Web Site

Our web site is almost ready now and should go online by this coming weekend , all the info and itinery will be on the site and it will be updated weekly. I hope that donators and participants of the walk find it useful as its taken ages to do..I am feeling a bit flat this week I think its because I am just sitting about waiting for coach operators etc to get back to me. Im going to work from home instead of going to the office dont ask me why.

Andy McMenemy

Just a quick on to say many congratulations to Andy who today has completed his 66th marathon in 66 days he has raised a lot of money for ABF The Soldier's Charity and it is also his 50th birthday today. Thank you Andy from all of us your a star

So Busy

I have been too busy to update so sorry about that. Preparations are forging ahead for the walk. Most of the stuff from the Army has now been secured for us thanks to the ladies in Germany. Hopefully our publicist Debs will get the machine turning very soon as we need more sponsors especially for coaches and fuel. Info packs will be going out to all walkers in the next 10 days or so we are still putting them together.
Anyway nearly the weekend and i have got a sore arm (stitches) so I wont be blogging again till next week when we here in Cornwall will be going to Lands End to welcome some guys from the Royal Signals who are cycling from John o Groats to raise money for several military charities including ABF The Soldiers' Charity.
Have a great weekend.

Wicked Wednesday

Oh yes and what a wednesday it has been just nothing but good news and positivity all day long. Everything is coming together like a dream. But Iv got toothache like you wouldnt believe. I spend so much time at the dentist I reckon his wife thinks Im his girlfriend I am always there. Tomorrow its a well deserved day off from blogging and planning and thinking. Im off to let sexy Dr Matt cut a lump out of my arm Hmm dont you wish you could be me for a day? toothache and getting bits cut off me. Haha never mind will be back on friday maybe with exciting news for all you Wenches in Trenches.

Happy Tuesday

Well things are certainly moving on at a pace again, we are being tweeted by loads of people (famous people) we will have a small website up and running this week www.wenchesintrenches.co.uk were we will keep you all updated if I have said all this before then forgive me Im tired and am off to read my new Peter Robinson book in my nice soft bed.

New Week

I love Mondays I always have lots to do at the office and Jeannette and i need to catch up on the gossip from the weekend. So 9am sees me in the coop buying our pain du chocolat for breakfast and our three bean soup for lunch (we need to keep regular). It takes us about an hour to have our brekkie and chat . Today was no different except we put the maps up on the wall. Now when I sit at the desk I see our walk before my eyes. This monday was a day of meetings and many many phone calls. It feels like the walk is kicking in now as our website address was bought and the designer started on it.
Roll on Tuesday more of the same

Day of Rest

At last I stayed in bed till 8am it was heaven then I had tiger bread with loads of Philly on it. I love Sunday so much. I went for lunch with Justine, mikey and Gary it was amazing Italian style lamb, lemon potatoes and a spicy veggy thing then apple pie and clotted cream for pudding. I think I deserved it after the busy week I had last week.
Anyway new week new challenges no doubt. Bring it on thats what Monday is all about.

Saturday was going to be a day off

Mmmm Saturday stay in bed then off to Penzance for a lovely lunch with my friend Justine who has just returned from India. I thought this will be relaxing not a thought of France or wenches in my head. Our friend Moira joined us and half way through our risotto with wild mushrooms and peppers a voice said "tell me about this walk then in France maybe I can raise some money for you" damn and blast I cant resist can I. Risotto forgotten I launch into the tried and tested patter and before my lunch has time to go cold I have a ladies night booked in a local pub and a big curry booked all in the same pub.
Maybe this is a natural way to lose weight if I get interupted I eat less yes it sounds like a plan to me.

Gwithian Beach Today

What a great Friday today was we all met at Gwithian beach Hayle as usual, there was no surf to speak of and it was spitting with rain so the Sunset cafe looked very inviting. I listened a lot while eating and drinking (chocolate) we had a wonderful mix of people there at this weeks beach clinic. I took along a retired colonel who doesnt know what to do with himself now he has no men to command and he cant boss the women about in his life so I thought "ah beach for you Rodders old boy" and a chiropodist who also works in mental health my pal Alex. They both appeared to enjoy being with our motley collection of broken soldiers and stray people who rock up each week. Big Freddie was looking rather glam he was all shiny looking without his walruss moustache.. Russ Pierre and Rich Emerson confirmed that they are definately coming to France to make our film for us so it was worth going just to hear that. I love fridays I watch people being slowly put back together by very energetic guys whose main qualification is that THEY CARE.
Surf Action is a wonderful charity they are small but very very good. I know I keep banging on about them but its my blog and I can so there. Well done dudes another fabulous Friday under your belts.


The pictures were not taken today but a few weeks ago they are of a team building exercise and much merriment.

What we do at ABF on fridays

Down here in darkest Cornwall we do something completely different on Fridays. We go to Gwithian beach with another charity called surf action.

.Surf action helps ex soldiers and serving soldiers who have PTSD or have been injured in combat, it is wonderful to see big able bodied men carrying lads who have lost legs etc into the surf they have such a fab time. This little charity is so close to my heart a they do so much good and pick up a lot of the slack left by others. 2 members of Surf Action will be coming to France with us to photgraph and film our event and also to walk for their own charity splitting the proceeds with ABF I believe that we should all help each other. Take a look at the video and make your own mind up
   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=685qaQR7dCI

Excited

Everyone is getting revved up for fundraising its only 20 weeks till we go to France. I have just spoken to Claire Smith  who is coordinating the Merseyside girls she has a meeting tomorrow with her fundraisers. Lynn Hyett from Portsmouth is the organised one of the lot of us her head is buzzing with ideas. Sharon Burton in Germany is a wonder child she has just organised the whole German contingent.I just dont sleep I lie in bed and think myself round in circles.

But when I think about what and who we spend the money on its all worthwhile. Claires fiancee Andy Reid was injusred in Afghanistan and is a triple amputee we helped Andy and Claire to live in their house by paying for the doors and floors to be modified to meet Andy's needs.What better way to spend your money. We owe our armed forces a huge debt of gratitude and if the way we can repay it is by helping when they need it then its all worth our while going that extra mile to help them.

More pics of the Somme walk

A few more pics so that the girls have a good idea of what kind of terrain to expect in France

some pictures of where we will be walking

Here are some pics of where we will be doing our walk, we decided that we will lay a few wreaths and poppy crosses in the military cemeteries that we pass on the way, thus remembering the old whilst helping the young men of today.

Miss Cookie Monstar

Miss Cookie Monstar is a well known British drag artiste and is the new forces sweetheart. Cookie will be joining us on our walk.
http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1F4dc172b709bc7012.cde

I dont seem to think of anything else at the moment

The idea took off big time everyone I mentioned wenches to seemed to grab it. Eventually I had around 100 ladies keen to take part. Let the logistic nightmare begin. Its a hell of a difference arranging for 3 people to go to France rather than 100. The phone lines are at smoking point between here and portsmouth. I drove to Portsmouth for a meeting with my colleague Lynn Hyett and Ben Bentley from ABF. We sorted a lot of stuff out ironed creases out etc. I drove back to cornwall more determined than ever that wenches in trenches was going to go ahead. I send a small description of what we intended doing to our head office in London and it was duly posted on our website. WOW within half a day I had around 50 emails from ladies all over Europe. One of these ladies was Sharon whose husband is stationed at Fallingbostel. She is a dream come true she has fabulous contacts and has totally arranged the German end of this walk (many ladies travelling from Germany to France) along with a field kitchen and army tents.
I get really stressed out and cant sleep more than 3 or 4 hours right now but I am learning to delegate more and Im sure it will level out.

Plotting and Planning

when I spoke to some of my colleagues about the walk we first thought maybe 10 ladies might put themselves forward to raise a bit of money for the charity.I spoke to our Director of  Fundraising here in the South West Colonel Alan Gorcyzska and he thought it a splendid idea. I decided a trip over to France for a quick recce was in order so we set out to have a look at it all. I had just got a brand new car the week before and it needed testing on a nice long run. We drove to Dover from Cornwall about 400 and odd miles crossed by Sea France and drove down to Mailly maillet on the Somme. I had booked us into a B&B via the internet and what a fab place it was Christine the owner spoke wonderful English and was just so accommodating to us. We spent 3 days just driving around plotting the walk and seeing old contacts of mine. The weather was great and we spent a fair bit of time wandering around the cemeteries in the sun making sure that the tommies lying there for 90 years knew that we were there and that we were bringing more to see them in the Autumn. I told Jeannette this is going to be a bugger to plan and it will either work or it wont. Typical Jan said "whatever"
Mmm I though "well in for a penny in for thousands of pounds not just one" yes lets do it.

How it was born

I have always been interested in world war one indeed I studied it as a young girl and visited  the war graves and battlefields many times over the years. Three years ago myself and 2 friends walked the old British front line of 1st July 1916, we got sponsors and raised about £2,000 for the British Legion Poppy Appeal. This year I joined ABF The Soldiers Charity after working for another charity for 3 years. When I saw just how hard people work for ABF I put my thinking cap on and set about wondering how I could raise a lot of money for this worthwhile charity.
I run the ABF Penzance office and have a small fundraising committee who meet once a month and have brainstorming sessions(tea and biscuits) after we had done the usual run of supermarket days and coffee mornings I remembered the walk I had done 3 years ago. I discussed the possiblity of doing it again but on a slightly larger scale. Little did I realise just how many ladies would want to be a "Wench in a Trench"