Escape to the country.....well almost....

This post definitely falls under the 'stuff' category, rather than fundraising.... a little insight into life away from the laptop ;-)

In a previous life, a long time ago now, I was a proper computer geek, and did programming for a living.  I had quite a cushy job as a contractor....great pay, flexible hours and what's more is that when I had my first child they gave me a fabulous part-time contract with a laptop to work from home if I needed to, and life was good!  I really had the best of both worlds.....

Years later I'm now a full-time mum to 3 kids and part of me yearns to have that balance back.  I think people assume being at home with the kids all the time is easy, but actually it can be frustrating, lonely and at times pretty soul-destroying.....which is why I got involved in the fundraising I do, I'd have gone over the edge long ago without that focus!!

Anyway, all that is just at intro really to my recently re-discovered love of being outdoors and having some me-time.  Where I live is fairly towny, full of mums in people carriers, skip lorries and all the other things that can drive you crazy.... but a car journey of less than 10 minutes and pooch and I can be in a place which seems a milion miles away :-)

I either enjoy a long walk along the Thames tow-path or head to the local woods which has it all - hills, open space and a river....and even if I escape just once or twice a week, it's great to have a long walk and clear my head, ready for the afternoon school run and demanding kids!

Anyway, back to fundraising stories next time ;-)

Nancy xx

The Year Ahead.....

As you probably already know, I spend most of my free time raising money for Cancer Research UK.... whether it's organising fundraising events, or tweeting, fundraising is always foremost in my mind whatever I'm doing.  My very first blog post goes into the history of why I started and why I continue, so I won't go into all that again....suffice to say it's a cause very close to my heart.

In 2010, our committee raised over £25 000 for the charity, and on a personal level I took part in Shine (CR UK's first night time walking marathon) and 2 Race for Life events, raising just over £1 000 :-)

The Race for Life is one of my loves in life....I love everything about it: the hype when advertising starts, signing up, encouraging others to take part, and of course, being there on the day.  There are people who criticise the Race for Life, and the fact that it's a women's only event - personally, I wouldn't want it any other way.  There's nothing us girls love more than some girly time, being able to have fun, be a bit silly and have a natter - and all for a great cause!!

As much as I love the event, I am finding traditional fundraising (ie begging friends and family to sponsor me!) increasingly difficult.....so this year I decided to change my challenge slightly! 

I have found 3 lovely ladies (and am on the lookout for 2 more!!), who want to take part in Race for Life this year for the very first time (I won't name and shame them just yet!) - I will take part in a Race for Life event for each of these lovely ladies, in some cases, we can take part together where geography allows, where it doesn't, I'll do an additional event local to me, on or around the same date as theirs. I will still try to raise some money for my RFL events, but am hoping that I can make up for possible lack of funds, firstly by encouraging my lovely ladies in their own fundraising and training and secondly by tweeting and blogging about the 5 events and helping to raise awareness of Race for Life in general.

I will also be taking part in Shine again, this time in London - this takes part at the beginning of October, so watch this space :-)

For more information on the Race for Life series of events, please visit http://www.raceforlife.org/ - registration will be opening soon!  For more information on Shine events in London, Manchester and Glasgow, see here http://shine.cancerresearchuk.org/

Thanks for reading.....Together we will beat cancer....

Nancy x