A Series of Unfortunate Events...

Saturday 8th January - the troubles began with an evening in Gatehangers - the new route was discussed, at length, with local farming folk who totally agreed (sort of, vaguely) that it was, indeed, an excellent route.

Next a text arrived - it was from Amber offering to pick up Alex in the morning so they could cycle back up the hill together from Wescott (Alex left her bike at Amber's house - bottom of the hill - last week). However, the new route would take us back past Amber's house so that wasn't a good idea. The trouble is the alternative was decided upon in an alcoholic haze - Alex would walk/backy down to Wescott with me. Vicky would meet us there. This was, with hindsight, a bad plan - we got off to a slow start and delays on route are what led to our eventual downfall. That and a series of events that were really quite unfortunate.

Sunday 9th January - was a frosty morning. I was excited about the new route. Over my breakfast I posted on facebook that I was heading out to cycle on ice, on a new route and that love would surely flow between us Belles. Oh many a true word!

Alex arrived in the garage, love a flowing, as I was preparing my bike, and advised me that the paperman had reported nasty roads. "It's a bit of frost" (I thought) and told Alex she didn't get out of it that easily - the ride is on and I presented the 'new route' with excited glee.

There follows a series of  events that were so unfortunate they are almost shocking. Over the next few days this series of unfortunate events will be blogged by Belles various:

• Alex will report the journey downhill to Westcott and her happy reunion with her bike.
• Amber will explain how she quickly became deflated and how this was resolved.
• Vicky reveals how cycling can bring back happy memories of gates and fields and things.
• We will all share thoughts and perspectives of our ultimate downfall.

This is the route - note it doesn't follow roads all the way - herein lies the problem!

Gates, fields and mud, glorious mud..

Our route took us from Westcott along the A41, towards Bicester, to Woodham. Here we took a right turn into a field which was marked as a bridleway. Our first hurdle, quite literally, was a typical rusty farmers gate with an impossible latch, after struggling for many minutes and commenting on how on earth you would hold your horse, tackle the gate and avoid the nasty A41 traffic, we decided to abandon opening the gate and lifted our bikes over the gate!!! (Not so easy with a horse!) I feel a moan to the local bridleway's council coming on!

Once over the gate and on our bikes once more we proceeded with some caution as the amount of cow pats in the field suggested we should be keeping an eye out for the said beasts, but a quick scan of the field assured us that they were not present!! Easy going it was never going to be especially following the 2 days of heavy rain we had that week, but my legs soon told me that my fitness levels were far from what I thought, but we carried on over several fields negotiating many gates, some good, some bad, but I informed the Belles that this is what us 'horse riders' have to deal with all the time and there are different techniques for different latches!! Sad that I am, but many years of riding these local bridleways gave me somewhat of an advantage on these skills!!!

Eventually we came to a railway crossing and this lead us into an arable field with a fine covering of wheat grass showing through, although there was a frost and the ground appeared somewhat firm, this was far from reality and quickly we found ourselves being bogged down in the mud! We quite literally ploughed through it and had to resort to walking and dragging our bikes as the wheels were so clogged with mud they wouldn't turn!!

Eventually we rejoined the road on the Shipton Lee - Quainton stretch and I for one was pretty pleased to be back on the easier going again or so I thought..................

Ring out the old, ring in the new...

Despite the weather being against us through most of December the Belles pedalled out 2010, sporting team Christmas headbands and lip gloss, and took time to reflect on what we achieved.

At the New Year's Pollicott Party we each cited our Ridgeway ride as the highlight of 2010. So I thought it apt to start 2011 with a pictorial reminder of what we did:

First Alex had to learn to cycle.



Then got her first bike.



We kitted ourselves out and took up our fundraising challenge...

With more than a little help from our friends...

and families



Then in June we took to the Ridgeway - both on our bikes...

  

...and off them - here's Alex



Sian and...

 

Vicky!



We rose to the challenges on route...

But also took time out to relax a little

The event was a family affair too - with picnics and...

Backies!

And finally - Celebration!

When we finished there was a brief period of 'never again' which quickly became 'let's do it again'. Well why wouldn't we? we each gained so much from doing this - a sense of achievement, a strength of friendship and a mutual respect that can only come from shared experience. On top of that we always have something to talk and laugh about AND above all we raised £1500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

So here we are at the start of 2011 with 32% of our fundraising target secured for a fabulous local charity - Helen & Douglas House. And... 



We have another Belle in Amber.

Without your support the reward for our efforts would have simply been self-satisfaction so we 'thank you' all for being there in 2010 and for helping us to achieve so much more than that. Please stick with us and help us to make 2011 another very happy one for the Belles and our charity: Helen & Douglas House.

 

 

ello, ello, ello - what have we 'ere then?

Well, we had all agreed that it was about time I should introduce myself and start contributing to the blog - having taken up the very kind offer of becoming the 4th Pollicott Belle during the summer months! My name is Amber, I'm 19 and although strictly speaking I'm not a 'Pollicott Belle' (as I live 5 minutes down the road in Westcott) I'm a cousin of Vicky's other half, so have known Vic, Sian and Alex for years now.

My involvement with the Belle's started back in April/May time when I had taken up a bit of running in preparation for a fitness test to join the Police as a Special Constable. After successfully getting through the bleep test and weights, I decided that, (contrary to my previous belief) I quite enjoyed this exercise lark, and so Sian took lead role of Mrs Motivator by inviting me to join the Belles on various cycles over the summer months. I jumped at the chance, dusted my bike off and since then I've been joining in with training as often as I can. Having heard the stories and seen the pictures from their first challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support in June, I realised that all of the hard work the Belles had put in had paid off and they really had all enjoyed it. As well as being very proud to call them all friends, I was now convinced that I would love to be involved in doing something so challenging for a great cause.

When Sian, Alex and Vicky told me that the chosen charity for the 2011 challenge was going to be Helen and Douglas House, I have to admit that although I'd heard of them, I wasn't entirely sure of what it was that they did. So, I jumped straight onto the Internet and did some research. After reading several stories and browsing over their website I was so excited that we'd be doing something to contribute to the truly amazing work that the hospice does to help terminally ill children. It's given me more motivation and since then I've continued with cycling and running, am half a stone lighter (and will hopefully be more so by the time we start off for the challenge) and honestly cannot wait until the weather picks back up and we can go full steam ahead into preparation and more fundraisers.

Lastly, just a big thanks to all of the 3 Belles for inviting me in, waiting for me at the tops of more than a few killer hills and being so supportive! I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and no doubt the blog will be hearing more from me in the near future :-)

Amber.

Ho Ho Ho - Belle on the Run

Yesterday morning it was minus 4o C and the sun was glinting on the icy pavements so, dressed only in a skimpy Santa suit (described on the box as sexy Santa baby doll), one crazy Belle went for a run around Oxford. (Err I'm the one on the right!).

Actually it was one Belle together with Andy, Joe, Isalda (in her stunningly festive earrings and matching brooch), Tim and 1200 other Santas who took to the streets for the annual Helen & Douglas House Santa Run. It's always a great event and this year the weather made it even better still.

I have done this run for the last, I don't know how many, years. It is fun, spirited and a great way to start the Christmas season. And, this year (perhaps because I understand more about this fantastic charity and I knew some of the elves) I felt connected and ran with increased purpose. We jogged along with other supporters, each with their own sense of purpose, taking time to enjoy the creativity of the marshalls who always add some festive spirit to the occasion. I loved the Christmas pudding topper on the roof of a 4x4 and the life size soft toy dear strapped to the front of another.

It was, of course, all for charity and we ran for a total of £55 sponsorship and donated £50 ourselves so our efforts were worth it. I said I would wear my own outfit (vs. the baggy trouser suit supplied) if I raised over £100 so my baby doll just scraped in.  

I wasn't 'arrested' this year so I added to the 'fair cop' album by accosting the best looking PC I could find (he said he was the only one!) to get this sunbeam enhanced pose.

Speaking of such our next blog should be from our very own SC Belle, Amber, as it's high time she said hello (hello, hello) in order to officially launch her Belle career.

One last thing - thank you to my fellow Pollicott Belles for supporting me on my run - sponsorship, dress advice, motivational text messages and champagne drinking were all very much appreciated.

All's Fair with the Belles...

It was a busy weekend for us Belles with two fundraising events on top of one another. This time my dining room turned into an Alladin's Den to host the wonderful Gill Smith with her Fair Trade Designs jewellery and accessories.

It was a cold and icy weekend so the first hurdle was to get Gill here from snowy Sutton Coldfield. That done we sat back and hoped enough people would brave the elements to make her journey worthwhile. We had fewer visitors than we hoped for BUT those who came spent well and we raised another £80 for Helen and Douglas House. Kerching!

Belle no. 4 - Amber Ewers - excelled herself by baking a cake which was enjoyed by our 30 happy shoppers and by the kids afterwards. It certainly got us into the Christmas shopping spirit.

Fair Trade is fast becoming an important part of many peoples' lives and Gill is a fantastic ambassador for this wonderful way to shop. My favourite story from Gill this time round was of the factory in Vietnam paying 4 x minimum wage and only employing women over 18 years old. It's basic really isn't it? and yet they have a long waiting list of people wanting to work there.

Fair Trade principles include:

• Paying fair prices to the producers which reflect the true cost of production - world market prices often do not cover even the raw materials!
• Supporting producer organisations in their social development projects- many provide health and education facilities.
• Promoting the empowerment of women. 
• Advising on product development to increase access to markets. 
• Encouraging environmental responsibility. 
• Committing to long term relationships to provide stability and security. 
• Campaigning to highlight the unequal system of world trade.

Just because you missed our event doesn't mean you need miss out on the opportunity to shop Fair Trade because you can at: http://www.fairtradedesign.co.uk/ - tell Gill the Belles sent you!

 

Next week it will be me back again to rave about the Santa Run. I have my new outfit and will be sporting it on the streets of Oxford next Sunday though I don't think they are truly ready for it yet. Andy and Joe are trying to decide whether to go for a significantly faster or slower time than me in an attempt to disown me! Watch this space.

Eyes Down for the Fund Raising Belles

There were 'Quack Quacks', 'Wobble Wobbles' and 'Choo Choo's' resounding around Ashendon Gatehangers last night as we Belles shook our 'Legs Eleven' to host a night of shameless gambling and got our Helen & Douglas House fundraising well and truly kick started.

What a team we were - we expect the Gala headhunters to be in touch soon. Andy (our energetic and enthusiastic landlord at Gatehangers) called the numbers like a pro. Vicky sold books, Alex, Amber (who should have been on the Brighton Line but came to bingo instead) and Sian checked numbers and Annalise (Young and Keen - nearly Sweet Sixteen) made super sales with raffle tickets - £1 a Sunset Strip!

Man Alive the crowd loved it and as the final game was played there were cries from the floor for more - so we'll do it again in New Year. Next time we'll have reputation behind us - perhaps with ads in Bernwode News we might even get punters from as far away as Tony's Den!

Was she worth it? it was well over £200 quid worth it! Snakes Alive and Jump and Jive! there's nothing Droopy Drawers about that result. A few more nights like that and we will be Nearly There with the target.

Thanks to everyone who came along and joined the fun and we hope to see you next time - as they say in the 'halls' - Hurry Back.