My daughter jumped out of a plane!

Yes, she really did. She did a charity sky dive last weekend to raise money for a Rose Road playscheme for children with special needs. The jump had been planned for February, but after they arrived and had the requisite training the weather became too poor.



She particularly liked the hat :-)



For someone who doesn't like heights she looks remarkably cheerful!



Oh good grief.



I was obviously nervous on her behalf but it wasn't until I saw the photos that I suddenly realised it hadn't occurred to me she'd actually be higher than the clouds!



Thanks goodness - they remembered the chute!



She even had a go at "steering"!



Such a long way down...



Terra Firma! Finally I get to be a relieved and very proud parent :-D



Well done Sarah! She raised over £400, more details on her JustGiving page.





You may notice from the comments Haptree just reminded me I forgot the obligatory meerkat pic!

Charity Auctions Sue Ryder

The winners of the Folksy Upcycle competition have been announced and t is now time to BID BID BID!

This is how Folksy described the competition: Upcycle Christmas is a competition for people to take second hand / charity stuff and make it into something ‘new’ and desirable to be sold at an online auction starting on the 7th December. All proceeds from the auction will go to Sue Ryder Care, the healthcare charity, our partners on the project.

Right now many of the auction lots are going for way way less than the charity shop could have sold the materials for (in my opinion).

Hopefully this is because people are hanging back to "snipe" at the last minute - but these auctions are for CHARITY, so please bid now, bid often, and push those prices up!

In case you're wondering about my motives, I didn't enter this time - but I am currently winning at least 6 of the auctions so have my fingers crossed I'll get outbid!

Sue Ryder Upcycle auctions

My daughter is going to jump out of a plane!

(This photo is quite old!)

Is she mad? Certainly is!

This is what she says on her JustGiving page:

On 13th February 2010, I'm diving out of a plane (with a nice strong man attached to me!) 10,000 ft from the ground at 120mph, freefalling for 5,000ft. Considering I HATE heights, this may seem slightly strange. Only thing that could make it worse is if the nice strong man decided to dress up as a clown! ARGH!



(another ancient photo - think the girls were supposed to be painting her bedroom, not each other!)

Anyway, it's all in order to raise money for The Rose Road Association which is a registered charity that works with children and young people who have a range of profound and multiple disabilities. All the children and young people that go to Rose Road face extreme challenges in relation to their day-to-day lives, but the Association (and me!) believes they have the right to develop and fulfill their potential just as every young person.



(This photo is quite old too!)

As many of you know, I work on the playscheme that Rose Road runs during school holidays, and from working with the children and talking to parents I'm very aware of how important the Association is to families.

So PLEASSSSSSE PLEASE PLEASE donate whatever you can - in return you can laugh at the photos of my horrified face as I launch myself from a plane!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Proud mum here again: Why have I included ancient photos of the daughter? Well - I was just flicking through, remembering times past. So many of the milestones we take for granted in our children's lives are much more difficult for these special children to achieve. I'm very proud of my daughter for so many reasons (though I still don't know why she's scared of clowns!) and would love to hear from you if you've got any fundraising ideas she can use.



Of course - we'd also be very pleased if you were able to visit her JustGiving page and drop off some cash!

Wildlife SOS

I don't need to feel guilty about watching too much tv because I'm invariably knitting as well. Mr Nifty has no such excuse! We both enjoy Wildlife SOS so when we discovered they were having an open day we knew we had to go.


This is Simon Cowell, the only-slightly-eccentric chap who runs the charity. Follow him on twitter.

We weren't expecting morris dancers - but I'm always keen to see a new side so I can figure out how to knit them!



There were various stalls and entertainments, but the highlight was a quick wander around the hospital. We queued for half an hour, but it was worth it to make the acquaintance of this little patient.



Isn't he gorgeous? I can now say I have stroked a baby hedgehog - not at all prickly, more like a medium stiff hairbrush.



There were lots of birds in various stages of growth, some almost ready to go back to the wild.





Wildlife Aid are keen to educate the public to watch and wait, as so many seemingly abandoned babies are actually perfectly safe and have been left to sit tight while the parents are off foraging for food.




And finally: Happy Father's Day to the father of my children, my first (and current!) husband. The tree he's sitting on is amazing, isn't it? A huge yew, split down its middle many years back but still living on defiantly. That's how we intend to be (well, maybe not the split down the middle bit!)