Fried Eggs, Gorillas and The Vicar of Dibley,

It's been a pretty intense few weeks since my last posting. The Fun-Filled Fantasy Farm Paintathlon was couple of weeks since now and there has been several other events to fill the Everest Diary.

The weekend after the fun at Kinsey's Farm (see last post), the Hillary Team set out for Dartmoor to bond with each other, touch each other, fly some kites, fry some eggs and dress up like a Gorilla in the hope that this will surpass the Team Tenzing cricketing juggernaut that continues to rev it's engines. Dartmoor is a pretty wild and hairy place at the best of times, and so are the people that live there usually, and from accounts written in various members of the Hillary camp Blogs it was a great weekend training get-together. Obviously there was some imaginative and creative thought about how to essentially make grown men cry over that weekend. I think it is probably best if you follow the links and read some of the Hillary Blogs involved with this "bestial-fun" (!) weekend.

  http://www.gleneverest.blogspot.com/ / http://www.chrissymeverest.blogspot.com/ .

The weekend after that saw a mixed group of Team Tenzing, Team Hillary and The Trektators travel to the Brecon Beacons; the SAS's playground, to yomp, trek, walk, hike, call it what you like, up Pen-Y-Fan, near Cardiff. Considering Britain has endured some of the worst weather of its kind since..., since, ...well since last October actually when some of the Tenzing Faithful donned their completely unsuitable hiking gear and flip-flops and decided to climb the UK's highest mountain. At night. In Flip-Flops. Drunk. Those that were able to snowplough their way to Cardiff I think are testament to the attitude that I believe runs through every member of this expedition. Obviously, safety has to be the priority, but by all accounts those that did make it through to Cardiff had a fantatsic weekend. Brilliantely organised by Dave Kirtley http://www.cricketontopoftheworld.blogspot.com/. 

Again, as I couldn't make that weekend as I was, err, climbing the White Spider route on the North Face of the Eiger, it is probably best that you read some fellow members of the expedition write-ups. 

http://www.tooveseverest.blogspot.com/ / http://www.alaneverest.blogspot.com/

As an aside, my wife is Welsh and it's often been a strange concept for me; Wales - £4 to enter, £Free to get out. Go Figure.

The last couple of weeks for me have seen my training / running go up a notch or two and I have been making use of this ffing weather to get out there and use the snow to help strengthen my running / leg muscles. Every other day (or so) I have been running at lunchtime usually and making use of the light, the fact that it isn't first thing in the morning and that I have eaten something, which I have to say makes these runs more bearable. The weekends since mid-January have then seen me extend these mid-week runs further. I can't say that periodic stops don't happen but I have pushed my legs to make them more infrequent and quite brief. I can't also say that I haven't looked like a complete twat either; the ice playing havoc with the grip and last Monday I came to a slight "in-pass" about 1 mile from home. At the bottom of a wooded path in front of me was, what I presumed, to be a puddle created by run-off from the surrounding field's ice-melt. Ginger Rocky crashes along thinking that it will spray some mud up the old spandex leggings and people will think I am a bit of a hero when I get back to the village. The situation that then ensued reminded me of Dawn French in Vicar of Dibley and the bit when she is wandering, arm-in-arm with Clive Mantle from that high brow medical drama, Casualty and playfully skips into a "little" puddle and falls up to her armpits in water. I come running down the incline and basically, within two feet, I am up to my "clock-weights" in freezing, sh**ty, stinking water that takes me a good few minutes to get out of. By the time I reappeared on the other side, I couldn't feel anything below the waist. Anyway, we will continue in similar vein as April comes hurtling up.

As I write, it has started to snow.

Next weekend, I endeavour to learn the subtle rudiments of the game by travelling to Caterham to learn and hopefully qualify as an umpire. Charlie BN, Helen, Cuzza, Kirt, Hillsy and myself will be taught about everything from how many balls are in the "usual" over to how wide a "track" should be, how players should behave on a pitch, and probably everything in between. There will be a fair amount of driving for me so I hope the roads improve and that I find Caterham School in time to at least catch half of the course.

The following weekend will see Team Tenzing "kiss the biceps" again at G-Man's house. No doubt some hair-raising fitness tests plus some further, hair-raising fitness tests lie in store for us during the day and, maybe, some more relaxed, but still hair-raising fitness tests in the evening, but it will be good to catch up and see how we all are progressing. This will probably be one of the last get-togethers before leaving for Nepal.

I have my jabs next week and being a life-long fan of needles, I simply can't wait. All that and the dentist too. I also need to give the credit card a work-out at the North Face store to buy my last bits and pieces.

Then it's the all looming Bath Half Marathon. It's like a menacing shadow in my mind; the thought of running for 13 miles makes my stomach heave. I can be walking along, quite happily, minding my own business and then THAT thought appears and my stomach feels as though I have just been pushed off the Empire State Building. I am told it's not that bad but honestly, it's running .. and it's 13 miles. Sounds fairly bad to me.

Footnote - I received my number through the post this evening for the Bath Half - D9403. Hmmmm, not a great omen.  D must stand for Dick-head.

Keep you posted.

Boulders, Bales, Bonding and Bottom Burps....

                                   

Hi Everyone,

Some major updates on the Everest Test trip to update you all on. A major get-together and the official media launch activity have all happened in the last week which have helped grease the wheels of the expedition even further and take it forward into another gear.

Last weekend saw an SAS/It's a Knockout/Sports Day/Cage Rage Fest at Kinsey's Farm in Hereford. After a long drive last Friday night, with even SatNav scratching it's little electronic head at times, I arrived in the pitch back at the Hern family farm near Leominster. Fellow Tenzinger Kinsey had organised a weekend get-together of epically athletic proportions where we would be tested to the maximum level; getting involved with various team and individual events to test our core strength and to assist with the team building. A welcome beef stew and a cold one went down brilliantly as nervous conversation filled the family kitchen. Various maps and the weekends itinerary were laid out for all to see and we had individually been numbered for all of us to create our own fantasy team for the weekends events. That done we were all escorted up to the village hall; our digs for the weekend, where we were all brimming with nervous excitement. Camped next to fellow Tenzinger's Joe and BJ it was pretty evident that the nervous excitement was difficult to contain as bass level "botty-coughs" shook the very foundations of the Hall. I'm sure these two may well cause avalanches higher up the mountain - the lentil and rice combo's probably won't help this either. Once the heaters were cranked up to Outback level temperatures and the ever musical Williams in full flow it was pretty evident that sleep was going to be at a premium this weekend.

7am sharp the door was kicked open by Kinsey carrying a bathtub full of porridge; major sustenance for the days activity. Sleepy heads began popping up from their sleeping bags and the guys who had set up their inflatable beds with a wry grin the night before now untangled their way out of their now half-inflated heaped mess of blow-up mattress, sleeping bags and clothes. Porridge and coffee were consumed and the skin-tight, packet squashing Ron Hill running bottoms were surgically pulled up; ready for the days events.

Kinsey walked us up to the aircraft hanger he calls a chicken shed ready for the Bleep Test designed to get us going and get the blood moving. We all did admirably well and BJ stormed through to finish just over level 13; an impressive effort. Next, we were taken outside for event No 2. A simple plank of wood was laid out outside the chicken coup and a boulder the size of a Volkswagon was man-handled into the competitors arms, the idea being we would be tested on how far we could all throw this boulder backwards, over our heads. A great event. Yours truly came second only to Big Nick Mollineux as he tossed the rock over his head with the same disdain as if it was a coffee flavoured Revel. Rowers.......

The next event was a team game and involved each member of teams Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and err, the next one, rolling a tractor tyre around a square 100m course, professionally marked out with 4 sticks. This tested everyones upper arm and leg strength. A heated final meant competitiveness reared its head with some manhandling of the umpires which seemed to do the trick with the photo finish result swinging away from team Gamma.

Throughout the morning we were also escorted around section of the 5 mile finishing run which seemed twice that length and involved hills that even farm-machinery would be hesitant about tackling. Gulps were audible from the teams as Kinsey continued to explain the outline of the course with a certain amount of relish. It was then back to the farm house for a welcome rest, some delicious soup and warm bread. Just what the doctor ordered.

The next event saw the teams loading palettes with rocks, that needed to picked up and carried a short distance from a large pile. Obviously, migrant workers hadn't made it down to Kinsey's neck of the woods yet which meant these rocks could be neatly tidied away onto palettes through the efforts of Team Everest to used in the construction of perhaps a wall or airport terminal. Gamma romped home with win; fiercely contested all the way to the wire by practically ever other team but the winners just kept themselves to themselves; waiting for the medals. A solid effort by my fellow team mates, Kiwi, Alex, Simmo, Tooves and the ever flatulent BJ.

We were all pretty bushed now but a few more surprises still lay in wait. The Scarecrow event was a hot topic of conversation with us all; everyone having different romantic ideas of stuffing scarecrows with little, fluffy armfulls of soft straw. Back in the chicken shed 3 round hay bales, head height for my 6ft 2 frame, awaited us and the idea was that individually we all had to push these huge rolling weights down a slalom course and back to tag the next person. This I found to be an a.b.s.o.l.u.t.e bastard. My neck and neck race with Haydn saw him comfortably win in the last 10 metres. Notable performances from Hillsy, Kiwi and G-man probably meant that a few world records were broken; if indeed a world record for such a ludicrous event even existed. Impressive. The final event saw us engage each other in a Tug-of-War; every team spent by now but some furious action ensued from a couple of the teams. The sight of Hillsy being dragged along on his arse being a particularly amusing moment.

Finally, the 5 miler awaited. I hate running at the best of times but this was a huge run and I think most would agree. My body was fairly ruined by now so i wont bore you with the foot by foot account but I finished in just over a hour. The racing-snake leaders finished in about 45 minutes which was seriously impressive and the rest of the field finished soon after the hour mark. My day finished with me showering in the pitch black, in a chicken shed, in Herefordshire. Now, I would be lying if I said I didn't hum the theme tune to Deliverance several times during my rub down but it passed without so much as a banjo being plucked - which was lucky. The Ron Hills had stood up well too with minimum luggage-rash and I was a happy, warm, clean and thirsty man. I was defianetly looking forward to my pie and chips and several pints of Herefordshires finest.

A brilliant weekend despite the sheer pain but it was obvious that Kinsey and his family had worked very hard on this team building exercise and huge thanks must go to all the Hern's. It was a great evening in the pub and the lock-in at the end was a nice and very welcome touch and it enabled all of us to drink an amount that would ensure passing out and thereby enabling us to enjoy our last nights sleep on the village hall floor. Negotiating the sleeping bodies strewn around the hall proved to be final hurdle when I had to go for a late night wazz but once successfully managed even Joe and BJ's bodily orchestras couldn't keep me awake.

Personally it was great to meet members of the trip that I hadn't really had the chance as yet to talk to and get to know better, so I was thankful that I made the weekend, managed to get involved and contribute a little and get to know my fellow loons a little better. It's obvious everyone is keen to pull in the same direction to make this expedition a success.

This will be a great trip.

Today - Jan 27th - saw the official Press Launch. Our PR guys, Alex and Marcus at Captive Minds (www.captiveminds.co.uk), have been so supportive of the trip and they had obviously pulled out all the stops. Coverage of the trip has been viewed today on London News programmes and within various papers. I was unfortunately unable to make it today, which will go down as a big regret, but with my company being small and them being supportive already of this trip, I felt the right thing to do would be to be around today and get some pressing projects underway. The guys that were there treated the London crowds and the waiting press to a Freeze Mob outside of The National Gallery and interviews were taken with various members of the trip - Kirt, Haydn, Mike and Glen all gave their accounts. Mark Butcher and Chris Adams were present to lend their vocal support. ITV London interviewed Kirt and the evening papers ran the story; more coverage will be in the news tomorrow too. My loyal readers (if I have any) and stumbling, "small-hours internet hobbyists" may wish to keep there eyes peeled.

Links to coverage

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7853571.stm
http://sports.in.msn.com/cricket/stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1717306
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/27/cricket-match-on-everest
http://www.itvlocal.com/london/news/?player=LON_News_15&void=280959

http://www.atestabovetherest.com/

for further updates.

If it wasn't already the button has well and truly been pushed and in all areas; we are very much on our way and April will be here before we know it.

Keep your eyes peeled and in touch soon.

Updates, Thoughts and Steak and Ale Pie..

Hi Everyone - 

Saturday witnessed another gathering at the Home Of Cricket of The Everest Test 09 to catch-up with one another after the Christmas festivities, have my bowling smashed about a bit, stretch some muscles and learn about where the expedition is up to at the moment as April races towards us.  

The net session was a good cricket work-out with everyone having a good long crack and the bowlers putting the overs in.  It was nice to find the edges again and get the bowling pumped through the covers with wild abandon.  There were big sixes, uprooted wickets, G-Man falling over, something for everyone, all caught on camera for the expedition records.  To highlight some of my fellow Tenzingers - Tooves bowled with the flight and guile of a young Warne and Blinky seemed to be trying to knock everyone t*ts off with his aggressively Caribbean, violent whip.  A little bit of chin-symphony is not easy to face in early January.  G-Man with his subtle approach to the wickets, reminiscent of a young, white "Whispering Death", catching those who like to get on the front dog unawares with the in-swinging Yorker on the boot laces........until he fell over. Yours truly bowling relatively straight down the "Corridor" and bled runs through the slips, particularly with JC at the crease.  Dave Christie made solid runs during his 20 minutes and Wes and The Skipper licking it to all parts of St. John's Wood.  Tenzing seriously has it and we must ensure that we can perform on the day and, of course, at altitude.  If all 15 make it, there will some difficult selection conundrums.  

We were then due for a debrief over the other side of the ground in the Lords Lecture Theatre where expedition leaders, Wes and Kirt gave us the run down.  Again, the amount of work evident behind the scenes being injected into this trip reaffirmed my feelings about the commitment and just how amazing this trip will be.  Kirt and Cuzza went out to Nepal over Christmas and despite a case of Nepalese Nightmare met with many of the bodies that the trip needs to be on-side to get us into the country and indeed attempt a record on the flanks of their most prized possession.  Our PR company is working in overdrive and their commitment and involvement will take us to unprecedented levels; the press launch is due next week from London.  We were all chuffed to hear Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook have kindly stepped up to lend their support to Team Tenzing and Hillary respectively and The Lord's Taverners, who we are now raising money for, have already lent considerable weight to the cause and are proving our decision to leave Sports Relief was the right one.  By miles.

We were told about the documentation of the trip through photography and film and this is something I would like to get closer to if I can.  The idea of creating a book documenting the trip from embryo to success; with all the tears and laughs that are bound to crop up, is an inspired idea with members of the party contributing to its creation and production.

Next we had a debrief about some of the medical implications; Sudden Death Syndrome (I think BJ had the same facial expression as I did when this was mentioned), the injections we need to get sorted and some of the implications of break-dancing at high altitude.  The logistics of high altitude rescue are hard to put it mildly so every caution must be taken to secure a successful trip and not to strain the limited resources.  I must go to my 13 year old Bavarian dentist again.  A medical questionnaire is being finalized at the moment and we must declare everything we have or have had.  I wonder if my swollen testicle when I was 4, counts? Interesting.

Dave Christie has done some sterling work rounding up North Face as our official clothing sponsor and orders are being sorted now.  He also brokered a deal with the North Face shop in London as well as one or two others deals and the savings to be had are considerable on, what can be, pricey gear.  Tooves has also managed to get in front of www.stickcricket.com and they have kindly agreed to create our very own teams Tenzing and Hillary for the internet game.   Just think, we can while away the core hours of the working day playing with each other(!) for years to come.  Excellent work Chaps and thanks.

Fitness continues and the Bath Half Marathon looms ever closer and the top half of my body needs to keep the bottom half motivated to keep moving.  It will.  

Commitment to this trip is full-on and with other things in life in general happening at the moment, it's difficult fitting everything in and making sure my kids keep calling me "Daddy"rather than "Ginger Fat Bloke" but it will be so worth it and it will be over soon enough, so I am keen I get as much out of it and give the trip what I conceivably can.  

I know that if Kirt and Wes ever think about starting their own adventure travel company, I will travel with them again.  Food for thought?

Catch up soon after the "Kinsey Hern Pain-athon" - the steak and ale pie better be good.

An Apt Little Tune,

Hi Everyone -

I was up and out early this morning to give myself a damn good thrashing (!) around the Hertfordshire countryside. The front door opened and a wall of freezing fog hit me like a cement mixer in the crotch. My Ron Hill spandex jogging strides almost froze on contact as well as my somewhat slightly more precious cargo. Genesis "And The There Were Three" was located on the old iPod, the legs were cranked into Gear 1 and I was away. Pheasants, Deer, Dog-Walkers and local Doggers all dived for cover as the Ginger Rocky made his heaving way through scrub, thicket and mud. I imagined the pilots flying the Easyjet landing routes into Luton this morning were pointing out the the ladies and gentlemen on board that "on the left as we descend through this freezing fog and ice into London Luton you will see what looks like....well, a fat twat."

As I was running, a ditty entered my head and it bugged me for the remaining couple of miles of my run. What was it, I pondered? It was very familiar. Only after defrosting myself once I had returned back to base did it come to me. The tracks and road sections I jogged this morning were very skiddy due to overnight freezing and this is what set the two bunny-rabbits juggling knives in my head to start gently hopping over each other as my thought processes started to warm up again. "Road to Nowhere", Talking Heads - Aaaahhhh. How Apt, I thought.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SKqzayNo4Dk

I must have looked ridiculous trying to run on ice and David Byrne in the video I think does a very life-like impression of me running this morning. The only difference is my road hopefully leads to Everest ..................and Victory.

More to come after the weekend where we will once again donning the whites at the Home of Cricket. We are will be having another extensive net session at Lord's where once again my bowling will probably be given the treatment but it will be good to get a good bowl and feel leather on willow for the first time in 2009. We will then adjourn to hear more about where we are and what needs to be done before Tenzing gives Hillary what for up the Mountain in April. Exciting times ahead.

Looking Forward, Facing Up and IgglePiggle....

Hi Everyone - A very happy 2009 to all.  May it bring you enjoyment, luck and all round good fortune.  Me?  Well, I'm going up to Mount Everest to play cricket in April, you know, the usual stuff.  

Back on the horse this week, training wise, after my Christmas frivolities.  Santa bought my father a bitch of a running machine, which must be the most boring method of exercise to have ever been invented but handy and I ventured out this morning in the dark, snow and ice to go for one of my now dreaded cross-country runs.  Like Glen (whose Blog I have just read - www.gleneverest.blogspot.com - excellent by the way) I will find it hard to fit everything in as well as do the 9-5 stuff and have some time with my kids / wife; I'm pretty convinced they don't want that much time with me though.  I have weekly targets that I will try and get to on the fitness front to give myself the best chance I can.  I am no great runner but running is what the basis will be and every effort is and will be made.  I fear that some of my colleagues are in a different league to me fitness-wise, having read some of the more recent blogs; but quite rightly people are doing what they think will help them get the most out of their trip and ensure their trip is a success. I have never been so active and I only have 3 chins now and I have stuck to my fitness; it has been very hard but my commitment will continue.  Thanks to those friends of mine at home that are keen to keep me motivated.  It's nice not to be called "that tubby *******", for once.  

It also seems everyone is keen to show off their houses whilst having team building sessions too with many invites for weekend team building activities and general "get-togethers" pouring in to my Inbox.  

The walking boots have also now arrived so on top of shedding the pounds and strengthening the heart, I will have to break these buggers in.  A shiny pair of Asolo Flame's arrived yesterday that I was recommended by the 14 year old in Cotswold's.  Actually, excellent service and a real interest in what we were doing...once he had stopped laughing.  They even had little rock slopes in the shop so you could feel the boot in as a real-life scenario as you can get in downtown St.Albans.  

I need to also refocus on my fundraising and get in contact with those people who think I have forgotten them.  I'm doing OK as far as being allowed on the trip but The Lord's Taveners haven't seen zip out of the Waters ranch as yet, and I am keen to do what I can and play my part.  I have an idea for an auction in my local pub nearer the departure date but with every weekend full pretty much until we go, it's going to be a juggle to get things sorted, I think.  I have some good prizes - not the usual cans of De-Icer, Boxes of Pink Wafer selections that one usually associates with cricket club raffles / draws, especially after Christmas which gives people the opportunity to offload crap they got for Christmas.  I actually have aeroplane flights, rugby tickets, meals at posh restaurants, meals at not so posh restaurants, happy meals from McDonald's, some not so happy meals from McDonald's, etc  We shall see what we can do but this would give my fundraising a real boost - I was thinking that if time did run out I could also do it after my return.  No-one has said the clock stops when we land back in the UK.

As an aside, having been part of a negotiation team at my own cricket club in recent months, I have just come back from a meeting tonight and it seems that we are very close to achieving a second cricket ground within my village, in the grounds of a girls boarding school - it has been "green-lighted" and just depends on English Heritage granting some planning.  This will be a huge achievement and will make Preston CC the envy of many other clubs.  It will also give our 3rd and 4th Elevens a home ground. Cricket in 2009 looks like its going to be good.  Kevin Pietersen is also available for our first game against Stevenage 2's in early May too, which is nice.

I still feel a bit weird about leaving my young family for such a length of time as our trip and it has been on my mind a little but actually it's only two weeks really and my kids seem more interested in Kipper, Peppa Pig and IgglePigglet (or whatever that blue idiot is with the dumb look and the red blanket, whose best mates are 3 weirdos that live in a bush, a load of over sized beach-balls, a  train that drives up trees and an airship that farts - I suspect some of you may know what the **** I'm talking about) than Daddy attempting to be selected to play cricket on the highest cricket pitch on Earth.  One of my aims from the trip is to say one day that "Dad did this" and I hope one day they get the chance to take part in something like this; cricket needs tea-ladies whatever the altitude, let's face it. Gotta go as I have to bench press my fridge before I go to bed. 

Morning Everyone.

Well the big news is that after a month or two of decision making it is now felt that the expedition would benefit greatly from changing sponsorship direction very slightly.  Up until now I have been raising my funds for Sports Relief.  However, we have been through a little bit of soul searching and realised our endeavour could be positioned better with the fantastic Lords Taveners.  This great charity was set up by like-minded individuals in 1950 with a love of cricket and communal pro-activity that gave itself to urgent fundraising aiming a creating a better life for children; particularly those with special needs.  Today the ranks of the Taveners are full of celebrities, musicians, cricket stars and people who feel that they could make a difference.  The unanimous feeling was that so could we.  They have been interested in our endeavours right from the start and have offered support and assistance throughout and the overriding feeling when we met at Lords a few weeks ago was that our impact would create bigger waves if we drew up alongside The Taveners; and now it's official.  www.lordstaveners.org for further information and the bigger story.

It goes without saying that Sport Relief is still of course a wonderful and amazing charity and massive "thank yous" to those friends and supporters of mine that have kindly donated to the cause so far.  Your money will go towards ground-breaking projects set up by Sport Relief and that have huge impact, both in the UK and overseas; so really a huge Thankyou.  However, any further funds raised will now go towards the Lords Taveners and I will be changing my donation pages shortly.

The Christmas season has sneaked up on us again.  I just wish corporate Britain let the world know a little sooner.  I watch the TV, listen to the radio and I didn't even realise Christmas was coming so soon.  No adverts, no Live Aid, no Slade, nothing.  Come on Britain, lets get the decorations out earlier than August next year, please.  Obviously, training will continue although this week I have given myself a bit of slack and I would imagine next week will be the same but it will continue in earnest.  A very Merry Christmas to all my fellow lunatics and anyone that may have stumbled across this blog looking for late night "exercise" websites and all the best for 2009.  Our next serious get together will be a Tenzing Weekend at Kinsey's farm in Herefordshire; building him a brand new shed, building his village a new church, asphalting his Helipad, scrumping his apples, digging him a new swimming pool and going for a run. April's coming everyone and our adventures will be going up several notches.  

A Great Day - Tourist Bashing, Bleeping and a Good Long Net

Morning All.

Last Saturday; no not that one, the one that has literally just gone; saw a significant amount of bods from the Everest Test all together for the first time in a while for a pre-Christmas catch-up, to get some serious promotional activity going on and to have a "beasting" fitness work-out and a net session at the Home of Cricket, Lord's. It was a superb and hugely enjoyable day that I know everyone also really enjoyed. It also allowed myself to meet some of the other guys going on the trip that so far I hadn't been able to which was excellent.

The day kicked off for me by limping into Lord's Car Park on pretty much fumes as the Wife hadn't filled up the car on her last trip out; ......another time. However, I was donned in the venerable whites ready for my initiation into the world of Frozen Mobiles, or something like that. The plan was to hook up with the rest of the Everest group outside Waterloo station; underneath the flimsy looking Ferris Wheel beside the Thames. Wearing whites in the Lord's compound obviously doesn't and didn't cause anyone to raise an eyebrow at all; why would it? The further one walks away from Lord's the more reaction one gets; makes sense really. So, by the time Waterloo station appeared outside the tube window I had caused a significant amount of rib-nudging and "look at that twat"-ing. Only one guy passed verbal comment - "wrong season innit?", he said, smirking as he got off the tube. Hilarious. I was pleased in this case when a little bit of mouth-foam spittle landed on his nose that had jumped from my hung-over mouth, as I let out a sarky guffaw. As I made way through to the main bit of Waterloo, wearing whites, I was on Red Alert for having fingers pointed at me, drinks chucked at me or worse. With this in mind, I hid behind the group of mullet-haired, plate-lickers that were obviously going to wreak carnage of some sort of a Eurostar, lager-frenzied, plastic chair chucking day out. (I seriously thought one guys hair cut was actually illegal now). Anyhow, the thought of walking past these walking adverts for why people move from England wearing what may as well have been an alien costume, was pushing it. I rode up the escalator hiding behind a group of small children.

I found the rest of the Group and we were walked through what exactly a "freeze-mob" was. The idea being we would walk into a suitably illegal or unsuitable place wearing our whites and re-create a catch at short-leg in an imaginary game of cricket. The appeal would go up but we would then freeze; i.e. holding that pose for 3 minutes to the bemusement of the Chinese and Spanish hoards that frequent tourist London. Three times we popped-up, "Guerrilla-like" - Parliament Square, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square; they all got the "freeze-mob" treatment. It was surprisingly brilliant fun and a fantastic way of advertising what we are doing and what we will be doing in April. Short of driving a truck through people's front rooms this sort of activity must be one of the best advertising mediums going. Good on everyone for doing this. I still have "arse-cramps" in the glutes from my various positions but, really, I got away lightly compared with some of the other guys. Have a look at http://www.theeveresttest.com/ for pictures.

We then had a long and very informative meeting, led by Kirt and Wes, who filled us in on what's been happening and we had various short reports form the guys that led the various Tenzing / Hillary activities since we had last met. We were told about the sponsorship arrangements, who was on board, the new medical team that we had now attracted and the fact that we could potentially be changing sponsor. I volunteered to take part in an umpire training weekend over next Valentines day to the relief of the Wife who simply hates being taken out and entertained on such occasions. Done her a real favour there, I think.

We then had the dreaded "Bleep-Test" which at one point was looking like it was being cancelled due to complete and total lack of interest. However, it was not to be and we got going with 20 minutes of up and down shuttle running that is branded under the cosy sounding title "Bleep-Test". It's a schoolboy nightmare basically and is the bottom line in fitness levels and indicates where a person might be with regards to overall stamina and fitness. Disappointingly, I hadn't really nudged any further than the first test I took in the summer - still around 9.3 / 9.5 ish but I will persevere with my fitness regime as I know I am getting better and fitter and I am also losing weight (about 1 stone so far) but it does highlight that with the "silly-season" coming up its going to be worth it to work just as hard, if not harder, to keep the regime going. Cold and frozen mornings aside, I've still got to keep going. With my mate Barnesy also moving to Singapore in the New Year, my commitment has got to be doubled as he may very well not be around all that much to run, circuit train with and basically give my ass a kick. I'll miss the cold, foggy mornings, charging off, scaring the pheasants and deer that think there won't be anyone daft enough to run through the woods at this time in the morning and following Barnesy as he farts in my air gasping face every five minutes.

With the Bleeps over, I then proceeded to get smacked about the St.Johns Wood skyline in a two hour net session. Actually, I really enjoyed having a bat and having a good long bowl for two hours. The Indoor School is just superb and rarely do you find bowler run-lengths able to contain my incendiary, cheetah-like approach to the crease. The wickets also had a little in it for the bowler who likes hitting seam. It was good to see everyone enjoying the cricket and having a knock. There's obviously a bit of talent about and one or two players on the Hillary bench that Tenzing may have to nobble.

The full and tiring day was rounded off at about 7; so we had been at it all day but it was great to meet new friends, learn about the colossal amount of work going on behind the scenes; the high profile people like the Lord's Taverners who are now looking like coming alongside our little trip, and many other facets that go into the mix for a venture like this and that the organisation team have put every ounce they have into it. This trip will be a success.

Again, it seriously instilled in me the fact that this is such a well run venture and that I am hugely proud to be a part of it. April will come round like a rocket and I hope I make the cut on the mountain - there are a few miles to clock up, an auction to organise, money to raise, dry, horrible turkey to eat and lumps crappy, overpriced tat to buy before then though. Good old Woolworth's. Merry Christmas.