We have just returned from a glorious two weeks at Villa Begur!  After a rocky start with Christian not sleeping due to a bad cough I was pleased that we had taken some precautionary antibiotics with us and once they kicked in he was much better.  Then we ended up in the local hospitals A&E – nothing serious but a bit of a bummer nonetheless and very unfair on Christian.  However, after that all was perfect and we spent the rest of the holiday soaking up the sun (and wine!) and enjoying ourselves with the various different friends and family who came to join us.  Even leaving wasn’t too bad since we will be heading back to the villa in another 4 weeks for the last week of the school hols.  Pete has posted some photos from the holiday so you can see how the boys are growing – and how much hair Christian has now (and how little hair Pete has now!).

Both Peter and I wanted to thank some of you who really have done an amazing effort in the fundraising:

All of those who ran the 10km and raised money. There were some amazing achievements, Jo Winnick, for example, raised a staggering £5000 and ran the 10k in a very impressive time!

Monika Kurec who is an incredibly fit friend of mine.  She did some mad long (incredibly long!) bike ride in Cape Town South Africa and raised a HUGE amount of money for Christian’s fund.  Here is aan email that she sent upon completing it:

Well I made it! 4 hrs 4 mins (30 mins faster than expected!)

It was, by far, the most amazing experience of my life and I’m still on a high from it!

The 2 days before temperatures soared up to an incredible Autumnal 39 degrees C!! This just added to our list of things to worry about! eg.. What if my wheels fall off? Will I make it up those hills? When do I eat? I don’t want to die on those downhills! What if I need a wee? Will a baboon jump in front of me? (pretty likely) etc…  Endless worries. As it turned out, beautiful clouds rolled in on the race day morning and temps dropped to a “cool” 26 degrees. We couldn’t have been any luckier. 36,000 people took part and I managed to complete the whole race without a puncture, without falling off, without sunburn but with the biggest smile and Adrenalin high I’ve experienced. I can’t recommend this event enough to everyone!
I can’t thank you all enough for all the support and sponsorship. I have raised £4393.59 so far, which is just amazing.

Thanks Monika!  I don’t know when you found the time to train for this, and I know that the entire trip must have been very expensive for you.  You really are one of the most selfless people I know.

Fi Lovett owner of Fifi Wilsons on Abbeville Road – Fi held two clothing sales with proceeds going towards Christians fund and she raised an incredible £1000. I am so grateful to all the hard work both she, and her manager Dawn, put in to the event.  I know how busy they both are running two successful shops and am truly flattered that they wanted to help with Christian’s fund.