Barney Trubble

Puppy day finally arrived on Saturday. I've been like a child waiting for Christmas for the last few weeks so everyone will be relieved that I am no longer going to give them a day by day countdown! We eventually decided to call him Barney and he is absolutely gorgeous, though just a little mischievous. He's already tried to take a dip in the pond, has taken the heads off most of the pansies and tries to eat anything in sight (he sampled l'escargots for supper yesterday!). He is so much like our last dog, Sam; his personality seems very similar so I think we have another cheeky one. Here are a few photos.

Barney likes pulling the heads off the pansies

...and scrabbling in the soil

Zonked!

I survived!!

Sunday was the day of our big sponsored abseil at Devil's Gorge to raise funds for the North Staffs Special Adventure Playground, the charity for which I work. In the run up to the event I was far more anxious that the event would run smoothly than I was about the abseils themselves, so I must say that a huge sigh of relief was breathed at the end of the day when it was all over and had gone without any hitches (and all 31 participants got home alive!).

As for the actual abseils, I can quite honestly say that it was the most terrifying experience I have ever had! The first abseil was down a 70 degree slope, the second a free-hang 120ft abseil. I had the pleasure (?) of being first down, and managed to set a great example by losing my footing just after I started my descent and swinging into the rockface- I now have some lovely bruises to show off! After regaining my composure, I started again and despite my utter fear of heights, I didn't find the rest of the descent too bad. However, I can't even begin to explain how terrified I was for the first half of my second abseil- looking back now I don't know how I did it. I am genuinely scared of heights and descending to the edge of the overhang and then going off the edge is the hardest thing I have had to do, but you can't beat the feeling of achievement you get afterwards.

Despite the horror of dangling 120ft in the air on the end of a rope, it was a fantastic day and I am hopeful that we have raised in excess of £3500 which makes everything worthwhile. The rest of the story can be told in pictures:

Going over the edge

"Straighten your legs and lean back"- easier said than done when

you are 120ft off the ground and scared of heights.

"Smile for the camera"- you are having a laugh.

Point of no return

"Am I nearly there yet?"

Reaching terra firma

The second abseil- you can just see me emerging over the edge

"Straighten your legs and come off the wall"- whatever

Still reluctant to lose contact

"Eek, where's the wall gone?"

Well and truly hanging ....and I didn't look down once!

This is the look of relief that it was all over!