What Jenny Did Next

So Even though Jen last posted back in January, she hasn't forgotten about everyone - a combination of moving around the country a lot, limited access to the web and generally freakin' out about the approaching Costa Rican Trip made it really hard for her to blog. I, on the other hand, have absolutely no excuse whatsoever, for which I apologise. But the good news is - she made it!

Very early last Friday morning, Jen caught the plane to Costa Rica and, as far as we knew, landed safely. Mum had a phonecall about 48 hours later from a very tired but happy little Jenfer to confirm that everything was okay. We also had an email from the Raleigh people to tell us what she'd be working on, which involves a 4.30 am start tomorrow to start a 2-day long bus journey to the first project in Nicaragua where they will be building a water system for a really remote community in Achuapa, where she's going to beliving with a local family - I think the most exciting part of that is the real bed, as they've been sleeping on wooden floors so far. Rather her than me! Then again, she doesn't have the same aversion to mosquitos as me...

It's going to be Jen's birthday while she's out there, so I need to remember to post her a card three weeks in advance and try to find a very flat, very thin birthday present (parcels all get stopped in customs apparently) - actually I've ordered it already - I've adopted her a Seahorse. So at least the picture and certificate might fit inside the card if I fold it up small enough!

If I get any further news, I'll post it here - but thanks everyone for helping to Send Jenfer Overseas!

The Final Countdown

With Christmas and New Year finally out of the way after a very long and stressful 4months - which, although I won't go into in any detail because I could rant for weeks, suffice to say were mainly due to crappy housemate issues and crappy job issues - now the wrong side of the festive season, the realisation has hit me with the force akin to that of a pile of bricks falling from the Eiffel Tower, that in about 8weeks time, I'm actually going.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....

(that is of course assuming I don't get struck down by God, infected with Bird Flu or some equally horrible virulent disease, or repeat the exploits of my bf's housemate and break my ankle whilst engaging in some jovial parkour. And let's face it, I wouldn't put any of those past myself.)

Fundraising efforts are now officially done and dusted, I've still a couple of hundred to pay in but unfortunately that deceptive beast time has not allowed me to get around to doing any comical fancy dress collecting around the pubs of sheffield which was going to be my final fundraising venture. Unfortunately, we've hit upon a minor hitch in that the £96 that is currently sitting in the Just Giving account that Kate very thoughtfully set up for me in May, has not yet gone through and the deadline is fast approaching. However, I'm assured by the wise sages at Raleigh HQ that all will be well and I bloody well hope it will after the amount of money I've recently spent on equipment/insurance/flights/vaccinations and I've still got a list as long as my arm of bits and pieces I need to take, most of which have impronouncable names or look like bizarre torture devices. Or both. It's going to be an interesting few weeks...

toil and trouble...

You may have noticed I have not posted for a while (again), although not due to general idleness and apathy this time (I know, I'm a disgrace to the species), I just haven't had proper access to the tinterwobble so have been unable to keep you updated with The Incredible Fundraising Adventures of Jenfer. Aaanyway, the past month and a half has been a nightmarish rollercoaster of trying to organise a jumbo fundraising Hallowe'en party in the too-stylish-for-words venue of my local village hall. This has been made all the more difficult - particularly for my poor parents - with my moving three hours north of said venue as opposed to a five minute stroll down the road. Hall hire and DJ were sorted no problems, (thanks to bob and george for the free music ;)... not sharky and george though sadly - the presence of the crimebusters of the sea would've been pretty awesome), but when it came to actually selling the damn tickets, things began taking rather an unpleasant turn for the worse. It appeared that nobody wanted to come to my party.

However, due to excelleing badgering on several wonderful people's parts, we managed to sell enough to just about fill the hall, only finally deciding that we wouldn't have to call the entire damn thing off about three days before it was supposed to take place. So, tickets sold, decorations kindly borrowed from the garden centre where my mum works, costumes at the ready, we were set to make what we hoped would be about £500 altogether. Ticket sales had already reached about £300, and with the addition of a raffle and a promises auction with prizes and promises kindly donated from the lovely people of chilton, we thought we might just about get another couple of hundred. What we didn't account for was the fact that people were pretty much off their heads by the time bidding commenced, and so stupid amounts of money were being thrown about, like the £32 paid by Rob for two hours worth of my mum's ironing. Furthermore, a couple of pre-party bids by some people who couldn't attend pushed profits up significantly, resulting in a grand total over the whole evening of £1001.

Pretty successful I think you'll agree. Pictures are here for anyone who wants to see my mum dressed as a witch and rob dressed as a rubik's cube lurking somewhere in the background. It's pretty cool.

surprisingly successful

Well, I take it all back. Although not many people actually turned up to this coffee morning, those that did were more than generous and we managed to scrounge about £90 from the good people of my village. Ta muchly. Also, one of my mum's friends, who happens to be head of the local WI was very kind and decided to let me tag on to a jumble sale they were holding for a local children's charity See-Saw, and gave me all the proceeds from the cream tea sales, which came to about £100 - fantastic! So things are all good, and I'm nearly halfway to the target!

On another note, I appear to have lost my comedy streak and can no longer write in an amusing and witty yet informative and innoffensive fashion. Sorry.

Ladies What Lunch

Well the invitations for Mum's coffee morning are safely posted through the doors of every female in the village my mother has so much as sold a houseplant to, although we're not holding out much hope of many people actually turning up. I guess you've got to be positive about these things and think of it in terms of how much cake there's going to be left over for me, but I can't help thinking we're going to be lucky to get 20quid out of this one! You just know it's gonna be me, mum, one or two of my mother's more loyal friends and some woman from the other end of the village who no one really knows with nothing better to do on a Friday morning. Still I can't complain, bless mum's heart she's really trying her best with this thing even though she can't abide the thought of me buggering off to the jungle for 10weeks. And who knows, it might be a giggle. I hope.

All donations gratefully received :D

All has been a bit quiet on the fundraising front of late; I've been so busy trying to find a job and somewhere to live that I haven't really had the chance. Neither of which are going very well, now you ask. But you've got to laugh (or cry... I'm going to be poor and houseless..wah :( ) But on the plus side, I've had donations from Wallingford Rotary Club and Abingdon Lions Club, both very generous so that's FANTASTIC and thankyou very much! Not sure what the exact grand total is at the moment, but if my calculations are correct it should be around £1250ish... although I could be wrong since I don't have that many fingers (mental arithmetic was never my strong point). Although we have come across a minor hiccup which *might* mean that a significant amount of money got paid into Raleigh without being attached to my name which is a very worrying thought - haven't had a chance to check yet but hopefully it will all get sorted (please God, please...) - a lot of hard work went into procuring that money and I don't intend to have to try and raise it all over again... it's hard enough as it is!

So anyway, plans for the Hallowe'en party are "underway" ish... I've got a friend who has agreed to do the music for free, but the bloke who hires out the hall is being EXTREMELY eusive *shakes fist accusingly* so although I've got a provisional booking I can't really do anything else until I've finalised that. So that's all ground to a bit of a screeching halt (screeching...hallowe'en.. witches.. geddit...? Oh, never mind).

The Coffee Morning for Ladies What... well, drink coffee and eat cake I suppose, is planned for next Friday, with accompanying table top sale of all manner of goodies, so hopefully that should bring in a few bob (what exactly is a 'bob' anyway?), and I for one cannot wait to see Kate's handmade Christmas cards. Although I think she should be careful... at this rate she's going to be crocheting blankets...

My creative juices are flowing!

So, not only am I attempting to supplement my own income by re-training as a spy (just call me double-oh-three-and-a-half), I have decided to attempt to help Jenfer by being massively organised and learning a new skill in time to help her raise the rest of the dosh. However, my chosen hobby is not the most valuable, money-wise, and so far I'm just a beginner, but at the moment I am cracking on with.... drumroll please... hand made christmas cards! Hurrah! So sooner or later, I'll get around to deciding whether they are any good, how much I'm selling them for and stick some photos up so that anyone who would like to buy one (or many) may do so! Perhaps I'll offer a personalised service! Who knows. Depends how successful I am at it. So far they are simple, elegant... and wonky. Ho hum.