Extreme Knitting Redhead: A Quick Catch-up

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

A Quick Catch-up

I am sooooooo excited I can hardly wait for tomorrow to share something very exciting here. However, today I am still sworn to secrecy and so I'll do a quick update of 2 events.

The Tractor Run

What's a 'Tractor Run'? I hear you cry. It's an event organised by our favourite tree surgeon Chris to raise money for a local hospice in Hastings.

We accidentally caught part of it last year as Mike and I were heading off for a walk when a stream of tractors trundled past us so this year we went to the start to watch them set off.

Now Chris has done lots of tree/hedge/clearing work for us in the past, seen here dangling high up in an oak tree but we didn't know beforehand that he had organised this event - good man!

We walked down to Bodiam about 45 minutes before the start and I waved excitedly to all the tractors going past us on the main road.

The first person I spotted was Katie with 2 of her little ones and doggie.

Then we had a quick chat with Chris before having a wander around to look at all the various shapes and sizes of vehicles. There seemed to be many more than last year and after a while they started to look the same so we headed off for coffee and cake.

Then everyone started to load up and get into line ready for the off:

Katie made some last minute adjustments before loading the trailer with children and dogs:

Are you bored yet? Are you even still reading?!!!

OK, I'll spare you the rest. The next photos are all taken en-route courtesy of Katie:

When they reached their destination they stopped for lunch before retracing their route back. Thankfully the weather was kind.

I've just heard from Chris that they raised more than double the amount from last year with a whopping £1000.52 for the hospice. Well done everyone!

Another Marathon

No, not the London marathon this year although it was on the same day. It was an event organised by Traviss and Rachel who called it the Rejects Marathon, for anyone who didn't get a place in the London marathon! I was keen to be there as Rachael was celebrating her 100th marathon and the dress code was tutus and tiaras.

The tutu I had already and I improvised with the tiara by sticking some of my purple tinsel on my cap:

It was fun watching people arriving in a variety of costumes.

Traviss made his usual announcements and Rachel presented the other Rachael (different spelling!) with her special number which we'd all signed.

It was hot and the concrete along the seawall reflected the heat and made it feel even hotter. I just got my head down and started to grind out the miles. There was plenty of banter amongst everyone which helped pass the time and Rachael's little group kept stopping to pose for photos:

I did toy with the idea of going ultra and doing 50k but by the last lap all I wanted to do was head home for a bath and a glass of something sparkly so I did a brisk walk for the last lap, whilst taking a few photos, and headed for home.

Phew, that was a scorcher and I was delighted to finish in 5:28 which I believe is a course record for me. Goodness knows how as I felt quite sluggish in the heat!

Love this medal!

Apologies for the lack of words in this post but I'm too excited and I can't wait for tomorrow to come so I can share the exciting news with you.

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.