In the pic on the left you can see Pen-Y-Fan 886m on the left, with Corn Dhu to the right. I took this on Thursday 25th Jan 2007 after Derrick and I had clambered to the top from the north side. Yes, that means we have been training again. No matter what you do in the gym it will not replicate getting out in the cold and scurrying up a mountain. Apart from that it was a gorgeous day and too much of an opportunity too miss.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Tuesday saw Mr V and myself off down to Cancer Research Wales HQ which is based in Velindre Hospital, Cardiff Wales. Met by Maggie and Coleen who are two nice, more mature ladies with quick smiles and even quicker minds which flash with ideas almost constantly. They were charting our progress and, as ever, being constructive on where we should be applying our efforts on the fund raising front. Whilst there I also spoke to their media experts who have compiled a press release for us which should hopefully be out by now. GWR trains have chipped in our fares to London for the first part of the journey. We are hoping to travel by overnight train from Paris so we can start first thing on the 21st July 2007.

My wife, Jackie , has stuck her oar in regarding my training with the idea that I should run in the Chedworth 10 mile cross country run at the beginning of April. This means she has put me on a 10 week training programme with three runs a week. I'll let you look at the first week, no laughing now.

Tempo run 4.8km 27 minutes
Speed session 4x400metres @ 12km/h 1min recovery plus warm up/down
X country 5.5 miles 52 minutes

By now you will probably realise that I need the training, but at a sprightly 16.5 stones of weight I'm happy with the first weeks run, even if Jackie pooh poohs it.

Back to the mountains. When we got out of the car it was -2 degrees! Slipping on our boots I decided against the fleece as I know from experience that being a large chappy I do tend to heat up a bit. Sweat buckets if you want to put it that way. There has been a huge amount of rain in the area lately and the surface water had frozen on the lower lopes which hardly ever see the sun. This meant that Derricks stick like legs were quite often thrashing about with him going nowhere, a bit like Bambi on ice. After a couple of 100 metres we hit the snow line and a stiff breeze was with us. Stopping meant freezing, so we continued ever upwards without another soul in sight. A bit of sun and we all feel better, and this was certainly true last week. Short of the summit the ridge becomes quite steep and is usually a bit of a clamber. Today though we were enveloped in a bit of cloud and everything was covered in snow, the slippery kind! A bit of huffing and puffing and we were there, for a very short snack, Derrick thinks I've gone a bit soft, trading my usual meat pastie for dried fruit and nuts, a quick pic and then onto Corn Dhu. Like I said, the weather was great but if we stopped any longer then my ass would become welded to the rocks I was sitting on due to the cold. In fact, it was cold enough to freeze the water in Derrick's drinking tube!

So a tough week on the training front and this week will be no different. This weekend we are off with Mr V and Derrick's yougest lad to the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales for two days walking. Staying in an old farmhouse at Dolgoch which is owned by the Youth Hostel Association. Youth! Between the four of us the average age will be 40 and Derrick's boy is 17 to help pull the average down a little! On top of this I will still be running and still popping into St Pierre gym for some weight training. Oh, and I'll have to go to work sometime this week as well. Enjoy the pics.

Mr "V"

We have to introduce another villager who is heavily involved in the preparatory work. He is our very good friend (well we tell him he is!) the one and only Mr “V”. Ian Venables, one of life’s characters, who always brings a spark to a party. Due to the fact that he has the biggest heart in the world, where his mates are concerned, he wishes to keep track of our progress and well being, during the leisurely jaunt we are going to embark. To be fair bless him, it’s not a bad idea is it? So onboard he is, being referred to as the “mission controller” as well as other things.
Ian has played a major part in our liaison with Cancer Research Wales & chairs our expedition / planning meetings. Being very officious organised and meticulous he is just the chap to keep us in tow.
He has accompanied us on many of our wanders over Dartmoor, Cambrian Mountains, Brecon Beacons, and Wye Valley etc. etc. Just thinking of some of the antics whilst being in his company brings a smile to my face. One being sleeping in a barn on Dartmoor at minus seven, Stewart, my son Scott and myself being “snug as a bug in a rug” sweating our socks off, in our comfy, warm sleeping bags, Ian was freezing his reproductive bits off in his “Thomas the Tank” sleeping bag, official comfort rating plus 5 ours being down to minus 10.
The idea is that Ian will be our main contact whilst we are away, he will be keeping track of our progress, as we relay co-ordinates home. In our absence he will continue to promote our objective for Cancer Research Wales.

Stuff Your Turkey!!

Ok, that's the last time I will use a hackneyed Christmas title I promise. Between Christmas and New Year, Derrick and myself decided to blow a few cobwebs out by popping up to the Brecon Beacons for a bit of a jaunt.We set out in the dark from sleepy Caerwent with Bob, our personal trainer who just happens to be Derrick's collie dog (see pic). We were one of the first to arrive at the storey Arms, we new it was early, not even the burger bar was open. The weather was, just as we expected, with the mist down and the rain pouring, just perfect.

Off we went, up towards the summit of Corn Dhu, coughing and spluttering as I went, still haven't managed to shake off a bit of flu, and feeling as week as a kitten. The weather was surprisingly cold and soon and I could feel my fingers being nipped. The soil erosion on this part of the Brecon beacons is particularly bad, and most of it is now to some extent paved, making a lot of it a bit of a "towny" walk. My new boots soon a bit of mud on them and I felt better that I had managed to prise them out of the box that morning and finally use them. With one peak out of the way and only half of my supply of turkey sandwiches gone we descended by a different route (just in case of ambush) and were met along the way by various groups and individuals making the climb upwards. A lot of new clothing seemed to abound on the walkers, Christmas no doubt, and I couldn't help wondering if this might be the only outing some of it might get, best intentions towards the New Year and all that. The garish coloured fleeces were most likely to be used between the car and the supermarket for the rest of their lives.

Fan Fawr then, across the road and away from the madding crowd. Just a few sheep and for a few seconds, sunshine. Derrick decided we should pop a "bit of a slope" which had me expelling phlegm from my lungs every 50m in lumps as big as bars of soap. Bob meanwhile was employed as a kind of drag lift for Derrick, worth his weight in dog food, however he is apparently unavailable for our trip to the Pyrenees due to a previously arranged appointment.

On the way down, Derrick did balk at the idea of going down a section he did say was too steep and dangerous for him and Bob, although Bob's opinion was not asked that I remember. It was then I had to inform him that it was the way he had made me come up!

So, two small hills and a jolly day out, thanks to the couple who took our pic for us, and I'm sure you will be glad to know, my boots look as though they will be a good fit.