Honk if you wanna go faster !

This year has already been one of fundraising firsts. I spent February sugar free to raise money for Cancer Research UK - surprisingly no one was harmed in my sugar-free state. Well actually my macbook was on the receiving end of an errant cup of tea, but so far is appears to have survived any long term harm. I figured that as it's the shortest month it would be the best one to do something as radical as give up sugar and I managed it. Ok, there were a couple of notable exceptions - I did have a dessert on Valentine's Day and on the last day of February I had a pancake with sugar and lemon on it. Otherwise I did pretty well and I think it's given me an appreciation of how much sugar I was eating and how little I really need it. 

As if I wasn't a sucker enough for punishment I'm taking part in Dechox this month. Yep, I'm staying off the chocolate for a whole month longer to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. At least at the end of this it's Easter so I can indulge, but from past experience the anticipation of chocolate far exceeds the need for it once the deprivation ends.

I put on my Comic Relief face on the train 

You will probably have seen by now that I spent yesterday in the company of fellow Team Honkers and we walked ten miles around London wearing Red Nose themed outfits and preparing meals at each stop. This annual fundraiser is for Comic Relief and this year we called it The Honk Line - I've been calling it Honk The Line Johnny Cash style all this time. 

A much needed cuppa and a borrowed tutu 

First up we met up in Highgate and had breakfast in Waterlow Park - just as we were about to leave we bumped into Jamie Oliver with this wife Jools and their kids. He kindly agreed to a photo with a gaggle of overexcited people in red nose day gear. (If you don't believe me check out my twitter feed).

The firepod 

The idea of preparing food at each stop was taken up with gusto by the lovely team at Firepod and they carried this amazing bit of kit around with us for the whole day. When we stopped for lunch they made us fresh and delicious pizzas to eat. 

Red Nose pizza 

Our final meal stop was afternoon tea at Lincoln's Inn Fields. We were all pretty tired by this point and needed the sit down. There were lots of people and dogs in the park enjoying the sunshine and a police helicopter overhead for a bit of local colour. Getting back up to do the final leg was not appealing in the slightest. Not least as my feet were really aching by this point and even today I'm feeling pain in my ankles. In total I walked ten miles and came home for a hot bath. I had hoped for breakfast in bed this morning, but for once the boys didn't wake up at 6am ready to rumble. 

It's not a tea party without a mad hatter 

Ok, so it was tiring and all that, but the point of it all was to raise money so here's as link to my fundraising page: https://my.rednoseday.com/sponsor/Swazi As a team we've already raised almost £3,000 and with more events to come next weekend with Come Honk With Me we hope to exceed our past efforts. Your generosity really will help to make a world of difference to people living unimaginably tough lives. Thank you.

Red Nose Day is actually on Friday 24th March and it's going to be fantastic. I'm thinking of going to this - a crafternoon sounds wonderful doesn't it ?

Of course as this is me it doesn't end here - this walk was mere training for the 26.2 mile Moonwalk in May - I'll keep you posted... 

Oh no it's the Gruffalo !! (trail at Bolderwood)

Our annual 'family staycation' started on the Thursday as Hubbie had taken a day off so that we could start our long weekend early. It began brilliantly with all three of us in the kitchen rocking out to the Prodigy - Firestarter. A sign that our son has inherited his parents' unfailing love of music and inappropriate dancing all at the same time.

Puddle jumping 

Exploring the forest

As usual the plan was to stay with the in-laws who live near the New Forest. We often see ponies, cows, sheep and even pigs when we're down there and now the boy is getting older we're hoping to treat him to more forest-related fun. To introduce him used to the great outdoors we've taken him to the woods near our house before now as he loves tromping around in wellies and - of course - jumping in muddy puddles.

Oh no it's the Gruffalo !

This year it's the 15th anniversary of the Gruffalo so there are a lot of activities being organised to celebrate and one of these is the Gruffalo trail that we took him to at the weekend. Like many kids our boy enjoyed then fell in love with then became obsessed with the Gruffalo. He has the books, the ones with the sound buttons, an advent calendar and a chocolate figurine as well as his last birthday party having a Gruffalo table cloth and some Gruffalo themed snacks - I did draw the line at crumble, but it will happen I'm sure !

Off he goes...

So, after a bit of a drive to get to Bolderwood in Hampshire we found the start of the Gruffalo trail. We had hoped that the boy would be excited about this, but he mithered and moaned about it. We did it anyway. You see he loves being outside and he loves the Gruffalo so I figured that the two would be a winning combination.

With Grandma

Checking the activities

As it was there was plenty to keep us all busy. Our boy enjoyed the change of terrain under foot from soft and earthy, to a bit tougher and twiggy then - his favourite - wet and puddly. Hubbie found a small stream and played pooh sticks with the boy. He seemed to really enjoy this so it's game we will definitely play again.

Grandma spotted the best - and weirdest - thing of all. This 'animal' foraging in the tree roots is actually a tree root !! I admit I find it quite creepy to look at, but it really is quite amazing.

Is it an animal ? Nope it's a tree root.

The trail was fun with some great activities involving collecting, counting, drawing and using all the senses in addition to experiencing some great forest to walk through. Towards the end our boy enjoyed hiding behind trees and us trying to find him. It helps that he's only just a metre tall I guess. The final challenge was the cattle grid to get back to the car park which both the boy and Grandma negotiated with some grace.

Hide and seek 

Careful...

At the end he was given a sticker and some lovely colouring sheets to take home - it's amazing how much a sticker will cheer up even the most miserable threenager.

This weekend we're going to take part in the big picnic to celebrate the Gruffalo's anniversary and we're hoping to spot one of the wooden sculptures of him that we've heard so much about. Fingers crossed for nice weather and me not forgetting to pack mine and Hubbie's wellies :)

This post is part of the fab and fun #countrykids linky from the lovely Fiona at Coombe Mill

We love bees :) 

A Spring walk to admire the flowers

I've been doing a fair few long walks in training for the Moonwalk on 10th May. It's been lovely to watch the Spring flowers coming up and the changes in the landscape.

These ones were just outside the doctor's surgery and it was a sunny day so they look especially lovely.

We have a big garden that requires a lot of work to keep tidy, but I quite like the wild and woolly look that it has before I get to do some pruning. 

Red flowers and a blue sky

Sometimes it's nice to admire someone else's garden. Of course a beautiful blue sky helps :)