Today has been a most wonderful day full of the most delightful news.
It started on a 2.23 mile walk around the cricket pitch and then around the wood of Doune climbing 68.24 feet in the beautiful crisp winter morning. The frost lay heavy on the rock hard ground. The frost twinkled on the branches of the bushes round about. My breath hung heavily in the vapour made dazzlingly bright in the light of my head torch. The stars still shining bright with the moon in the pre-dawn sky and the leaves crunching under-foot and the river Teith babbling along beside me, it truly was a beautiful morning as the golden dawn slowly started to puncture the night horizon.
Back home though there was no time for Upper Body training. Just a quick breakfast and then off to meet the children at the doctors. With the sun shining bright it was as if all were healed as they walked into the surgery. All were smiling and happy. Bob Peden came in and we giggled about the inappropriateness of the automatic question when greeting somebody you know. ‘How are you?’ A question that is not perhaps the best question in the doctor’s surgery but for today I was fine. In fact better than that. I was great and so were Heather and James they were both fine too, so just to be sure we had to go and warm up with a hot chocolate and a Mocha in the Buttercup Café. They had run out of Almond milk so rather than settling for an unsettling dairy version they gave me a fiver to nip to the village store to get some Almond milk! A wonderful idea that ensured a lactose free Mocha for Heather and I. James was just happy with the marshmallows and chocolate stars on top of the hot chocolate!
Next on the agenda was the meeting of the Beat The Beast Challenge Unincorporated Charitable Association. Quite a mouthful but this wonderful Board of four including me with the articles of association and the constitution, all of which I wrote with the banks help 6 months into Chemotherapy is what has enabled Kingdom Bank to provide tax free banking for the challenge. The meeting went through the normal business of agreeing the minutes of the last quarterly meeting and then we hit the wonderful news. You have all helped me raise a further £1060 this quarter meaning that I was paying £212 to each of my five charities. Great news indeed but the best bit is that I have now broken the £10,000 barrier with £10,323 raised so far on the challenge. Remembering that with the wonderful Webb and Wallace accountants providing free accountancy, Kingdom Bank providing free banking and Gordon of Key Square and Martin of MH Solutions jointly producing the website there are no costs. So I have been able to pay £2,064 to each of the 5 charities since the challenge has started. Not a single penny has been lost to costs. So a huge thank you to you all who have sponsored me. It is a wonderful milestone to be passing. But we could do so much better for these 5 incredible charities. With 740 committed followers of the challenge. If each and every one of you was to give me 10 minutes of your time to complete a standing order and sponsor me for as little as £1.00 per month I would have been able to raise as a minimum £2,220 this quarter which would have seen £444 go to each of the 5 charities. So if you are not yet sponsoring me please, please, consider doing so. Together, we really can make a difference to the lives and life chances of so many more people. The details on how to sponsor me are at the bottom of this post.
Then it was time for a run. James was joining me so off we went into the bright sunshine to run the 2.08 miles around the Wood of Doune and up the 138.12 feet climbed back up to the village. Apart from my superman impression as I tripped on a branch it was an uneventful run that saw James do really well to get around in a respectable 20 minutes. We were then up to the flat, some tunes on, roll mat out, dumbbells out, pull up bar up, chair positioned for dips and shoulder presses, we were then ready for another Upper Body Session. James really surprised me on this session. While I taught him the correct body positions for each of the exercises he had clearly been working out in his own time as he could now do the press-ups and the sit-ups unaided. I was mightily impressed as we went through my circuit with light weights on 11 reps per exercise. So we both did 33 press ups or equivalent, 88 sit ups or equivalent and then moved 5 kgs over 66 metres or 660kgs over a metre. Fabulous. Then a quick bath and change before lunch of poached egg on wholemeal seeded toast with a spinach, rocket and watercress salad followed by a plate of ra tenderstem broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red grapes and brazil nuts complemented by some really good chatter.
Next I took a massive box of postcards down to the information and heritage centre, made by the wonderful Alison who had donated the postcards to the challenge, so that all proceeds from the sale of the cards may go to the challenge. A wonderful donation Alison thank you and great cards.
Next on the agenda was cooking an early tea. The children had dental appointments this evening so I needed to feed them first. Bangkok Style Pad Thai was on the menu this evening. With rice noodles, tofu, onion, garlic, prawns, an egg, roasted peanuts, beansprouts and finely chopped radish and spring onions it was again a nutritional powerhouse. Then I made the Pad Thai sauce with tamarind paste, soft brown sugar, fish sauce and chilli powder which smelled slightly dubious but warmed up and cooked into the noodles and prawns as a stir fry turned out to be delicious. The children gave it a thumbs up except for one thing. I put a little too much white pepper in so it had quite a kick but the wonderful flavours of the stir fry could still be tasted behind the pepper so with a thumbs up received it will be served again but with a little less pepper!
Children off to the dentist, washing up done and kitchen tidied up it was time for my evening exercise. 0.93 miles around the old Roman Fort climbing 84.32 feet on the loop before arriving at the flat for another upper body session of 33 press ups, 88 sit ups and 5 kgs moved over 66 metres or 660kgs moved over a metre.
Final order of the day was evening prayer and organ practice in which my brain and my fingers communicated beautifully. I actually played quite well!
So with 5.24 miles walked climbing 406.5 feet followed by 66 press ups, 176 sit ups, 5 kgs moved over 132 metres or 1320 kgs moved over a metre, over £10,000 raised, and the promise of some more to be raised shortly while spending more quality time with the children it has been another wonderful day of beast beating.
Days of challenge activity completed: 178
Total Miles Cycled: 953.11
Total Miles Walked: 981.61
Total Miles Run: 184.74
Total Miles Paddled: 7
Total Distance Cycled, Skied, Run and Rowed in the gym: 57.53 miles
Total Distance Swum: 5,020 metres
Total Miles covered under own steam.2,187.19
Total Height Gained under own steam: 91,685.36 feet
Mountains Climbed: 8
Hills Climbed: 33
Days of Voluntary Activity: 11.5
Organ tunes learnt and performed: 5
Salmon Caught: 0!
Bats Found:4!
Curling Matches played in: 8
Curling stones placed on the button (the centre of the target): 3
Weight Training Sessions: 16
Weight shifted: 10kgs lifted over 1086 metres or 17,760kgs moved over ½ a metre,
Aerobic Circuit Sessions: 9
Press Ups: 1090
Pull Ups: 57
Sit Ups: 1995
People Met and Hands Shaken: 595
Pots of tea shared: 37
Prayers joined on the top of a hill: 3
Prayers joined in the street!: 4
Prayers joined in a Train Station: 1
Prayers joined in a Café: 2
Pills popped: 1244
Days until Driving Licence (lost to epilepsy) possibly Returned: 720
And most importantly – Money Raised as at Week 64 – £10,323
Considering I started this challenge 15 months ago very quietly with no target beyond a fiver, thanks to the brilliant advice from a friend of mine, I am absolutely thrilled and again thank you all. That is £57.99 for each and every day that I have managed to find the will and energy to take on an activity designed to help me Beat the Beast and my goodness it has been worth it for my peace of mind, for my healing and for the five wonderful charities you are supporting through your generosity. Long may it continue. May I also ask again however that if you are not sponsoring me to please consider it for as much or as little as you can afford.
Thank you all for your incredible comments and support. Please continue to spread the word.
If you see me around do please give a cheery hello and shake my hand or give me a cheery wave to show your support and encourage me on.
Thank you
Yours aye
Archie
Thank you for joining me on my own personal journey and encouraging me to walk, cycle, climb, paddle, sport and do good deeds each day to ‘Beat the Beast’ while helping to improve the lives and life chances of so many more people through sponsorship. The Five Charities that I have selected to support are:
- Cancer Research UK – My Father Succumbed to Lung Cancer; a couple of friends are currently fighting cancer and I am fighting a brain tumour. Let’s Help to Beat Cancer Sooner.
- The Prince’s Trust – Inspiring and preparing disadvantaged Young Lives for success.
- British Red Cross – helping those in need around the UK and the world whoever and wherever they are.
- World Wide Fund for Nature – For a Living Planet and a Future Where People and Nature Thrive.
- Help for Heroes – Support for our Wounded and their Families. To learn more about my story that brought me to this point, how I plan to ‘Beat the Beast’, what activities I plan to do within the challenge and why, please see my welcome video on this page.
How to Sponsor Me
The Beat the Beast Challenge is self funding through my own contribution while keeping costs to a minimum with voluntary support and corporate sponsorship in kind. Therefore the entirety of every penny donated will go directly to the 5 charities listed above.
Please sponsor me by completing a standing order form either through your own personal internet banking or by completing a hard copy standing order form in your branch of your bank and then handing it in to the teller.
It is entirely up to you how much you would like to and are able to sponsor me for so do please give as much or as little as you can. Every penny will be very gratefully received.
While I hope you will encourage me to keep going by sponsoring me for every day I survive and am able to find the cognitive and physical capability to complete a day’s task designed to improve my chances of ‘Beating the Beast’ or improving the lives of others, 5 days a week, four weeks a month, for as long as ever I can. Any One off Cash contributions will be most gratefully received and distributed in exactly the same manner to the five charities as the sponsorship. Any one off donations can be made by BACS or cheque.
Thank you for having enough faith in me to sponsor me.
Yours aye
Archie