London Calling: Honkopoly is a comin' !!

In case you hadn't heard Team Honk is back and this time it's bigger and there are more of us !! 

From Sunday 12 January – Sunday 23 March, over 250 bloggers from across the country will come together as Team Honk to take part in a baton relay from Land’s End to John O’Groats.  Between us we will cover over 3,000 miles and hope to raise £20,000 for Sport Relief to help change lives at home and abroad.

The baton arrives in London from the St. Albans team on Tuesday 4th February, and the following day over 25 bloggers will be taking a Monopoly themed route round London landmarks with a camera following us. We start at the Comic Relief HQ in Vauxhall and take in various points on the Monopoly board as we walk, scooter, cycle and push buggies for 15 miles. In the evening a few of us will be taking the baton to its next handover in Fleet, Hampshire, where Mummy Barrow has promised us pizza - I've been dieting so I'm really looking forward to this the most of all :)

With the bossiness that only Mums can muster a route has been decided upon, meeting points, flyers and posters arranged and outfits agreed. Packed lunches are being planned and travel is being sorted. It's like a massive school trip with all the girls who used to sit at the back of the bus twirling their hair and giggling only we'll be wandering round London looking like a monopoly themed hen party - yes it's Honkopoly !!

Top hats have been purchased, Sport Relief onesies ordered (and taken up as they come up big apparently) and various bits and pieces that make up monopoly are being assembled in preparation for our jaunt around London a week today. I'm going to be the one in the striped onesie lugging a bag marked SWAG as I'm "Go to Jail" - a humorous take on the job I did before I had my son working with the prison service. Clearly I don't like to keep things simple as I'm also going to be riding an adult scooter kindly donated by Micro-scooters from point to point. This might prove tricky in all that get up so that has to be worth some sponsorship surely ?

We went to spread the word about what we're doing, so this Saturday morning my radio show is all about Honkopoly and I'll be interviewing two thirds of the London organising committee: Sarah (Grenglish) and Sophie (Franglaise Mummy) and one third of the the Head Honkers: Tanya (Mummy Barrow). You can listen live online at www.croydonradio.com on Saturday morning from 10am.

There will be social media covering our antics all day on Wed 5th Feb so keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook as well as on the local news (just in case !) or you might spot us around London somewhere. If you do come up and say hello and please do consider sponsoring our efforts.

I'm delighted to announce that we've already beaten our London sponsorship target of £500, but we're aiming so much higher than that. Any amount donated will make a difference to the lives of those in need and here are some ways in which the money could be used:

•  £1 could provide a hot meal for a child in the UK living in extreme poverty

•  £5 could pay for a mosquito net to protect a mother and her baby in Africa from contracting malaria while they sleep

•  £10 could enable an older person in the UK who just lost someone they love to attend a group activity

•  £25 could run a sports session for disabled children in the UK, giving them the chance to play with other young people

•  £100 could feed 200 children living on the streets in India for one day

•  £300 could provide a water point in the slums of Tanzania, giving hundreds of families access to safe, clean water

•  £500 could provide six months of support for a young person in the UK with mental health issues.

If you would like to sponsor our efforts you can do it online here: Honkopoly

Or if you prefer you can donate by text: Text HONK to 70005 and donate £5 to Sport Relief

The first ever Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games take place from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd March 2014. The public can join the fun and games by running, swimming or cycling their way to raising cash at over a thousand venues around the country, including the landmark events at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

As one of the biggest fundraising events, Sport Relief brings the entire nation together to get active raise cash and change lives. The money raised by the public is spent by Comic Relief to help transform the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people both at home in the UK and across the world.