to pay for nurses that look after really, really sick people".  His dad came over and said "remember your papa?  These ladies help the nurses that helped your papa".  It made my eyes well with tears (that is normal for me when collecting) and Mandy looked across and said "Suzy, don't start crying"!  She knows me so well!!!!

I took the money to mum and dad's to count as they like getting involved.  We had a wonderful surprise as dad was full of the cold and counted the £1 coins as £10 per bag when actually it is £20 per bag.  Accordingly, dad had written the figure down as £280 when it was actually £560.  What a WONDERFUL mistake to make!

I think we are going to smash our totals this year which is great as there is no trek next year.

The hospice is currently being refurbished and will be ready in about 6 months time.  The administration team have moved down to Leith and the patients have been taken to the Western General Hospital.  It will be good to get the patients back to the Hospice as soon as possible as the Western General is not really that great!

Anyway, that is my latest update on the Marie Curie side of things.

Laters xxx

Almost £1,000

Am repeating a post of last year as I have almost reached the £1,000 mark in my fund raising albeit for Cuba this year!

Most of this has been through bag packing at Marks and Spencers who have been so supportive.  It is such fun packing bags, dressed as a daffodil and most importantly, having your friends there packing with you and supporting you all the way.

We also had a very successful fashion show and I will post some photographs here.  It was an awesome experience even down to taking Mandy and I approximately 3 hours to choose for outfits for the runway and then having to go back and choose another 2 outfits each.

The grand total for the fashion show was £806.13 which was incredible for a 2 hour show.  I think Matalan did quite well with their sale of clothes afterwards also. 

I totally loved being a model, strutting my stuff on the catwalk and would do it again in a minute if I got the chance.  I am sure Mandy would also.

Being a volunteer for Marie Curie is so much fun as it opens up doors of opportunities for you that you just would not get did you not volunteer.  I would recommend it to anyone!



I AM OFF AGAIN

So, I completed the trek for the Grand Canyon in 2011 and the total amount raised by 44 of us for Marie Curie was £176,000.  Absolutely a phenomenal amount.

I have decided along with Mandy, my friend who I met on Grand Canyon trek, to trek Cuba this year.  I will attach the Itinerary here.

Day 1 - UK to Havana

We depart the UK from Edinburgh International Airport, arriving into Havana, Cuba. We transfer to our hotel for a welcome meal and briefing on the challenge ahead.

Day 2 - Havana to Topas De Collantes

We have a 5 hour transfer from our hotel in Havana to our base for the week, Topas De Collantes, in the heart of the Escambray Mountains. Our route takes us through the historic centre of Trinidad - a UNESCO world heritage site.

Day 3 - La Hacienda Codina, 6-7 hours’ trekking

Today is the first day of trekking, starting off early in the morning towards La Hacienda Codina, an old coffee estate. We will be trekking along unspoilt trails through areas of spectacular beauty, with great views of the Ancon peninsula. After lunch at the hacienda we start the return trek back to our hotel.

Day 4 - Casa De La Gellega, 7-8 hours’ trekking

Today our route takes us through incredible forest landscapes, full of history and local culture. We stop for lunch at a local house before continuing on towards the stunning waterfalls of El Salto del Rocio. From here we continue trekking towards the coffee-growing community of Charco Azul before the return trip to our hotel.

Day 5 - Parque Caburni, 6 hours’ trekking

Today is a tough day trekking as we head towards the Salto de Caburni waterfall. From here we continue on towards Parque Caburni with a spectacular 150m waterfall. The terrain today is steep, but takes us through the lush landscape full of wildlife. Our trek finishes for the day at Comunidad 28 Septiembre where we are transferred back to the hotel.

Day 6 -Parque El Cubano, 5 hours’ trekking

After breakfast we leave for the long trek to the protected area of Parque El Cubano. We take the Guanmuhaya route through lovely forest with stunning views of the Escambray Mountains. The route takes us along the path to Pez Cato farm where we stop for lunch. We continue on to the road head to meet our transfers back to the hotel.

Day 7- La Batata, 4 hours’ trekking

Our last trekking day takes us to La Batata, and incredible cave that highlights the ecological value of the reserve. The final leg of the trek takes us to lunch at Mi Retiro before we return to our hotel.

Day 8 - Havana

Today we return to Havana where we take a walking tour of the city. The rest of the day is free to explore before a meal together to celebrate our achievements.

Day 9 - Havana to UK

We have the morning free in Havana before our transfers to the airport for our return flight home.

Day 10 - UK

We arrive back in Edinburgh.