A change of plan

Well, today I intended to go to 'Go Outdoors' in Wolverhampton to have a look at their stock of walking gear. After second thoughts, however, I decided not to bother! I will no doubt think of many other things that I need to get as September draws nearer and I would prefer to just make the one trip there. I just knew that I would do what all self-respecting men do when they go into a shop and just 'browse' without actually buying anything. So, like all good cub scouts (Sixer of Blue Six in 1st Leek no less), I have started to make a list of outstanding items and will probably go over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August for anything that I haven't already got.

However, today wasn't a completely Walk preparation-free day. After taking the cat to the vets, going to Ikea and Argos and having lunch with my mate Tracy, I headed over to Coven (a village near Wolverhampton for you not familiar with the Black Country area) to see Stephen.

Stephen returned from doing the Southern Upland Way from Portpatrick to Cockburnspath last Friday after half of the skin on his feet came off on Day 2! After seeing photographic evidence of his injuries taken at the time and hearing about the finer details, I declined an offer of a portion of rice pudding complete with skin.......

They say that hindsight is a wonderful thing. I disagree. I think it's a bloody annoying thing to be honest. Stephen did, however, say that it's important to keep your feet dry at all costs and he wished he had worn his gaitors which would have helped to keep his feet drier.

I'm now slightly less worried about my feet falling off. Stephen, Sean and Martyn (who are still going and have 3 days walking to go), as I've said before, were doing 20 more miles in 3 less days, with no rest day, and carrying all of their stuff. I will have my rusksack taken from B&B to B&B each day by the company who have arranged all of the accommodation and I will only have to take my 'daypack' with me. Hopefully, those three factors will mean that my future career as a ballet dancer is still a possibility come 19th September.

After getting back from Coven I then constructed my new flat pack DVD/CD cabinet purchased from the Land of the Book of Dreams (Argos). Surprisingly, all of the screws etc were included and even more of a shock is that I've done it and it looks like a cabinet rather than a piece of modern art. I was slightly offended when I saw that one of the necessary parts to put it together was 'Tool x1' and it took me a few minutes to figure out that it was actually referring to the Allen key and not me. I did feel slightly effeminate as I followed the instruction sheet but I rectified this by getting a hammer and waving it about in a threatening manner whilst muttering expletives.

I'm not sure when my next 'training walk' will be as I'm away in Nottingham this weekend where I shall drink and no doubt eat too much. Depending upon the weather, I may go for a few hours round the The Roaches on Friday night after work. Rock n Roll.

Many thanks to everyone who has sponsored me so far, especially those of you who I haven't seen for a while. It's very generous of you and much appreciated.

Also thanks to Gareth for the interesting fact about the theme tune for 'Wainwright's Walks'!! Good man.