Macmillan Music hits The Queen's Head

So I admit... I've been bad with writing the rest of my blog- after the excitement of Iceland and my final big event, I lost the momentum slightly. It's been a long stretch, but the sense of achievement is worth it in the end. One word of advice to anyone thinking of doing this sort of thing- it's easier to fundraise before you go away rather than afterwards.
But back to the gig that I held in August. With £1000 left to raise I was hoping this event would break the back of it all, and thanks to the help of lots of fabulous people it certainly helped, raising over £440.

Firstly huge thanks to:

Jack J, Ana, Sharon, Eva, Pete, Folu, the bands and DJs on the night- Andrew Balkwill, Super Tennis, Zoo for You and Phoebe and Anna-Marie, the guys at the venue and lastly all those fantastic people who came along on the night. The room was packed out and the petty cash box overflowing.

In the few moments before the gig began I don't think I've ever felt so nervous, which wasn't exactly alleviated by the fact that the event (and unphotogenic old me)were being filmed for Leapanywhere.com (if you fancy a giggle you can see my attempts at stardom here: http://www.leapanywhere.com/media/show/1333).

But soon enough the room filled up and Andrew and his band took to the stage, wooing the crowd with simple jazz melodies and catchy riffs. Next came crowd pleasers Zoo for You, an eight piece afro-funk band with punchy brass section and at least two encores. The final live act was indie three piece, Super Tennis, already tipped for the top by NME magazine. Finally Phoebe and Anna-Marie rounded the evening off on the decks, with crowd-pleasing retro tunes.

A massively fun, if daunting night, a little part of me was pretty proud of what we'd all accomplished - so a huge thank you to everyone that helped out before and during the event.

Back from the land of fire and ice

So it's been a week since my return from Iceland and I think I'm just about beginning to recover. Well I'm on the fourth load of washing, just about able to look in a mirror again and my walking boots are still hanging outside my bedroom window as the smell has not subsided, but all in all I feel like I'm back in the real world.

Iceland was like nothing else, the hardest but also most fulfilling and challenging thing I have ever done, and I could bore you for hours with a day by day account of what I did thought and ate (actually that wouldn't take long - we ate bread), but I reckon I'll keep it short(ish).

Day one:

Since I was going on my own, rocking up to the airport, rucksack on the back was a nerve wracking enough experience, but the sea of green Macmillan t-shirts and friendly faces put me at ease. As nervous introductions and those awkward, tentative jokes began we headed for the plane (stopping en route at Duty Free for a little tipple, to keep us warm at night of course).

My first impressions of Iceland were beautiful - an eery landscape, almost moonlike in quality, with white fishing huts dotted around the hills. Heading into Rekyjavik we did spot a few Taco Bells, Subways and of course Ikea, but the city still maintained a quaint, old fashioned air. After meeting our new room/tent mates for the week (hello Lizzie B!) and a briefing we headed off for our final sleep in a decent bed.

Day Two:

The first of many early starts to come and we headed off to the hills for our first walk up an active volcano, Hekla. In the first five minutes was a ridiculously steep vertical climb and I think everyone started to think, oh god, what have we done? but after a while, with the sun shining and a lot of chatter with everyone on route, it started to get rather pleasant- this was going to be easy! Ah false sense of security, within 5 minutes of reaching the campsite (and if you ever want to see disappointment in its purest form, watch the faces of Icelandic families seeking solitude in the wilderness when they see a team of 60 people with 30 tents turn up to ruin the peace at their campsite) the heavens opened... and didn't really close again for the next week.

Yes, as I'm sure you've all heard from me by now, the defining point of this trip was the weather... pelting rain, 45mph winds and a cold dampness that invaded every bone. The beautiful sun of the first few days was replaced by these delights until we were forced down from the mountain on the fourth day because of storms.

Day three-

After a first night in the tents (a stint

at Glastonbury this year did little to prepare me for the freezing cold night and a less than adequate sleeping bag... reminder to pay far more attention to the kit list in the future) we set off for a 7 hour trek through some beautiful mountains, past vast lakes and with the sun breaking through for much of the day. Although challenging, the hike was really fun, and everyone had the chance to chat and get to know each other along the way.

With aching feet we approached our second campsite, where, -in rain again- we pitched tents and soaked our sore muscles in the natural hot springs until the wee small hours.

Day four-

The longest day of the trek was also by far the hardest, with ten grueling hours of hiking/scrambling 1100 metres up on mountain ridges, complete with snow, sleet, 45mph winds and a severe lack of waterproofs (again, note to self, obey the kit list.)

Now perhaps the day is over I can look back on it more fondly, and I can say that it was the hardest day of my life physically with the cold, mud and wet, but the sense of getting through it, of helping others clamber up the rocks and of finally completing the day, actually made it worth it. After all, we weren't in Iceland for a holiday - it was meant to be a challenge. The team were incredible, running up and down the hills to help people get through and keeping everyone's spirits up. That night, camping on sodden mossy ground in wet tents and wet clothes, I think everyone felt that we were really earning that sponsorship money.

Day five and six-

As the rain and winds hadn't subsided and storm warnings were being sent out across the mountain range the decision was wisely made by the team to leave the area and find a safer place to trek. As luck would have it Tiny managed to find a ski hut in the Blue Mountains that had dorm rooms to stay out of the rain and dry our clothes for the first time in four days... still no shower but I can tell you that feeling warm and sleeping on a mattress (even with 30 snoring people around you) was utter bliss. Everyone was able to relax a little and enjoy a drink and dinner together.

Unfortunately the weather thwarted our attempts to trek the next day too... with thick fog making it impossible to see our hand in front of our faces (honestly the weather is normally beautiful in Iceland at this time, we were just unlucky!) so we visited the Blue Lagoon instead, and prepared ourselves for a final day of trekking the next day.

Day 7-

The final day of trekking saw us heading up a volcano in that ever present rain and wind again in what was perhaps the hardest climb of the trip. In my usual clumsy way I managed to fall at least five times and rip my new waterproof trousers (purchased a little too late for the earlier part of the trip) but it was great to finish on a hike and a high. With warm soup in our bellies and stinky trekking boots firmly encased in plastic sacks to be disposed of, we headed back to Reykjavik fora celebratory dinner (puffin and shark anyone?)

The meal itself was rather poignant actually, as we all realised that the trek was almost over and much of the talk focused on what we had been through and why we were taking part. When Tiny handed out T-shirts and we all clapped and cheered the amazing crew I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the house. After that it was on to celebrate even harder, hitting the incredible bars that Reykjavik has to offer until the sun came up.

Day 8-

Our final day in Reykjavik was spent snooping around the city (Gay Pride happened to be on, which made it all the more colourful and vibrant) and lots of souvenirs were bought before crawling out of bed at 4am the next morning for the flight home.

My trip to Iceland may have been one of the toughest challenges I've put myself through (anyone who's seen me glare at colleagues for daring to open the window on a cool day will know how cold I get from just the slightest breeze), so gale force winds and drenched clothes were never going to be easy. But I can honestly say it was also incredibly moving, uplifting and actually really, really fun! The people that I met out there pulled you through the bad days, the scenery and walking were breath-taking and the totals that were raised (currently £124,000 for Macmillan) have made it all totally worth it.

You can see lots more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/iceland2009

Going giggin'

Went to visit the gig venue for the first time today. I'm hosting my night at The Old Queen's Head in Angel, a brilliant little pub stuffed full of squashy armchairs and decked out with faux antiques and a great sound system. Liam, the event organiser there, showed me the top floor, where my three bands and the DJs will take to the stage. It's a great venue and can hold 150 people, so hopefully we'll be able to fill the place for Macmillan on 25 August. Well be publicising it soon, so look out for the posters soon.

One last bit of news, the third band has been confirmed- Zoo for You http://www.myspace.com/zooforyou - some local lads from my hometown - cheers guys and a big thanks to Jack Joslin, their manager and all round fab guy who's been helping me out with all this gig stuff.

1 week to go

The passport has finally arrived, my ridiculously pricey travel insurance is booked and my lovely parents have sent the last of my trekking stuff from home so it looks as though I'm good to go a week tomorrow. There's the small matter of a huge lack of training, but I'm bound to get a few good walks in this weekend and the boots are as worn in as they will ever be. I have bought Superdrug out of blister plasters.  I'm starting to get very nervous; about the walking, lack of showers and most of all 6 nights in a tent with a stranger, but it's a excited nervous.

When it comes to fundraising, things are also moving along nicely. I took my friend Ana, a fabulous graphic designer, for coffee today to discuss the posters and leaflets that she has generously offered to make up for my music gig. The date is set - 25 August 2009 and I am just finalising the details with the venue before I head off to Iceland. I'll pop the poster on here as soon as it's done so you can take a look. Lots to do, lots to do. 

PS: Just a quick thank you to everyone that's helped me raise almost £2000 already... it's an amazing amount and amazingly generous of you all. I know I work at Macmillan so you might thing there's a tiny bit of bias, but working there really does give me an opportunity to see everything that they do and they really are a fantastic charity, that are doing amazing work to support the two million people living with cancer in the UK  and their families. So, if you've actually managed to keep reading this blog for this long and haven't died of boredom yet, and you're feeling like doing your annual charitable goodness, the sponsorship link is on the right!

Exhausted

I am suffering from a particularly strenuous weekend, in which I walked for miles, played tennis, ran, then walked the length of North London. This is about ten times the usual amount of exercise I do and resulted in severe dehydration and a sleepless night (the drama queen emerges!) The worrying thing is that this was only two days... and Iceland will be 6. Best get back on it then.

Ouch

Celebrated the beautiful weather by dragging myself out of bed at the crack of dawn on Saturday (well 8am... but that's super-early for most 25 year olds with nothing better to do on the weekend), and heading off for a run in my new local park. Yes, to add to my training, fundraising and gig organising I decided moving flats would also be a good way to use up a bit more of that spare time I have!

But it is lovely, a sunny beautiful place... unfortunately I also discovered it has a big fat hill. The first lap was fine, with a steady incline at the beginning to get the heart pumping and a nice gentle slope down to lull me into a false sense of security (and smugness)... but after the first lap of the park, I was back to the hill, and twenty minutes in with the sun beating down, I struggled up the second time, gasping for oxygen and water. I can only describe the pain in my hips that afternoon as worse than childbirth.

BUT.... I did make it around and managed my longest run to date- 39 minutes and 4 miles (well just under, but it sounds better). I'm still a little concerned that my 10k is only three weeks away and I've got to up my running time by at least half an hour but everyone keeps promising me that in race conditions it'll be easier... I'm just praying that Regent's Park is flatter than Brockwell and that it's raining.

A daunting prospect

With only three months to go until the trek, I need to get moving on my second fundraising event and am still really keen on organising a music gig in the summer. A Facebook appeal and some drunken conversations in pubs with more musically connected mates ensued, and a plan is slowly starting to emerge.

Jack, one of my friend's little brothers ( yes, I remember him in short shorts when we were all at school!), is a part time music promoter and DJ and has just generously given up an evening to give me a crash course in promoting an event, and all for the price of a beer. What a star. He's even offered to do some detective work in potential venues for me over the weekend.

So now it's a case of trying to organise acts, venues and dates, with about a two week window if I want a July event date. It's terrifying but exhilarating at the same time. If I can pull it off it could be so much fun, and be a fantastic fundraiser... on the other hand, there's still a very long way to go. So if anyone knows a good band, DJ or venue, let me know.

Training-wise, I did sign up for the Mac 10k, so I've got about 7 weeks to prepare for a really, really long run. And it started so well; two runs in the week, a three mile run at the weekend.. well that was last weekend. This weekend the planned four mile run was replaced by a leftover Easter Creme Egg and a lazy Bank Holiday lunch... oops. Must try harder.

16 week countdown... training begins!

Having always been a stubborn girl - my mum could regale you with stories of how I refused to read until my first day at school because "that's what you do there" - I have not been swayed to start my training early by the multitudes of friends who have suggested a little preparation might be a good idea.

Instead I have stuck rigidly to my determined view that the training manual starts on 1st April, so that's when I will start training. And I'm pleased to report that I did start - on the dot, on Wednesday 1st April, adding a 2 mile run homeward to my daily standard of a 2 mile walk (read leisurely stroll usually chatting on the phone) in the morning.

I followed this up with a boxercise class the next day, and yes, whilst my determination to run home again tonight may have been brushed aside swiftly by the offer of some after work drinks with friends, I have promised myself that I'll make up for it this weekend, with another workout, a run and a good brisk walk through London's many sights.

16 weeks is not long a very long time and the fear of mountainous regions, and the fact that as one of the younger members of the team I really should be skipping over those fjords, terrifies the bejeesus out of me. It's time to get physical.

And remember you're still not too late to sponsor me in my quest. The idea of me sweating and puffing up those rolling hills should at least be worth something right? Go on... the buttons just over there on the right. A massive thank you to everyone that's been so generous already, I really do appreciate every pound.

Time to get training

Or think about it anyway. Had a look at my training manual this morning and apparently by the summer I should be doing 8 hour walks every weekend in preparation... right, that'll be easy in London then. It's times like this I wish I lived in the Lake District. Looks like I'll be trekking around Richmond Park for the majority of the summer instead. Look out for me in my hiking boots!

No turning back!

After much umming and erring and worrying about how on earth I'm going to raise £2,800, I finally took the plunge and handed in my application form for Iceland. The deposit is non-refundable, so that's it, decision made and now it's going to be a terrifying few months whilst I try and raise the money. Credit crunch Britain is not going to be the easiest time to find some generous supporters, and the fact that I work for the charity rules out my company matching my contributions, but hey, it's a challenge for a reason I guess. I'll be holding some fabulous events and will certainly be spending some time shaking a tin outside the shops (be grateful if you don't live in London as you won't be pestered by me), so keep an eye on this blog to see how it's all getting on.

I also found out that the trek is 100km... up and down mountains... best get training then.

And so it begins....

After my first three months at Macmillan Cancer Support, I was struck by a sudden urge to get off my butt and start doing something good. Blame it on a need to get that warm, fuzzy feeling, a guilty conscience or just an urge to spend a holiday in a more productive way than swanning around a European city (if only), I decided the time had come to set myself a challenge.

Challenge events are part of the culture at Macmillan. In a place where getting involved is part of the mantra, there is no better way to do this than by plunging head first into one of their rugged, challenge events. Although the choices are multiple, I found it fairly easy to narrow it down - cycling the Great Wall of China would be amazing, but lets face it, for a girl who breaks into a sweat just thinking about climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift, it was unlikely. I'd already mastered the Inca Trail a few years ago and a marathon is a dim and distant dream. So, Iceland it was... the latest event offered by Macmillan.  

So come August 2009 I'll be spending 6 days trekking over hills and valleys, camping outside and living without life's little luxuries to raise money for people affected by cancer. The target's 

3000 pounds, and I'll be hosting events, saving my pennies and asking my most favourite people in the world for sponsorship to raise that money. This blog will record how my fundraising and planning goes over the next 10 months, how I fare on the trip itself, as well as keeping you posted on the events you can come along to to support me.

1 in three of us will have cancer. Cancer affects us all, and we can all do something to help.

If you're feeling wonderfully kind and generous this close to Christmas, you can sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/jenthorley .... pretty pretty please.