We make the news!

4everfriends  have made the news - here's some great coverage in last Tuesday's Norwich Evening News.

Training for extreme weather

Trailwalker may be taking place in the middle of summer, but 4everfriends are taking no chances. Last weekend  Heather and Helen took their training to the extremes by walking through the night in wind and rain. And the verdict was ... it will be very tough indeed if that's the weather we get for the event itself. However good the waterproofs and boots, eventually the rain gets in. When that happens, and you're cold and tired, and it's several miles to a change of socks, morale flows right away. They managed 20 miles before deciding, at 4.00 in the morning, that enough was enough.

But it could so easily be very different - some of the team were out walking again this weekend with temperatures nudging 30c which presents another set of challenges with the heat sapping energy and making it difficult to keep up a good pace. We'll be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast as we get nearer the event.

Another target beaten

Well, 4everfriends have now raised over £3000 in sponsorship money. That's double our original target and we're pretty amazed at your generousity. To put this into context - in terms of money raised we rank 22nd out of the 500 teams that are entering this year's Trailwalker. But it's more important to remember why we're raising the money.

The money raised through Trailwalker is being split between Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. Oxfam will use the money in three ways:

• disaster relief - the 2010 floods in Pakistan may have disappeared from the news but dealing with its aftermath still goes on and it's just one of a dozen or so disasters Oxfam is addressing;
• development work - Oxfam is working in more than 70 countries to support those living in poverty to take control and solve their own problems; and
• campaigning for change - influencing those who make decisions to improve the lives of those in need.

The Gurkha Welfare Trust will be using the money raised to bring clean, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to more than 80 villages. In some villages people have to queue from 4.00 in the morning to ensure they get the water they need. And during the monsoon months, water borne diseases such as dysentery spread rapidly. The construction of water schemes will help bring water to people's doorstep and put a latrine into every house.

The money you've given us will help to make a difference to people's lives - don't stop giving yet!

It just gets better and better!

As of today we have raised the grand total of £2825  in sponsorship for Oxfam and the Gurkhas.

It's amazing to think that when we set our first target of £1500 back at the start of the year, we thought it was a reasonable sum to aim for. When we passed that sum and raised our target to £2000 in May we made a decision not to raise it any further because we doubted that we could get much more. And here we are on the brink of raising £3000. Everyone who's contributed so far needs to give themselves a big pat on the back.

Clearly we're now aiming to break the £3000 barrier - reading this and you haven't sponsored us yet? Jump on a bandwagon and start giving by clicking here.  Given money already? We are grateful but don't let us stop you giving more! Just use the link above.

Exclusive! We bring you photos from the event of the season

Fiesta Italiana was an exclusive, all-ticket affair so, for those not lucky enough to be there, here are some photos.

Waiting for dinner to be served

And look how lovely the first course was. Note the non-alcoholic cocktail in the background - handmade by Heather and Donna.











Here's Heather selling the raffle tickets -we raised £105 on the night so thanks to all who contributed prizes and bought tickets. That's Denise in the background who masterminded the event.









And here's Dud who was a masterly auctioneer for the auction of promises.

No event is complete without celebs. And while we didn't have any, here are Andrea and Jan. Andrea serenaded us through the meal before going on to model the latest fashion - cardigans worn as trousers. She said her legs were cold but she's on trend as always.

 And finally, a special mention for Alison, seen here accepting flowers for herself and Denise. Both worked hard to make this event so successful and do what we intended - raise lots of money for Oxfam and the Gurkhas.

Molte, molte grazie!

One of the great joys about being involved in the Trailwalker event is finding out how generous people can be with their time and money when it comes to helping us raise money for the Gurkha Welfare Trust and Oxfam.


Last night we held a Fiesta Italiana - not in sunny Italy but in the slightly cooler Suffolk countryside. Those there enjoyed a three course Italian meal with live music accompaniment before digging deep into their pockets to bid for some wonderful offers in an auction of promises including a cream tea for two at Wyken Hall, a beauty treatment courtesy of Jarrolds, a hypnotheraphy session, dog-walking, cake and meal making for special occasions, maths tuition,  family tree research and designer 'pass the parcel' parcels. And then they shelled out again for raffle tickets! To round the evening off, we found out all there is to know about Italy before being seranaded with a superb rendition of 'Volare'.


And on the night we raised over £500 for the Gurkhas and Oxfam - so our heartfelt thanks to Denise for hosting and organising, and to her and her helpers for the meal, to Andrea for serenading us as we ate, to Dud for his autioneering (only one gavel was broken), to the 'Volare' singers, to all those who offered their time and services through the auction, to those who provided raffle prizes and, not least, to all those who attended and gave so generously. Molte grazie to you all!

We've beaten our new sponsorship target!

We've now beaten our new sponsorship target of £2000 which we only set last month! The Oxfam totaliser records us on £2084 as of today. Another very big thank you to all who have given either directly or through buying the recipe book and tickets to the upcoming Italian evening. Not only is this money going to some needy causes, but 4everfriends  now get a special Trailwalker t-shirt to keep forever!

The big training weekend

4everfriends put the late May Bank Holiday to good use by taking to the hills and doing some training on the actual route they'll be following in July. As always lots of lessons have been learnt and here are the pictures to prove it.

While it may be sunny and calm down in the valleys, up on the Downs it can be a bit blowy ('icy gales' is how they described it). Here's Alison taking refuge in the storm tent.

Reminder to the Support Crew - make sure the walkers have got their hats and gloves on before you let them out after dark. And don't forget to wrap up warm yourselves! 

 And here are Aly and Heather (minus their hats and gloves - tut, tut) showing how excited they are to be doing their first night time walk.

Sleep deprivation can have an upsetting impact on the human body and brain, as the team discovered after their night of walking. 'It was like being drunk, we told silly stories and sang a lot.' And when the opportunity for a silly photo arose.....

And after an exhausting night's walking what better then a cooked breakfast? Here's Michelle cooking egg and bacon butties for the walkers while they rest up. Look at the wonderful view of the Downs behind them! A special mention to Sonia who's behind the camera. Not only did she do a great job in capturing all those happy faces but also did sterling work with Michelle in supporting the walkers.

Reminder to the Support Crew - camping stoves are hopeless when it's windy. It took an hour for Michelle and Sonia to boil a kettle. And make sure the walkers sit in an orderly manner and not huddle together like penguins otherwise you'll all be falling over each other and the equipment.

And to finish, here's a couple of photos of the team to show that despite the cold and lack of sleep, the team are still together - up on the Downs with tired legs and down by the sea at Bracklesham Bay.

 And last but not least, Michelle and Sonia, who were support crew for the training weekend, can still manage a smile at the end of the trip.