Sending the Princess of Purple to Peru

Success

2007-10-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

We (the 50 or so strong team of charity trekkers) reached heights of 4490m and although several people didn’t make it all the way – with one ending up in hospital – and despite the fact we encountered many other ups and downs with the weather and our energy levels throughout, I am thrilled to report our success. And what a success it was: just over 50 people raised a whopping £150,000 for a range of charities and as I write this, I am well on my way to making my own £8,000 target.
(Here is a picture of the group of girls I met on the trip and couldn’t have managed without. Left to Right: Alex, Emily, Me, Zoe, Clem and Fran)

To thank you for your generous support, I have compiled this short report of a Princess’ quest to conquer Peru (in pink rather than purple because purple hiking gear is incredibly hard to get hold of, mind you, pink isn’t that easy either!).

We arrived in Cusco after 3 flights and instantly felt the altitude. We were taken to our hotel by bus and told to drink lots of cocoa tea and walk very slowly to gently acclimatise. Eager to look around, after 2 cups of coca tea a few of us who had bonded on the flights headed up-hill to the main square where we took lots of pictures (including the one below, which was the last shot of any of us with clean hair) and settled down for a delightful afternoon of people-watching with a pot of yet more coca tea in one of the balconied cafes overlooking Cusco town.
Although later dinner of guinea pig didn’t go down too well…
The first day of hiking, which was deliberately gentle to allow us more time to acclimatise, took us through several local treasures including an Inca spring at Tambo Machay, and a site known as Sacsayhuaman (practically pronounced Sexy Woman, much to our school-girl/boy amusement). The Incas built Cusco in the shape of a Puma and Sacsayhuaman; its jagged rocks are believed to have represented the teeth. We were unable to clamber throughout the Puma’s dental-work, however, due to the Inti Raymi festival, which marks the coming of age of local teen boys. After this, the hiking started in earnest and we soon discovered that it was important to take things slow and steady and to drink lots and lots of water. Of course the water drinking had the upsetting side effect of making one need the loo ALL THE TIME, which meant ducking behind the nearest rock or llama pen and being as quick as you could so that the rest of the group didn’t catch up too quickly (I wont even go into the embarrassment of when half the group thought I’d stopped to take a picture!). You’ll be thankful I have no pictures of such activities, but I do have a shot of us en-route to the Ipsayccocha Pass. However we encountered a range of problems which made finding private places to pee pale into insignificance. For one thing, as we made our way up a sharp incline to reach a peak of 4590m, it started first to hail pea-sized rocks on us an a 45° angle and then to snow:
Then of course, as I assumed it might, my poor nose gave in:
And until I discovered I couldn’t get warm enough to sleep in temperatures of below freezing I was thrilled at the idea of staying in tents:
To be clear, I would like to point out that this trek did not involve walking the so-called Inca Trail. This is because the company organising the trip are pioneering new routes, well, I call them new, but in fact they too are Inca trails. Peru is utterly covered with trails built by the Incas and Machu Picchu itself is entered by not one, as many tourism companies would have you believe, but eight. Although The Inca Trail is somewhat greener than the countryside we traversed, it is lacking in one element which really made this trip for me: Peruvians! The Lares route is still inhabited by Amerindians who live in an entirely Inca way (using such rules as don’t lie, don’t steal and don’t be lazy). They still farm the terraces the Incas built to manage the land and live in tiny stone cottages which sleep entire families of up to eight or so on llama skins on the floor. We visited one such house, which will remain etched in my mind – perhaps never more so than when I snuggle up on my huge red leather sofas and watch the TV.
But my most indelible image of Peru will be the young children of such families who appeared to be sprinkled haphazardly across the mountain sides, watching serenely as we walked and waiting, presumably, for a relative to return from their work and gather them up in their blanket and carry them home on their backs for tea.
Soon I arrived safe, sound and smelly at Machupicchu (note the fact it is actually one word and is pronounced Machoopickchoo). Although we had been fed amazingly well all along the way, few of us had had even one decent night’s sleep, so the joy of making it to the amazing mountain top was marred just slightly by exhaustion (and an increasing desire to find soap and water and scrub ourselves raw).

There is really nothing I can say that would do Machupicchu justice so I wont try; photos really don’t capture it either. If you’ll excuse the Hippy-ness of this: there is an energy there that, whether the result of over-excited trekkers all assembling in one place after an arduous pilgrimage, or of the location (between three other sacred mountains) in the clouds, or of the worth it was imbued with by the Incas themselves, is definitely palpable.

That evening we went to the hot springs at Aguas Calientes and drank the odd Pisco Sour as we soaked our aching limbs and the next night (after a long train and bus journey back to Cusco) I found my make-up bag (and a new magenta scarf) just in time for the celebration dinner!
(My only let-down was not winning the award for being the most glamorous and still maintain that a tiara and pair of sequinned socks are worth a lot more in the fashion stakes than Ugg boots and lipstick ;-) but I enjoyed my hiking success nonetheless. In fact I’m happy to report that I really can’t wait to get my hiking boots back on!)

By way of a small bit of respite – a change is as good as a rest and all that – a few of us then travelled on to the Rainforest at Puerto Maldonado. Our visit involved more hiking, some floating in boats, climbing into trees,
and dressing like human Jelly Babies As far as I was concerned, however, none of these were more important than sleeping!

I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart (and my stinky hiking boots) for supporting me.

There is a saying that ‘charity starts at home’, which is often misinterpreted as something to the effect of keeping your money for yourself and your loved ones. Of course what it really means is that kindness should begin with the ones closest to you, and resonate out from there. You all know that I lost my oldest friend almost a year ago in a terrible accident, and all I could imagine doing was showing her the greatest kindness I could think of and both learning from her and making a tribute to her; it was my hope that such kindness would in turn expand to encompass many others – through the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity. I am so excited to announce that I have been more than successful with my aim!

With lots and lots of love and gratitude…

Triumph!

2007-10-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

The princess returns triumphant (and not so princessy!). A short report and more pictures will follow soon....

I'm off!!!

2007-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is a very quick entry to let you know that I'm off on my trek!

It is a cliche to say that the time has gone quickly, but over the last month it has been on fast forward! There has been so much to blog about and so little time to do it! In the picture above I have one of my birthday tiaras, bought for me by my Aunty Fay, which is of course going with me, and a pair hiking socks hand-sequined by Anne, which will also accompany me. As I write this, my total for fundraising is £7,000, but there is more to come in, so fingers crossed I'll make the (new) £8,000 target.

All of this activity has of course been to raise money for the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity, but is has also been to make a fitting tribute to the most outgoing girl I ever had the pleasure of knowing: Georgie Robinson. It has taken me nearly a year, but in that time I've worked as hard as I could to remember Georgie in a special way and to keep her with me. If I could, I would tell her that I'll be thinking of her all the way - now, on my trek, and beyond...and I'd hand her a glass of wine and let her laugh at the vision of me in hiking boots instead of heels!

I promise to catch everyone up with everything when I return and thank people properly for all their kindness and support, but for now, all I need you to do is just wish me luck!

Bountiful Booty on Ebay - and more!!!

2007-08-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Piglottie has been holding fabulous yarn auctions in aid of the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity (and in support of my own fundraising efforts for the Rainbow Trust) all summer and auction winners have been lucky to snap up some real gems (someone even donated some Socks That Rock!).

Her last lot of booty is being bid on already over at the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns Forum, so be sure to check them out - there is even a Knit Picks Options set up for grabs (on second thoughts don't check that auction out, I want those)!

And now I am excited to announce that Kerrie at HipKnits has added her support by both donating yarn to Piglottie's auctions AND setting up not one, not two, but THREE HipKnits CUSTOM-DYED YARN auctions on ebay (RIGHT NOW!!!).

They are as follows:

Auction 1:
8 x 100g skeins of HipKnits aran weight 100% silk yarn, each 100g skein is approximately 180m and will be hand-painted in colours of YOUR CHOICE!!! The yarn knits to a standard aran weight gauge of around 18 stitches and 24 rows to 10cm using 4.5mm needles.

Auction 2:
2 x 100g skeins of HipKnits 4 ply (sock) weight 100% cashmere yarn, each 100g skein is approximately 458m and will be hand-painted in colours of YOUR CHOICE!!! The yarn knits to a standard sock weight gauge and can be used for any pattern calling for 4 ply/sock weight yarn. 1 skein is enough for a long pair of socks or a small shawl, 2 skeins will make a lovely big shawl.

Auction 3:
1 x 100g skein of HipKnits lace weight 100% cashmere yarn, each 100g skein is approximately 1372m and will be hand-painted in colours of YOUR CHOICE!!! This is more than enough to make a gigantic shawl.

Don't let any of these fantastic offers pass you by, and remember, its for a really good cause!

Still Going Ahead

2007-08-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

To all those who have checked, I can confirm that the trip to Peru is still going ahead, despite the recent earthquake. The Earthquake itself was further south than we are going, but the trip organisers are keeping tabs on things. The official line at the moment is:

"Following Wednesday’s earthquake in Peru’s central coast region, we would like to reassure you that this does not affect any of our trips. The worst-affected areas are south of the capital, Lima, and a long way from Cuzco and the Andes trekking region. Any impact on Lima’s services will be resolved long before our first groups fly there en-route to Cuzco next month.
Our thoughts are with those who have lost homes and loved ones following the earthquake."

I am of course extremely sad for all the people whose lives have been affected and to be perfectly honest, quite apprehensive about visiting Peru, but I am glad that we will not directly encounter any of the affected areas, I am not sure that I could handle such devastation. It isn't that I don't care, I just don't think I could cope.

Nature AND Nurture

2007-08-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

I guess some things naturally go hand-in-hand, like gin and tonic, wine and cheese, champagne and strawberries (sorry, there's a bit of a theme there...), anyway, what I have found since I started my training is that appreciating the outdoors means protecting all that is natural. I'm gradually getting greener in my ways, but I've also rediscovered my appreciation for natural and organic skin care. I used to be really good at avoiding products containing SLS/SLES, but if you shop in local supermarkets and chemists, its difficult to keep up with your good intentions. Thanks to my pal G (whom I should add I got into natural products in the first place), I've been uncovering a array of products that I can order online (often without paying any postage) and I can honestly say they've been life altering.

Among my favourites are Dr Hauschka for my face, Faith in Nature for my hair, Lavera for sun protection, Jason for shower gel and Avalon Organics for deodorant.

Why am I so in love with these products?

Well, I've had quite a few compliments on my hair since I started using Faith in Nature and unlike other SLS/SLES-free shampoos that I've tried in the past, their products really, thoroughly clean my hair but also leave it soft and shiny - shinier than any of those awful silicon-filled products like Pantene or anything else that gets endlessly advertised. Its a pet peeve of mine that so-called Herbal Essences don't appear to contain even a trace of a herb! If I was going to get all hot and bothered in the shower (over a shampoo that is), it wouldn't have anything to do with these chemical-filled nasties, but Faith in Nature can get me pretty excited!

Dr Hauschka products, which are a really treat, not only leave my skin clean and clear, but they are also extremely relaxing to use. I love getting to the end of the day and immersing myself in all manner of oils and unguents crammed with essential oils and plant extracts. At the moment I actually look forward to taking my make-up off!

The real winner for me though, the complete revelation, is the Jason Satin Wash Shower/Bath gel. I have very dry skin and occasional eczema, and have NEVER found a shower product that left my skin feeling comfortable and as a result have been addicted to the strongest body moisturisers and oils I can find. I'm always itchy after showering and can get itchier as the day goes on, sometimes even after applying loads of creams. This is why I got into soap-making last year, although soap-making requires a lot of time and effort so I prefer to reserve it for gifts and special occasions. Anyway, the Jason Satin Wash is the first product I have EVER used which doesn't leave my skin all dry and sore and in need of some serious TLC. I can just wash and go! ;-) I get really wound up when I see adverts for body washes by Dove and Imperial Leather which suggest all manner of added ingredients will leave your skin like silk or cashmere, because when you look at the list of ingredients, usually the second biggest (after water) is SLS/SLES which dries your skin out terribly. Never mind silk extract, if you've already washed in a big helping of drying SLS/SLES, if you have dry skin, nothing is going to get the moisture back. Satin Wash however leaves your skin soooooooooo much softer than any of those heavily advertised washes and, curiously, as the day goes on, my skin seems to get softer!

I can honestly say you can keep your Clinique and Clarins, dump your Dove and anything by Pantene can just push-off, there is nothing (absolutely nothing) like a bit of natural!

Frost's 15th on Foot

2007-07-30T02:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the weather held out for the Frost's 15th Anniversary Sponsored Walk, in aid of the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity and in tandem with my own efforts as the Princess of Purple.

We set off at 12.00pm from Frost's Chequer Street branch (although Mum and I had actually walked from Harpenden to get there, so that we could prove to everyone how easy the walk was). Then, as a slightly fractured group of Frost's staff, family and furry friends, we walked to the the Leyton Road branch of Frost's in Harpenden.

The picture above left shows us all ready to go (with me and my Mummy and Molly and Coco on the far left).

As a few people got distracted by the cricket being played on Harpenden common, my Dad managed to arrive first, at 1.20pm, and to ensure success sprinted the last few feet - which was very amusing to watch. And then everyone else arrived ready for champagne and to be taken for a three course celebratory lunch at the Harpenden House Hotel.

So here we all are at the Harpenden branch with our champagne. I'm drinking mine from a special hiker's wine glass that my friend Robert bought me - the thought it was the first thing I would need to get through my training, and he wasn't wrong!

So, to reiterate, Mum and I had already done the 5 mile approx walk twice, but then Mum decided to see if anyone would offer any more money for her to walk it again, and when £140 was speedily laid down on the lunch table (inlcuing £20 from the waiter), we reluctantly set off again back to St Albans.

So in this final shot we have a picture of me half way between Harpenden and St Albans collapsed under the PYO sign!

It was a really fun day though, and I look forward to everyone's sponsorship money rolling in!

Celebrations

2007-07-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

I feel terrible that it has taken me so long to write an update, but I've been sooooooooooo busy with everything that blogging just went out of the window.

At the beginning of July, G and I went to France for a week's hiking holiday. We stayed in her family's newly built pad in Brittany and despite the fact it rained and was pretty chilly most of the time, we managed to do a lot of walking and a good deal of relaxing. Over the trip I totalled about 40 miles (one 20 mile walk). The only downside was that there weren't many hills for me to practice on, so I need to get some hill action in in August sometime. Anyway, there aren't any photos because the weather put me off taking any, and it was nice to forget about recording everything for a while and to just get on with it.

As soon as I got back we had a huge family part to celebrate my 30th (which isn't until September), my Dad's 60th and my Grandpa's 90th. The evening was wonderful. I got to catch up with so many friends, family and family friends and was lucky enough to receive a massive dollop of sponsorship money and some rather special gifts (more about those soon!). We also raised money on the night by asking people to vote with their wallets on which of my parents would embarrass themselves singing Karaoke (Dad Michael Jackson's 'Bad', Mum Shaggy's 'It Wasn't Me'). Dad won by a large margin, but lucky everyone, I made them both sing! Words can't describe horror!

Here is a picture of the birthday trio...

The next day I got to count up all the donations and these, along with a fortuitously timed and extremely generous donation from my friend Jess and her Mum Kim, meant that I made my £5000 target! So its been celebrations all round!

Of course, being the over achiever that I am, I'm now looking to raise £8000, so don't think I'll be resting up now I've made the (first) target!

Dorset

2007-06-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm just back from a great training/girlie trip to Dorset with G. It was filled with hikes, hot baths, cream teas and chances to watch Big Brother without being told off by our boys! - Heaven!

On the first day we did a 12 mile walk split into two halves with a large Sunday roast, pudding, lager shandy's and Pimms in the middle. It was a really hot day, so it was tough going, but all in all I coped!

Here is a picture G took the wonderful countryside we were hiking through. One of the things I'm enjoying about walking is how free it makes you feel; its just so full of possibilities. Now I know how those Free Runners feel! ;-)

Now, here is a particularly unflattering shot of me checking my feet in a preemptive strike against blisters. I have often mentioned my extremely skinny legs, and here is proof, and not just proof of my skinny legs, but, proof of my healthy commitment to a lack of sunbathing! Is it possible to look any whiter than this? Pass the fake tan please! (I must credit G yet again for this photographic masterpiece, although I must credit myself for being non-princessy and post it here for all to see!)

Finally, a wonderful shot taken by G's camera balanced on her bag. It gives you an idea that the hiking wasn't all cream teas, as there were a few hills to climb too, but you can pretty well judge from these grins that it felt VERY good to have climbed them - even better than stuffing our faces!

On the second day we set out to do a slightly longer walk and again split it in two for lunch, but after taking a bunch of wrong turns, discovered we had walked 15 miles by lunch time! We made it to a pub by the skin of our teeth and G made the executive decision that that was enough walking for two days, so we then spent the afternoon reading trashy gossip magazines and rubbing soothing unguents into our calves (me) and bum (G).

It was a great trip!

Finding Fitness

2007-05-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

Its high time I gave a fitness update.

Well, I've been building up slowly. My regime has consisted of two or three walks a week and two sessions with a trainer doing mostly weights and other muscle building work, although I have also been known to do the odd bit of boxing too - don't laugh! All this has been working well and I am excited to report that last Wednesday, G and I walked eleven miles! Yes, eleven miles. OK, so I got a bit bratty after nine miles and G had to coax me along like a small child - that is until she decided to taunt me and did a quarter mile of 'spotty dog', just because she can! And OK, so I did hurt quite a bit afterwards. But I did it!

The really exciting part for me as I undertake this challenge is that I am actually enjoying this fitness malarkey! I know that I complained at the end of the eleven mile walk, but over all I enjoyed it and I really enjoyed having done it. That seems to be the key part of obtaining fitness; you might not exactly spring out of bed and rush to put your walking boots on, but you know inside that you'll feel so good when you've done some exercise that its well worth getting up for. I've never particularly suffered from sleep deprivation, but I do get very stressed, yet since exercising I've discovered a deeper level of sleep and a great way to stress-bust (especially that boxing stuff!). I've also found a way to keep myself generally happier at a time when, lets face it, I'm not feeling particularly happy (perhaps this, in part, was the key to Georgie's infectious smile?). And, the interesting part, but the part I struggle to put into words, is that I feel some closer connection with my body, or with my physicality. Its all very well writing a PhD and being stuck in your head the whole time, but you don't tend to realise how alien your body starts to become and how little you listen to what it wants, what it needs. Somehow, by exercising, I'm starting to feel more complete, if that's the word, or is it more well-rounded? I don't know, but somehow I feel more 'there' than I have felt in some time and this can only be a good thing.

The only downside to all this has been some injuries which have set me back. Because I have started with absolutely no level of fitness whatsoever, or what G describes as a 'standing start', I've suffered with the tendons in my knees and hips, which have had to take up the strain due to the lack of calf or thigh muscles (my calves measure 29cm at widest! I literally have the legs of a chicken!). I've also been hurting my back regularly, although that is in part a PhD-injury brought on by carrying a heavy laptop and books into London and sitting in heavy wooden chairs at the British Library.

I've been seeing a great Physio, however, thanks to G, who regards Physiotherapy as a continuing discussion with her body. She sees her Physio every couple of weeks so that she can take a holistic approach and listen to what is going on with her body both when she is training hard for races and when she is taking time out and perhaps getting into bad habits. Anyway, she has been taking me along to her sessions and I too have had the privilege of starting to build up an expert knowledge of what my body is doing within exercise and without. Of course the answers aren't always rocket science - ice packs and rest - but sometimes its a real shock to discover that your pelvis is somehow two inches higher on the right and that is why you've had agonising pain in your back!

So, this picture is of me out on a measly five mile walk last Sunday - easy - bet you never thought I say that, but I hope it conveys a least something of the new Charlotte I'm working on?!

Over Half Way There!

2007-05-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that I have reached the £2.5K point- thanks to Piglottie. I have recently sent off cheques to the Rainbow Trust for £50.00 from yarn auctions (organised by Piglottie) and a whopping £120.50 from her card sales!

What this also means is that I've reached the minimum amount of money required to take part in the trek. To make that clear, you have to raise £2.5K so that the charity is adequately rewarded for supporting you to take part - about half of the amount covers the costs of actually doing the trek, but I raised that through other means! So really, I've reached the half way mark as far as my own target goes, but actually I'm all the way there as far as the trek organisers are concerned so (break out the Champagne) Peru here I come!

(What is even better is that Piglottie isn't finished yet. She continues to produce cards at an amazing rate and has just launched a great range of fairy and sheep cards.)

I'm also working on raffles at the clothes shop I work in. The first draw will be on Saturday 19th and the prizes are
1) a £50 voucher for my hairdressers
2) a £100 pound Fenn, Wright Manson voucher to spent at our store (Jane & Dada, 33 High Street, St Albans).

We will then be doing a raffle monthly (until I head off for Peru) with similar luxury prizes, so hopefully I'll make my £5K target in no time - fingers crossed!!!

Fundraising Announcement

2007-04-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am extremely proud to announce that my good friend Piglottie (who I met through a round of Secret Pal knitters' gift-giving) has generously joined in my fundraising.

Firstly, she and several of her online knitting pals are auctioning off unwanted yarn treats. The auctions are already underway, so if you are a knitter reading this, don't miss out, keep an eye on Piglottie's blog for updates and feel good about feeding your addiction. Secondly, Piglottie has crafted a range of her hand-made greetings cards to sell online. I have been the lucky recipient of a several Piglottie cards in the past and I can vouch for how beautiful they are. As she makes purple ones for me, I usually keep them out (even my Christmas card) permanently (of course my flat is very purple) because they are so pretty to have around. You will again need to keep abreast of Piglottie's blog for info on how to get hold of them, but they are well underway and will be available soon!

I can't thank Piglottie enough for supporting me in this way. The difficult part about fundraising is that it is pretty much a full-time job (if you are daft enough to set a target of £5K that is) and it is quite exhausting keeping on top of a fundraising and training schedule in addition to life's other commitments. So practically its a great help, but its also, more importantly, a great help emotionally. I am of course doing all of this because I want to make sense of losing a friend, and it is tough going, so it means more than I can say when friends show their support by mucking in. Piglottie is a constant source of advice and energy for me and I'm eternally grateful that knitting, the Internet and a mutual understanding of each other's (chocolate) obsessions, (cleaning) compulsions and emotional outlets has brought us together!

Harpenden Here I Come!

2007-03-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday at 6.30am, during a gentle snow flurry, I set off on foot from my flat and walked between five and six miles to my parents house.

When I first started training, one of my goals was to be able to walk to my family home in Harpenden from my new place in St Albans. Being a big fan of cars - especially fast ones - I have always had a tendency to assume that driving from place to place is the best option. I have also always imagined that walking to Harpenden from St Albans would be near impossible (and yes I know how ridiculous that sounds). So when I began to train I had it in the back of my mind that this journey was something I really wanted to attempt.

The walk took me about an hour and twenty minutes and although it was freezing cold and snowing (and I don't own an ipod), I really enjoyed it. I went a scenic route which made the walk longer but of course prettier. I cut through the Childwickbury estate which meant that I trundled past Stanley Kubrick's house (where his wife the artist Christiane Kubrick still lives) and came out by the turreted gatehouse (which I've always dreamt of living in as I have a Rapunzel complex).

When I arrived at my parents house (with time to spare before a personal training session), I said to my folks "ask me where my car is, go on, ask me", and when they did, I triumphantly replied "at home, I walked here!" Of course they were absolutely astonished, nobody expects the Princess to do such things, despite the fact she is of course in training, and I spent the rest of the day showing off!

And then I spend the next day stretching and having a long hot soak!

Happy Birthday Georgie

2007-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

I think of you always!

1.2K-Hooooray!!!

2007-03-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much everyone who has supported me so far. I am utterly thrilled to have tipped the £1,500 mark already!!!!

Bitchin' Badges

2007-02-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

About a month ago I received a very exciting parcel from the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity. It contained a box of Rainbow character badges to sell on their behalf to raise money towards my target. Paul, my contact at Rainbow had told me about them on the phone and I hadn't given it much thought. Of course when they arrived and I realised they were gorgeous little pins of Zippy, Bungle, George, or all three in a group-hug, I nearly keeled over with excitement! (If you don't know who I am talking about, you are clearly from overseas, or daft. But if your memory needs jogging, you can look at a fansite or two.)

These badges have turned out to be a real blessing for my fundraising because they just sell themselves - and this gave me an idea. I proclaimed myself to be the 'Pin Pimp' and promptly invited friends, relatives and colleagues etc to become one of my 'Badge Bitches' and sell a box of Rainbow Character Badges on my (and the Rainbow Trust's behalf).
So far I have got through about four boxes. I sold one boxful at the Trash or Treasure and hijacked my friend AJ's birthday one weekend with another boxful. Actually, when hijacking the birthday bash I discovered that drunk people are the most generous! For some reason the George badges weren't all that popular and I got stuck with five of them at the end, but AJ's mate Trez saved the day by giving me a whopping £20 for them, just so that I could retire for the evening (and stop bugging people I guess! ;-) My Mummy has been selling them to her staff and my pal G has got a box, but she keeps forgetting to sell them - although she did help me sell a load at the birthday part and also helped bump up the cost of them by offering a 'pinning-on' service. My hairdressers have also very kindly taken on a box, but the most triumphant Badge Bitch is Suzina, my personal trainer, who sold a box in a matter of days and has already asked for another one!

Unexpected Generous Sponsors

2007-02-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't really started asking people for donations yet, but a few unexpected ones have come rolling in nonetheless.

Firstly there is my Mummy's cousin Liz (who I guess must read my knitting blog more often than I thought, or else how did she find my donation page? ;-) who sponsored me online for £50. Thanks Liz - and thanks for the Ralgex advice too!

I'd also really like to thank Mick, my plumber, who worked on my new palace before and after Christmas in harsh (read VERY purple) surroundings for a girl who only knew what she didn't want (gold taps for example). Anyway, he just dropped my keys back with a £100 donation which I'm absolutely thrilled about.

Another sweetie is Amanda, a bit of a high-flyer who used work with my Daddy in the 1980s and who always used to seal envelopes with big lipsticky kisses. My Mummy invited her to my Trash or Treasure and instead of attending she chose to send me a cheque for £40. If only all the other people who didn't make it to the T or T had been as generous!

I hope lots more people donate without being asked, it would make all this fundraising a breeze!

Trash Triumph

2007-02-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

If I had blogged about the Trash or Treasure Fundraiser in the few days before it happened, I would be writing a very different account. The Trash or Treasure (T or T), was my first ever attempt at organising a charity event and I found it much harder than I thought.

There were some clear problems. I decided to organise an event for singletons, despite the fact most of my very closest friends are in relationships and therefore wouldn't be able to support the event. Another problem was that, although I still maintain it was way cuter holding an event which, as one person put it 'championed singleton's rights', on Valentines, I do realise that many single people want to completely ignore such a comercial bunch of nonsence. And a final problem I uncovered was that not everyone has trash in their lives. That is, the idea behind a T or T is to take a person of the opposite sex with you, who you are not interested in - for example, I took my cousin. However, some people manage not to acrue many mates of the opposite sex who they'd happily see get together with someone else. Oh and other people hedge their bets and then accept Valentine's dates at the last minute! So, basically, I had my work cut out for me from the outset.

On top of those problems, I had a few hitches with the bar. They believed when I booked the event that they would be able to promote it in the bar and sell tickets from there, but after a council crack down, they discovered they were forbidden from promoting private events. And of course generally people often don't book for events in advance, but rather decide on the day whether they are going, which doesn't help the organiser let the bar know how much free bubbly to order.

On Monday this week, however, I had gone past the 'tearing my hair out stage' of people booking and canceling, I had given up any hope of being able to order the right amount of Cava, I had accepted the fact it was too late to cancel and the event might go ahead at a cost to me, and, I had begun to get a cold! But when the night actually came around all my hard work and worrying was, thankfully, rewarded!I arrived at 7.00 to set up and was introduced to Ben who was managing the bar for the night. He instantly put me at ease becasue despite my Sudafed-haze, he knew exactly what needed doing and was really capable and kind - of course it didn't hurt that he and the other guy who was working the bar in the room I hired (French Cedric) were rather cute. My friend Nina arrived to help me take the money and issue people with their drinks tokens and pretty soon people began to drift in. My other fabulously helpful and supportive friends Helen and Alice soon arrived and set about making and issuing stickers with the names of one half of a celebrity couple on them. The idea behind this was that it would get people talking as they had to find their 'other half' at some point during the evening. I was given Charlotte (rather aptly) and told to find Gavin, whilst there were the usual suspects such as Katie and Tom, Jade and Jack and Charles and Camilla knocking about. I should point out that 'Gavin' was rather nice and it seems there was a perk for me in my mates being in charge of the stickers! Actually it was such a popular gimmick and there were so many pretty girls and boys there that first, Ben and Cedric behind the bar asked if they could get in on it, and soon people started to drift up from the bar downstairs and buy tickets so that they could join in - thanks also to Helen and Alice's publicity work.

Overall I found that people seemed to talk to each other quite easily and I did see some definite flirting and number-swapping, which was heaps of fun to witness (move over Cilla!), and I met a great bunch of new people through the extended network of my single friends. Towards the end of the evening, to make sure people had found their celebrity other halves, we announced a prize of cash to spend at the bar for two randomly chosen couples who reported finding each other to Alice. The prize money was donated by my great pals Jess and her husband Dom, who live in Chicago, and it was brilliant because it made sure everyone had a last rush around.

What I didn't like having to do was chuck everyone out at the end. The event was scheduled to finish at 12.00, but quite a few of us could have gone on for hours and it felt so rude having asked people to come to then urge them to leave, but I had no choice, because of council restrictions - I couldn't get the bar in trouble now could I?!

Quite a few of the attendees asked me if I'd organise another one, but although it worked really well in the end, I'm really not sure I could take the stress again. But I guess I should never say never!

Trash or Treasure

2007-01-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

The invitations for my first fundraiser have just gone out! The blurb is below:

Calling all single people – and if you are not single, please can you forward this to your friends who are – you are invited to:

A Charity Valentine’s Trash or Treasure Party!

What’s the deal?
You pay £10.00 to bring your single-self and a friend (who isn’t quite right for you, but might be perfect for someone else) to a party - i.e. the ticket is just a fiver each!
You’ll get a glass of bubbly each and the opportunity to socialise all evening with up to seventy-five other ‘non-couples’ and hopefully meet someone who does float your boat!

After all, your trash might just be someone else’s treasure!
Why?
Statistically, you’re way more likely to meet your perfect match through a friend, so maybe you just need to widen that circle of friends for the evening!
You’ll be raising money to ‘Send the Princess of Purple to Peru’ in aid of the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity which provides valuable support to families with terminally ill children.
(If you’d like to know more about the charity effort you are supporting, please visit my donation page)

When?
Wednesday 14th February 2007, from 7.30pm – 12.00am.

Where?
The Bear, 2 St. John's Square, London, EC1M 4DE, 020 7608 2117 for directions

How?
To book your double place, please email Charlotte (aka the Princess of Purple) with your name and the name of the person you’ll be bringing.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Love from
the (one and only) Princess of Purple
Charlotte
xxxxxxxx

Basically its a singles night in a funky bar in London, but the idea is that the atendees are an expanded network of people. Therefore it is easier on the night to introduce yourself to anyone who takes your fancy and you've got a pal there if you need them.

I got the idea from a Sex and the City episode and when I ran it by a few friends they were really interested, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm not at all used to organising events like this (art shows yes, singles nights no!) and I'm terrible at maths, so it hasn't been easy working out ticket prices and venue deposits, but I'm hopefull it will work.

A lovely girl who works for my Mum has designed me some really cute tickets, so now I'm just waiting while the bookings role in and keeping my fingers crossed that I can fill the space with fabulous people!

Minger!

2007-01-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

Training has started in earnest, and you know what that means?! No make-up! Oh the horror of it all!

At the moment I am working-out about three times a week and walking twice a week. Its not as hardcore as it sounds though, most of my walks are short brisk ones of about two miles and my work-outs are really just beginners stuff. Mind you, I still hurt a lot of the time despite my gentle start! Who knew there were so many parts of you that could feel pain?!

So really I'm being very brave, and to show just how brave a reformed princess I am, I'm posting the first two pictures of me without my make-up and wearing my hiking gear!

My lovely lilac fleece came from TK Maxx on Wednesday. I actually went in looking for useful things for my new flat like sauce pans and hangers, but when I saw this snuggly thing I remembered G being cross with me that I didn't own a fleece for walking in, and as it was lilac I couldn't resist. My beautiful fuchsia pink, faux-fur, head-band was a gift to myself when I was in Chicago last winter and discovered it is possible to nearly freeze your ears off! So, importantly, I'm not completely sans style - even if my stretching technique could do with improvement!

In Love with Leon!

2007-01-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

In order to get fit enough for the trek, I really have to watch what I eat. It isn't that I eat badly, in fact I eat a very healthy diet, but I've been underweight for a while and I need to support my body to get and stay fit. This mainly means that I have to eat a lot more protein, so each of my meals needs to contain eggs or fish or meat (I don't eat diary products - well not often anyway), but, hilariously, I'm also on protein shakes twice a day!

We have a local store called Extreme Muscle and Fitness, which is staffed by great-square-boxes-of-men who look like they might split their clothes incredible-hulk-style at any given moment, and I have become a regular! Its too funny! I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm not going to turn into a man, seeing as all the jars of shake have hideous pictures of male, oiled, body-builder's torsos on them, but the staff assure me I'm heading more for a Sugar Babes or Girls Aloud physique - hopefully only physique though as this is no time to end up with their IQ!
The other place I've become a regular is Leon in London. Leon restaurants are healthy fast food outlets and I can't rave about them enough! Firstly the food is incredible: each dish I have had from there, which I often pick up on the way to the British Library as they set me up for studying perfectly, has been delicious! I can particularly recommend the Leon Gobi, which is a vegetable curry and the Magic Mackerel Couscous which is a mackerel and couscous salad.

The thing about their food which is so wonderful is that they contain so many good things. It goes without saying, considering one of the chefs is Allegra McEvedy, that all the dishes are extremely flavoursome, but they are the type of food that you'd make if only you had the time, only better, and contain all the ingredients you know you should be eating regularly, but never get round to.

For example, the Leon Gobi is a yummy, sweet potato and and cauliflower curry that just oozes with coconut milk and spices, but the dish also comes with brown rice that is filled with sesame and pumpkin seeds and there is even a side of cooling raw veg which is like an Asian coleslaw. Likewise the mackerel couscous, which is known as one of their 'supersalads' is just crammed with great stuff, again including seeds, and all manner of raw veg and herbs.

(I've also sampled several of their juices, brownies and bars of dark chocolate which come in varieties infused with herbs and spices such as rosemary or cardamom, and they are to die for!)

The prices are great too! the Leon Gobi is £4.90, the Mackerel Couscous is £3.95, which is I guess more than a Big Mac Meal (not that I'd know), but comparable, and often cheaper, than other places like Pret a Manger, Eat, Starbucks et al. And when you consider that you are getting a large healthy meal for that - I didn't mention the portions are great too - I don't think you can even make such comparisons.

I just wish there were more branches!

purple princess logo

2007-01-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited. My pal G has gone on her own charity adventure for three months - I'm not excited about that you understand, I'm missing her terribly - but before she went she designed me my own logo for charity efforts.

She is the hugely talented Georgie Ripper of Rainbow Magic fame, and in the past has based one of her fairies on me, so it was just a hop skip and a jump to draw me for my fundraising.

So, ta da, check out my beautiful logo below:

Now all I have to do is work out how to put it at the top of my blog and maybe make a button in case any of you lot out there are kind enough to put it on your own blog...

Princess Paris?

2007-01-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

Really I think this just says it all.

A while ago I did this face comparison thing on the My Heritage site and discovered I (apparently) have a face that is 78% like Paris Hilton's. Can it be true? Is the Princess of Purple really just another Paris?

http://www.myheritage.com

Mind you, I don't know what I'm worried about because it also says I look 80% like a man!!!

Walk Number One

2007-01-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

On Sunday G and I did a two hour hike from St Albans to nearby Sandridge and back; we believe we walked about 7 miles. This was my first proper attempt at seeing how much walking I can manage before the real training starts, and it turns out its not that much! The two hour walk was (mostly) really enjoyable, even though it was raining for most of it, as it was great to be out in the countryside and I only started to feel the pain towards the end (at which point G looked at me and said: "You're looking quite weary!" I should point out that G can run marathons!), but since then I've been in agony!!! - Mind you, thinking about it, some of the agony might have something to do with some suspect dancing on New Year's eve with a guy (who shall remain nameless so as to protect his career), who thinks dancing to cheesy music involves pretending to lasso other dancers!

Anyway, the hilarious part of the walk came right at the end of the hike when we encountered a 2ft deep flood under a bridge which was completely impassable - even in a car, people had tried and had had to call a tow truck! So because we were right at the end of the walk and couldn't turn back, we had to roll up our trousers and wade through it. This was all very funny - one man asked to take a picture of us - until we got to the other side and discovered that the water had turned out toes to ice. G, or Super-G as I think I should call her, just hopped about until her feet warmed up and after making me do the same (extremely reluctantly I might add), we were off again, problem solved. Mind you, her useful tips can go a bit far, as she also tried to introduce me to what sporty-type-people do when their activities make their noses run and they don't have a tissue! Honestly, it makes me wince just thinking about it!

So, I'm off to attach another hot water bottle to an aching limb and begin some fundraising planning!

Crazy 'bout my CamelBak

2006-12-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

Ha ha! My training pal G bought me a book on Peru and a CamelBak for Christmas (among other fabulous treats). I'm so excited! Actually the other day I went a bit crazy about some pink stripey hiking socks that I saw throught the window of Millets! I can't believe I'm getting excited about these things, its too funny!

Introduction

2006-12-25T03:07:00.000-08:00

I have set up this blog so that I can record the very exciting journey I am soon to embark upon.

In September I lost my oldest friend: a wonderful woman called Georgina. We grew up together attending ballet, brownies and of course eventually the pub. At times, losing her has felt like losing a part of myself in that the memories we shared are no longer shared, they are now just mine.

After her funeral, I put the picture of her that was on the front of the Order Of Service on my mantle piece and resolved to do some long hard thinking about what on earth my life might now bring me. This was not the only blow I endured in 2006 and I reached an extremely low ebb which left me searching for something positive. I am such an optimistic person, but for the first time in my life my belief in things eventually turning out ok was utterly wiped out.

Soon I started to think about what a positive person Georgie had always been and how she approached everything with the hugest smile and I realised I had to pick myself up somehow and get myself to a better place. I realised the memories are all mine, but so too is the ability to is the ability to touch other peoples' lives in the way she touched mine.

That is when I came up with the idea of doing a charity trek abroad in aid of the charity Georgie's parents chose to benefit from the collection at her funeral. I thought, as Georgie was a very sporty girl and I most certainly am not, that it would be a fitting tribute to her to do something that would be a tremendous physical challenge for me. To be honest, considering my level of fitness, 'tremendous challenge' might be an understatement. Plus, I knew Georgie would find the thought of me spending days in hideous hiking gear and not wearing any makeup absolutely hilarious, so that also made me feel it would be an appropriate thing to do!

After some googling, I discovered the organisation Do It For Charity and found a trek setting off in September 2007 (just after my 30th Birthday) to Machu Picchu in Peru, and signed up!

Next I wrote to Georgie's parents Dave and Angela and told them about my plans. I soon received a letter back wishing me all the best with my challenge and offering me some much need training tips with a cheque attached to set off my fundraising! And after that, I upstaged my father at my folks's firm's work Christmas do by announcing my plans.

And that brings me up to date. Everyone I have told so far have been very excited for me, if not rather amused at the thought of me having to get in shape, let alone eventually camp on Peruvian mountain-sides!