Miss you Dad x

Posted on 22 March, 2013 by angieshawcroft

How time passes so quickly now? This must be a sure sign I’m getting older!

It’s three years ago today that my wonderful loving Dad lost his battle with cancer.

He left us with hearts brimming full of memories & so much love …and so many photos to laugh, cry & cringe over!

Dad & Me, many moons ago at Butlins :-)

Dad & Me, many moons ago at Butlins 🙂

It bugs me that I sometimes only seem to remember the later years, when he was fighting that disease. My Dad was so much more than the illness! I never want it to claim focus over who he was. It took his life in the end, but it wasn’t what made up his life!

He was a truly talented craftsman and artist! A brilliant photographer, he was a great geek and could build a computer in the afternoon! He was honest and a genuine gentleman. He was so much fun! 🙂 I loved listening to him play the guitar, especially when he’d teach pieces to me so we could play together. Spending the afternoon watching old movies with him and my sis-in-law. Playing online games together and being called a “sneaky bitch” through laughter over the headset when I’d win! He was a dedicated family man and true friend to so many.

I miss his smiling, love filled eyes. Hearing his Mutley-like laughter when my brother would joke with him to the point of crying. The big hugs that made me feel safe and that “everything will be ok” that only a Dad can give. I miss seeing my Mum so happy as when they were together. I even miss arguing with him! We were both so stubborn and alike! lol I’m so grateful for every little thing that made up such a big person in my life.

…but quite simply, I miss my Dad xx

My Dad

Categories: Cancer, Family, My Brave Dad | Tags: , | Leave a comment

New Year… soooo many new charity things to look forward to! : )

Posted on 12 January, 2013 by angieshawcroft

Hello! And a very Happy New Year to you all!

I feel slightly embarrassed, as I’ve just seen how long it’s been since my last blog post here!? *blushes*

Soooooo much has happened, I’m putting my lax blogging down to that! lol I’ve been working really hard, honest!

I will write a post for everything properly, but as a snippet of what’s to come, here are a few of the things that I, my friends, family & our fundraising group have been up to in the last 6 months…

• @ChessyCR_UK had a stall at Chesterfield’s Olympicnic at Queen’s Park when the torch came to town

• We also had our first bucket collection at the Chesterfield Tesco’s as part of their chosen charity weekend for @CR_UK… which turned out to be one of the most successful in the country apparently! The peeps of Chesterfield are very generous! *Thank you!*

• @ChessyCR_UK also proudly held our first big event at Chatsworth House in October, the ‘Spooktacular Sponsored Stroll’

• My friend Lynsey kindly accompanied me in volunteering at a Swimathon for @TheBHF with @SophieJardine

• My crazy & lovely sister-in-law Claire is planning to do a sky-dive (you can sponsor her here if you’re feeling generous: JumpForRobert) to raise money for @Ashgate_Hospice in memory of my Dad

• Our 2nd CRUK Christmas bake sale at Eastwood Park in Hasland was a delicious success again

• I did my first ever little @AlfDesigns display with friends, & helped to raise a few pennies for Ashgate Hospice at the event

… See, we have been busy! ; )

There are lots of things in the planning for 2013 too… we have another Tesco collection coming up in February, a football tournament, I have a friend trying to convince me to do an abseil with him!? *not until my bum won’t look as big up there in one of those harnesses! lol*, our second ‘Spooktacular Stroll’ will be even better, we’ll be helping out at R4L again, just to name a few! …plus, I seem to have volunteered yesterday to help at another event myself in Feb, so I’d better get a move on & update this blog! : )

Angie x

Categories: Alf Designs, Ashgate Hospice, BHF, Cancer Research UK, Chesterfield, Chesterfield Fundraising Group, Family, Friends, Fundraising, Miscellaneous, My Brave Dad | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

My First Street Collection

Posted on 13 July, 2012 by angieshawcroft

You know how I said I was a push over for volunteering?… Yep, you guessed it! lol

Another thing you will no doubt have heard me say is, I do love twitter!

Some of my closest real-life friends have been found on twitter, along with some of the nicest people I’ve never met *yet!*

One of these is @SophieJardine, who works for the British Heart Foundation in my region. She recently tweeted to me, quite innocently mentioning a street collection in Belper she was short a couple of volunteers for… *oh go on then!* I was in a good mood, I’d just done Race For Life and thought it would be a nice change. Forget the re-tweet, I’ll just volunteer myself!

I must admit though, it did feel like I was moonlighting, wearing a bright red @theBHF tabard instead of my usual blue Cancer Research UK t-shirt!

Belper is a gorgeous village. I used to visit quite often, but it’s the first time in years I’d been back there… I’m going again soon to have a proper nosy around some of the lovely unique shops!

We all met at Specsavers on the High Street, who were very kindly running the collection event and selling pin badges as well in the store, followed by three hours standing in the warm sunshine at Belper. There were two shifts of bucket collectors, morning & afternoon, with three places for us to stand at.

Specsavers staff busy fundraising!

Well, it wasn’t completely sunny, there was the occasional downpour too *anyone doing a street collection, take a brolly!* but people do tend to donate in sympathy when you’re still smiling politely & the rain is running off your glasses – what a tactic! lol

I’ve noticed before that when you put a bright T-shirt on with a charity name boldly written across it, you can suddenly become invisible! It’s such a shame. Nobody’s going to twist your arm to donate, if you want to then brilliant, if not, that’s fine too. Only one non-donating lovely guy politely acknowledged me as he was passing… So the next time you avoid eye contact with a bucket collector, please just say ‘hi’. They’ve given up their time to do something nice, a friendly smile makes time pass a lot quicker.

Anyhow, Sophie emailed me after the event and said the total raised was £385! What a fab amount in a day!

It’s such an easy way to get involved and help out a charity. Why not donate a morning or an afternoon to doing a collection for a charity you’re passionate about? You don’t have to worry about doing any training, getting sponsors or anything!

As the title suggests, this was my ‘first’ collection, there will no doubt be others to come. Yes, there are mind numbingly quiet moments, especially if you are stood alone for that time like I was, but I actually quite enjoyed being forced to stand still for a while, and having a break from computer screens and running about.

Massive “Thank You!” to everyone who went & donated. And an equally big “Ta very much!” to Sophie for letting me join & be one of the team. 🙂

Angie x

PS.
I do believe there is a big streak of irony runs through my life at times. As it would happen, one week after the collection for the British Heart Foundation, I found myself sat in A&E wired up to heart monitors! How apt was that?! Thankfully my ticker is fine, I just need a touch less stress! *maybe I should do another collection for a break?!*

Categories: BHF, Fundraising, Twitter | Leave a comment

Face Painting Flash Back!

Posted on 5 July, 2012 by angieshawcroft

Just before Christmas one of my best friends asked if I would help in one of her fundraising events by doing some face painting… as if I can say no!?

Wendy is a trainee nurse at Companion Care Vets (inside Pets at Home) in Chesterfield & she was organising an open day to raise money for Dogs For The Disabled.

Many years ago (13?! Oh wow, where has the time gone?! Feeling really old now) we had both worked at a local theme park & at one point, I had been a face painter there.

Simple, thought I could buy some paints, get a book & it would all come back to me. Then it struck me, just how long it was since I had done this. What on earth was I thinking?!

Seriously panicking, I needed to practise… quick! Only had a couple of weeks before the open day. Step forward my marvellous sister-in-law Claire! 😉

I had a bit of free time to re-learn in as I had officially been made redundant at Christmas (wasn’t that ‘nice’ of them? *chunter, bites tongue*), but quite miraculously found another design job within a fortnight! Never underestimate the power of twitter, one tweet seeking work was re-tweeted to over 30,000 timelines within 24hrs! How heartwarming was that?! I got a few freelance jobs from it too, thank you tweeps! x

I’m going off on a tangent again, sorry. Back to face painting…

Claire excitedly stepped up & over the Christmas period, I tried several designs on her… my favourite has to be the first one I tried when the family came to mine, as she drove back to Chesterfield like a lion! Ha! We actually hoped the police would pull her over to see what their reaction would be!

“Roarrrr!”

She also braved being a witch and a puppy. Thank you sis! x

Anyway, the time of the open day was soon upon us. Wendy & I started out early so she could set everything up at Companion Care. Everyone had worked really hard, there was a quiz & behind the scenes stuff prepared for the children, loads of very tempting homemade cakes (and an amazing cake for the raffle!), Wendy’s sister (an exceptional photographer) was also there taking pet portrait photos and then me with a box full of paints & sponges.

The event was advertised on facebook, twitter, by TBOChesterfield & also in store. Who says social media can’t be useful?! Brilliant day, loads of people turned out, had a great time & supported a fab charity. What more could you want?

Oh yes, a sponsored leg waxing for one of their vets, Paul (he did an amazing Lands End to John O’Groats cycle ride this year for the charity too). We had hoped for looks of tense anguish & gritted teeth, but he actually smiled all the way through it!?! Soooo disappointing! lol

If you want to sponsor Paul’s bike ride, see some pics or read more about their brilliant open day, I’ve included a few links here for you…

Companion Care Vets

Their facebook page: Companion Care Vets, Chesterfield

Sponsor Paul’s Cycle Ride

One small detail I’d forgotten about though, if you sit with your arms held out painting for several hours and don’t normally, then expect the following day not to be able to even lift your arm up! Honestly, I thought I was having a stroke till I realised why I couldn’t move my left arm!

I’m so glad Wendy asked me to help, it was a great day. Those vets and nurses work exceptionally hard (I know, I have a sickly little house rabbit that visits them far too often!) but they all took time out to raise money for charity…

The fabulous fundraising Chesterfield Companion Care Team!

Plus, I now have a face painting kit ready for any of our groups own events!

Angie x

Categories: Alf Designs, Chesterfield, Dogs For The Disabled, Friends, Fundraising, Twitter | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

My experience of Race For Life 2012

Posted on 26 June, 2012 by angieshawcroft

I had never intended on taking part in Race For Life every year, but it does seem to have turned out that way. I think it’s more of a habit for me now. This was my 7th… and they have all been sunny! How has that happened?!

We all make a very public and pink statement of how this horrid disease touches all of us, everywhere and in every walk of life.

Whether we run, jog, walk, crawl or wheel our way round. Everyone can do it. It’s a race against the disease, not each other.

Tragically, over the last year, cancer struck again. One of my cousins and another very good friend both lost their Mums to cancer. My heart truly goes out to them xx

Sometimes I have doubts if the little things that I do makes any difference at all, or do I just continually keep upsetting myself for nothing?! But all you need to do is look at the sea of women in pink with names lovingly written on their backs, and you know it does make a big difference! It all raises awareness publicly and personally as well as much needed funds for research into treatments and hopefully one day, a cure.

I know I annoy friends and family at times with it all *OK, most the time!* but it’s because I hate the disease passionately, and I can’t stand the thought of losing anyone else to it! I hope that if my wafflings help to raise funds, or even makes a friend think to see a doctor about symptoms, then it’s definitely worth a few tears and effort on my part.

Since losing my job as a designer I keep trying to find work as a full-time fundraiser! It would be so much more worthwhile… plus, it would be really nice to be able to keep my home while doing something I love too!!! So far the only good thing to come from trying was being able to meet fellow twitter addict Nancy (@CRUKWalton) in London, after traveling for an interview down there last week!

Anyway, back to the Race…

This year’s R4L was perfect timing again… Father’s Day. I really need to check dates before I sign up to things! Honestly, I don’t need any encouragement to cry at the moment!

Why I do this…

But, it was also the first R4L since we formed our Chesterfield Fundraising Group too *Yay! We’re 1 year old!* so our committee girls, who are taking part in different R4L events in the area (due to holidays, etc) will all be wearing Chesterfield Fundraising Group T-shirts. So if anyone wants to say ‘hi’ or contact us to join in with events, they’ll know who we are.

As ‘modeled’ by me!

Not that I’m easy to rope in to doing charity work or anything, but I had been tweeting for weeks about the Chesterfield R4L team needing more volunteers to be marshals… and the next minute I was signed up to help out myself!?! lol Obviously I couldn’t marshal and take part in the race at the same time, but I could go a few hours earlier and help to coordinate volunteers, sign people in, sell water bottles, etc. It’s the first time I’ve done that (and also persuaded my Mum & pal Sarah W to help too – they are both brilliant, and very tolerant of me!), but I will certainly help again in future.

Ulterior motive!: It also gave me a sneak peek at what we need to do to organise our own walks!

Anyway, the event manager, Philippa Sharpe, had a brilliant team running the day smoothly. It was also great to put a face to the email address!

And another bonus, the T-shirt’s work! Upon arriving I was greeted by a fellow tweep! The Cancer Research UK press manager, Nicki Embleton (@n_embo)… who took this very dazed and windswept early photo of me to tweet… *cheers for that Nicki! lol*

Here’s the 2012 hairstyle disaster to go with the previous six from my last post!!!

I know I mention twitter a fair bit (ahem, constantly), but the truth is, it’s the best group of people I know! So many lovely tweeps sponsored me and also sent messages who took part in the Chesterfield R4L themselves. Anybody who fundraises or wants to share something they’re passionate about, twitter is absolutely the best way to do it in my humble opinion!

…Although I was threatened by Sarah W that if I kept tweeting my way round the Race, she would do something unpleasant to me and my mobile!? Note to self: tweet more discreetly around non-tweeters in future…

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this fab event!

Also, did you know that volunteering to help means you get a free cuppa and cob afterwards? Result!! Whilst I was stirring my tea, a nice gentleman with his family smiled and sincerely thanked us. He told me how he was fighting cancer and how much it meant to him that people took part in things like this. He’s currently having treatment for the same cancer my Dad suffered from. I really, really hope he beats it.

And of course no R4L or Father’s Day is complete for me without a visit to my Dad after.

So that was my ever emotional 2012 experience. How was yours?

Here are some pics from the lovely, green and sunny (just!) Chesterfield R4L. Apologies for blurryness, I was walking at the time!…

One last completely shameless request!

If anyone would still like to sponsor me, here is the link to give to CR_UK…

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/angieshawcroft2012

Or, you can donate by texting “FLOS78 £[write in amount]” to 70070

Thank you!

Angie x

Categories: Cancer, Cancer Research UK, Chesterfield, Chesterfield Fundraising Group, Family, Friends, Fundraising, Race For Life, Twitter | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sarah’s Midnight Walk!

Posted on 24 June, 2012 by angieshawcroft

I don’t know if you will have read my previous post, “A Midsummer Night’s Half Marathon“? But I walked it alone in 2010 as my fab friend Sarah W was injured and couldn’t take part.

Well, two years on and with two friends (Nicola & Claire), in heavy rain, last night she did it! In memory of my Dad… and in just under 4 hours too! 😀

Apparently it stopped raining just as they were having their bacon butties! *sods law*

I am so very proud of her, and I’m certain my Dad is too. He thought a great deal of Sarah and was so sorry for her when she couldn’t do the walk with me then.

Please help her raise lots more money to help Ashgate Hospice and their brilliant work at her sponsor page…

Sarah’s JustGiving Page

Thank you!

Angie x

Categories: Ashgate Hospice, Chesterfield, Friends, Fundraising, Midsummer Midnight Walk, My Brave Dad | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Jubilee BIG Lunch at Queen’s Park

Posted on 24 June, 2012 by angieshawcroft

Hello!

It’s been a while since I updated this blog. Not through idleness, I’ve just had a lot of other things on & our little @ChessyCR_UK fundraising group has been hard at work planning a big event or three!

As if we could let the Jubilee pass by without doing something?! Especially as we have the appropriately named “Queen’s Park” in Chesterfield!

On the run up to the day, we had been constantly reminded about the British weather by people *like we didn’t know!?!* but what could we do?! It’s an outdoor event in a park! We had booked gazebo’s for a little cover, but honestly, we’re English, just bring a brolly, don’t moan… & have fun!

But, as resourceful as ever, our fab committee gal Emma (@TBOChesterfield) managed to get us all indoor cover in the cricket pavilion with big thanks to Sarah at Queen’s Park too *Phew!* so we went to town and tweeted for England about it!

Have I ever mentioned how amazing twitter is? Yes? Well, it’s hardly a surprise when our day was completely saved by friends and fellow tweeps braving the rain to enjoy a very English indoor picnic!

We had an excellent tombola (run by my lovely Mum), scrummy cream tea’s with homemade scones and crown biccies by our own Michelle (@thehawkinsclan), children’s craft fun where they could make crowns, Lucy from Little Rascals (@LucyRascalsHQ) was facepainting, Julie of Crafty JuJu Designs (@craftyjuju) had a fabulous stall of patriotic jewelry (which Emma & I certainly couldn’t resist!), the marvelous Thurcroft Welfare Band played throughout the rain in quintessentially British style!

It actually turned into a bit of a Diamond Jubilee Royal tweet-up! Was lovely to see @AbiBurlingham, @wendytindall and everyone who did brave it and come out with brollys.

Emma and I even did a soggy sweep of the park and leisure centre to draw in any passers by – and we found some fab Scouts!

BIG thanks goes to all those who helped and that did come out and have fun with us to celebrate the Jubilee in spite of the weather.

It was a shame that more didn’t show up, we could have raised a lot more for Cancer Research UK, but we can’t control the weather! We did raise money though, and we all made the best of it.

Our little fundraising community got a fair bit bigger too! 😀

Angie x

Categories: Cancer Research UK, Chesterfield, Chesterfield Fundraising Group, Friends, Fundraising, Twitter | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ooh! Had an idea!

Posted on 2 April, 2012 by angieshawcroft

Quick little post…

I’ve had an idea! Seeing as my Race For Life event is on Father’s Day & it’s also my birthday next to it too this year, I’ve decided that instead of any gifts, or anything, a donation to Cancer Research UK would be much better!

If you’re feeling generous, a link to donate or info of what to text is in the column on the right.

Cheers me dears!

Angie x

Categories: Cancer, Cancer Research UK, Chesterfield, Family, Friends, Fundraising, My Brave Dad, Race For Life | Leave a comment

Race For Life (well, more of a Plod For Life in my case)

Posted on 23 March, 2012 by angieshawcroft

2012 R4L

My Race For Life pack arrived today. The Chesterfield R4L in June 2012 will be my 7th to date… one day, I would love to run it, but I’ll have to settle for a limp round clutching my inhaler again this year!

I may be (relatively) young, but my health is pretty crappy. I’m not complaining & won’t elaborate further – things could be an awful lot worse – but I know what I can & can’t do… actually, it’s more like I know what I should & shouldn’t do! Never been very good at admitting ‘I can’t’ with anything! 😉

Anyhow, the ‘race’ story so far…

My first R4L was in Sheffield in early 2005 with my (then, soon to be) sister-in-law Claire (now one of our fab @ChessyCR_UK committee members!). The name that I wore proudly on my back, was my lovely & deeply missed Granddad Geoffrey. He had suffered from bowel cancer. I remember being really nervous going there, as I don’t do large crowds, and that was a HUGE crowd! It was so upsetting to see so many pink messages on everyone’s backs. But also incredibly uplifting at how many were willing to do something together to help make a difference against cancer. Women of all ages and abilities walking, jogging & running side by side.

Me (Left) & Claire, Race For Life 2005 in Sunny Sheffield

In 2006, we did the Bakewell R4L. This time with one of my best friends, Sarah S (Sarah W as of last year!) & her best friend Claire G. Sadly though, from here on the names on my back included my Dad. I gave him my medal for this one.

Bakewell R4L 2006

2007, And again, we took part in the Bakewell R4L. Who could resist the beauty of the countryside near Haddon Hall?! I LOVE that house! Actually, I used to design their souvenirs when I worked for a postcard company. My plodding partners were Sarah S & my lovely Mum! For a quiet person, I do seem to be pretty persuasive when it comes to roping friends & family in to charity stuff… or maybe they just say yes to shut me up? Haven’t figured that one out yet. I might just be really lucky & have some amazing friends? Yep, that’s it, they’re all fab & I love ’em to bits!

It might sound silly, but when the name’s on your back you don’t continually think about it. Seeing “for Angie’s Dad” on Sarah’s though & “my husband” on my Mum’s back, it was heartbreaking & really hard not to cry (more than usual anyway).

Bakewell R4L 2007

2008 and we had the motley-est crew possible at Bakewell! Me, Mum, Claire S, Sarah S, Claire G, Maggie T & Sarah W. So proud of them all! Although I’m pretty sure that there was a duck overtook me on the hill at one point?! I swear it’s quacks sounded like it was laughing at me!

Bakewell R4L Team 2008

In 2009 we did the Chesterfield R4L for the first time. Claire S, myself, Sarah S & Mum.

I know, I’ve had several hair crisis’ over the last few years & these photo’s really aren’t my best looks!

Chesterfield R4L 2009

In 2010 we walked in Chesterfield again. This one was the most heartbreaking. It was two weeks after my half marathon for Ashgate Hospice, and the first, horrible time that the pink square on my back read “in memory of my Dad” and not “in honour” of him.

My two best friends, Sarah S & Sarah J joined me this time. They are simply brilliant! It was Sarah J’s first R4L and I was so proud of her. To some people 5km is no challenge at all and they don’t know what the fuss is about, but for others, every step is an achievement.

I jokingly called us the S.A.S. when I twigged to our initials. My Mum, in a heartbeat corrected this saying “A.S.S. would be more appropriate”! Charming! Thanks Mum! lol

S.A.S. 😉 Chesterfield R4L 2010

2011 is where I have a blip. I kinda had the year off. But I had a good reason for missing the R4L, honest! Sarah S got married on the R4L day! And from here on will be known as Sarah W. Yay! We did consider doing the race in the morning before the ceremony, but concluded it probably wouldn’t have been a wise decision if she ran round with a wedding dress on!

I should have turned it into a sponsored ‘dress wear’ instead of doing the race anyway! I never wear frocks but that was the one day in 2011 that I had to. Yes, my lily white legs saw daylight & I looked quite girly for once – instead of the usual shirt, jeans & converse. Wonder if I can avoid wearing a dress again at my cousins wedding in May like that? “Sponsor me x-amount or I’ll wear jeans” sort of thing? Hmmm… will have to think about that further…

Anyway, back to R4L… We’ve raised well over a thousand pounds between us for Cancer Research UK. I’m privileged to have such generous friends & family who not only take part in this with me, but always give so generously too. And to that I say…

THANK YOU!!!

Together we will beat cancer!

This year I will again be walking with Sarah W, Claire S is running it & Michelle H will be running in Sheffield’s race. We will also be wearing Chesterfield Fundraising Group T-shirts. So if anyone wants to say ‘hi’ or contact us to join in with events, they’ll know who we are.

If you’ve managed to make it this far through my post, haven’t been bored witless and would like to sponsor me, here is the link to give to CR_UK (Shameless, I know. But I really can’t do the face to face asking!)…

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/angieshawcroft2012

Or, you can give £2 by texting “FLOS78 £2” to 70070

Thank you & hope to see you there in June!

Angie x

Categories: Cancer, Cancer Research UK, Chesterfield, Chesterfield Fundraising Group, Friends, Fundraising, My Brave Dad, Race For Life | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#72hrTweetOff

Posted on 9 March, 2012 by angieshawcroft

Writing a rolling blog post is not cheating! 😉

Also, another member of the @ChessyCR_UK committee is tweeting at the moment – we are supporting a local event this weekend, so this is responsible tweeting at it’s finest!

This is so odd! A silly little dare made in lighthearted fun, is actually really scaring me. Not in a life-or-death kinda way obviously! But in that it’s making me realise I may have to actually alter things.

Thursday:

23:50pm: Twitter is off my computer and phone completely (I know, I have no will power!) *shudders*

I don’t sleep much at the best of times, so normally I’d lie in bed with my BB and peruse twitter. Not tonight! The alternative? Malt loaf, a cuppa and a bit of blogging. It’s going to be a long 3 days…

Friday:

This isn’t a good start! Turned my alarm off and instantly looked to my phone (Is the light flashing? New emails? Tweets? Blogs?) Noooo!!!! I didn’t know my habit was this bad? When did that happen!?! Do I normally just fit daily life in around twitter? Evidently so.

Email notification… “You have a new mention…” Damn it!!! Forgot to turn those off. And I can’t look for three days?!

Thank heavens I have work today! – we’re not allowed to use phones there – just the usual lunch break catch-up to avoid looking. Then the art club this evening (again, not allowed)

*tentatively prepares to open door & go ‘outside’. Rubs eyes at the brightness*

8:57am: You know, I may tweet so much because I can’t make my mind sit still!? Focus woman!!

11:13am: Text from Nancy “Have you caved yet?!” Charming!!! lol

1:00pm: Lunch time – normally I walk out the door while logging on. This is so weird.

18:57pm: Worked late, late home, too late for Art Club. So much for that nice distraction. Now what? *looks nervously at computer…*

20:05pm: Having a tech-free weekend to remove those twitter pangs as much as possible… honest! Got my sketchbook, dip pen, ink and… my old box brownie! Love going out with this taking candid pics, thank goodness I had a roll of 120 film kicking around.

Gadget girl goes vintage!

Saturday:

7:00am: And again with the phone checking!? Maybe it’s that I should try to go without for… ignore that! That’s just crazy talk! …I bet Nancy’s happily tweeting again already? *jealous* Why on earth did I say 3 days?!

13:41pm: Well, after the first 24hrs of weirdness and not knowing what to do with myself without twitter, I think I’m starting to settle – really, I was trembling at one point last night, wine soon got rid of that though!

Just spent a lovely morning out with Abi (a fellow tweeter), spending too much in art shops & chatting in a real coffee shop, with a real person! Who’d a thunk it?! Normally I would still be sat at the computer, working and tweeting. Whereas now, I am currently sat in my car, listening to music in the countryside. Just been taking photos of daffodils with my box brownie.

…Still desperate to tweet though!!!

17:20pm: OK, this is getting to be one of the nicest days I’ve had in many months! Bumped into another fellow tweeter who I haven’t seen since we left school! Then my best friend – which meant more coffee & a cuddle from her beautiful ickle newborn son. 😀

A wander down the road in the countryside listening to lapwings…

And now going out with my Mum to an Elvis night *practices lip curl* raising money for Cancer Research UK with @ChessyCR_UK

Funnily enough, I don’t want to tweet… my steps feel lighter &… I’m smiling (shock, horror, it does happen occasionally!) Is this the end for me & twitter? O_o I hadn’t anticipated this big an impact? Maybe it’s just a freakishly good day…

21:40pm: What an amazing group of people! @darrenfearn & everyone have worked so hard & put on a really excellent event tonight – the Elvis style act was brilliant! It’s such a privilege to volunteer for @CR_UK & be a part of this. I LOVE doing this! 😀

00:45am: Crawling in at this time when I’m going out at 7am may be a slight problem…
Good night/morning all… ‘Thank you very much’

Sunday

6:32am: Oh lord! Just woke up & Abi’s coming round for 7! Fastest shower on record. But… didn’t check my phone! Yay! *fanfare please* Unbelievably tired but the drive out woke us up…

Abi -driving- glances an owl-ish type bird in a field “Is that an owl?!” (Excitedly looking behind her)
Me -looking forward- “HEDGE!!!”

Palpitations, Car boot, Matlock views, bacon butty, friends chatting, bit of birdwatching… home for 9am (I could do this before work!) and it’s such a beautiful day. 🙂

17:35pm: Stayed out all day in the gorgeous countryside walking, taking photos and drawing (which is why I’m now sun burnt in early March!), slipped onto my ‘built-in padding’ in a muddy field, chatted to a really lovely older couple about herons, lefties and art, lots of texts and emails… but no twitter urges now.

Actually, I’m not looking forward to midnight. Do I return? Risk getting drawn into the 24/7 thing again? Do I have any focus & will power not to be on it all the time?! I’m sure this was meant to be just a daft bit of fun for two tweet addicts to get a day off!

Anyway, tea-time & cooking… that’s a rarity for me too.

9:14pm: Think I’ll decide tomorrow if/when I go back to twitter?

How weird has this been?! Hope Nancy fared better?! lol

…72hrs survived off twitter & counting!…

Categories: Cancer Research UK, Chesterfield Fundraising Group, Friends, Random Stuff, Twitter | Tags: , | 2 Comments

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