ONE MILE TO GO !

Well, it wasn't quite like this this morning at 7.30 am!

Lots of horrid, thick ice and frost on the car and everywhere as I drove to the swimming pool, but at least we don't have the very heavy snow and disruption that so many others are experiencing.

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BUT - Only one mile to go! And then I have swum the Channel!

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Lovely people are still sponsoring me and making donations which is wonderful.

Please continue with your donations and I will let you know when I have actually reached the French coast!

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Ann x

Just to make you smile ...

Just some random images that have brought a smile to my face. I hope they bring a smile to yours too.

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A prince and princess.

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A little princess! And doesn't she know it too!
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Seen in a local village recently. It would bring a smile to anyone's face to travel around in this, especially when it is pouring with rain as it was when I took this picture.

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I don't know this chap's name, but he was happy for me to take his picture (for a donation of course). He was playing carols, but it was very unusual to see him playing on a harp (or maybe it is another instrument - I have never seen one like it before). Usually these street players have some background music playing instead of just playing the guitar, etc. themselves. Very nice. It too, brought a smile to my face.

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Hope you all have a smile on your face as well and are not too disrupted by the current bad weather.

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Ann x

Nearly There !

From the Aspire Channel Swim web site:

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As you can see I am nearly at the French coast! The Channel swim is 22 miles over 12 weeks in my local swimming pool.

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I started my swim on 15th September when I was only fit enough to swim 20 lengths! This morning, after 24 trips to the pool I completed 80 lengths. I now only have 102 lengths to go to reach my target of swimming the Channel, which I will do next week.

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People are being very generous but I would still like to have your donations to sponsor me so that even more funds can be raised for this very worthwhile charity.

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Ann x

Johnston to Neyland Walk

I started the day with an 8.00 am swim to add to my lengths across the Channel! The weather was beautiful at that hour and I was very pleased to see it as it was the day for our U3A walking group fortnightly walk. This one being led by David.

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We drove to Johnston and started the walk alongside the single track railway part of which has been turned into a cycle track.

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Some easy walking to begin with as we left the railside footway and entered the wooded area.
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Rupert had to be kept in check !

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After rolling in the lovely smell of fox, he then investigated the muddy, swollen stream that was alongside the pathway!

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As we neared Neyland we passed the Marina, which is always full of boats. We queried whether any of them were ever taken out on the water, as the marina seems to be full at all times of the year!

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This part of the cycle path goes through the Wildlife Sanctuary and before reaching the Neyland Marina proper.

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The Town of Neyland was founded by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was a little village on the Haven known as Little Milford. When the railway became established in 1853, the fishing industry also settled around the rail yard and with Brunel’s vision the Irish Ferry from Neyland to Rosslare Ireland started to trade.

For the next few hundred yards you pass under a road bridge built in 1970 leading to the toll bridge crossing over the River Cleddau completed in 1975.

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When you pass through the first set of gates, you go through the first of many cuttings in rocks made by Isambard Kindom Brunel's labourers when completing his historic construction of the Great western Railway from London, Paddington, with his envisaged transatlantic shipping line to America. When you look at the rock they cut through it was all done by hand with perhaps a little help with explosives.

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On reaching Brunel Quay there used to be a very fine statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel overlooking the Cleddau Estuary. Sadly he was stolen in August this year and the bronze statue has never been recovered. There were two arrests in connection with the theft but no charges were made and the men were released.
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Naturally we ended the walk at the Marina Cafe!

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Ann x

Aspire Channel Swim Update !

My charity 'Channel Swim' for Aspire is now bowling (or rather going swimmingly) along at a cracking pace.

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I have swum 264 lengths of my local 25m pool this week. That's 4.1 miles and my total swim to date is 16.3 miles, so only 5.7 miles to go and as there are just two weeks to the conclusion of the swim on 5 December it looks as though I am on target to finish it in time.

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I have already had my 15 minutes of fame by placing some copy in a local paper, The Tenby Observer, and being recognised from my photograph and had offers of sponsorship.

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My main reason for doing this swim is to raise money by sponsorship, and your donations at Just Giving are so important to help all those who are suffering from spinal cord injuries.

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If you log on to the Aspire web site - above - you will find out all you need to know about their charity. I hope you can help.

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Ann x

Wet .....

Like everyone else we seem to be surrounded by water and everything is very wet and soggy. We are thankful that we don't have the flooding that so many are suffering at the present time and I wish them well. It must be truly awful to see all your prized possessions floating, muddy and smelly across the room, or having to be rescued or having your whole livelihood destroyed by water. I can think of nothing worse.

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The girls are glad to be out of their rather muddy pen. They do have very clean feet!

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The puddles are only good for cleaning your wellies in after all the mud they have collected!
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Can't wait for spring!

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Sunday Evening Sky

The skies this evening on our favourite walk were beautiful.

I will let them speak for themselves.

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Colours Left in the Garden

Things may be starting to look rather drab now that winter is approaching, but when I had a closer look around the garden this afternoon there is still quite a lot of colour left. The blackbirds are already starting to gorge themselves on the berries, they just love them!

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Hydrangeas starting to close down.
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Mahonia in winter mode.

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In amongst dead leaves and mint.

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Some bright yellow quinces. These are very small and hard. Is it possible to make jam or jelly with them or are they just decorative?

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Varigated evergreen.

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Sunrise Swim! - - - (Plus Update)

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This was the beautiful sight that greeted me as I arrived in the car park at the swimming pool this morning at 7.25 am! Well worth getting up for.

I swam 70 lengths and am now at the halfway stage across the Channel Yippee! - 11.1 miles - so feel I am really doing some good in raising money for Aspire.

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UPDATE - Friday 12 November

I plan to update weekly from now on as after my swim this morning I have now completed 790 lengths of my local 25m pool and am therefore now 12.2 miles across the Channel only 9.8 miles to go!

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Another Lovely Walk ...

We like this walk so much that we have done it twice in three days! The first time last Sunday when the weather was magnificent and the second yesterday with our walking group when it was rather more overcast and after Monday night's heavy rain, storm and wind.

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We discovered this church by coming upon it from the behind on a small public footpath which led us through the graveyards. Although we have driven past in the car many times, we had never ventured to investigate inside. The church itself was very naive, with very simple whitewashed walls and mainly plain glass in the windows, so we introduced the walking group to it on the Tuesday and they all found it as interesting as we did.

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After St Elidyr's we went down the road and across a field to pick up the footpath along a leaf-strewn footpath that looked very beautiful in the autumn sunshine.

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Golden autumn leaves.

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Photos rather out of order here, but we ended the U3A walk along the beach at Amroth.

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Anyone know what these fungus are? One of our party wanted to pick them to eat, but no-one else knew if it was safe!

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After the storm!

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Ann Newman is fundraising for Aspire

Ann Newman is fundraising for Aspire

At last I feel I am making some headway. Now 9.4 miles a cross the Channel in order to raise some money for this very worthy cause.

This is just to let you all know how I am getting on. I managed 180 lengths in my local swimming pool this week and will try to keep up the momentum in order to achieve my swim across the Channel.

Any donation will be gratefully received. Thank you. Ann x