Monday 6 September:  Did the car boot sale yesterday (Sunday 5 Sept) with my friend Hilary and her partner, Phil.  A very early start - 5.00 am on a Sunday shouldn't exist - but it was worth it as we collected £173.00!  What an amazing total and thank you to everyone who gave me and Hilary items to sell.

I've also started my course of injections - Rabies, Hepititus B & C, Polio, Diptheria and Tetanus.  No horrible side-effects yet but if you see me foaming at the mouth, you'll know the rabies has kicked in!!

Sleeping bag and mattress sorted out - thanks to Gemma - so just silk sleeping bag liner and headlamp to buy.  I'm slowly getting there!

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Tuesday 17 August:  I sorted out my visa for Nepal last week and now that its done and sitting in my passport, the whole trip seems more of a reality now!  I've managed to borrow a sleeping bag and "mattress" from my friend Gemma who did a similar trek in May this year and I'm doing well with the buying of the other bits and pieces I need.  I am purchasing silk longjohns at lunchtime today!!

I am also saying my prayers and doing a little "good weather" dance each night as my car boot sale is this Sunday - my friend Hilary and I have loads of stuff to sell so we are really hoping for a dry day otherwise I'm not quite sure what we will do!!

The proceeds of the car boot sale and the collecting tins that are slowly being filled up by members of my gym will certainly boost my donation total, but I do need to raise a further £370 by the first week of September in order to hit the deadlines set by The Alzheimer's Society.  I will be putting together a "begging" e-mail to all my friends and colleagues as soon as I have updated this page to see if I can muster one final push towards my target!

Saturday 19 June:  Had our Briefing Day in London where I met about 35 of the other Nepal trekkers - we think there will be about 40 of us in total in November.  Everyone seemed very nice, but only 5 men in the group :-(

I have found a willing volunteer with whom to share a tent - a lovely lady called Louisa from the Isle of Wight - let's just hope we are still on speaking terms by the end of the 10 day trip!  We received lots of interesting information about the trek and Nepal and so all I have to do now is buy all the gear, get my jabs sorted out, continue with my training regime - and most importantly, achieve my fundraising target of £3,000 by early September.  Many thanks to everyone who has already donated money - your support for my endeavours is really very much appreciated.

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On Saturday 20 November I will set off from Heathrow to Kathmandu with a group of other intrepid trekkers for a 10 day adventure in Nepal.  Our trek will last for 6 days and we will be walking for up to 8 hours each day in the shadow of the breathtaking Annapurna mountain range.  We will reach the highest point of the trek on Day 6 (hopefully) when we get to Poon Hill at 3,150 metres.  A day of sightseeing and relaxation in Kathmandu is our reward for completing the trek before we fly home on 30 November.

How will I cope with the altitude?  Will I survive sleeping under canvas for a week?  What will I do without my hair straighteners and make-up?  And more importantly, how will everyone else in the group put up with me for 10 days??!!

I know the trek will be both mentallly and physically hard but I am really excited about the challenge and looking forward to a very different type of holiday.  Its completely out of my comfort zone, but I'm up for it!  The Alzheimer's Society is also a great charity which does vitally important work to support those people in the UK who have dementia and their carers/families - it is a charity that I have personally supported for many years.

It would be great if you could spare some money to make a donation.  Perhaps you will donate to see me successfully complete the challenge and come home safely.  Perhaps you will pay good money to see me stranded and left behind in Nepal?!  Whatever your motivation for giving, I thank you for your support.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  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.