Wednesday 30 April 2014

Easter with the Middleton's

Well OK, slightly misleading, as it should have been Eater IN Middleton (Suffolk).

It was one of those rare occasions, that my rest days lined up with the bank holiday, and I had all four days off, so we booked a cottage (The Granary) in this very pretty village via Suffolk Secrets


Our drive up was via Stowmarket for lunch, so arriving later afternoon, it was time for a quick bite to eat and open the bottle bubbly we had taken with us.













Saturday, saw us up early, and off to RSPB Minsmere (we are both members).

We must have walked 5 miles that day (did get a little bit lost at one stage), but the weather was glorious. lots of birds to see, and so many differing habitats.


















































So after our five miles, it was the short journey back to the cottage, and there was still sufficient warmth in the sun to sit in the garden, with a glass of chilled white.

We awoke Sunday, to grey skies, and not very pleasant weather, we decide to drive to Dunwich, but due to the weather, it was one of the bleakest places I have been to.












So we then took a drive up the A12 to Southwold



Although the weather was not much brighter in this part of the world, it was very busy, and we spent a couple of hours walking on the front and in the town.
By now it was lunch time, so we headed back to the car to hunt down an eatery.

We found a very nice pub The White Hart on the A12. You can always tell how good the food is, and yes it was packed, but we managed to secure the last table for Sunday lunch, and excellent it was to.

And so back to the cottage, and this is were the weekend took a bit of a nose dive.
I have been suffering an ongoing infection that had raised its head in differing disguises for about a month now, but I had only said to Sue on the Saturday that I was feeling much better, and maybe I had "cracked it" .
Arriving back at the cottage I did not feel at all well and took to my bed at two in the afternoon, and got up 8am the following morning

We arrived back home on bank holiday Monday, after not finding too much traffic, and it was back to work on Tuesday for a day shift.
To cut a long story short, late Tuesday evening, I was being conveyed in an Ambulance to Colchester General Hospital, where its turns out that I have Pneumonia, and staying for a few days On IV drips etc.
But now I'm back at home, and in recovery phase, which I hope will not be too long, as the next cruise bekones.

Wednesday 2 April 2014

I really need your help !!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to read today's blog, not about cruising today, but something a bit more serious.

But first for those that do not know me, a little bit of history.

On 1st April 2009 I was diagnosed with CLL (it really was not an April fools), and later that year, I started 6 months of Chemo,
Now although not the best 6 months of my life, I did have to count myself lucky, as I suffered minimal side effects.
I have since then, been in remission, but as the "Chronic" part of the title suggests, there is no "cure" for this, so I know Mr C will come back for another bite at some stage.

After the Chemo, I started to ride a cycle again (at work) after more than 40 years, as part of my recovery program to increase my fitness, and in 2012, I was joined by my daughter (Zoe Mallett) on a charity cycle ride, where we raised over £1000 for Leukaemia Care a charity that support peoples with blood disorders.

















In 2013, Team Aylott was formed, where family, friends and work colleagues supported me to raise over £2000 for this charity.

And so here we are in 2014, and Team Aylott, on 11th May will ride in the Tour de Tendring

Riding in Tour de Tendring this year are

Zoe Mallett
Matthew Mallett
Kirsty Lucas
Sarah Roberts
Mike Evans
Kevin Ward
Diane Gerard
Peter Gerard
Hayley Lambert
Gary Lambert
Tim Coe
Claire Coe

Kirsty and Sarah are also taking part in Harwich Tri Sprint again raising money for Leukaemia Care

Darren Deex is also taking part in something exhausting, that has yet to be announced.

And Trevor Smith is organising a caravan rally at Easter were fun and games will also raise money.

I feel very privileged to have such good friends, who are willing to help me raise funds. 

And now to your part in all of this, I have set a massive target of £2,500 for us to raise this year, so if you have been wondering what to do with that odd pound coin that is floating about in your purse / wallet ?
well you can make a donation Here, plus, please spread my blog on any social media / forums that you have account for, lets spread the message far and wide..

If you are still with me, then thank you for getting this far.

Normal Service will be resumed after 11th May :-)


Tuesday 1 April 2014