Postponed! :o(

Unfortunately - due to a number of circumstances I have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the Wine Tour, Dinner and Charity Auction at Chilford Hall. I was unable to guarantee numbers in order to pay for the event in advance.

However, as I have already received a large number of generous donations for auction I will be rearranging this in some form later in the summer/early autumn to round of my fundraising.

In the meantime, I am concentrating my efforts on the forthcoming Art Exhibition which promises to be a successful and enjoyable event. Further details to follow soon.

Thanks
Andrew H

Prizes Galore

Just to update you all on current activities.

Art Exhibition
We now have approximately 12 local artists confirmed for the art exhibition at the Baptist Church on 8th and 9th June. They will be exhibiting and selling a variety of work including Paintings, Photographs, Mosaics and Textiles. Entry is only £1 on both days.

Charity Auction
I am now able to offer Company Table sponsorship deals for the Wine Tour, Dinner and Auction on Saturday 14th July at Chilford Hall in Linton. For a total package of £350 your company can entertain up to 10 guests and be included on promotional material for the event. A £100 deposit will secure your individual table, please contact me directly for more details.

In addition, I can confirm some of the prize donations already received for the auction as follows:

Prize (Guide Value)
Admission for 5 adults to Duxford War Museum (£75)
Family Ticket for Mole Hall Wildlife Park (£20)
Courtesy 2-ball Round at SW Golf Club (£50)
1 Hour Family Lesson with Mike's Tennis Academy (£40)
2 Days on Tennis Holiday Camp with Mike's Tennis Academy (£60)
3-Course Sunday Lunch at Duxford Lodge Hotel (£40)
Manicure & Varnish at Lizzie's Health & Beauty (£45)
Night in Bridal Suite at Crown House Hotel (£300)

Many thanks to our donors already confirmed. Many more lots to follow soon.

Andrew

Du Vin?

The second of my exciting fundraising 'double-header' is the forthcoming Wine Tour, Dinner and Charity Auction taking place on Saturday 14th July at Chilford Hall, Linton.
We already have a superb collection of lots for the auction including meals at local restaraunts, entry to local attractions, round of gold, cookery lessons and even a night in the bridal suite of a local hotel.
Tickets are limited so please get yours now!
More details below:

All things Arty

More details below of the Art Exhibition I am holding in June to raise more funds.

Dates are Friday 8th/Saturday 9th June, 10-5 each day. Entry to the public is only £1.

Viewing and sales throughout the 2-days.

If you are an artist interested in exhibiting some work, please get in touch as I have just a few spaces left.

The Results and More Events

Apologies first of all for the slight delay in updating the blog. Last week was rather hectic.

Anyway, first off, the quiz night was a great success thanks to everyone who came along and congratulations once again to the winning team. The final amount is still to be confirmed but it looks like I managed to raise approximately £60 from the evening which is great, thanks again.

Next, those of you at the quiz will have heard me mention 2 very special events coming up in the summer - I can now confirm more details.

The first of these will be a 2-day Art Exhibition at Saffron Walden Baptist Church on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th June. Entry to the public will only be £1 and there will be a mixture of work to view and buy (I will be taking a commission on sales) over the 2 days. More information will be released in due course (opening times etc). But in the meantime if anymore artists would be interested in exhbiting work then please get in touch via my contact details.

Finally for now, I can announce a very special Wine Tour/Tasting, Dinner and Charity Auction evening at Chilford Hall Estate on Saturday 14th July. Prices are to be confirmed and more details will be available very soon but in general terms the evening will involve small group tours of the vineyard and wine tasting sessions followed by a 2-course meal and culminating in a charity auction for which I already have some superb lots. Again, please spread the word and contact me for more details.

Bye for now
Andrew

As a little PS, for those of you concerned about my recent lack of footwear, fear not (hopefully). I am currently testing out at home the Valles eVent Walking Boot by Technicals - so far so good.

Quiz Night Reminder

Hi All

Just a quick reminder about the Quiz Night I am hosting on Saturday 31st March at Great Chesterford Community Centre to raise funds for my charity trek in October

We need a few more teams to make the evening a success so if you are able to come along (even if you don't have enough for a team of 4-6) please let me know.
Also, if you know anyone that might be interested in joining us please persuade them as well!

Cost of entry is a mere £2 per person, and we start at 7:30pm.

Please also bring any drinks/snacks for your teams with you as well.

Click on the link below for a map to the venue
Location

Thanks in advance

Andrew

Making an exhibition

With the countdown clock for my fundraising now ticking I have begun my planning for the summers events.
In the very early stages of organisation is an art exhibition in Saffron Walden at the beginning of June. If you would be interested in exhibiting (for a small donation and small % commission of sales) please get in touch. More details will be posted here soon.

Andrew

Getting all the cash

Good news

ActionAid have finally sorted themselves out and have set up their own online sponsorship site. This means that any donations received are sent straight to charity without a third party taking their slice.
I have followed suit and set up a new sponsorship page which I will use to replace my JustGiving site.
Please follow this link to view my brand spanking new sponsorship page

Thankyou
Andrew

Preparation?

I survived.
I have returned from a very enjoyable if somewhat soggy weekend in the Chilterns training for October.
I arrived in Henley-on-Thames at 8am on Saturday morning greeted by blue skies and sunshine and met my fellow intrepid walkers at the pre-arranged spot. There I met 2 other members of my forthcoming trip - Christine and Mike, along with ActionAid staff members Chris, Jenny and Helen, our guides Terry and Paul and a number of other travellers booked on alternative treks.

Saturday's walk followed a circular route from Henley and took in the villages of Hambledon and Assendon in very pleasant conditions. Although there was some conflict between pedometer and GPS we travelled approximately 14miles in total before spending the evening at our accomodation - the Youth Hostel in nearby Streatley.

Sunday morning was less inviting and after a short drive to our starting point at Christmas Common, the rain began to fall, the winds picked up and we were provided with a day of difficult conditions in which to conduct our walk.
Again we followed a circular route this time covering approximately 11 miles through the villages of Stoner and Turville before finally returning to the Fox and Hounds PH at Christmas Common and a welcoming ale.

Whether the conditions provided suitable training for trekking in 45+oC heat in the Rift Valley remains to be seen. Nevertheless, an enjoyable time was had.

And the boots are now to be retired off as well

Andrew

Ideal Preparation

Well, tomorrow I am off on my first traning weekend for my trek in October. The idea is to get and idea of my fitness level and get some form of preparation undertaken for the big one.
Having seen the weather forecast for Sunday, I have a feeling the conditions could not be further from that which I will see in Kenya in 7 months time - nevertheless, I am looking forward to it.

As well as the 2 days of trekking around the Chiltern hills in the rain there will be the opportunity to meet fellow trip members and also to learn a bit more about the work ActionAid does around the world.

You may recall I was in desperate need for new footwear for the trip - I didn't manage to get any! I have decided to stick with my trusty Salomons for the weekend before retiring them to the great big outdoor clothing graveyard in the sky.

I shall report back on Monday!

Andrew

I ask the questions

Well finally, after much debate I have booked up my first fundraising event of 2007.

I will be hosting a Quiz Night on Saturday 31st March at Great Chesterford Community Centre. Details of times/entry fee etc etc will be announced soon.

If you would like to join us, please just drop me a mail - teams of 4 to 6 or individuals are welcome to join a team on the night.

More soon

Andrew

On the bike

A big THANKYOU to everyone who has sponsored me so far. I can't believe I'm already over a quarter of the way towards my target. And I haven't even done any daft events yet!

It's been a pretty hectic few months what with the Freya's sudden arrival then the fun of Christmas but my mind has now turned to the dual effort of raising some reddies and getting myself into some kind of shape to trek across the desert for 7 days in 8 months time...yikes!

Speaking of which, in a few weeks time I will be able to gauge my level when I attend a training weekend in the Chilterns for which I am in desperate need of some new footwear. I was encouraged last week by the fact I managed to cycle from Harlow to Quendon with little difficulty when the trains were cancelled, a distance of about 17 miles. Hurrah, not quite as unfit as first feared!

If only I could take my mountain bike to the Serengeti!

Just a click away...

Thanks for taking the time to point your browser to my blog.

Please read on and when you are done take a trip to my sponsorship page

http://www.justgiving.com/Andrewmaasaitrek

Many thanks

Andrew H

Apologies are due!

First off all, I have to apologise for my lack of communications over the past 2! months!

As you may have read in my profile , we were expecting out second child at the end of November...she turned up early!

Freya Mae was born on 23rd October weighing 4lb 1.5oz. Inevitably, this has taken up much of the time of an intrepid traveller/fundraiser and efforts have somewhat been left behind for a short while. However, with the festive season fast approaching (20 days remain!) plans and events will begin again in earnest. So, what have I been doing?
Well, here is just a few of the fundraising events I have planned for early 2007:

Auction, Quiz Night, Film Night, Activity Day at Outdoor Centre, Dinner/Dance, Car Boot Sale, African Meal, 'Colour Day', Trivia Challenge, Fetes/Fair Stalls, Wine/Cheese Tasting etc etc.

If anyone has any 'relatively' wacky ideas they feel I should partake in then please feel free to let me know.

Bye for now and have a great Christmas!

Andrew

1 Year To Go!

The countdown has begun.

It is exactly 12 months until I set out on my challenge in the heart of East Africa. Until today October 2007 has seemed a long long way away. Now the hard work starts!

Fundraising begins this weekend, many people have already contributed and I am already well on the way to my minimum target, there is still much to do though.

Watch this space..

Andrew

Every Pound Counts

I thought I would post a few facts and figures from the ActionAid website about where all this money being pledges actually goes. I find it quite heartening to actually see in black and white how each and every pound has such an impact on peoples lives:

£7 could buy the books a child in Ethiopia needs to start school.
£10 could buy hoes, buckets and a seed pack for a family in Zimbabwe to grown their own food.
£15 could train two local people in basic healthcare in Mozambique.
£20 could send a child to school for two years in Rwanda.
£42 could provide six people with safe, clean water in Mozambique.

So there it is, not a lot really is it!?

Bye for now

Please add your name!

Having been accepted onto my chosen challenge - next October in Tanzania, I have now set up my very own sponsorhip page through Just Giving. This can be found at http://www.justgiving.com/Andrewmaasaitrek and provides an easy and secure way for people to help me towards my fundraising target of £3000.
I am extremely grateful to all those who have already committed sponsorship for my challenge.

I will be organising a number of innovative and entertaining events over the coming months in order to raise the funds required, in the meantime if anyone has any (relatively sensible) ideas, please pass them on!

Many thanks

Confirmation

Hurrah,

I am delighted to report that as of today I have been officially accepted onto the 'Footsteps of the Maasai' trek supporting ActionAid. This 10 day challenge will 'take me to remote and rarely visited areas of the stunning Rift Valley in Tanzania...' as well as the opportunity to visit some of ActionAid's work in neighbouring Kenya.
I have given myself plenty of time to raise the minimum £3000 sponsorship target, the trip takes place in October 2007! But rest assured you will be kept up to date with my progress thoughout the coming 14 months.
Further information on the trek can be found at http://www.actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?page_id=1214 and I will in due course be setting up an Internet Sponsor Page where you can donate easily should you wish.

Until then, let the funds begin!

Andrew

Birthday Wishes

Well, today I am officially 'old'
I have reached my 30th birthday without too many problems, here's where the aches and pains kick in no doubt. Last night I spent the final evening of my 20's drinking whisky and listening to 7" vinyl from my youth. I was able to lose myself (for a short period at least), in the sounds of The Cure, Senseless Things, Kingmaker, The Frank & Walters, Mambo Taxi, Carter USM and others. Now, it's time to grow up....

So, I am still waiting impatiently by the letterbox for my confirmation of a place on my chosen trip. Until then I am reluctant to release the details to the www. I can say however that I have applied for a trek in Africa some time next year.

More will (I promise) follow soon

Andrew H (now 30!)

Is there a place?

Today I have sent off my application for my place on an adventure challenge. I will keep details under wraps until I have confirmation of my place but I have applied to join a trek organised in support of ActionAid as mentioned previously. Fingers crossed, I will be accepted on the trip and sponsorship/fundraising can begin in earnest. Watch this space.

Andrew