Over 70 miles, 4,000 calories, 2 counties, and about 30 banannas!

On 3 October my training for the Jordan cycle was taken to a whole new level. I was joined by my comrade Chris Lindsay Smith in attempting to complete the Phil Cooke Challenge, a 70 mile cycle across the counties of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire all in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

It was an early start, especially for a Sunday morning. I cooked a breakfast of eggs, while we both pumped our tyres and loaded the car feeling confident in the task ahead.

Once in Northampton the task ahead looked slightly more challenging with the gail force winds and thrashing rain standing in our way. We registered, took the obligatory 'before shot' on the camera, loaded our bags with energy snacks and what seemed like 30 banannas and set on our way.

Hills, hills, hills, hills and more ruddy hills. Although nobody said this would be easy, I don't think either of us expected it to be so hard or that there would be so many hills! The rain poured, the wind blew in our face, and we swore a lot, but we didn't stop, and over 5 hours later (and after consuming pretty much all of our banannas) we crossed the finish line truly exhausted.

After a cup of tea, the obligatory 'after shot' on the camera and what seemed a long journey home the day was brought to an end.

My gratitude and respect goes out to my good friend Chris, whom I could not have completed the ride without - but also for raising a mammoth £260 for Marie Curie in sponsorships. This also has taken me over my initial target of raising £2750 - rock and roll :-)

TOTAL RAISED: £260

It's only a gameshow...

On Wednesday 15 September the fundraising continued at the Red Lion, Polesworth for a pool competition with a difference. Pot the Lot was the name of the game and the aim was to do just that.

Congratulations to Fordy who came out a worthy winner. Well done to runner up Ryan, and semi finalists Christian and Grewy. A special mention to Matty Marine who graciously won the wooden spoon with a record zero balls potted.

A successful night raised over £100 in total - leaving me just £50 short of my target! Thanks to everybody who participated!

The top ten...

Fordy -15 balls potted
Grewy - 15 balls potted
Christian - 15 balls potted
Ryan - 13 balls potted
Dan Hutchins - 13 balls potted
Mark B - 13 balls potted
Pepsi - 11 balls potted
Nick F - 11 balls potted
Andy Cooke - 9 balls potted
Kev the Rev - 9 balls potted

Wooden spoon - Matty Runner up - Ryan Winner - Fordy

"Howz that?"

This August bank holiday we managed to avoid too much of the bad weather as cricket fever took over Polesworth!

North Warwickshire Cricket players and veterans were joined by a host of special guests in a Twenty Twenty cricket tournament at Polesworth North Warwick Cricket Club on 29 August 2010.

The tournament was slightly delayed due to torrential rain, but once the blue skies appeared everybody was out onto the pitch to enjoy what turned out to be an epic cricket encounter. Three teams battled it out with some incredible performances and some howlers (Woody)!

Some of the highlights included an epic display from Stu Fairfield who limped his way to many runs. Alex 'Howz that' Burns received player of the tournament from her peers mainly for her incredible catch in the second match, but also for enduring some heavy duty banter from the entire male entourage. Mark ‘Tuna’ Banks secured a match winning four as he smashed home in the last over. He would later go on to celebrate by running a naked lap of the pitch.

As well as the cricket, fans, supporters and other guests were able to enjoy the delights of a bbq, strawberries and cream, live music and plenty of beer.

Money was raised from cricket subs, a tombola stall, a brik-a-brak stall, dj requests, the bbq and other fun and games.

The night delivered as many highlights as the days events. A naked lap from Woody and Mark raised more money for charity (I'm still struggling to believe why people actually paid to see it!), Chrissy Woods performed her usual rendition of ‘Words’, and we found out that Dan Harding was the biggest ‘tosser’ in the toss the pound coin game. Christian’s killer pool also raised some extra pounds.

We will post pictures and videos soon (including some great shots of the naked mile).

…Killer Pool - £19
….‘Words’ sung by Chrissy Woods - £11
….‘You’re a tosser’ game - £21
....DJ requests - £30
….Marie Curie Sweatbands - £11
….Tombola stall – over £200
…Cricket subs £78
....Woody and Mark running naked across the cricket pitch - £35

Watching Billy and Chrissy Woods perform a rendition ‘500 miles’ by The Proclaimers…..PRICELESS! (watch this space for the video)





TOTAL RAISED: £540

We can build cars with robots...

Over the past two months we have been selling raffle tickets to win a luxury hamper which was kindly donated by my parents. The hamper was estimated to be worth approximately £100!!

On Sunday 29 August we finally picked out the winning ticket. The lucky winners were 'Big' Mick & Sue Roberts, who were over the moon to win the highly sought after prize! Big Mick said: "We are over the moon to win the hamper! It falls into perspective when you think what the money is for. We can build cars with robots, go into space, send a message around the world in seconds, but we haven't got the real resources for patient care when we are losing a loved one."

Thank you to everybody who brought a ticket, and a big thanks to Mark & Carol for donating the prize! Your efforts have raised a huge £300 for Marie Curie Cancer Care and brought me even closer to reaching my target of £2750.

TOTAL RAISED: £300

You can learn a lot from A car boot sale...

So one of our first fundraisers in my attempt to raise £2700 was a car boot sale. The day taught me a lot of things!

1. Car booters are hardcore! - Sunday morning, 5am start and we were late! There are some serious bargain hunters out there and some of our best sales came at dawn!

2. Although car booters are out for a bargain, but they can also be very generous! - It was very heart warming to see how many people donated to my cause without even buying anything. These people were up early and out for a bargain but had no problem in donating to Marie Curie Cancer Care to show their appreciation for their good work. One 8 year old boy donated his last pound as he had lost his sister to cancer earlier this year. It really does prove why this challenge is so worth while!

3. You can shift a lot of junk! - If you have a lot clutter, then I reccomend a car boot sale. We raised £340 for Marie Curie Cancer Care just from selling stuff that we didn't need anymore. We plan to have another one before October so if you have anything you would like to donate let me know!

TOTAL RAISED: £340

A huge thank you to mom, dad and Alex who all put in long hard shifts, it couldn't have been done without you. Dad for being the vocal 'Delboy' salesman technique, Mom for driving the hard sale, and Alex for the constant tea runs!!