90 words by 90 bloggers.

The lovely Kate at Kate on Thin Ice has set up a challenge for bloggers who want raise awareness of breast cancer and Breakthrough Breast Cancer's campaign to fight the disease.

She wants to find 90 bloggers who will write 90 words about an important woman in their lives and I have decided to join the group. I am about the 44th I think, so if you think you could write a short post to spread the word ... go for it by clicking on the link to Kate's blog.

Around 1000 women and men die of breast cancer each month. Let's do something to help beat it.

This is my post about Johnny. 90 words is not enough, but I have tried.


Johnny was the reason I started to work in school. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer & needed a person to fill in for her.She became my friend & my inspiration. Johnny was Scottish, with a lilting accent and a twinkle in her eye.She wore Mickey Mouse t-shirts and open toed sandals.She was useless with the photo copier and wicked with the children. She was one of the kindest people I ever met.She fought cancer with the strength of a lioness, but it eventually beat her.I still feel her presence in the library at school. I still imagine her laugh. I miss her.





“Pink Ribbon Bingo have pledged to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer all year round with 15% of the gross revenue accrued through online play on the site being donated to the charity.  Visitors also have the opportunity to donate a percentage of their winnings directly to the charity.  Along with the fundraising element, Pink Ribbon Bingo and The Daily Mail online will be helping the charity to raise awareness by promoting their vital health messages such as TLC (Touch, Look, Check).“

Help for Heroes - a quiz that made me think.

I went to a quiz last night. I am a bit of a fan of quizzes being very competitive and strangely full of useless information. Sometimes it takes a little while for other team members to realise this as being small blonde and a big fan of lip gloss some people seem to think, initially that I am nice, but thick. Wrong.

Anyway, last night the quiz was to raise money for Help for Heroes and my team despite valiant efforts, were rubbish. I include myself in that description. Having blown my trumpet I realise that I am now revealing that despite flashes of brilliance I also exhibit quite large flashes of ... stupidity. I am not afraid to admit to weaknesses. For example I am quite weak when it comes to crisps ...

Anyway, I digress, as the lovely Ronnie Corbett would say. What I really want to talk about is Help the Heroes
because I felt really rather moved by last night. The hall was packed with people raising money for them and as I looked around I was touched at the number of ordinary people who had crammed into the hall in support of the charity, but really in support of the men and women out in Afghanistan.

At the end of the evening a young man stood up to ask us to buy some of his wrist bands. He joked about only being allowed to wear one type of wrist band by his sergeant major and he hoped that we would buy his bands. Then he mentioned, almost as an afterthought that his regiment the Royal Anglians were being deployed to Afghanistan in the near future.

I went over to him to buy 2 of the bands, one for each of my boys, and as I gave him my money I wished him good luck. For a split second as our eyes met the bravado disappeared and he quietly said 'Thank you.'

I wanted to say more, but I couldn't. Firstly because it wouldn't have been right and secondly because if I had opened my mouth to say more I would have blubbed. Meeting a young man and putting a real live face to someone who was actually going to be heading off to the war stopped me in my tracks. Personally I don't think we should be out there, but I totally support the men and women who are out there doing their jobs in very difficult circumstances. As long as they are out there I will do what I can to support them. The reality of what that young man was about to face, what he may well have already faced on a previous tour,  was momentarily written in his eyes and it moved me immeasurably.

As that young man continued to sell his wrist bands I hoped very much that he would never need the services of Help the Heroes. Unfortunately in the past I have heard the Royal Anglians being mentioned time and again when the radio announces another young soldier has been injured or killed by an I.E.D or shooting. I hope they all come home safe.

Alice Pyne goes global and the world shows it's heart.

Two days ago I posted on here about a 15 year old girl called Alice Pyne. Alice has terminal cancer and had set up a blog, as she says 'for a few friends and family'. She wanted to try and sort out a few experiences in her life before her time, sadly too short a time, ran out.

click the photo to go to Alice's blog!!

Since I posted about her it would seem that many other people have been touched by her story too. Little by little - well, actually pretty darn quickly -  the word has spread until, as I write, Alice has gone global as they say!! Not only does her blog have over 10,000 followers, but she was mentioned at Prime Minister's Question Time. She has trended on Twitter and she has been avalanched by offers to fulfil her wishes.

Please don't forget either that her wishes are not for money or fame, but for simple heartbreakingly touching things like to stay in a caravan for a night, have a back massage, have a photo shoot with her dog, go to Cadbury World ...

And the thrilling thing is that these things are happening for her. She asked to meet Take That and this weekend she is off to see their show and meet them - brilliant!

She is keen, on her blog, to emphasise that she does not want money and that she knows there are other children who are ill just like her. She has set up a link so people can spread their kindness to other ill children.

Another of her wishes was that people sign up for the bone marrow register and apparently many many people have. People have also been sponsoring her sister who is running in their local Race for Life to raise money for Cancer Relief - so far people have donated £10,000. Amazing.

Throughout all this there is a sense of joy that we can help a little girl who does not have long to live, but who has a simplicity that has touched us all. That joy is tinged with sorrow in the knowledge that she is so ill. The internet is blamed for all sorts of things, but on this occasion it has shown its invaluable usefulness. Could the news have spread so quickly without it?

I was so touched by the people who reposted or retweeted what I and other people had written about Alice and it was through the invisible links of friendship that the story grew. Its quite lovely that one 15 year old girl can touch so many hearts and in turn those hearts reach out to touch hers.

Alice's Bucket List - please read and visit.

There are days when you read a blog post that rises above the mundane - the idle chit chat of Blogger or Twitter or Facebook - and stops you in your tracks. There are blogs that need taking note of - not 'blogs of note', but blogs that are a simple, brave and touching cry from the heart.

Today, a moment ago, I came across Alice's Bucket List .

Alice is 15 and has just found out that the cancer she has been suffering from is terminal. She has not chosen to curse the world. She has chosen to live with dignity and has set up a blog with a simple list of things she would like to do before the little time she has is over.

She would like to stay in a caravan, visit Cadbury world, have a back massage ... The simple wishes of a 15 year old girl are heartbreaking.

I would ask you - whoever you are, wherever you live - take a moment, please, to visit her blog and send her support. If you can help her with her wish list that would be wonderful.

Cake Sale result!!

You may have read the other day that I wanted to raise money for the Save the Children Japan Appeal. I went into work and said that I wanted to do something and my friend had been thinking the same. Between us we organised a cake sale and cafe along with a 'wear your own clothes' day.

I baked chocolate glittery fairy cakes and so many people donated their time, money, cakes and goodwill. The day was a massive success and I found out today that after everything had been counted we raised an incredible...

£943

I am so pleased!!

Glittery cupcakes for Japan Disaster...

I have spent the afternoon baking. The result is 3 tins full of chocolate glittery cupcakes. They are all going to be sold tomorrow at the fundraiser I have helped organise for the Disaster in Japan. I blew up balloons and put up posters today to advertise it and I hope that tomorrow we will make a lot of money for Save the Children's Disaster Appeal.

I have never done anything like this before. I have been involved in the PTFA of my school in one way or another for a long time, but I have never instigated or organised anything like this. I feel so strongly about this though. The disaster in Japan is so monumental and so tragic that I really felt I had to do something. My friend felt the same way and between us we have sorted out this event.

If you feel the same way and want to help - maybe you could visit Save the Children .... see what they are doing and maybe, maybe.... make a donation to help those poor people?

Japanese Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster - an appeal.

I cannot quite believe my eyes as the disaster in Japan unfolds. Each day the plight of the Japanese people worsens. This is just a short post because I am quite sure my words will not move you nearly as much as the images on our screens.

What I want to do though is urge you to do more than watch in despair. Please make a donation to your chosen charity to help fund the aid effort. It doesn't matter which one, but please give something and ask your friends to do the same.

I am sure many of you have already done this, but if you haven't quite yet, please... do it now?

Congratulations Helen Skelton - you make me proud to be English.

Six weeks ago a small blonde children's tv presenter set off to kayak over 2000 miles down the Amazon.Before the challenge,set up to raise money for Sports Relief, Helen Skelton, Blue Peter presenter,  had never kayaked. Six weeks later she has broken the record for the longest distance paddled in 24 hours by a woman ( 75 miles ) and become the only woman ever to kayak this distance down the Amazon.

At first glance she would seem like any other fluffy young presenter, but underneath her soft exterior lies a will of iron and a determination to succeed that has astounded those who thought the challenge would prove impossible. Before she started she asked James Cracknell (double Olympic gold medallist rower and all round adventurer, explorer and extreme sports whizz )  for advice. He simply told her the feat would prove impossible. He was wrong.

She has gone through 150 ft of tape to protect her hands and has suffered seasickness, insect bites, heat exhaustion, but she has kept going - determined to finish no matter what.She has paddled 60 miles a day, 6 days a week, for 6 weeks. Some weeks ago I watched an interview with her and did not quite take in the magnitude of her task. I dismissed the fluffy Northerner, thinking 'Oh, that's nice...'  thinking she was kayaking for a few days...I did not realise, until today, quite how extraordinary she is.

She may be a tv presenter, but she has done this despite all advice to the contrary and she has done it through sheer bloody minded strength and determination. She has raised money for Sport Relief and is far from the stereotypical 'fluffy blonde'.As she herself said at the end of her trip  'Never  judge a book by its cover... just because I can make things out of sticky back plastic doesn't mean I can't break records'

Ain't that the truth... Well done Helen - you really are something special.