Posted by Sarah 30-7-2011

We had a really good day on Thursday working in the Hitrade charity shop in Sidcup, we met all the lovely ladies & John who work so hard in the shop. Rita our volunteer manager from the trust dropped off lots of bags & boxes containing items that had been donated to the shop. So we got stuck in started pricing items and putting new stock out onto the shelves. Even though the shop is small it is always really busy. The cake I baked went down really well, we had a slice & a cup of tea once we had earnt our tea break!
The best news of all the Hitrade committee kindly donated £200 towards our trek, this took Emma & I completely by surprise and we cannot thank them enough. They are all really supportive of our trek & fundraising & they all do such an amazing job, we can't thank them enough. All the staff from the shop are visiting the farm this Wednesday for our Fun day so we look forward to seeing them all again.

Thank you Hitrade, we will up to visit you all again very soon.

Posted by Sarah 27-7-2011

Even though it was raining when I got up this morning it turned out to be a nice day, which meant another busy day on the farm. Again I did pig racing and we had a great crowd in that donated very generously. Today's total was £36.54 so on behalf of Emma and myself THANK YOU so much and we hope to see you all again at the centre.


Some more news now we have have 2 new arrivals that have moved in on the farm today. We have 2 Blonde Mangalitsa - these are pigs that originated from Hungry. They are also known as curly haired hogs and now classed as a Rarebreed!

These animals are a must see, so make sure you come and visit them.

Emma and I are off to work in our Charity Shop tomorrow, the shop is based in Sidcup and we are also taking one of our residents up with us. The ladies who work there are always very welcoming, I have baked a cake for them to say thanks for having us. I will let you know how we got on

Saz x

Posted by Sarah 26-7-2011

Good evening


Summer holidays are here and we were busy down on the farm today, I did Pig Racing today which in short means I get on the microphone before the race and introduce Emma and I. I inform the public of our challenge and that we are raising money for a fantastic charity and if anyone would like to donate any spare change to help us reach our target we would both really appreciate it. So it leaves me to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all those very kind people that donated to a great cause. Thank you so much and I hope you all enjoyed you day at the centre especially the Pig Race!


I would also like to thank my friend Jodie's mum Lyn and her family who continually support The Rarebreeds Centre and our challenge, thank you and I really appreciate all your help and look forward to seeing you at the quiz night

Posted by Sarah 25-7-2011

Well how are we all, quick update for you all!


Our total now stands at £3709 we are both really proud of what we have achieved so far but owe this all to the very kind people that have donated and raised money on our behalf - we really do appreciate all your hard work you have put in to helping us both.


Last week Emma & I met up to see where we are at with our fundraising, we also discussed our next big event. After the Fun day on the farm on the 3rd August, we want to try & organise another quiz night for October. A lot of you have said to us that you really enjoyed the last quiz & would love us to put on another one. So back with popular demand the next quiz will be in October - date TBC. We plan to hold another raffle on the night too, so we are busy writing to companies for raffle donations. We have had a good response so far which are mentioned on our sponsors page, but I would like to personally thank Pete Hine (my friend Jodie's dad!) who kindly donated a hamper box of wines, and I only think its right that I mention Pete's company and also Jodie's business these are:

www.independentcatering.co.uk     www.minnersfarmliveries.com

Also as Emma has previously mentioned we have our Fun day on the farm on 3rd August, please refer to this link to see what activities will be happening on the day. www.rarebreeds.org.uk/

We hope to see you on the day and bring the sunshine!

by Emma

Hello, hello,


I have just returned from a lovely weekend away on the Norfolk broads feel all refreshed and ready to tackle the six weeks summer holidays on the farm. August the 3rd is fun day which is always a great day and we especially hope will be successful with the fundraising. 
we hope to see you all there and if you do visit please do come and say hello to us as we love meeting everyone.


my life is going in such a great direction not only do i have the excitement of the Great Wall of china trek but I have my 2 week turkey holiday in six weeks and in three weeks time I am making the move from out of home to my own place with my partner Adam, so i am busy packing my life into boxes at the moment and we are busy buying bits for the home. Training has taken a backseat for now but once i am settled into my new home the gym will be even closer than it is now so i will start my training regime again.


well i best get packing.

Posted by Sarah 16-7-2011

Its raining and nasty outside this morning, James has walked the dogs, so am writing this from my bed whilst listening to Beyonce!


Now for some amazing news my colleague Sharon Finch who works as a training tutor in our restaurant at the Rarebreeds completed The Great Kent Bike Ride back in June. Now this is a massive achievement in it self, 60 miles long was the route and Sharon did it all on her own but Sharon didn't stop there she very kindly donated all her sponsor money to our China fund. I know Sharon worked really hard to raise an amazing £205, this is a fantastic amount, Emma and I can not thank you enough we both really appreciate all the hard work you put into the race and raising this huge amount.

Thank you so much Sharon, you should be proud of yourself, what an amazing achievement.

Sharon with her medal after completing her 60 mile race

5th June 2011.



Posted by Sarah 13-7-2011

Hello all

Well I have recovered from my 10K run which took place on Sunday, for those who haven't heard myself, Emma & another work colleague Steve completed the London 10K. It was a long day, I got up at 5am and we all caught the 07.03am train up to Charing Cross. After putting our bags in and warming up we made our way to the start line along with 25,000 other runners. Steve and I had never taken part in an organised run before, we were all really nervous, even though I had been in training I never knew what distance I had been running, so I was hoping I would finish the run still running! I have to say that I really enjoyed taking part in this race, it was such an achievement and the scenery was amazing. Having Big Ben in the distance to run towards was a bit different! makes a change from running around fields in Woodchurch.

It leaves me to say well done Emma and Steve you both did really well you should be proud of
yourselves.

Oh yes I finished the race in 1 hour 6 mins, we have all got the running bug now and plan to take part in some more organized runs, hopefully more local!

London 10k run......we did it.

Hi everyone,


We did it Sarah and I yesterday joined 25,000 other people in running the London 10k, what a massive achievement for us both and a great training event towards the trek

I really wanted to complete the course in a quicker time than last year but with little training behind me I didn't hold out much hope, but I did it in one hour 10 minutes, 3 minutes shorter than last year.

It has to be a massive congratulations to Sarah though, it was Sarah's first ever 10k run and she really didn't know what to expect but she did it and she did it good, completing the course in one hour six minutes.

CONGRATULATIONS SARAH FROM YOUR OLD TREKKING PAL.

We had company on the run with a fellow colleague Steve joining us, who also works for our charity. Steve completed the course in one hour five minutes which is a fantastic time, well done Steve and thanks for your company.

We were surrounded by 25,000 other runners who were all raising money for many many different charities, it brought home to me just how well we are doing raising money for a charity close to our hearts when there are so many other needy charities that people could give their money too.

We have reached £3500 raised since October 2010, we are on our way to reaching and exceeding are pledged amount of £5000 and its thanks to so many kind people.

I crossed the finishing line excited, happy, proud and drained. My race was full of emotions as I passed by people with there prosthetic limbs, people with signs saying "I'm running in memory of my mum" people who were raising money for those less fortunate, for the sick, the elderly so many worthy causes. well done to everyone who took part, congratulations to those who beat there personal best times. I feel privileged to have been part of that.

Well its steady fundraising now as we begin to realize just what it is we are doing and also thinking about the destination we are heading too. The charity challenge holdall is getting full of the new trekking gear, boots are ready to be worn in and Sarah and I are busy planning future events. We have fun day at the farm on the 3rd of august which we hope will be a great opportunity to meet some people, spread the word and tell everyone about our charity challenge. 

Can I please remind people about our just giving page, please if you would like to show support to Sarah and I and donate any amount, then follow the link via the blog, all monies go directly to The Canterbury Oast Trust and The rare Breeds Centre.....our charity.

Thank you for following us via this blog, its great to know that people are following us as we go through this amazing chapter in our lives.

Em

Posted by Sarah 7-7-2011

Today our fundraising total reached the £3500 mark, this means we have raised 70% of our total,


We are really proud of ourselves and hope you are proud of us too.


But of course this is thanks to all of those people that have donated and have supported our Events.


Saz x

Hi folks

Hi everyone,


Sorry it's Been a while since I last posted but thankfully Sarah has been keeping you all updated and doing the thank you's. A special thanks to Pete from me for his kindness.
Well with just days to go till the London 10k run I can't help thinking I have not done enough training. Of course only time will tell with me completing the course in 1 hour 13 minutes last year it's watch this space.....
Good luck to Sarah for the run I know it's her first, I'm sure she will love it.
We have a fundraising meeting planned for next week which will give us a great opportunity to catch up and get some jobs done, of course this will be done over a pub dinner. Why not.
Well I must go as I have jobs to do. Speak soon.


Emma

Posted by Sarah 6-7-2011

Good evening all,


This post is dedicated to a good friend and colleague of mine Peter Webb who is the Hospitality manager at The Rarebreeds Centre. Well Peter very kindly made a donation to our China Trek fund today and for that we both are truly grateful. It is thanks to people like this that makes all our fund raising efforts well worth it.


So thank you again Peter we do really appreciate your donation


Sarah & Emma x

Posted by Sarah 5-7-2011

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Just returned from cycling tonight absolutely drenched, I got caught in the rain :( So have you all remembered that Emma and I are running the London 10k on Sunday? Well I've got 4 days left of training, I have been running for an hour each morning and cycling for an hour in the evening, weather permitting! For those who don't know I sometimes take my dogs running with me in the mornings and today I took Dino. We went running on James's farm so Dino was on familiar territory but we still had a hiccup. We were both on the home straight together then Dino disappeared, after a long search I called James in for help (who was working on the farm). I carried on my way home to see if he had made it home when I had a phone call from James to say he found him. He was in the field where was last seen! So I am not quite sure what happened but reckon I reckon he has a girlfriend on the go!

Bag puss update - He is doing us proud, we have sold lots of tickets and will draw the winner on our Fun day Event at the farm on the 3rd August.

So wish us good luck for our run on Sunday and I will update you all very soon. x