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Today has seen 4.91 miles walked while climbing 137.46 feet and lots and lots of really nice people.

I was going to B&Q today to pay for and order the new kitchen for the flat. I had a budget of £3,000 for the kitchen and couldn’t go over it by even a penny but must do the best job that I can afford to do because it will see a return on the investment that I am making in this flat, and putting in trust for the children, as it was the money that I had invested for the children on discharge from the Army that I had to use for the deposit and the refurbishment. So the remainder of the money I had invested for them was being used to upgrade the flat which was still in its very tired condition from the day it was built in the 1970s. It is a great and good sized flat in a delightful village with lovely neighbours and superb views over the hills, but it needed a significant investment to realise the initial investment. I have had lots of top quality advice. I had a good quote significantly under budget for the refurbishment, but now I had to take a deep swallow and start to put the money on the table.

David Attenborough Signed copy of his book, Life On Air
David Attenborough Signed copy of his book, Life On Air

The morning started well but went downhill from there. I was up at 0600hrs for a 1.5 mile walk around the graded path in the Doune Ponds while climbing 33.79 feet. With less than a bag of rubbish collected I went back happy. A quick bath then a quick breakfast, then a quick period of morning prayer, then a quick pack, and I was out the door to catch the 0804 No.59 Bus to Stirling, then the P1 bus to the Springkerse retail park for my 0930hrs meeting with Scott in B&Q. I arrived bang on time to realise that I had got the time wrong. My meeting wasn’t until 1130hrs. There was absolutely no point in going back into town to catch the No.59 bus back to Doune. By the time I got there I would have 20 minutes before catching the same bus to take me back to Stirling. I had some Christmas cards with me and knew that there was a café a short distance up the road. 0.96 miles later I arrived at ‘Toast’ and with a green tea and some toast and marmalade wrote some Christmas cards. So if, like Paddington bear, I have managed to get marmalade all over your Christmas card, please forgive me. Now you know why!! An hour later I set off for the 0.96 miles back again. Arriving a little early I found Scott and we set to work. Then the computer crashed!! As it started to come around it printed out the new invoice. This one had included the instore price rises. It had taken me over the £3,000 mark and I simply couldn’t afford it with all the other products that I had yet to purchase. A new loo (preferably one that doesn’t try and eject you from the seat by tipping forward quite dramatically when you sit on it, like my current one) and sink and cupboard, a new bathroom, and flooring throughout. Scott was well aware of my story and hugely supportive as he has a father who served in the Queen’s Own Highlanders for many years, so was straight onto it and went and spoke to his department manager. She was brilliant. She came straight over, apologised and agreed to sell me the kitchen on the original invoice which kept me on budget. We reverted to paper mode and did it the old fashioned way. Next in the plan was to order the loo and bathroom but the system crashed again. After an hour of trying we went for the ‘do it later’ option. It was time for me to head home. I set off and as I hit the bus stop, frustrated, I decided that the best thing I could do was walk. Play beat the bus. So off I set with only 4 minutes to wait for the bus. I walked fast and hard the entire 1.49 miles climbing 103.67 feet on route. Sadly the bus beat me this time, but only just.

It was now well past lunch time and once on the No.59 bus and heading for Doune I called ahead to the Buttercup Café and ordered a club sandwich and a green tea to save time when I arrived in Doune. Then I thought that I deserved a wee treat after such a great morning so added a malteser slice. I’m a sucker for those! As I was warmly welcomed by Gregor and the team in the Buttercup, I was reminded of the wonderful Monday lunchtime I had in the Deli Ecosse when I ordered a lactose free Mocha while waiting for the bus after a good session in the gym. I received such a wonderful welcome and Christmas hugs from Julie, her mum Lynne, who became rather flushed with excitement I thought! Xx and Debbie who then hugged Allie and I in the Thistle centre when we bumped into her with her parents-in-law on Wednesday. Slowly but surely the smile was being brought back to my face by all these wonderfully caring people and friends.

A thank you card from all at WWF UK
A thank you card from all at WWF UK

After lunch I was into the Webb and Wallace accountants to pick up a parcel for me from the WWF. The team there were full of smiles and greeted me kindly and I got a sense that I was to open this parcel in the office to satisfy their curiosity. I explained that it was probably the soft cuddly toys that the WWF send to me for distribution to the children that I meet on my walks but, as I opened the parcel, I got the shock of my life. I pulled out an amazing Panda onesie, a 50th Anniversary silver proof coin, the biography by David Attenborough entitled ‘Life on Air.’ with the following inscription inside. ‘Many thanks for your valued support of WWF-UK’, then signed by David Attenborough himself. I was speechless with the generosity of the charity and started to feel a little saddened or guilty that they should even be allowed to spend charitable money on such gifts. But then I found the Christmas card and the tears welled. Handwritten it read, ‘Dear Archie, wishing you and your loved ones a fantastic Christmas and a very happy new year. Thank you for all your hard work and support this year. With best wishes, the WWF events team, Jessica, Fru, Marta, Karen and Charlotte. X.’ My goodness, this was a personal gift from the wonderful events team who had so loved the story from the start. I have raised over £2,000 for each of the 5 challenge charities now but this, this gift was different. I was deeply humbled by their personal generosity and hugely grateful for their thoughts. Thank you so very, very, very much to the WWF Events Team. I looked up at the team in the Accountants. They were beaming at me with grins from ear to ear and perhaps even a slight bit of moisture in their eyes too. I was flushed with humility and glowing red, but grinning broadly too. Wow!

Reading Panda
Reading Panda

Then I bumped into an old friend in the village who I hadn’t seen for ages. Heidi asked how I was getting on. I gave her the update on my health, the challenge, and Allie. She could not have been more pleased for me and went home, read the post from last night and liked the Facebook page. Thank you Heidi, that made me smile even more.

I was now humming Christmas tunes around the flat as I finalised preparations in Heather’s new bedroom. I was fighting with the duvet and duvet cover when the phone rang. It was Premier Christian Radio, my heart leapt and then I realised that they only wanted some money. I was happy to make a small donation but, once I did, I kept hold of this delightful telephone fundraiser. I explained that I had responded to an email from the CEO offering some help should I need it. I knew that it was a round robin but took his offer at his word and replied. I suspect that my reply just got lost in the ether, or auto deleted, or just never made it through the filter. But, tenacious as ever, I wrote a letter that never got replied to. Then I emailed through the ‘contact me’ email system twice and never received a reply. There was no way that I was going to let go of this opportunity, so I kept her on the phone. I told her my story, inviting her to pour a glass of wine and google Beat the Beast Challenge to watch a video, then pour another glass of wine and move across to the posts and read up on the journey so far, and then to do whatever she can to help me raise awareness because the more people that I can reach, the more people I can help directly through my writing on my journey, and indirectly through the raising of greater levels of sponsorship. God’s hand was clearly at work throughout this journey. I had no idea how this story was going to end. Only one person did and God was holding his cards very close to his chest. I know that I am looking at quite a short window of opportunity so want to do all that I can, for all the people that I can, in all the ways that I can, in all the places that I can for as long as ever I can. Premier Christian radio helps so many people through its exploration of faith but also through its inspirational stories. Can they not use my story and help me reach more people? Because the more people that I can reach, the greater the impact I can have for so many more people. I secured two promises from this wonderful telephone fundraiser. Firstly that she is going to look at the challenge herself and secondly that she will try and get my request directly into the CEO’s In Tray for him to have a look at. I very much hope that he likes what he sees and pray that he can find a way to help raise awareness of my challenge to as wide an audience as possible. It might not happen, but somehow I know that it will at least get to him. I offered God’s blessings to this wonderful fundraiser and after the call was now singing Christmas carols joyfully as I busied myself with Heather’s bedding.

I had to get back to Stirling for the train to Edinburgh in order to attend a meeting tomorrow morning with the lawyer putting the flat in trust for me before attending a friend’s Christmas drinks party tomorrow night. As I waited for the No.59 bus I started to talk to a wonderful young woman from Orkney who was working for Historical Scotland and had been visiting Doune Castle. Eventually the conversation turned to the challenge and with a flyer firmly in her hand this delightful young woman, while beaming back at me, mounted the bus with a promise to make a mug of tea and google ‘Beat the Beast Challenge.’ I was smiling even more so when I arrived in time to get on the train, the train driver and conductor were nattering at the front. As I strode up to the front to get on the train the driver exclaimed, ‘Here’s a happy passenger!’ If only she knew how happy I was, but it reminded me firmly of that old saying, ‘Smile and the world smiles back!’

I have a huge amount of preparation to do for Christmas and am falling rapidly behind with so much administration that needs to be done before Christmas both for Christmas and for the challenge, so this is going to be my last post until after Christmas. I will of course carry on with some urgency with my physical and cognitive training while eating as well as I can in order to continue to beat the beast, but right now, I need to focus on catching up with the To Do list! So no posts until after Christmas unless of course something great happens. If it does you can be sure that I will be telling you.

Just in case you don’t hear from me beforehand. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Yours aye

Archie
BtB!