second dance rehearsal video-inferno club

This is the second dance rehearsal video hubby Ned filmed, as it is of a better quality than the first one we did- [ dare I say i`m getting the hang of this ? ] I thought it only fair I down load it for all to enjoy ! And also to remind everyone the inferno dance group will be performing at the Spectrum show at Rhyl pavillion on the 27th of November. Ann and I will be donning sashes and selling raffle tickets ,we have some great prizes ! I will start listing them soon ! See you all there!

Where have these traveling bands got to ?

Can anyone tell me at which location have these traveling bands arrived at ? Go on ! have a guess and win yourself a free mnd suppporters band ![I will even throw in a car sticker ] !
Sister Ann phoned me today -she`d had a lovely night out with the combined committee members of Prestatyn Flower Show and the Prestatyn Car show, a gang of around 28 people ! Special thanks to Bill who had everyone participating in a party games after finishing their meal, The game was called heads or tails-everyone had to stand up with either their hands on their head or bottom -on a toss of a coin they were eliminated one by one till the last one standing was bought a drink, every one having put a £1 in the kitty first ! they made £53.00 for the MNDA ! what a brilliant idea !
No one guessed correctly where Mal and Gwynnie were in our last traveling bands competition -
the picture was taken at Glen Lyon , Scotland

Catching up

Well this week has all been about catching up ! Writing letters and sending emails thanking every one who helped us out last weekend with the bag pack , I also decided it might be a good opportunity to send the local press, photographs and a small write up of last weeks events and what we are proposing to do next ![ selling raffle tickets at the dance show ] Thursday being my day off I called round to my sisters house and between us we drafted out a press release,Ann`s typing is so much faster than my one fingered efforts it was done in minutes ! with a quick flourish she forwarded it all on to my computer -all I had to do was download a suitable photograph and bobs your uncle ! job done !
On opening my email I discovered she had sent it in file file form ! um! how to deal with this I wondered [never had one of these before ] ok down load it ! done ! open it ! noooooooooo way !
getting crosser and crosser I phoned Ann [no answer -] left a message ! will send it back with photo attachment and addresses for newspapers-can you send it out your end please ?
She emailed me back a few hours later-she`d written- job done ! though I forgot to remove the original message you left me -quote " I can`t open the BLOODY THING " soo sorry to the nice lady Rhian from the journal newspaper -that comment was`t meant for you ! She must have thought what the hell.......?

Sainsburys bag packers !

Family and friends all turned out last Sunday to help out with our latest MND fund raising efforts- bag packing at Sainsburys ! It has never occured to me before that fund raising could actually be jolly good fun ! The day just flew by !
We were given an extra helping hand in the form of Prestatyn young firefighters and the army
cadet force -I must admit they were absolutely brilliant ! I can`t thank them enough for all their hard work- they just buckled down and got on with it ! I think half of them having done something similar before with the scouts and brownies ! [ they put my efforts of packing a bag to shame ! ] Andrew enjoyed the day- he brought his camera along and started taking candid photographs of everyone, it was lovely to see just how well supported he was ! I was astounded by the generosity and kindness of the general public and have lots of special memories of the day ! One elderly gentleman put some money in my bucket and I asked him- would you like a sticker ? No thank you I want a balloon ! and with a wink he shot off down the aisles with a balloon bobbing about attached to the basket of his mobility scooter ,another customer, a lady this time confided in me that the last sticker placed on the lapel of her coat disappeared within minutes-confused as to wear it had gone-some ten hours later it turned up -stuck to her chest [discovered after stripping off to take a shower ]
After taking the money home to count-we tipped the buckets out onto the lounge floor and over cups of tea and chocolate biscuits and much laughter, and story swapping we counted it out !
When finally we all agreed on the total after checking and double checking -we dug out the old brass hunting horn, phoned Andrew and Jayne and with a blast of the horn and drum rolling [ mad as hatters the lot of us ] we gave them the grand total !
They were delighted and a little overwhelmed .thank you again to everybody who helped make this day a success !
Pictured above are the army cadets and Prestatyn young firefighters with Andrew Ann and myself.
A BIG THANK YOU TO :-
Jayne and Pat -for waiting for us in the foyer ,with buckets,balloons ,leaflets, sashes at the ready
Family members-Ann, Tim, Ned,John, Chris, Aunty Judy ,son Stuart and daughter Sam. cousins Ian, Karen with daughter Abbi,
Magrit,Pauline,Bill,Lesley,Lynda,Bob,Maxine,and Tracie you were brill !
Andrews friends -Phil and Charlie, Phil Dobbs and family ,Marcia Rodgers, and Steve Flavell who came to us through facebook [ you are a star ]
Stuart Lewis our official photographer
Jamie Brown who was in charge of the young firefighters - Michael Richards
-Christopher Williams
-Grace Larter
-Anaya Liptrot
-Jordan Williams
Army cadets -Erin Stanley
-Rachel Stead and Tamara Davies

We now have another calender girl - thank you Sam x
Judy-sorry the tea I bought you burnt your lips-some people pay good money to get a botox pout ! make the most of it -get the lippy on ! xxx

Sainsburys bag packing -grand total !

Wow ! I can`t quite believe this ! we have just finished counting [ and re-counting the money ] collected from our Sainsburys charity bag pack day. OK Fanfare please- a whopping

£1102.31 !!

A huge big thank you to Sainsburys for allowing to us to hold our fund raising event and a massive thank you to all the hard working bag packers who helped us out today- not forgetting the generosity of Sainsburys customers for making this event such a success !
Pictures to follow in the next few days-I`m off now for a hot bath and a glass of wine !

Traveling bands -Where are they ?

Meet Mal and Gwynnie who have set off on their winter travels ! Can anybody tell me where they are ? as you can see they are wearing their mnd wristbands .Meg their Jack Russell- hasn`t quite got the hang of wearing hers yet !!

Some goods news arrived today in the form of a cheque for the sum of £100 for the MNDA -kindly donated by the organizers of the Prestatyn Flower Show,after every show any exhibitors who wish to -can donate their entries, be it flower arrangements or vegetables , cakes or jam- they are then entered into the end of show auction, this is left in the capable hands of Peter Large our local auctioneer and estate agent who has always supported the flower show in this way and who seems to have the knack of encouraging bidders to give generously for the goods on offer raising handsome amounts toward good causes. the monies raised are then split between the several charities of which the flower show supports. Thank you so much -a £100.00 is a brilliant result !
Finally I would just like to say a heart felt thank you to a Mrs Thomas who phoned me when I was on my lunch hour last week after reading the article about Andrew in our local paper, she resides in a nursing home just around the corner from where I live now, she lost her husband to a form of mnd some sixteen years ago-I was very touched by your kindness and understanding
and I did really enjoy our little chat - thank you for your donation, sorry I missed you yesterday - I did pop in to thank you in person but you were having your lunch - [I decided not to disturb you] I will pop in again some time soon !
Please remember this blog will work if you people out there will participate and send in your photos wearing your bands -I look forward to seeing them all !

Take 1

I love my early morning walks-for me this is my best thinking time, its funny how ideas and thoughts just pop into your head when in fact you don`t realize your thinking about much at all ! I especially love my beach walks -on a sunny day its beautiful down there- you can access the beach via a board walk high up across the top of the sand dunes so you can enjoy a panoramic view of the beach and countryside all at the same time. It is so peaceful there all you hear are the skylarks and the sound of the surf breaking onto the beach.A few weeks back I found myself remembering a visit to the beach and how as kids we use to write our names in the sand [how many of us have done this I wonder ] and it gave me an idea ! How about writing ALS/MND in the sand and the words thank you underneath and video it , I thought it would make a nice gesture to all those who have supported us especially to our overseas supporters. So with that in mind I rounded up the family a few days later and we set off on a sunny Sunday morning armed with an assortment of gardening rakes ! Hubby stood at the board walk vantage point barking out instructions via a mobile phone -while we galloped round with the rakes-it was so windy-as fast as we managed to write the letters the wind dried them up !When we had finished we all stood atop of each letter and on a signal from Ned waved like lunatics !Well that was the idea , its the thought that counts !Thank you to every one for supporting and continuing to support us and Andrew we really appreciate it ! and from little acorns ...............This is where the next idea came from.Making the letters MND out of people on a welsh hillside some where!I think we better get the BBC to film that one Ned ! x ps. aunty Judy I loved the way you laughed all the way through that- the take 2 video ! x

Take Two

Even Better....Don't you think?

sporting bands !

Thank you to Dave Jones for sending in this photograph of his son Robert proudly wearing his supporters band on a day out at Oulton park last Sunday. Glad the band matched the car ! [ thats such a girly comment I know] hope you had a fantastic day out Robert ! If there is anyone else out there with an exciting or unusual hobby why not get a band and send in your photo
and we will add you to our supporters page !
Operation bag pack is still in the planning-Ann and myself had Sainsburys under surveillance on Sunday-checking out how many tills were open
and when seemed to be their busiest times-we have enlisted help from Prestatyn young firefighters- like Ann said -you get more money for a kid [shame on her but it did make me laugh] as well as the army cadets and the ATC ! so fingers crossed I hope we do well.
We now have three more volunteers for our calender June, July and August ! thank you ladies what good sports you all are- I know we are going to have a lot of fun with it !
Finally ,we have added a fund raising thermometer to the blog to keep every one informed of how much money we have raised- Jayne has informed MNDA that the money we are raising is not for admin but research purposes and projects only !

NASA

After arriving home from work last night and sticking the dinner in the oven to cook-I decided to spend a few minutes going through my emails,hubby was already languishing in the bath ! You can imagine my delight when I saw the words Nasa in my hotmail list !! Ned,Ned I screeched Nasa have replied to my letter-my fingers wouldn`t work quickly enough on the key pad I was that excited !

Now let me explain -I`ve run a competition on the blog asking people to send in their pictures wearing their supporters bands-we`ve called it traveling bands, sister-in -law Jayne suggested trying to get a band into space ! I must admit I was sceptical -o.k. I will give it a go-So I wrote the letter-I did ask that the band wasnt just discarded ,that if my request denied could I have a photo of an astronaut/ office worker or even a cleaner anybody wearing the band so I would at least know the band had got there[and was not wasted]
Hubby galloped down the hall way butt naked and soaking wet ! He stood behind me-NASA regret they cannot fly a "risk band " huh? that supports mnd into space [oh bugger !] only very few exceptions,such as for natural museums or historical purposes.NASA regrets that your request cannot be accommodated- sigh! they went to the trouble of writing back they could have sent a bloomin photo!- I went to check on the dinner-leaving hubby butt naked wearing only his specs thumping out a reply ! I smiled to myself as I followed the wet foot prints down the hall !! Sometimes its really nice having someone there just when you need them x

Inferno dance video.

Here is the inferno dance rehearsal video! sorry about us chatting and laughing on the end of it !-didn`t know how to edit It, to cut that bit out ! Enjoy ! I can`t stop watching it -then i`ve got that tune going round in my head for ages ! The girls are all wearing their supporters bands ! the spectrum show is on at the Pavilion theatre on 27th November , we are still appealing for raffle prizes-please contact me at janprestatyn@hotmail.co.uk Dancing round my handbag will never seem the same again- ! well done girls ! you are brilliant !

Well done Chris and Rebecca !!

A great big hug and thank you to nephew Chris and his partner Rebecca for sending in the money they raised on their 10 k charity run, a whopping £200.00 pounds now on its way to MNDA !! Thats fantastic guys ! we are really proud of you !
also a big thank you to our curate the rev Kate, who hosted an early birds harvest breakfast ! the money raised was split between charities MNDA receiving £20, Thanks Kate! Ann and I enjoyed ourselves very much- a real treat not having to make breakfast and wash up afterwards !You all made us feel very welcome, we will be back !
Our next fund raising event will be at Sainsburys, we are organizing a charity bag packing event, any family members wanting to help out please contact me !

The Daily Post

Below is a link to Today's North Wales Daily Post

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2010/10/11/motor-neurone-disease-sufferer-s-inspiring-fund-raising-campaign-55578-27444841/

Last Saturday night -update !

Andrew was back on the drums last Saturday night with his group [resistance is futile] at Pete "bloaters "monthly biker rock night at Rhyl rugby club. Bloater [pictured left] has been organizing these charity nights for years and has been quietly donating hundreds of pounds to various causes together with the whistle stop bikers club charity runs he organizes- he has made a considerable contribution to the charities he supports. I seem to remember one charity run out on the bikes was to support breast cancer-the bikers all wore bras over their leather jackets !!! He was only to happy to help out with our fund raising-[having known Andrew for years but not realizing we were related ]The rock night was well attended with the group blasting out their cover versions of the favorites -thin lizzy, free, black sabbath etc .Hubby took on the bucket challenge and was first out of the gates to do some fund raising -followed after by Alex-by which time the bucket had started to feel heavy by the end of the night it needed wheels !! Bloater donated all the money he had made on the door - a whopping £1200.00 was raised in total for MNDA .What a brilliant night-bloater you are a star,a heartfelt thank you to you and the band [the boys waived their fees - adding that to the bucket] what kind hearted fellas you all are
Andrew was delighted !

Email- Labelled next year maybe !!!!

Sunday morning cup of coffee in hand trawling through my emails -I saw that i`d had an email from sister-in-law Jayne-labelled next year maybe ?!! Intrigued I opened the message to see just a link and the words.....I can`t believe I`m even considering this ! umh !
clicking on the link I read the following....
Simon Wellington has been living with motor neurone disease since his diagnosis in 2006.Inspiration for the charity calender came from the numerous ladies photographed with Simon revealing much love and affection 14 lovely ladies courageously agreed to undress and show......

actions speak louder than words[ I felt a lump in my throat ]

I was blown away ! how right-and how damn gorgeous is that ? I`ve bought one !!! This is the link http://mndlovelyladies.com/index.html
memo to family [for 2012 ]-we have Miss January,February,March,April and May- we need more months to complete the year ! Aunty Judy, no good drawing the curtains,and crawling around on the floor and not answering the door-- I`LL BE BACK!!!! Remember you tried that last time ! It didn`t work ! xx

Dance club supports Andrew !

After realizing I can down load gadgets onto the blog it got me wondering.......ummh -what about finding a dance group to support our cause and make a little video out of it ? I have wanted to make this blog fun and interesting and up beat so after some phoning round and leaving countless messages [no one seemed to be in or answering their phone !!] Success ! Shelley from inferno dance club in Rhyl rang me back -"I`d be delighted to help you -pop down and watch some of our rehearsals !!! " After putting the phone down I did a little dance of my own shouting the words yes yes YES !!! A few days later and with a borrowed camcorder and sister Ann and hubby Ned for support we did some filming-I must admit after only a few seconds of filming we were all grinning like cheshire cats -the girls enthusiasm and energy was infectious .I can`t wait to see the rest of their routine- oh to be 20 years younger......well ok maybe more like 30 !!! The girls will be performing at Rhyl pavillion on the 27 th of November, we will be selling the raffle tickets there and are asking for help -if you would like to donate any prizes for our raffle please contact me at janprestatyn@hotmail.co.uk -The video I will post on the blog later this week-hope you enjoy it-now where did I put those leg warmers ?

more info-shelley@infernodanceclub.co.uk
tickets online www.rhylpavillion.co.uk box office 01745330000