Thursday 23 August 2012

Deposit Paid

Ugh, so painful. I've just paid the £295 deposit and committed to the trek. Now I really have to get serious about fundraising because it's going to be really stupid if I raise less money than it costs to do this thing.

If you're unsure about what The National Museum of Computing is or why it's so important to support, then please go there this weekend and take a tour. They will be open the entire bank holiday weekend and you'll be able to see for yourself the important work that is done to preserve our computing heritage. For those who have been before, the new Colossus Gallery is not to be missed and the Harwell Dekatron/WITCH rebuild is looking impressive, especially considering that it was no more than a pile of rusty bits (ho ho. Actually that's a lousy joke because it's decimal based) when the project started.

And then don't forget to click through to my JustGiving page to donate.

Sunday 19 August 2012

Prep for EBC

I went out with the London Hikers meetup yesterday to do a 10 mile stroll in the Chilterns as I need to work on getting back into shape for the TNMOC trek. It was a hot and sunny day but a great deal of the walk was in shady woods and there was a welcome side-trip to the Hell Fire Caves, home of the notorious 18th century Hell Fire Club, which were blessedly cool.

The organisers of the days walk were Anna and Ania who I know from other walks/treks including the Romania trip and the Snowdonia weekend. They are organising a trek to Gokyo Lake for this November that I would really like to go on as it's really the best way to prepare for the return to Everest Base Camp PLUS there is a cancellation in their group so I could get onto the trek for under £1k including the international flights. So I need to figure out PDQ if I have the money to do 2 trips to Nepal within 6 months of each other and if I will still be working so I'll have money, and if I will be able to work ~50% remotely, and if my client would be ok with that.

It would be really nice to do a trek like this with people who I already know and am friends with but coming up with the money isn't so easy this year. Hell, I'm having trouble coming up with the money to do the trek I'm already committed to but this is such a good deal. Oh well, either way I'll keep y'all posted.

Speaking of money, I've really got to pull my finger out about fundraising for TNMOC. I was thinking about doing a jumble sale to benefit them BUT I need help and advice because I have no idea how one goes about that. Where would I do it? Do I need a permit or something to get a pitch? I think I'll have a wander over to the Greenwich Flea Market by my house and have a word with some of the stall holders today but in the meantime don't forget that you can donate to my cause via JustGiving and there are still places open to join me on the trek as well.

Monday 6 August 2012

1st Vic^H^Holunteer

No details yet because I haven't had his permission to post (and I'm horrendously ethical about that sort of thing), BUT we have our first volunteer to join me on the trek!