Pictures from Croome Park,Worcestershire,12/04/2010

OK.Croome Park,Worcestershire.Wonderful venue for the Forget-Me-Not walk that we attended on Monday. Croome was one of the locations that hosted a "Beefy Botham" walk and although it took us nearly 3 hours to get there it was so worth it!.

Myself and Mini me (Andy Jr) left Sleaford at about 08:35 and after a rather tedious drive which involved a few traffic jams and a road accident (not involving us!) we arrived at Croome at 11.25 to find that it was already a scene of busy preparation and everyone was excitedly anticipating the arrival of Sir Ian which was scheduled for a few hours later at approx 13:30.

We positioned the car alongside the start line and I then got out some polish and a few cloths to remove the accumulated dirt and dead bugs that we had picked up on our trip down. Andy Jr was in his element as he loves wide open spaces, and I lost count of the amount of times he ran up and down the grassy slope that we were parked upon :-).

We had some sandwiches and a drink, then before too long it was time to get in position to see Ian and his entourage arrive at the corner of the field having walked from Worcester centre already!. To say that Ian has something of a fast pace of walking would be something of an understatement , the fella almost flies along, and to be honest my attempts at capturing his arrival on the video camera almost had me falling over myself! :-).

In a few moments the group gathered at Croome had dropped in behind Ian and within a minute or so the whole crowd was disappearing into the distance. Time for a lovely pot of ice cream then!. I had Honey and cinnamon and Andy had Mint Choc Chip....which he then swapped for mine as he decided mine was nicer!.

55 minutes later the first walkers appeared on the horizon, and crossed the finish line to rapturous and enthusiastic applaus from the onlookers. Beefy was not far behind those first across the line, and acknowledged the waiting crown with a few waves :-).

After the last walkers had returned Ian circulated amongst them and signed autographs. Myself and Andy were introduced and he very kindly then signed out T-Shirts ....and the roof of the car!.

I must say that having met Sir Ian Botham for the first time on Monday I would describe him as a good,honest guy who genuinely believes in what he does for the LLR charity, and would like to thank him for making our little trip to Worcester such a memorable and enjoyable outing.

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Leukaemia patient Maddi Green to walk with Sir Ian Botham

A ten-year-old leukaemia patient from Worcester is going on a charity walk with Sir Ian Botham.

Maddi Green will join the cricketing legend in the grounds of Croome Court, near Worcester on Monday 12 April. The walk begins in the Worcester High Street, and goes for ten miles through the city, before ending up at Croome Court. Sir Ian is walking through ten towns over ten days, to raise money for the charity he is president of.

Maddi was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in February 2008. Her father Jerry said: "Maddi had been feeling unwell, had lost her appetite and was looking pale - which is why our GP had asked for a blood test.
"Twenty-four hours later Maddi's diagnosis was confirmed, and in that single day, her life and the lives of everyone who loves her, changed forever." She has lost her long brown hair three times due to chemotherapy treatments, and is due to finish her treatment in April, the same month as the charity walk.

To join Sir Ian and Maddi on the Croome Park Walk on the 12th April or any of his other walks, follow this link to sign up for Beefy's Great Forget-Me-Not Walk .

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Scarlett's first outing.Beefy Botham's walk at Croome Park Worcester.

The date for Scarlett's first "official" outing in support of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research has now been decided. She will be attending Sir Ian Botham's Forget Me Not walk at Croome Park on the 12th April 2010. If you are attending the park for the event then please feel free to pop across to the registration area and say hello and have a closer look at the car.

Worcester is approx 125-130 miles from Sleaford, so do also keep a look along the route out as you drive down there for a 22 foot long 6 wheeled,articulated Red Scirocco driven by yours truly !.

Right, all I have to worry about now is getting the graphics on the car, sorting out the fitting of the alloy wheels and giving the car a bit of a polish.....still, got a good 20 days to do it in.....gulp!.

If you are not already aware of the 10 day "back to back" walk itinerary that Sir Ian will be doing, here is a link to the website for more details: http://www.beefy25.com/

And this is a map of our suggested route down to the venue at Croome Park: ROUTE .

:-)

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