TimsterC

So last night I had a sleepless night worrying about this trip I’m going on in 9 days time. Urgh, starting to feel it now.

Had a very productive meeting yesterday with the rest of the Lotusphere 2007 – Solution Develops Sanctuary team. We have a postmortem meeting to discuss what happened and what we want/need to change for next year. If you visited the lab and didn’t leave us your comments, but want to tell us what you thought of the lab, then please send me an email.

tim _ clark at uk dot ibm dot com. (I’m sure you can work that out.) ;o) 

Had a massive breakthrough on the enduroindia front last night. The Curry Night was a HUGE success and we managed to raise £1780 in a single night. checkout ei2007.tc-soft.com for more details.

Now has it’s own website. But don’t worry, I’ll still post here with news of what’s going on.

The reason I have set up the new website, is that I didn’t want this site to become over-run with the enduroindia stuff, which it seems to be right now. Well it does to me. so I want a little seperation for this stuff, so I setup another site.

So go take a look. 

The new enduroindia challenge t-shirts are now on sale. Click the link on the right hand side, to take a look at the selection.
New designs are coming weekly so keep an eye out for one that you like.

I’ll try and keep them down to £15, but the large sizes will be a bit more.

Current fund status is £1005 of £3850. I would like to extend a HUGE "THANK YOU" to everyone who has donated so far and done so much already.

Please checkout the page of champions  

As the more observant of you will have noticed, there is now an easy way to donate to the Enduro India 2007 trip that I am doing next February.

I need to raise £3850 of which I have donated the first £500. So the balance is £3350 left to get. I will give regular updates on the balance and as all the money has to be in by early December 2006 I hope that this will make getting pledges from people a little simpler.

So if you feel that you want to help me raise some money for this great event, then click on the PayPal Donate button up the top.

The three charities are the following;

WWF-India is the largest organisation engaged in wildlife and nature conservation in the country. Established as a Charitable Trust in 1969, it has an experience of over three decades in the field. With modest beginnings, the organisation was propelled forward by the efforts of its founders and associates who volunteered their time and energy to lend momentum to this movement.

A part of WWF International, the organisation has made its presence felt through a sustained effort not only towards nature and wildlife conservation, but sensitising people by creating awareness through capacity building and enviro-legal activism. A challenging, constructive, science-based organisation, WWF addresses issues like the survival of species and their habitats, climate change and environmental education.

The World Wildlife Fund, get the bikes from the trip and use them for their rangers to stop poaching. Any bikes they don’t use are auctioned  and the the proceeds go into the funds.

The folks at the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity provides practical and emotional support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. They support 1,000 families each year.

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The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild lands through careful science, international conservation, education, and the management of the world’s largest system of urban wildlife parks. These activities change attitudes toward nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in sustainable interaction on both a local and a global scale. WCS is committed to this work because we believe it essential to the integrity of life on Earth.

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Thanks in advance to everyone who does support me and the charities supported by Enduro India.

Having had time to reflect on what I have signed up to do, I’m even more convinved that it’s a great thing to do.

Went to the wedding of Tristian and Kate at the weekend (Tristan is wife’s cousin) and folks I spoke to about the trip were really enthusiastic.
Some offered to give up their time to help fundraise and some offered money. I was blown away by everyone’s generosity.

Some of you may know that I used to do some voluntary work. I used to get a lot out of it, and I put a lot into it. I guess we parted company evens.

Time to do something worth while again.

When I was in London on Monday night having dinner with a chum who used to work in development of Lotus QuickPlace, My wife found a postcard of a motorbike against a kind of countryside background. On closer inspection it was a Royal Enfield Bullet 350 in the middle of India.

Nice postcard, good composition of the images, eye catching design.

But there was something else about it, something that stired something inside me. The words at the top of the postcard said "enduroindia – the adventure of a lifetime".

Erm, sorry, but did you say "adventure"? Yes they did, and they ment it. Boy do they mean it.

Here’s what was on the back of the postcard

Enduro India 2007 is a 14 day ‘Once in a lifetime’ motorcycle adventure through the high mountains, dense forests and chaotic cities of southern India. Join us and ride a Royal Enfield 350 Bullet motobike to raise money for children with a terminal illness in the UK and India. To sign up contact Enduro India on 01225 852 286 and ask for Simon Smith, or go to www.enduroindia.com for more information

Now before you go and check it out, and I really want you to, I want you to read the rest of this blog entry. This is really important.

I’m NOT going to ask anyone for money or sponsership. If they offer it I’m going to humblly accept it. The cost of doing this is £3850, and if it costs me that to do it, then so be it. Both you and I know that this is an unlikeley event, but I’m prepared to pay that much for this experience alone.

Now the charity bit. There are three charities that EnduroIndia support. The WWF (not the wrestlers), The Rainow Trust and The Mother Theresa Educational and Charitable Society. All of which do fantastic work in their own repective fields.

If you think, after reading all the info, that this is something you would like to support, then why not sign up?