Story
<p>Having come to the end of my 2 year 'commute' to the desert in August, I decided I need 1 more adventure and so decided that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, a 7 day expedition (camping, no bathrooms....don't laugh) would be just the ticket. For some reason I decided doing step-aerobics 3 times a week for a few months was all the training I needed and spent the last couple of weeks in London prior to departure eating plenty of food, drinking rather too much red wine and doing absolutely no exercise. At all...I was ready!</p>
<p>Along with it being an incredible personal challenge, I used the endeavour to raise money for charity in memory of my very dear friend Oriska Turner who died 24th April 2000 aged 27 from meningococcal septicaemia (meningitis).</p>
<p><span class="messageBody">And at 0750 on Friday 9th September I reached Uhuru peak, Mt Kilimanjaro - 5895m, Africa's highest mountain and the world's highest free-standing mountain - after 5 days of hiking, rock-climbing, occasional scrambling, camping, sleeping above the clouds, NOT bathing....being not only at the limit of my comfort zone but I believe at the edge of my 'stretch' zone. We were ably and wonderfully led by Jon Gupta of JCG Expeditions who as well as gee-ing us along every step of the way, also managed to maintain a blog of our progress throughout which you can catch up on here <a href="http://jcgexpeditions.co.uk/">http://jcgexpeditions.co.uk/</a> for more detail. <br><br>Though I never doubted that I would reach the top (OK, maybe at some point around 0430 that Friday), the ascent climb was incredibly tough and it was with a broad smile, and admittedly a few tears, that I laid eyes upon the sign at the peak. I was, and still am, delighted to have achieved this endevour and even more so to have raised over £2400 for the Meningitis Trust for which I extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to everyone who has thus far so kindly donated. BUT (there's always a but...), I'd love to raise a few more pennies for such a great cause so thank you for visiting the page and continuing to donate.</span></p>
<p>The justgiving blurb: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for every pound, shilling and pence you donate.</p>