Blogging the days away

Well, I've finally caught up with the rest of the team and now have my very own blog, rather than a finickity diary buried deep within the piles of pages on www.boardfree.co.uk. God help us, but now people will be able to comment on what I have to say. I suppose I should be anti-censorship so go ahead world, have a pop. And if it's not friendly make it constructive!

It has been a mixed weekend. Bouts of perpetual fatigue have frazzled my brain, brilliant considering I start training for BFUK tomorrow! But not to worry, it's nothing serious, just early mornings and late nights in aid of sponsorship hunts, flight searches and website updating. Last Friday I welcomed Holly Allen onto the team (pic left: Holly dressed as Skippy, with a very happy me looming) and I have to say this girl has been a breath of fresh air. Considering none of us had met her before she strolled up to the BoardFree posse in Hyde Park on February 18th, Holly couldn't have been more positive about BoardFree. She has been simply brimming with enthusiasm about the project and it was such a relief to tell her the good news. Her boyf Nat was over the moon too, and I'm glad to announce that he's a top bloke too and will hopefully join us in the latter stages of the Australian trip as we approach Brisbane.

BoardFree is in a funny stage at the moment. I call it 'The Vacuum'. Six months of hardcore publicity and awareness has now dropped off to a minimum as the final weeks roll by towards the April 30th start at John o'Groats, but as much as I've encouraged this media holiday, the vacuum has inevitably taken its toll on the two other imprtant aspects of the project, fundraising and the team. Our fundraising total sits just a few pence higher than £1051, an achievement sure, but compared to our minimum target, nada. It's frustrating, but I know how this charitable fundraising game works, people need something tangible to give their money to and right now it is hard to feel BoardFree. Trust me, come Land's End the total on www.justgiving.com/boardfree is going to look a lot healthier. As with donations, my team is in hibernation. Individual commitments to life and work are in overload at the moment, blogs are few and far between and heads are down. I can understand this; 170 days until we wave goodbye to Perth seems both an eternity and a whisper away. Life mustn't stop for BoardFree, not yet.. For six men and women who are an integral part of this project which has been recognised by thousands and will be viewed by millions, all I can say is remember why you're on board, realise that you're in a position to make an incredible difference and ensure that you can't look back on 2006 with regrets. We are all in the middle of something special here and although we're all here for a reason those reasons don't matter now. We're in it, and we stand up and are counted by our actions now, nothing more.