Been to Wicksteed Park 2day....excellent day out!

Today saw the Ward family setting off on a much anticipated trip down to Kettering en route for the well known venue of Wicksteed Park.

In case you have never heard of this place (and some still haven't!), let me tell you that if like me the thought of going to places like Drayton manor or Alton Towers fills you (and your wallet!) with dread, this is the alternative venue for a fun filled day out with your family.

Set in what is actually a public park (but a VERY big one!), Wicksteed has a long history dating back many years (at this point i was going to feed you lots of facts etc, but i really don't have the time or inclination to do so at the mo...so there!).

You drive (or walk in for free) into the park grounds and pay £6 to the nice fella on the entrance.You then pick a parking space (there is loads of room!) and park up. The kids can play on the fantastic FREE park rides (they really are fantastic...you may of heard of the brand of Wicksteed if ever you have looked at the manufacturers name on any park rides anywhere in any park in the UK over the last several decades!), and mum and dad can chill out watching them wear themselves out!.

If you so wish too, you have the option of buying either tickets or a wristband (band is better cos you can go on anything as many times as you like!), then you have access to the many powered rides in the park area (Pirate ship's..x2,carousel,laser quest,go karts,various log flumes,boating lakes etc,etc).

The beauty of the way Wicksteed is laid out, is that you can still enjoy a look around the gardens,see the animals and have a nice refreshing walk around the park without having to cough up hundreds of quid's to do it (Alton Towers in mind at this juncture!).

The whole day out for 5 of us, including 4 wristbands and car parking was £61.Ok, that may seem a lot, but compare it to Drayton Manor (£120+,family of 5) or Alton Towers (£140+ family of 5) and you see that it is a damn sight more acceptable for families on budgets!.

Funny, but the less i pay for a good day out...the more i seem to enjoy it...and this one was fantastic.Get yourself over to Wicksteed and discover the secret pace that gives you not only a good time, but also is such a refreshing change from the "A list" places who think that we are all still made of money (we aren't!).

A name from my past,heard again.......

Whilst doing some surfing, brought on after my wife mentioned about an air crash that happened in August of 1984, i found that after all these years at least some things that I think are buried deep in my memory..actually are !.

The story in the Sleaford Standard told of an air crash involving a Flt Lt from RAF Cranwell named Bob Bailey, and she asked me if i knew him as my RAF career really began at Cranwell in March of '84. I did not remember the name she mentioned, but something about the story stirred a memory of a fella that I once knew who went by the name of Wing Commander Ralph Reid-Buckle , a very fiery man who I had met during my service not in the RAF, but as a young cadet in the Air Training Corpse (384 Squadron,Mansfield).

I remember Wng Cdr Reid-Buckle and I having a very short conversation at the Beckingham Rifle Range just outside Newark-Upon-Trent a few years before i joined the RAF.

I had just started to fire off a few rounds at the ranges 600 Yrd targets with my Lee Enfield 303 rifle, when he walked along the row of shooters and stopped behind me.
"Nice shooting young man" he said, "I bet you are pleased with your aim?". Well, of course this was a great honour, me, being complimented by such a senior officer on my marksmanship skills!.
"Thank you sir", i remember saying, "i am trying for my marksmanship badge".
"Excellent" he said,"but next time, try to hit the target at the end of the range and not put six holes in the range lane marker sign!".
What!.I looked closely at my small lane marker sign that lay slightly to the left of my guns muzzle, and there they were!....six bullet holes which i had punched through the wooden sign at a range of..oh....six inches!.......... nicely group though !.

Ralph Reid-Buckle was a "proper" gentleman and an officer, even down to his handlebar moustache and swagger stick.He died with 10 others when the Vickers Varsity they were in at the time crashed on it's way to Liverpool Airport.3 People survived when it plummeted 3'000 feet and burst into flames.

25 years ago this month. R.I.P to you all, and condolences to their surviving families.

Hyudai Trajet MPV People carrier for sale. Anyone interested ?

The time has come to say farewell to our trusty Hyundai Trajet MPV.We have owned the car since September 2003 and since then it has taken us out and about to England,Wales,Scotland and Southern Ireland, covering 87,000 miles in the process !.

The power plant is a 2.0 Ltr Common Rail Turbo Diesel (CRTD) which develops 113 BHP enabling the car to sit happily at 75-80 when permitted whilst averaging around 40 MPG.

It has a 5 speed manual gear box and is also fitted with ABS,EBD,6 airbags,Power steering,4 electric windows and Air con (this could do with a recharge as it has not been done in 3 years!)

The car has a full Service history, the last service included the timing belt change at 74,000 (not cheap at £700! but a bonus for the next owner!.

Entertainment wise (you have to cover this aspect when you have 3 kids fighting in the back!) there is a stereo with 6 speakers,MP3,CD etc and even better there is also a rather snazzy "flip down" DVD player mounted on the ceiling which comes into it's own during those "extra long" journeys (during the trip around Scotland the kids saw sod all of the magnificent scenery, but managed to cram in 10 films during the week!.....kids eh!.

Recent service has included 2 new front tyres and replacement of the front brake pads.To be fair she is now due an oil change, but this is around £25 at Kwik Fit.

The road tax also runs out at the end of August. Price wise I am looking for around £3000, and to be honest this is a very good price for what is a lot of car for the money.Offers are invited :-)

Call or Text me on 07974935611 or email me at scirocco2morocco@tiscali.co.uk .

Darren Hall Walk

Darren Hall Walk

Shared via AddThis

Mother of Stevenage man who died aged just 26 makes charity donation

Angela Minett raised the money by walking the 10 bridges of London.She donated the £2980 that was raised after the completion of the walk to Leukaemia Research.She undertook the challenge in memory of her son Darren Hall who died of Leukaemia in May 2005.

For the full story please click HERE to go to the Comet 24 Website.

Well done to Angela and all those who took part in the event.

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Extraordinary moment leukaemia sufferer met bone marrow donor who had saved her life

This article was in the Daily Mail web page recently.I guess that the story highlights the particular problems faces by people from ethnic minorities due to the lack of donors and the problems with recruiting.

Follow this link by clicking HERE

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Fuel Fugitives manage 126MPG in Peugeot 308 HDI...or did they ?

There has been a lot of hype in the motoring press about the claimed world record breaking drive by 2 people in a Peugeot 308 HDI 110 who set a new record by driving 3700 miles in 175 hours (5 days) and achieved an MPG figure of 126......or so they claim!

Problem is that if you wade through all of the bumf (DETAILS) that have been posted on the net, there are apparently no real details as to what the average speed was,what route they took, what times of day they drove etc, all very important variables that can have an effect on just how economical your motor is. It is also quite absurd that they should suggest that the average motorist is capable of such mind boggling feats of economy, mostly because they don't have the back up and support of a company like Peugeot to assist in their daily commute, and I doubt very much if the "standard" car that they drove was anythin but that (minus spare wheels,tool set,no luggage etc, all carried in a support car (the black one in the picture) i guess which may also have been used as a "wind Jammer",travelling in front to "punch" a hole through the air for the record breaking car to travel through...you see it done in F1 quite often it's called "slipstreaming"!).

Anyway, it all seems to be nothing more than a sales gimmic as usual, and sadly yet again just a smoke screen to distract you from the fact that in these times of rapidly decreasing fuel reserves, major manufacturers are still not grasping the nettle in the search for viable alternative fuels....choosing instead to spend a ton of money on a gimmicky,suspect, pointless adventure....and they did not even raise any money for a charity on the way.....tut,tut :-)

Google Street View car spotted in Sleaford,Lincolnshire!

My Sister-in-law told me the other day that the Google Street View car had made an appearance in the close that she lives in in Sleaford Lincolnshire. Apparently it entered Cherry Close,turned around and then promptly left within a matter of seconds...then again, this is Sleaford, and if the Google crew want to get anywhere by car in this town they can't waste time hanging around.....i wonder if they got caught up in on of Sleaford's wonderful traffic jams ?

Child leukaemia genes found

A study has found particular gene mutations that put children at a higher risk of leukaemia.

The Times said that “research into the development of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)… suggests that individuals who inherit specific genetic variants are almost twice as likely to develop the disease”.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common leukaemia in children, and accounts for a quarter of all childhood cancers. This genome-wide association study identified three gene variations that are more common in children with ALL than in those without it.
The study is well-conducted, and its results significantly advance our knowledge of this condition. However, ALL is a complex disease and is likely to have many causes, some genetic and some environmental. These findings do not mean that researchers know how to prevent the disease in children found to have these mutations. Also, the variants discovered in this study will not be responsible for all cases of leukaemia. At the present time, genetic testing of children for these mutations is unlikely.

Where did the story come from?
The research was carried out by Dr Elli Papaemmanuil and colleagues from the Institute of Cancer Research in Surrey, and other academic and research institutes in the UK. It was funded by Leukaemia Research (UK) and the Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund. The authors also acknowledge funding from Cancer Research UK. The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature Genetics.

What kind of scientific study was this?
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) is the most prevalent childhood cancer in developed countries. Although its exact cause is not known, factors such as radiation exposure, some genetic disorders and the environment (exposure to certain chemicals and some infections) increase the risk of a child developing ALL.
This genome-wide association study looked for particular gene sequences (variants) associated with leukaemia in children. By pooling the results of two case-control studies, a total of 907 children with leukaemia and 2,398 controls without leukaemia were available for analysis. These children’s gene sequences were compared in order to test for variations that were more common in the children with leukaemia. Only people of western European ancestry were included.
Between the groups, 291,423 gene variants were examined and compared. Where significant links were found between variants and disease status, the researchers discuss other studies that may explain the biological reasons for these associations. In one case, they investigated this further through experimentation.

What were the results of the study?
The researchers found that three gene variants in their pooled sample were more common in leukaemia cases than in controls. One variant was found on a gene called IKZF1, one on a gene called ARID5B, and one on a gene called CEBPE. All three of these variants were in genes involved in the differentiation (specialisation) of certain types of white blood cells.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?
The researchers say that their study provides the first unambiguous evidence that common gene variants influence the risk of developing ALL in children. They say that their results provide ‘new insight’ into the causes of this specific haematological cancer.

What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?
This is a well-conducted study and the results are reliable. It identified several gene variants that are more common in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). There may be other genes that play a role in the condition:
The researchers acknowledge that the risk of ALL may be affected by ethnic differences. As this research was limited to western European children, the findings may not apply to non-western Europeans or non-Europeans.
The knowledge that certain variants are associated with leukaemia does not mean that researchers know how to prevent the disease in children with the variations. Leukaemia is a complex disease, and the risk of developing it is likely to be linked not only to genes, but also to environmental factors. In addition, not all cases of leukaemia may have these variations.
More research is needed before we know whether the proteins that are encoded by these genes are suitable targets for leukaemia treatments.
Overall, this study advances our knowledge of a complex disease. The findings are robust, but replication in further studies using different cases and controls would increase the confidence that the associations found in this research are real.
Links to the headlines
Research links childhood leukaemia to parents’ genes. The Times, August 17 2009
Child leukaemia 'genes' revealed. BBC News, August 17 2009
Genes 'could play significant role in development of leukaemia'. The Daily Telegraph, August 17 2009
Links to the science
Papaemmanuil E, Hosking FJ, Vijayakrishnan J, et al. Loci on 7p12.2, 10q21.2 and 14q11.2 are associated with risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nature Genetics 2009; Published online: August 9.

Further reading
Cochrane: Several reviews deal with issues relating to the treatment of ALL; none address causes specifically:
van Dalen EC, Raphaël MF, Caron HN, Kremer LCM. Treatment including anthracyclines versus treatment not including anthracyclines for childhood cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 1
Sasse EC, Sasse AD, Brandalise SR, Clark OAC, Richards S. Colony-stimulating factors for prevention of myelosuppressive therapy-induced febrile neutropenia in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 3

I pinched this from the NHS Choices Website which you can find by clicking HERE.

Camping,Scirocco's and bog floors!...what a weekend that was :-)

Details of this post will be posted once i have finished lunch...and work, for the day ...stay tuned :-)

Ok...i'm now back (just a few days between the first entry on this post and now!).Sooo....camping.

Well, this refers to the little "jolly jape" that Rachel,Andy Jr (mini me) and myself had the other weekend (15th August).This was the day of the 2nd National Volkswagen Scirocco Register's Annual Meeting at RAF Cosford in Staffordshire.

Myself and the 2 kids mad enough to go along with my mad idea (as named earlier....good choice Lauren!) set off at approx 6:30 pm on the Friday night and set sail..sorry, made tracks....towards a campsite named "The White Pump Farm" which is situated approx 7 miles away from Cosford.We Arrived at around 9:20 PM after making a few detours .Newark upon Trent (to pick up some stickers and a flag....cheers Biff!) and the Maplins store at Mansfield (to purchase a new Inverter...my last one blew up when I attempted to run a stupidly large amount of fairy lights during the towing of Santa's sleigh around Mansfield Woodhouse last year!).

After these stops (and another just over the road from Maplins at Burger King), we made the rather uneventful trip into Staffordhire, the only real upset for me was taking a wrong turn and ending up on the M6 Toll Road.......£8.40 for 12 miles...what a load of boll**s that was...robbing gits!.

Obviously when we arrived at the site, everyone else was already set up, and drinking beer in a large gazebo (is that how you spell it?),so without further adoo we got to work (i say "we", i mean "i"!) pitching the tents, which is great fun in the dark and lead to a few balls ups as i got my poles well and truly mixed up!.

Anyway, after a little help from the guys (Paul and Glen) the camp was established and the eating of a ceremonial plate of Spam and beans took place, courtesy of my mate Glen who had decided to remind me of the wonderful fare we had consumed during our little Scirocco 2 Morocco trip last year....oh how the memories came flooding back...a culinary time machine it was indeed.....and a bit cold by the time i got to eat it !.

After a few obligatory games of "pitch black football" with Andy Jr, we joined the gang and settled down to watch Glen's latest edit of his S2M video diary.Sadly I had offered to bring my laptop to run it on, and due to a lack of memory (the laptop, not me!), and an awful lot of what i am told is called in IT circles as "a load of crap on yer desktop" the laptop refused all efforts to get it to play the epic video, and so, after much heckling by the assembled crowd, we gave in and resumed another game of "pitch black football" and drank copious amounts of Carlsberg before retiring to the comfort (?) of my pop up tent.

Saturday morning saw us all up with the lark (he was late up too!), and after a coffee and more football (this time we could see it!), myself and Glen set off in advance of the main crowd to set up the venue in preparation for their arrival later in the morning.

Having booked in to RAF Cosford, and been advised by a fella in a bright yellow vest that we needed to buy a £3 parking ticket (not mentioned in advance..free last year!) we got Glens spanking new "pop up" gazeebo out and with very little effort we had it up and to this we then attached the new Scirocco Register National Meet flag.....lovely!.

The rest of the gang arrived at about 11am, and was parked in a very arty fashion by Mr Place who had decided that the method of parking last year had been something short of "photogenic", so he choreographed the position of each Roc as it arrived, and the result was a lot more arty than last years effort...well done Glen :-).

We had noted when we arrived at Cosford earlier that the wind was getting a little blustery, and had resolved to attach guy lines to the Gazebo if it picked up any more. Sadly the first thing to be "picked up" was Glens gazebo, and after tumbling several yards down the line of cars it came to rest "legless" (like a few folk the night before!) in a crumpled heap...and the flag pole attached to it was twisted and snapped also....bugger !

After putting away the remains of the gazebo, tie wrapping the flag pole and trying to see the funny side, we carried on with the meet,had some breakfast,took in a tour of the fantastic museum and a trip in its flight simulator and then at around 3.30pm we set off back to the campsite via the local SPAR shop.

Paul (from Northern Ireland) suggested that perhaps pizza seemed a good idea instead of the planned BBQ, and after a trip to Dominoe's Pizza in a place (can't remember it's name...sorry!), we returned to the site for a great evening of food,beer and car repairs......yes, car repairs!.Well come on now, no "proper" gathering of enthusiasts with old cars would be complete without the mandatory "urgent fix", and this came along in the form of a broken exhaust pipe which was eventually rectified by (amongst others!) our resident mechanic and all round nice bloke "Sander" from Holland.....nice work matey :-)

The night concluded with "pitch black swingball" which is only slightly more dangerous than football, and a game of "catch the flashing light up ball before it goes out and smacks you on the nose" ...ball. Andrew Jr mastered the art of opening both bottled and canned beer for peoples amusement, and at around 1am after he had finally run out of steam we headed off to our tents and a bloody good nights rest.

I woke at approx 7;30am, and after a trip to the porta loo (or the "Turdis" as it became known) I began the task of packing the odds and sods that we had brought with us.

We left at 9.30 after saying our farewells to the gang, and departed for the 2 and a half hour trip back to sunny Lincolnshire.

Roll on next year :-)

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Why are we still so superstitious ?

Walking around the wards at King's Mill Hospital today I noticed that although we have a brand new ward 11,12 and 14, we don't have a ward 13!.It reminded me of the fact that in the RAF whilst based at RAF Cranwell (JPH) I had noted that none of the Jet Provost Aircraft had the "Fleet" number of 13 either.Funny how such sensible and respected organisations such as the RAF and the NHS still fall foul of such mumbo jumbo.........hang on....I'm writing this on the 13th!...maybe I should wait until 2moro to publish it...better safe than sorry :-)

More trivia required?....click HERE.

My name is Andy Ward :-)

Not sure why I posted this.May be something to do with the fact that I did what most people do at some time whilst surfing the net, and typed in my own name....my name appeared quite a long way down the list, so I just wondered if naming this blog entry "My name is Andy Ward" , would push me up the ratings list :-). How conceited is that ....lol !

Anyway, my name is Andrew Ward,I am 43 years (old?) and my home town is a village/town called Mansfield Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire. Just thought i would tell you that also....:-).

Andy

RAF Marham gives Anthony Nolan Trust a £1,000 shot in the arm

After a very successful clinic held at RAF Marham to promote the Anthony Nolan Trust, which resulted in over 80 personnel joining the Volunteers’ Bone Marrow Register. The Station’s Charity Committee voted to donate £1000 to the Trust. The aim of the Trust is to support the thousand people, a year, who are diagnosed with fatal marrow diseases and their own hope of survival is a blood cell transplant from a volunteer who shares the same tissue type.

For the full story click HERE to go to the RAF Website.

Well done the RAF :-)

Air Ambulance Gets new website.

This is sent on behalf of Jim Vicarage, LNAACT staff at headoffice,

Hi Everyone!
The Lincs and Notts Aor Ambulance has just launched it's new website:

http://www.lnaact.org.uk/

You may have heard our adverts recently across Smooth Radio East Midlands. We have launched a text campaign to coincide with this. If you text the word "FLY" to the number 80039 you will automatically donate directly to the service. You will be charged £1.50 with all proceeds coming to us after your sending charges have been paid.

Please feel free to pass this on to anyone and everyone!

I am in the process of getting the website up to date so if anyone has any pictures or events that they feel could be used please let me know!

Many thanks,

Jim Vickrage
Nottingham Fundraiser

This is great news as the service has been lacking a website for some time now.

Bad Lads Army star to trek across Sahara for charity

Our local Celebrity and long term Scirocco 2 Morocco supporter Nooky Nauyokas has managed to get himself well and truly roped in helping yet another charity, but this time he will be accompanied by his wife Liz and they have both got some serious walking to do in a rather warm place.

To read the full story on the "This is Sleaford" website,click HERE.

They are raising money for the "Help For Hero's" Charity (a very worthy cause!), and you can sponsor them by emailing to this address: lizannuk@btinternet.com

Come on folks, Nooky is a great fella and has helped us out lots in the past, so if you can spare a bob or two (or perhaps donate a few gallons of suncream!) ,drop them a line.

This is a link to the Pilgrim Bandits Website which has details about the team.Click HERE

There is also a FACEBOOK page that gives more up to date info about the challenge HERE




Good Luck Nooky and Liz !

Marrow match found for Carlton leukaemia man

A leukaemia sufferer whose long-lost brother was ruled out as a possible bone marrow donor is to have a transplant operation.

Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust announced on Tuesday that an unrelated donor had been identified as being a match for John Gravell. Mr Gravell, of Carlton, near Hinckley in Leicestershire, used the media to track down his long-lost brother Barry in October. At the time it seemed Barry offered the only hope of providing a suitable bone-marrow transplant in a life-saving operation.

Unsuitable donor
However, tests performed after John was reunited with his younger brother indicated that Barry was an unsuitable donor. Barry Gravell came forward in response to a media appeal but on Tuesday a hospital spokesman for Leicester Royal Infirmary, where John is being treated, said: "John Gravell has now decided to proceed with a bone marrow transplant. "The unrelated donor identified as being a match for John is now being processed and health checks are being carried out. "As yet no date has been fixed for the transplant procedure, although it is envisaged it will not take place before the end of November." However, doctors said in mid-October that unless John underwent a transplant within six to eight weeks, his body would be too weak to withstand the surgery.

Urgent appeal
John had issued an urgent appeal for the 49-year-old to come forward because the brothers had not been in contact since the 1970s when Barry walked out following a row with other family members. The pair enjoyed an emotional reunion when it was revealed there was a one-in-four chance their bone marrow would match. John was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in May and underwent unsuccessful chemotherapy.

Had a nice chat to the chap from the BBC the other day......eventually !

A gentleman named Guy works for the BBC "Look North" program and is based up in sunny Hull. We managed to get to talk to each other after a comedy attempt to establish some sort of communications proved to be a problem!.
At work in the hospital we have these gadgets called "Vocera" which are (apparently!) supposed to be the dogs do-da's of personal,local communication.Sadly, unlike that varnish that "does exactly as it says on the tin"....Vocera often does not, and the extended attempt to speak to Guy was therefore rather an involved process.
switching to my backup communicator (my mobile) was little better, and we spent the next few mins speaking,leaving answerphone messages,listening to answerphone messages...etc, until eventually (eureeka!), we managed to get to speak with some semblance of continuity.Sadly, in the lottery of who got to pay for the call,i lost, and so,with very little credit on my phone, the conversation was only a few Min's long before the inevitable "beep,beep" warning me of impending cut off (ooeeerr!).
Anyway, if you are reading this post Guy, can I just say thanks for the chat, and if you are able in any way to promote any future events that I get myself caught up in (usually of my own doing!), you will be doing us a great service in raising either money or awareness (or both!) for Leukaemia issues.

In other news (I love saying that!)

Ann,Joel's mum, called me today to say that she had received a letter from the National Blood Service telling her that from this year the 23rd July (the anniversary of the first Anthony Nolan bash at Newark Hospital) will become an annual date for all NHS hospitals to organise Bone Marrow Donor Recruitment Sessions.This of course is absolutely fantastic news, and I am sure that Little Joel must be well proud of his mums courage,commitment and dedication in getting this established.Well done Ann :-).

Some more good news today was that I was made aware of one small bonus of suffering from Leukaemia....you can now get FREE prescriptions from the NHS!. Who says that it's not true that all grey clouds have a silver lining ? :-)

Andy
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Thanks to the guys at Pitstop .............again ! :-)

Yesterday saw me taking the Scirocco into Pitstop garage in Sleaford (one of my sponsors for S2M).The problem ,as I mentioned in an earlier post,was that the right hand wheel bearing had died a death after our little trip last year, and it has only taken me 11 months to get around to having it sorted :-0.Anyway, as usual the folk down at Pitstop did a great job and sorted it out along with another front suspension bush which was also a little the worse for wear.
Just wanted to say thanks for their continued support in keeping Scarlet going :-).Cheers guys !.

Disco to raise money for Josh

A DISCO to raise money for a three-year-old leukaemia patient and research into the disease is being held in Benington.

Josh Norton, who lives with his family in Besant Close, Sibsey, was diagnosed with the disease in April last year.
Since then, he has been receiving treatment at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.Now family and friends have decided to host an event to raise money for charity Leukaemia Research – with a little extra going to Josh to make sure he can have a treat.

"He is a little champ," said dad Mark.

"We are getting back to some normality now. Before the school's broke up for the holidays, he was going to nursery three times a week."


Mark says Josh was diagnosed as a high risk patient – a category which only contains 10 per cent of those with the disease.He is to continue chemotherapy until August 2011, with current treatment taking place at home.

The fundraising event will be held on September 5, at Grants Farm Barn, David's Lane, Benington, from 7.30pm until late.As well as the disco, a band will be performing and fancy dress for party-goers is optional.
A licence for a bar has been applied for and hot food will be available. Tickets cost £5.
Organisers say the majority of the proceeds will go to Leukaemia Research.Mark added: "The money means we can take Josh wherever he wants to go. We don't know what the future holds so Josh can enjoy life in the mean time."

For information and tickets, call Judy on 01205 761109, Sharon on 01205 761194, Sue on 01205 760541, or Laura on 07936 711773.

So come on folks, if you fancy a great night out and feel able to help both Leukaemia Research and little Josh, make a date for the 5th September :-)

(News Sourced via the Boston Standard Newspaper) Website HERE

Giving and Stacey.A Brave teenagers fight inspires others

SELFLESS schoolgirl Stacey Jobbins was so determined to help others when she was diagnosed with Leukaemia she walked across the Forth Road Bridge - wearing pyjamas.

And when the 13-year-old lost her battle with the illness the walk was re-named Stacey's Stroll in her memory.
Yesterday her mum Heather spoke for the first time about her caring daughter ahead of the next walk later this month.

For the full story about stacey's fight with Leukaemia, and the inspiration it has given to so many, click HERE to go to the Sun's Website.

You can contact the CCLASP on 0131 4677420

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Lots to report...but can I remember it all ?

Well as we speak (or type!) i am currently on a few days leave from work trying to catch up on all of those "little" jobs that seem to get pushed to the back of my "to do" list all the time.
This morning I was up with the lark (or was it the sparrow?) feeding the rabbit family that have now taken over the living room (it's a long story...see previous rabbit post) then it was time to set off to Pitstop Garage to take the Scirocco in for the front wheel bearing change.
The bearing had needed doing for about 10 months, having taken a hell of a thrashing last year on our way through(over?) the Pyrenees mountains during our S2M adventure. I have been employing the "if it makes a noise just turn up the radio" technique for some time now, but last week the volume dial on the said sound unit finally reached it's maximum point and i could still hear the ruddy wheel bearing...so i figured it was probably a good time as any to arrange to get it fixed.
I have replaced a few wheel bearings in my time, but faced with the possibility of taking layers of skin off of my knuckles, having to buy several tools to carry out the task, and finding a spare hour or two to do it, i decided to let the fella's at Pitstop have the pleasure.Sometimes it pays to...pay someone else to do it :-).

In other news.

About 2 years ago i did a "temporary" repair to my bathroom floor after the cistern on the bog decided to leak badly resulting in the toilet attempting to leave the bathroom by way of the floor!.My repair was nothing more than to cut out the offending area of rotten floor and "patch" it with a sheet of replacement chipboard.Suffice to say, the repair lasted well for over a year, but by the end of last week it had taken on a decidedly "saggy" appearance :-0.So yesterday I asked a fella to come around and give me a quote for replacing the floor and making the pigs ear of an install of the bathroom suite look decent.The work starts next week :-)

Laptops and liquids...not a good combination !

My long suffering Dell 9300 was back in work being repaired again last week after the socket for the power supply finally gave up and stopped working. The repair went quite well, and after removing the mother board,drives,keyboard,various leads/connectors and "bits", i managed to solder the offending connector back into place.
Imagine my surprise then when after re-assembly it actually worked ! :-0.Amazing.
Sadly (as is always the case with anything that appears to be going my way) disaster was only a cup full away...read on.
Having sorted the lappy on Thursday, I was busy "blogging on it on Friday evening (i managed to secure a small window of opportunity between my 2 daughters Bebo,facebook and MSN appointments!) when my daughter approached with a refreshing glass of blackcurrant. Need I elaborate more? You will already have guessed what happened next, but for those who have not here is a clue:

Blackcurrant+man not paying attention to relative location of hand to said cup of blackcurrant = spillage= very wet laptop = very bad language, rapid turning off of laptop and its subsequent transit up to, and into the airing cupboard to dry out!
The following morning i replaced the battery and keyboard (removed to assist the drying process) and..................it still worked!.Amazing :-)

Of course this is me we are talking about, so it simply can't end at that can it ?.Fast forward to the following evening.Yet again I am busy on the laptop, still quite amazed that it still functions after its drink when i am asked to pop into the kitchen to fetch some food.I am gone from the computer for less than 30 seconds when i hear a commotion from the 3 kids. From what I could gather it appears that my young son "mini me" has picked a fight with his older sister, and in the ensuing mayhem a glass of milk has landed on...............yes, you guessed, the laptop.

To avoid going into details about the actions that followed, simply scroll back up to the previous paragraph, but replace "blackcurrant" with "milk"!

End result? The laptop yet again survived, although knowing my luck it will be found to suffer from a lactose intolerance and fail on that basis.......good grief :-)

Anyway, nearly time to pick up the car, so will leave it here...until something else prompts me put finger to key on this blog....take care...and don't drink near computers!