£544.20 to help build a school in Kenya

Joe Miller-Howes is going to Kenya in July this year to help build a primary school at an orphanage (the Ruiru Rehabilitation Centre) near Nairobi. This will make a big difference to the children as the youngest and most vulnerable students will not have to face a long walk, and the very real risk of death, along the dangerous Thika Highway in order to get to school.

Over the next 3 years Bloxham School will raise over £63,000 to fund this project - on Friday 4th April a fabulous group of people enjoyed a Pollicott Belles style Kenyan School Dinner and helped Joe to raise a massive £544.20 toward that target. Thank you to everyone who supported this evening so incredibly generously - every penny donated has been sent to Bloxham school and every penny they raise is going directly the project. 

Belles in the kitchen 

Dinner Lady Belles and Joe

When Lucinda current head of Wilberforce House met Richard Bates a former head of the same house!

Raffle ticket folding expertise gets to work

Marking the Kenya quiz - not surprisingly the former residents of Ruiru (David and Sue Chetham) helped their team to the no. 1 prize!

Our beautiful Belle Annalise, and a drop in special guest, made it impossible for anyone to leave without first giving generously to the cause.

Joe has now raised almost £650 so has fulfilled his commitment to raise a minimum £500 for the project and he can now focus on his A2 exams before getting stuck in to working alongside the Ruiru builders this Summer. The Pollicott Belles will continue to support the project and will post updates as fundraising progresses and the journey to Ruiru progresses and the adventure unfolds. 

We can't change the world but we can change a child's life!

Joe Miller-Howes will be travelling to Nairobi in July this year and we are supporting the fundraising efforts for the school he will be helping to build. 

Here’s Joe’s explanation of the project:

The project is on the outskirts of Nairobi in an area called Ruiru and we will be helping an orphanage, The Ruiru Rehabilitation Centre (RRC), build a two storey nine classroom school on an adjacent plot of land to be used by the children in the orphanage as well as the locals from the surrounding area. The need for the school is great as children have to walk up to four hours every day to and from school along a 6 lane newly built highway; there have been fatalities of young children over the past two years.

Our plan is simple; raise £63,000 to allow the school to be built (in stages), and send a group of 18 pupils (from my school) and 4 members of staff each year from 2014 to help at the school for 3 weeks and then, once the project is self-sustaining (through a small payment from the local children who will use the school) we then withdraw our support as our part of the project will be complete. When successful we may then look to implement the same blueprint at another site in another part of Kenya.

Tonight Andy and Sian are braving a quiz battling our knowledge vs. that of intellects, academics and worldly wise folk at Joe's school BUT then on 4th April 2014 The Pollicott Belles will do what they do best and pull out all the stops to host a Kenyan School Dinner in Ashendon. 

Please let a Belle know if you are able to join us for this (dress accordingly) night out in what was our old schoolroom: Ashendon Village Hall. 

Watch this space for more about Ruiru in our next blog. 

Droving Belles - Part 1

On Friday 28th September 2012 we set off to walk in the footsteps of the Drovers who helped to shape the rural landscape we enjoy today.

Over three days we walked the Drover's routes and the ancient green lanes from Faringdon (South of Oxford) to Touchbridge (Brill).

The route followed the map below. Covering a distance of just over 30 miles through fields and woods, along, paths, tracks, rivers and roads. From Faringdon to Oxford we were following the Drover's route to and from Southampton docks. After Oxford it was the London route and took in commons where animals were rested a while before their final drive to market. Throughout we enjoyed spotting evidence of the past users of these ancient routes. This we plan to share over a series of short blogs to follow this.

Our Route

Our journey began from Pollicott in Oli, Sian's beloved, 34 year old yellow, VW campervan who was then manoeuvered around Oxfordshire as part of the logistical back up provided by our ever supportive Pollicott Boys - Andy, Joe and Steve.

On Friday we tramped to Abingdon where Andy and Joe met us with the van which we then drove to Oxford for a noisy night at the local Caravan Club site. On Sunday we returned to Abingdon and made it all the way to Horton cum Studley where the van had been left for us by Andy, Joe and Steve. We should have returned to the camp site in Oxford but (as we were so close to home) we succumbed to the allure of our own beds and returned to Horton Cum Studley to finish our walk on Sunday morning on which we were joined by Steve and Vicky. 

Like all Belles outings it was an adventure and we made the most of the precious time we spent together. We will tell all day by day in parts 2-4 of Droving Belles and hope that you will be able to enjoy our journey almost as much as we did.  

Tequila Fundrise!

Once again The Pollicott Belles convinced Andy Dale, (Landlord of Gatehangers Inn, Ashendon) that it was a good idea to hand over his pub to our care for one night only - and so he did and so there was...Mexican Night hosted by The Pollicott Belles.

40 brilliant guests filled the bar and were treated to Annalise's nacho nibbles with a brave few starting the evening as they intended to go on with Vicky's tequila shots.

Build your Own Taco's by Sian kept our guests busy while in the kitchen the heat was on to prepare and serve the magnificent main: Alex's (con Steve) chilli with rice and tortilla and various alternatives (veggie by Vicky, no chilli etc.). As some determinedly battled through their massively generous chilli portions others enjoyed a quick round of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. With Freddy Holbrook in charge of tail sales this proved to be a quick cash generator.

 

As plates were cleared everyone enthusiastically joined in the Mexican Snap game and took the opportunity to sit with someone different as we served Vicky's fabulous puddings: a choice of chocolate brulee (wow) or grilled fruit kebabs with honey.

 

The final flourish came with the Piñata (containing the after dinner treats!). Now this was an eye opener as ordinarily kind and gentle guests turned into donkey bashers. Just look at the determination on their faces:

 

 

Throughout the evening a Mexican picture quiz was carefully pondered over by all - it was quite hard to find 25 questions and even harder to answer them but the Dutch contingent managed an impressive 14 points to scoop the top prize - a supremely naf Mexican Bell.

The raffle and more tequila shots continued to keep the funds rolling in for Florence Nightingale Hospice and with everyone being invited to donate an amount they felt reflected the value of their meal and the evening we raised a massive total of:

£1140

 

The Belles thoroughly enjoyed putting the evening together and we have had some lovely feedback but it was of course not wholly down to us. Firstly we say a huge thanks to all our guests for throwing themselves into the spirit of the night. Next we express our gratitude (and respect!) to Andy Dale for the loan of his livlihood and for donating the wine. Also thanks to Gill Walker for her unstinting help throughout the night and into the next day. Last (and of course not least) thanks to our boys for their moral support through our pre-planning sessions and for all their hard work on the night: Andy, Roger and Steve you are top gringos!

Roger and Andy the Bar Boys

Steve the Chef

Gill (with Alex) our behind the scenes rock (as well as chief raffle sales girl extraordinaire)

 

We now look forward to telling you all (in the next few blogs) about how our challenge walk went.

Clickety Click, Kerching, Kerching

On Friday 14th September Ashendon and surrounding villages (and a mighty fine couple from down Wiltshire way) made an impressive turn out for Belles Bingo night and helped us to raise an equally impressive £254.40p for Florence Nightingale Hospice.

Despite technical challenges Andy Dale ably called the numbers, checked the winners and kept the six games in line. We have to say Andy you have really got to grips with the fat ladies and little ducks, the Brighton Line and the blind things. We declare you the Belles top caller.

With wins for a first line and full house, a bonus second line on the final game and a well stocked raffle prize table we came close to declaring 'everyone a winner'.

We must thank Pelham Sparks of Westcott Club for lending us his number selection machine and for donating a supply of mighty fine bingo pens. The latter added to the evening in so many ways - we sold them, they added professionalism, Imo found them useful for decorating her bingo card and later in the evening we discovered they could be used for face decoration. Oh and they are indelible!

Andy sporting an indelible beard and dots.

With just over £400 in the fundraising bag we do, of course, feel more than obliged to complete the challenge. So on Friday 28th September Alex, Annalise and Sian will set off for three days to follow in the drovers footsteps from Faringdon to Oxford and Oxford to Brill.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. To sponsor us on our walk please go to http://www.justgiving.com/pollicottbelles2 and please look out for details of our final fundraiser of the season which will be held on 19th October 2012 (put it in the diary - it's not to be missed!).

Beware of the Cows

When I heard Vicky wasn’t going to be available this year for The Pollicott Belles I kind of hinted to mum (Alex) that I’d be happy to step in of they needed someone else to make up the numbers. For two years I’d heard about tea and cakes, cups of coffee, and ice cream – it all sounded OK to me so I was pretty pleased when I was told I could join in for this years sponsored walk.

We set off from Pollicott at eight thirty on Sunday morning to walk down to Quainton to meet some other people who were doing an even bigger walk. An interesting experience what with cows that followed us through the fields and the road – this was the road where mum had her accident last year and this was the first time we’d been down there since then.

I thought maybe it would help to shoo cows away but well noticed by Alex and Sian it did look like I was praying to them – especially it being Sunday as well.

We stopped for a quick chat with some local residents safely knowing there were no cars or cows in sight.

When we reached Quainton we realised we had missed the Ashendon walkers so we sat down with an ice lolly and a refreshing drink to look at the map and plan our route home. Nearby there was a rather interesting take on violin playing from a near by house. This was what I was expecting – ice cream, drinks, and music.

On route home we came across a field with a rather large herd of younger horses. Working at The Horse Trust and loving horses as much as I do it became my job to guard Sian and Alex from them as they herded towards us in a rather excitable fashion. The Belles knew I would come in useful eventually.

Getting closer to home we ran out of map to guide us home, Sian was doing well to direct us back but mum was convinced she had hidden some directions in her bum bag.

We met a very friendly farmer who decided that maybe we looked a little lost and very reassuringly mentioned that the field we had just walked through just last week had a bull in it – well dodged I think from some of the reactions in the earlier fields.

Once decided that we already knew where we were going and the nice farmer had just told us what we already knew, I had my first piece of girlie advice from Sian. She happened to mention that when dealing with men you should act like you know nothing when really you know it all.

Taking a slight detour near the end of the walk as we had a little trouble finding the exit to the field we decided to cut the walk a little short and Andy met us at the end to give us a lift back home.

8.30 – 1.30, 5 hours for a 12 ½ mile walk. Not bad I think especially as we had to be all washed fresh and looking funky as we had a date with Lady Gaga at Twickenham rugby stadium at 7.

Sian and I looked particularly funky as we rocked the night away dancing along to the music and had a great time. Mum and Andy looking not so funky I think had a little snooze waiting for Gaga to arrive.

Was an absolutely great day and really looking forward to doing our walk later this month.

Annalise
xxx

A Warm Welcome at Florence Nightingale Hospice

And warm in every sense of the word. It was a beautiful late summers day when I headed over to Stoke Mandeville last Wednesday to meet Lindsey Fealey from FNH and the warmth of the day was easily matched by the warmth of the welcome I received from such lovely, caring, people.

With both Annalise and Vicky committed to work and Sian being dragged off at the last minute to a client meeting, I was admittedly a tad nervous about taking this initial introduction on my own, but Lindsey had me at ease within seconds.

As I entered the hospice at Stoke Mandeville I was immediately struck by the commitment and passion behind the work that goes on here, these are people who truly believe in what they do….and it shows.

The hospice itself is an incredible facility offering both ‘day’ and ‘residential’ care for the people who have come to rely on it so much. There is a great range of activities on offer including things like arts & crafts, hairdressing, and head massage, the hospice clearly goes to considerable lengths to make sure every day has something for everyone.

The memory that lasts in my mind is what I’d like to think of as a ‘secret garden’, a truly remarkable part of the facility. Somewhere at the heart of the hospice, surrounded by residential and care rooms, and the hectic world of Stoke Mandeville Hospital just a few steps outside, sits a garden full of the most vibrant colours. Open to the sky, with plants and hanging baskets surrounding you, the silence is only to be broken by the soothing sound of the water feature. This is a place where it is easy to forget why FNH exists, I couldn’t help feeling this was a very special place for so many people.

As my visit neared it’s end I was surprised to find that, what seemed like twenty minutes, had indeed been close to two hours – a truly remarkable facility that clearly means so much to so many people. As Lindsey handed me the FNH ‘T’ shirts for The Belles sponsored walk I knew we would be proud to wear them, to put something back into such a worthy cause and for our friend John Walker who cannot be with us.

Love and thanks,

Alex     x

                              The Belles in our new Florence Nightingale Hospice attire

Belles Bingo is Back

On Friday 14th September 2012 Belles Bingo will be making a big come back at Gatehangers Inn, Ashendon.

To be part of this exciting night out all you need to do is bag your Bingo Cards, get a drink and find a seat by 7.30 pm for eyes down at 8pm prompt.

Andy Dale has been practicing his clickety clicks, has his 2 little ducks in a row and is polishing his key to the door in readiness for his best performance yet. (Really!)

Alex has been touting and scouting around for prizes and there is little doubt that, as always, there will be something for everyone to win.

So, please come along and support us and help us to raise some funds for Florence Nightingale Hospice.

It really doesn't matter if you can't play Bingo - come for the fun of a Belles night out!

See you there we hope.

Sorry, no hand signals!

OK, before we get stuck into our weekend training adventure I’d better introduce you to Oli, the latest addition to The Pollicott Belles, who featured heavily in last weekends little experience.

Think Flower Power, Jimi Hendrix, Mamas and Papas, and you’ll be on the right lines -  Oli is Sians Volkswagon camper van, in bright yellow in case you might miss it.

Oli was brought into play on what was (so far) the hottest day of the year, as Sian and I set off to Worminghall. The plan was to give Oli a good run out and to get us to the start of our first serious walk of the new fund raising campaign for Florence Nightingale Hospice – The Clifden Arms.

Given this was the start of the days training our visit to The Clifden Arms involved only soft drinks….very much out of keeping with The Belles, but work to be done.

After a quick study of the map we decided to head off in what we thought was the direction of the pathway we were after, but ‘oh dear’ – lost after just thirty seconds. Not to worry though we headed in the direction of a friendly face sat having a drink outside of the pub but, not to be, before we could reach him he was up on his feet and off into the pub.

Just as we thought we’d lost our only hope of a ‘point in the right direction’ there was the friendly face – in the open window almost next to us. ‘Hi’ said Sian, ‘we’re looking for the pathway on this map’ she said, kind of holding the map up as if that might help jog his memory. As he began to explain the best he could we realised this window leads into the gents toilet – Sian was busy holding a map in her hand as it quickly became apparent this gentleman was holding something in his – and it wasn’t a map!

‘Sorry, no hand signals’ came the friendly voice, clearly trying to help us feel at ease with the situation we had managed to get ourselves into, I may have felt a little more at ease but I’m sure my red face was radiating more heat than the hot sun.

Eventually we did get on our way and once clear of the window and out of sight of the kind man, well, it would have been wrong not to have almost fallen over with laughter. Sian and I agreed…today was going to be a good day.

The map shows the route far better than I can explain it but the basic plan was to head off to Waterperry (cake here, so huge incentive for us to make good time), then make a circuit of around 7 miles, and head back to Oli at Worminghall.

I have to conclude that walking seems to be every bit as hazardous as bike riding, perhaps because Sians warning of 'watch the rabbit hole' took on less urgency at walking speed than perhaps it might had I been riding a bike. Anyway, I failed to 'watch the rabbit hole' until my foot was well and truly stuck and I was left fighting to maintain some balance. Fortunately it was a case of 'no harm done' and I walked away unscathed but I did begin to wonder how I might have explained a broken ankle to the consultant treating my arm injury from last year - I assured him we'd be doing 'safe fundraising' this year, not a bike in sight, to turn up to his next consultation on a pair of crutches might have been awkward.

As we arrived back into Worminghall I really did begin to worry about Sian. Alongside the wall of a local church someone had very thoughtfully placed a bowl of water for anyone walking a dog, a very kind gesture on such a hot day. As Sian headed straight for it and began to stoop down I really did begin to question whether it was wise to have gone out on such a hot day - what I didn't see from the angle I was at was the fresh cold water tap on the wall above the bowl. A moment of some relief I can assure you.

Oli was a welcome sight and, after 3 hours in the hot sunshine, we sat back and enjoyed a short rest before setting off back to Pollicott. It had been a fun day....can't wait until the next one.

Love

Alex x

Planning our Route

Our original plan was to walk from East Ilsley to Thame and Thame to Pollicott to follow the routes of our Pollicott & Ashendon forbears. This route, however, had a few too many issues (not least that we couldn't find really strong evidence of what that route was and also that a significant chunk of it is on The Ridgeway/Icknield Way and we have already cycled that). So, along with our charity shift, we have trampled all over our plans and decided to follow a known Drover's Road from Faringdon to Oxford and then from Oxford to Brill.

Finding the route is still no easy matter. From Faringdon we have a rough idea of the route to Abingdon which the following images help to illustrate. We will be carefully re-tracing this route on our OS maps over the next few days. We believe this may have been known as Southampton Street or Gloucester Street and that it came across from Monmouth.

Our final push we know will be an approach to Brill from Little London (see our previous blog) but the bit in between Abingdon and Little London is still more than blurry.

There are a few enthusiasts around whom we hope to track down to pick their brains. Bruce Smith of Syresham if you read this please drop us a note. Bruce is on the WI speaker circuit so any friends with access to WI speaker lists please help us to find an email for him. We have also been given a local contact near Brill who we hope will be able to help us piece together our journey. Any other contacts or suggestions will be gratefully received.

Please watch out for more news of our route plan and of our fundraising efforts over the coming month. For anyone who would just like to make an online donation to Florence Nightingale Hospice, we now have a justgiving page set up: http://www.justgiving.com/pollicottbelles2

Our walk begins in less than 7 weeks!

It's a Ladies Perogative

After much soul searching, Alex and I (Sian) took a decision to change our chosen charity this year and we are now going to be walking to raise funds for a local charity - Florence Nightingale Hospice, Stoke Mandeville.

We were both lacking a inspiration for the charity we had originally chosen to support this year and, to add to that, we were not getting any motivation from them. This lack of oomph was affecting our psyche and we were struggling to get excited about this year's challenge and the fundraising to go with it. So, it's a late change but we have personal connection with the charity we have now chosen to complete our challenge for.  

Florence Nightingale Hospice has been there for our friends in Ashendon and in our hearts we very much want to support this wonderful charity.

We have set a date for our walk - Friday to Sunday 28-30th September and are planning a fun, fundraiser for just before we leave. Watch this space.

Please support us any way you can.

Talking About Our Adventures

When the Ashendon WI asked us last year if us 'Belles' would be willing to do a talk about our adventures at one of their monthly meetings we couldn't refuse, so in the new year when the flyer came throught the door for the Ashendon WI schedule for the year and there we were in print for March's meeting there was no getting out of it!!

Sian is definately the most confident of speakers in us 'Belles' as she does this regularly as part of running her business, but to Alex and myself it is a daunting task to stand up in front of a hall full of WI members.

March came up quicker than ever and soon we were days away with no real speech prepared, however a hasty meeting in my kitchen two afternoons before our 'date' we bashed through a rough schedule and some great photos soon got our memories jogged and with some new found confidence we felt prepared enough to face the ladies of Ashendon!

Despite a slight village hall lighting problem we set up our projector and laptop and as the ladies came pilling in through the door and took their seats my new found confidence was already starting to slip, but with Sian getting the talk off to a very slick start I found enough confidence to deliver our account of the South Downs Way experiences. We seemed to be recieved well and we even got to partake in a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake, well Alex and I did, unfortunately Sian missed out on that bit as she had to rush off to play in a netball match!

So we can now add public speaking to our list of talents, although I for one actually prefer cycling to speaking!!

A Towering Success

Well that’s what it said on the tin…the map actually but you get the joke? The map was supplied by Sian and our walk was titled ‘A Towering Success’ – and so it turned out to be.

With our Vicky out for the count with an ear infection and well under the weather, Joe scheduled to make a choir session in Bloxham, Sian and I opted to take full advantage of a beautiful spring day (in February!!) and try out the walk from Hook Norton.

Firstly it might be worth mentioning that around this time last year all of us came to grief on the icy roads – this year Sian and I are walking out across the open countryside in ‘T’ shirts – none of this yellow ‘high viz’ stuff this time.

The walk itself was truly amazing, I love walking and I know Sian does too and even in far more dubious weather a good walk can lift your mood for the day…but in such glorious sunshine and peaceful surroundings it can be a real lift.

Did I say “peaceful?” - just as Sian and I were settling down to a decent bit of Belles Banter the girl leaps into life as if a tiger had jumped out from the hedgerow. Somewhat startled I swung round to see what the problem was only to be surrounded by about 6 or 7 cyclists out for a Sunday ride. I ask you, who goes out cycling these days…last years news for us Belles. But they were fit young chaps so we’ll cut them some slack.

As with all Belles training days there was tea and cakes lined up at the end, this time in the The Joiners Arms. Sian had given up both cake and biscuits for ‘Lent’ so the delicious biscuit that arrived with our coffee was little more than temptation to Sian so I did the dutiful thing and ate it for her. What a friend! When the teacakes arrived I did suggest these may also fall outside of permitted foods but Sian was having none of it this time – I didn’t hear her reply as she was too busy eating. Apparently teacakes don’t count.

Joe eventually caught up with us and we set off back in the car towards Pollicott, via Lidl in Bicester. What a bizarre mix of merchandise…never before can I recall strolling the centre isle of a supermarket with jam and marmalade on one side and metric socket sets and motor cycle accessories on the other.

Eventually we arrived back at Pollicott to continue with our Sunday, more tea and cake for Annalises birthday.

Our first stressful training session over…not!

Love

Alex xxx

The Beeb inspires The Belles

Our research had a little boost from Countryfile this week - see we Belles start and others will follow!  Adam went to Wales to herd a flock of sheep along an ancient droving route, ending in the hamlet of Rhewl. The network of tracks and roads that criss-cross our countryside are still evident today - so, all we have to do is find our route. The programme did share a couple of tips on spotting Drover's routes:

• Often high banks ran alongside the route to keep out strays from neighbouring land
• Lush fields next to old inns indicate grazing used by drovers

Boosted by this a dig around the Internet has helped to identify a few facts relating to our route:

We plan to start out from East Ilsley which by 1240 had an already substantial corn-market and by the Middle Ages a major sheep fair, attracting drovers bringing their stock along the Ridgeway. (We know it well!).

A book The Drovers by Shirley Toulson provides more detail that seems to confirm that the first section of our walk will follow part of the Ridgeway in the direction of Wallingford.

Place names provide useful indications of the possible existence of drover's routes. For example Halfpenny relates to the fee drovers paid for grazing. Anything with Drovers in is a good clue (Drovers Arms and so on) and a place with London in its name is also a good indication that it was on a Drover's route and a significant place for the travelling community.

It's not on our route but it seems Little London (at Oakley just down the road from Brill) may have been established by Welsh cattle drovers. Cattle drovers established at least 70 communities in England and Wales, many of which still exist. They were on common land, separated from local communities and were temporary homes for long-distance drovers, driving their cattle to the great fairs and markets of London and other centres in England.

Then something exciting popped up when I googled Drover's Buckinghamshire. I found a map that shows Thame on a Drover's road that runs to Witney a bit far from East Ilsley but there may be a link across.

All in all a good start - we have a beginning and we know there is a route through Thame.

To finish, we share a totally unrelated fact uncovered by searching for 'Ridgeway' and 'Drovers' turned up this fact on google: "Ridgeway Rovers were formed in 1979 and is famous for being the first club David Beckham played for." Hmm I feel a quiz fundraiser event coming on!!

Needles and Haystacks - can you help us?

As Alex explained, in her shining first blog entry for 2012, this year we will walk. It should come as no surprise to hear that this will not be without challenge.  So first I will explain the background to our challenge choice. 

Many years ago a neighbour, Bob Ewers (sadly now dead), told me a story of his working life. Bob was Roger's grandfather. Roger is Vicky's partner and Bob was born and bred in Ashendon. He wasn't one for 'reminiscing the country life' because it was just normal life to him. So he surprised me one day when he told me how, as a young lad, he had first been employed to drive animals (sheep and cattle) to market - along the byways to market (in Thame). Starting out, he was given money to buy lemonade on arrival at the market pub, eventually (at an appropriate age) the amount increased so that he could buy a beer and the best bit was when he was promoted from foot to horseback. His story, though brief, was of lost times and lost places and it absolutely captured my heart. I often walk out of Pollicott toward Chearsley and wonder if I am following Bob's foot/hoof prints and I would truly love to know his route. 

Having decided our charity this year would be The Alzheimer's Society we Belles had lots of 'planning meetings' and 'what to do' conversations. Memory is a good Alzheimer's theme that led us to 'a walk down memory lane' and that led to the green lanes of the past and then eventually all linked up to Bob's story. But, as attractive as it sounds, Bob's route from Thame to Pollicott is not a big enough challenge for us girls to command big sponsorship for. Our ideas did get a bit over creative with the suggestion that "we could borrow a few sheep and cows!" and then another conversation clicked into place. 

On our arrival back from the first Pollicott Belles Challenge - Cycling The Ridgeway - we were greeted in style by 'The Village' at a village 'do' in Pollicott. And it was here our challenge was destined to be. Geoff Curtis an Ashendon Farmer (who is also sadly no longer with us) was very excited to hear we had travelled The Ridgeway passing through East Ilsley where "the largest sheep fair in the country" is held. Geoff went on to chat about good times, and happy memories, of sheep market days in East Ilsley. It was one of the longest conversations I ever had with Geoff and it was, truly, inspirational. I guess also that, in past times, local farmers and their employees, will have walked to that market in East Ilsley. 

So, there you have it - our challenge is a Walk along Memory Lane from East Ilsley back to Pollicott, via Thame - it may be subject to some variance but in essence that is the plan.  

Fittingly, given our charity this year, the initial challenge is more mental than physical. I thought the easiest way to explain why is to share the 2 responses I have had so far to an e-mail sent to several local history and archive organisations. 

Here goes:

FROM ME: Dear (Local History/Archivist)

I am hoping you may be able to help me kick off some research into ‘droving’ routes in Bucks and Oxon. I would like to find out more about the routes used from villages to the local market towns to drive sheep/cattle and about the recorded routes between market towns and central markets. Do you have records of the routes generally used or know where I could find out more?

The purpose is to plan a charity walk from Upper Pollicott, Ashendon to Thame and from Thame to East Ilsley following the route a neighbour/grandfather used to take when driving sheep to market.

THE REPLIES: 

Dear Ms Miller, Thank you for your email enquiry regarding droving routes in Bucks. That sort of historical information is more likely held at the ... 

AND 

Thank you for your email and enquiry concerning routes used by drovers to drive livestock to market. Unfortunately the routes that drovers used are difficult to recreate, except when, as in your case, they have been passed down by word of mouth. You are very fortunate to have this information.

A few months ago we came across some papers of a drover who had gone bankrupt. Two of his account books had been kept amongst the Quarter Sessions papers. It was lucky for posterity that we had them, because in the books he wrote what he paid at each toll gate to pass through as well as the charges he had to pay to overnight his livestock. In this way we were able to plot his route which ran from near Aylesbury to London, via Amersham and Little Chalfont. I don't know of any other routes drovers used. You could try...

That's the total result of our research so far - oh and I have a book that lists drovers' routes from Brill to Oxford, Oxford to Wantage, and Wantage to Goring with a cut off to East Ilsley. So there is a way but it's just not quite in the right direction!

We will share what we learn over the coming months. However, this time round The Pollicott Belles would really appreciate it if anyone can help us to piece together a route that genuinely follows in the footsteps of our forbears. Please get in touch if you can. Many thanks. 

Sian  

2012 - The Belles Are Shining As Brightly As Ever

“And that's it, all over. Watch this space. 2012 is just around the corner”.

Well…I have news for you…2012 is well and truly here and the Belles are well and truly back.

Well almost...as Sian has already mentioned I had a bit of a mishap leading up to Christmas.

Hundreds of miles on a bike, sleeping in tents, freezing to death, and dodging Sian throwing her bike about….nothing! A quick walk out the village on a Saturday afternoon and BAM!!…two days in hospital with my arm being stuck back together. We usually go to The Gatehangers on a Saturday but opted this day to go for a walk…never been hit by a car in The Gatehangers so lesson learnt.

The bad news is that bike riding has been given a thumbs down by my new found friends at the hospital…too risky apparently should I fall off and take an impact on my wrist. So The Belles have had to do some serious thinking…we can’t have 2012 pass us by without some serious fund raising for another good cause.

“If we can’t ride then maybe we should walk” was the suggestion.

“Walk where?” was the question.

So the 2012 Pollicott Belles fund raising challenge was born…’A Trip Down Memory Lane’ is the theme. We’ll leave it at that for the moment as we have some really great stuff to tell you about as the ‘master plan’ unveils itself.

Without all of our friends and supporters The Pollicott Belles would be nothing more than three girls out on their bikes and this year we’re hoping you’ll bring us all together once again to raise money for The Alzheimer’s Society. We’re looking forward to this years challenge and you’ll be hearing much more about this in future blogs.

In the words of The Terminator “I’ll be back” (hey…I have as much metal in my arm as Arnie ever did) but before I go just a quick word on Sians concern about ‘taking the shine off The Pollicott Belles.

The South Downs Way was a monster challenge for all of us, we’re not professional cyclists and to be honest none of us would choose sleeping out in cold rain as a weekend break. We were all tired, hungry, cold, and thirsty…and The Belles are a team…we were all in the ‘same place’ that day and we would never have got as far as that ridge without Sian pushing us along. As I said in the title – The Belles Are Shining As Brightly As Ever and ready to go.

Love

Alex xxx

The Final Flourish! The Big Finish?

After a camp cooked breakfast to raise the spirits of even the most despondent we were delivered back to the top of Ditchling Beacon. After waving off our boys we set out on our final day of pedalling, looking forward to lunch and (eventually) the big finish.

The weather wasn't too bad (a bit gloomy but dry) and under tyre was soft and grassy with easy tracks so we made excellent progress We even found time to stop and talk to cows and a calf and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings.

Day 2 begins here! Keen as Mustard!!

One short section saw us off our bikes briefly as gradient, tight turns and tree routes made it impossible to stay on board and then we were back on and whizzing along happily. The morning was going brilliantly.

At Rodmell we met fellow cyclists, a dog walker who though it was OK to let her dogs run loose among cattle and 2 very friendly runners who were happy to stop and chat a while. We left them via a very steep grass track over a rutted field and limericks, depicting our potential fate, took hold.

There was a young lady called Amber
Who found herself on a steep camber
She flew round the bend
And met a bad end
Now get well cards we'll all send her

That was the publishable one! Crossing the bull field Sian's limerick involved a rave, a bull called Dave and an early grave.

Up on the high ground we enjoyed fabulous views across the beacons and watched with dismay as the clouds moved closer and closer and lower and lower and got darker and darker. Lunch time soon though - so no problem!

The rain started as we arrived at Black Cap our lunch time meeting place - but what? no van? Andy and Joe arrived first. Van was lost. We had to cycle one more car park to get to them. The wind picked up. The rain took hold. We were very, very cold (there is a limerick in there somewhere). We sat behind the car until van arrived and the speed at which we all jumped into the van was supremely impressive!

Note: I'm still smiling - the wonders of kettle chips!

The bad bit was having to start all over again. With hoods pulled down tight under our cycling helmets we braved the elements and peddalled over the open downs with cross winds swiping at us all the way. It was utterly miserable. It was grim beyond belief. It was total madness. I can't think of any other way to describe it but nasty. It felt like an age until we finally dropped off the hill and started a slippery descent on chalk into Jevington and then eventually into Alfriston. The joy of finding civilisation caused us to lose concentration for a few brief moments. We glided through the village at such pace that a (slight) navigational error was inevitable and eventually re-routed to enjoy a relatively calm trip along the river and through woods.

As the weather brightened so did we and I almost remember the long, long, going onward and upward and never ending chalk track with affection. Really!

And then, all of a sudden, Beachy Head was ahead (tempting but...) and the cruise along the coastline down into Eastbourne was a truly enjoyable event. We arrived in Eastbourne and headed for Tourist Information to end our epic ride. And round the corner stood our lovely, long suffering and ever supportive families together with our slightly bemused friends (Scott, Karen and Charlie) who had 'daytripped' to Eastbourne to see the end of 'the ride' expecting bunting and banners and cheering crowds and were surprised to find they were it.

With much cheering and waving and handing out the all important champagne we were welcomed back to reality. 

Cheers!



And that's it. All over. Watch this space. 2012 is just around the corner.

Bamboozled by Brighton

With Alex recovering in hospital today (after being hit by a car while out walking on Saturday) I turned my thoughts to brighter times and realised we still have to share days 2 and 3 of our South Downs Challenge. Day 2 is hard for me - I have put it off, as the events at the end of our day's cycling still plays on my mind - but here goes.

We were up bright and early and decided to just pop a note through the door of our good samaritan farmer (rather than wake him up) - I hope he got that note and knows just how much we appreciated his field.

Amber didn't appear at first but, after much nagging, she ventured out and her tent was dismantled before she had chance to get back in! and back on our bikes we headed up hill out of Cocking to the South Downs car park by the Cowdray Estate for breakfast.

The scrambled (more frambled) eggs, bread and coffee were not quite up to Master Chef Steve's usual standards but it hit the spot and we set off with purpose to attack the brilliantly named Didling Hill - a downhill that then involves a mile of uphill. After that we then made really good time on a nice (smoothish) track and only stopped for a quick banana skin throwing contest (which Amber won easily - top banana award to her).

Around 10.00 ish we came across lots of runners warming up. Because Belles do stopping to chat best we quickly established that these were the Stage 3 runners of the 3 section relay taking place as part of a half marathon event. With marshalls watching from the bottom of the hill I was absolutely determined to get all the way up a long, steep slippery, rutted chalk, track that ordinarily even I would have walked up! at the top I was rewarded with the opportunity to cheer on the front runners of the relay as I waited for my fellow Belles.



The long hill is the chalk line on the far side heading into trees.



At some point we got a bit lost and found ourselves on a farm track we shouldn't have been on. Surprised by a speeding farmer on a quad bike (really he was going far to fast for a public track) we stopped and suspecting we were on the wrong route we redoubled and found we had missed turn. Female logic is grand. Though you will soon find it failed us later in the day.

We were soon back on track and crossing the river at Amberley. Pub was mentioned in Amberley but we didn't find it - the South Downs Way manages to skirt the entire village and gives no opportunity to get to the ever evident pub with it's very inviting umbrellas. We did take full advantage of the water tap on route though. Aah well, remember this is all for charity!

Lunch eventually came upon us - we had to run a very busy A road but on the far side Steve and Annalise were waiting in the car park (Washington I think) with a fabulous feast of handmade sarnies (from a little shop in Brighton where these 2 had been to play on the beach and for us seemed so far away) and strawberries, oh the strawberries were a true inspiration. Their efforts were slightly outshined by the Korean MB support team who arrived and set up a table then loaded it with a high calorie, protein filled feast for the team in training who were today doing the entire length of the South Downs Way - honestly there are times when...

With tummys full we set off uphill on a loose stony track and just kept going. The track opens up onto downland for the first time today and we found ourselves on a beautiful sweeping grassy track that was soft under saddle (for a while). Here we 'reunited' with a couple we had met yesterday and stopped for a catch up - they had been concerned about us and where we would end up so we had to tell them the cock up story. Tonight they are stopping at Truleigh Hill YHA - we have quite a bit further than that to do so waved farewell and trundled on.

This is a ride for meeting lovely people. Next we met a horse rider and her fabulously crazy boyfriend who was happy to walk alongside to open gates. Also a couple of (older) ladies were cycling at their own pace and having a wonderful time. Oh, we also came across the Koreans again waiting to serve afternoon tea to their chaps - no Steve and Annalise here though - no wonder the Koreans can do it in a day!

Up to Truleigh Hill and over Devils Dyke the views are amazing - the new Brighton and Hove Albion football stadium was ever present and eventually we could see the sea before we dropped off the ridge and came to a small village (Saddlescombe I think) and hurrah, hurrah we found a tea stand where we had the honour of being last customers of the day and had our coffee topped up for free.

From here the phone calls began - the boys had found a campsite and were pitching tents and wanted to know how long we would be - we hadn't got a clue of course but were now feeling the day was coming to a close. Then disaster, we got lost. Not very lost but lost enough to get confused. We somehow had missed a turn just before the A23 and didn't realise. We followed our route directions and they worked perfectly, logic and instinct didn't tell us we were about half a mile short of where we should be as we crossed the bridge over the A23. Here it became obvious we were not on route. We found a friendly mountain biking local and asked advice.

No problem said he - go up the road, round the corner and up the road again then take any (yes any) bridlepath to the left and it will bring you back up to the South Downs Way. So, it was a slight diversion but it saved us having to back track and we felt it was OK to miss a little bit. Big mistake.

We managed to get on the only (any) bridlepath that ended up as a dead end on a footpath. We couldn't see the South Downs Way and we really didn't want to lift our bikes over anymore stiles. My sense of direction is good and, despite the stiles, I felt we were headed in the right direction (and this was proven by my sat nav on phone). However, nerves were stretched and tiredness was taking hold and now, we had a stile to lift over.

Before I admit to what happened next, I would like to present a case for my defence. I was feeling quite sick with nerves. True I had the courage of conviction that we were close on route but I didn't know which side of Ditchling we were at and I was absolutely dreading the thought of the Belles reaction to discovering we had to cycle Ditchling Beacon. I simply didn't realise the South Downs Way crosses the top of this infamous local landmark and that we were already up top. So, I was very, very worried. (Case dismissed - no not really!).

Poor Vicky (of all people) 'whinged' just a little about the stile and my nerve cracked. We lifted 3 bikes over the stile and (unfortunately) Vicky turned away before my bike had made the crossing. So, oh this is hard to say, I did something I am truly ashamed of...

...I threw my bike over the stile. My poor bike that has served me so well. And, I threw it without even thinking what it could do to Vicky (nothing luckily). I then got on my bike and peddled off leaving 3 stunned (though still stroppy) Belles behind me. I hit the road and was relieved to spot (before the spectre of Ditchling Beacon had chance to present itself) a Green RS Focus coming along the road - hooray for Andy and the smiling Joe! They stopped briefly then drove on to find the others giving me time to calm down in a layby while waiting for them to find the others and get their bikes onto his car before coming back for me.

We then drove down Ditchling Beacon into the village and out the other side to a lovely little campsite with tents pitched, basic (but functional) loos, a shower and no rain.

Wine, chips and the thought of being able to sleep in properly put up tents with duvets and pumped up mattresses, soon calmed the nerves and we got on with entertaining our boys with stories of the day and discovering the delights of the toilet at the camp site!

Alex, Amber and Vicky all know how sorry I am about 'the incident' but still, to this day, I am truly ashamed and often wonder if, in that short moment, I took the shine off the Pollicott Belles just a little bit. For now, though, we have more important issues to consider - how to get Alex mended and back on a bike?

I dedicate this blog edition to my lovely friend Alex and hope the arm mends fast.

Camping Cock up in Cocking

The pain has passed and it’s time we shared some of the highs and lows of our trip along the South Downs Way. I am going to start with the camping cock up in Cocking.

Day One took 13 hours of hard pedalling (don’t ask me why – we didn’t let up any) - and despite meeting some lovely people we were all getting despondent as we neared the end of the day.

Then phone calls started to come in from our support team (problems afoot) and supporters club (which pub are you in?) which slowed us down even more AND added to the trauma.

Earlier in the day space at Graffham campsite was confirmed as ours. A nice campsite with showers and a pub nearby - wonderful - that thought had spurred us on. However when our support crew arrived they were told our tents had to be erected by 8pm or we would lose our space - because Caravan Club Rules cannot be broken under any circumstances. I'm not going to go into why our tents were not immediately put up but the long and short of it is that we lost our space and needed to find an alternative place to sleep.

On the trail we Belles could do nothing about it but pedal and hope the problem would sort itself by the time we arrived. Frantic calls were being made out of the black van but no solution had been identified by the time we arrived at Cocking.

There were plenty of fields around so Vicky and Amber went in search of a house and found a very helpful lady in a nearby cottage. Turns out this is all Cowdray estate land and she phoned the estate manager who was categoric that NO camping could be done on his land. So that was not an option. With tempers extremely frayed and potential for saying things we might regret, we turned our focus on a car park and were debating illegal camping when my brother Rob (supporters club coming to join us for a quick drink) declared the problem solved.

Rob and the Bluebell pub in Cocking had, between them, got it all sorted. 10 minutes later (at 10pm) we found ourselves pitching camp in the dark, in a long grassed field, in the rain, for a night of ‘wild camping’ courtesy of an elderly farmer who (as Rob put it) quite fancied the idea of 4 lovely ladies sleeping in his field overnight. He is such a salesman that boy!

As tents were pitched by all hands (including Heather and Tom my niece and nephew who impressively got one tent up all by themselves) Suzy and Rob went in search of food - which they found at the local Spar. (It was another downer to find that the Spa (reportedly along the road) turned out to be a Spar!).

So it was soggy sandwiches in the back of the van rather than a hot tub and sauna before a quick drink at the Bluebell (with their ladies loos spookily labelled ‘Belles’ - it was meant to be) followed by a second night of less than comfortable, cold, sleeping with rain a'drumming on the tent and Vicky providing my night time 'entertainment'.

Next morning, on discovery that we had not, after all, died from hyperthermia in the night, we dragged ourselves out of bed (and then we all dragged Amber out) for another day of fun on the trail - starting with a breakfast of scrambled eggs on bread and coffee in the car park.  

Congratulations Belles

We had this lovely letter from Helen & Douglas House. Perhaps it will inspire others to do something similar, sponsor us a little bit more (and/or us Belles to take on another challenge next year!). Here it is (thank you Helen):

Congratulations

Congratulations for completing your South Downs Cycle- I hope all the Pollicott Belles enjoyed the adventure! Please accept my apologies for the delay in sending this e-mail, there have been a few change overs in our team and this seemed to have slipped through the net until now.

I enjoyed reading over your blog and the amount the team has raised is truly amazing. I can see from your Justgiving page that you actually doubled the intended fundraising target, which is absolutely brilliant! To give you all some idea how this donation could be put to good use it would be enough to employ a Care Team member for nearly three weeks. This is a vital contribution as it allows us to continue providing the one to one care that is so essential for the children and young people that visit us here. It allows all their medical needs to be taken care of, as well as helping them to participate in different activities that they might not be able to at home.

I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you and the other ‘belles’ to our annual Open Day on September 10th. Both the houses are open from 10am-4pm with plenty of music and entertainment for the whole family. If you would like further details do let me know.

Thank you for the generous support of the Pollicott Belles your donation really will make a huge difference to the children and young people that visit Helen & Douglas House.

With best wishes,
Helen Cordiner
Fundraising Administration & Support Officer