Gold became good

‘I don’t believe it” (said in the best Victor Meldrew tones).  I’ve just returned from the Gold & Diamond Park, Dubai and I feel like a magician or someone in Aladdin, “new lamps for old”.  As followers of this blog will know, I’ve been asking friends, family and acquaintances to look in the back of their drawers, jewellery boxes and the pot on the mantelpiece (or equivalent – this IS sweltering Dubai after all) and donate any little bits of unwanted gold to support this challenge.  I had an open house last week as a last opportunity for people to give their bits of gold to me and, today, put it all in a plastic bag to take to the buyer.

My stash in a small plastic bag.

I had a copy of my passport with me (a legal requirement to stop thieves selling their booty I presume) and after wandering around a bit, I eventually found Kanz Jewels.  The friendly men at Kanz spread the gold out and started examining each tiny piece – I was going to be here for a while.  I worked out that there were three piles and they kept conferring with each other in a language I didn’t understand.  One pile was definitely the better gold and I was silently rooting for it to get bigger.  Eventually, they weighed two of the piles – it really didn’t look very much at all.  One pile was given back to me as silver and non-gold items, one lot was 10 carat and the other 18 carat.

Examining the gold.

I was absolutely astonished when they offered..well I’m not sure I should say here on this blog how much, but here it is (equivalent to half my original target):

Cash for children in need.

To the men in Kanz (sorry I’ve forgotten your names in my excitement) thank you.  To everyone who has given their little pieces of gold, thank you. To any Gulf for Good challengers, I recommend this as a way that people can support a good cause by donating something that would have little value on its own but can be converted into an amount that will really make a difference.  And as a reminder of those causes:

I’m off to do some more training, with a massive spring in my step and joy in my heart.  Thank you.

A sitting down protest

Hazel and Rosie refusing to move

This post was going to be about the amazing sense of well-being that exercise gives you,  I was going to be positively evangelistic about stair climbing (I walked up Jumeirah Beach Residence three times including some double steps i.e. 120 floors), wax lyrical about the high that endorphins deliver and the fact that I feel trimmer and stronger already.  However, I came down with a bump or should I say a virus, last weekend and have crawled around feeling pathetic for a week.  Also my toe still hasn’t healed – I suspect it’s broken – and after surfing medical websites (and discounting the ones that mention gangrene or amputation) I conclude it just needs time and for me to refrain from walking. Hmmm – not likely.  It was with relief, therefore, that I stepped out on my morning walk today with renewed joie de vivre and strode off at a brisk pace.  Unfortunately, the temperatures have crept up.  The dogs were OK when I was doing a good impression of a goods train last week but Hazel, in particular, did not like the sudden return to form.  There was a sitting down protest – repeated quite often during my circuit of Umm Suqeim.

The importance of thorough training for this trek was once again brought home to me by my friend Lee’s account of her trip to Kilimanjaro recently.  Her training schedule made mine look like a pensioner’s outing but the relentlessness of the steep conditions, the living rough, the cold and the altitude really took its toll and the last day sounded like torture.  My challenge won’t be so extreme.  However, it is one thing to do a day’s trek and quite another to repeat it five days in a row.  I’m back on track with renewed vigor and commitment and Arpana from Gulf for Good has just sent a message about another stair climb – yay!

I’m looking forward to our trek briefing this Wednesday given by the challenge leader Brian Wilkie who has been on a “recce” to Lebanon this week.  He has never been allowed to forget an earlier trip where he drove a route the group would cycle and totally underestimated how gruelling it would be on a bike!  He promises he won’t do this to us. Brian is Chairman of the Board of Governors for Gulf for Good and this week their Facebook fan page is 1 year old.  Social media is great for non-profits and charities because it’s free and helps to spread news of the work they do.  G 4 G are trying to reach 1,000 members to celebrate so please join if you are a Facebook user.

Thanks to Margaret and everyone who has been giving gold to me – even the tiniest bit will help.  I hear so much about the plight of the Palestinian people in the Middle East and, whatever your politics, you can’t deny that ordinary people suffer, especially the children.  It’s good to be able to help in some way.

No pain, no gain (regrettably)

My view.

A lot has happened in the month since I was last on the beach contemplating circuit training.  I feel much fitter due to regular visits to the gym under the expert guidance of kind Ann Harrington who has even lured me to climb more stairs.   The seemingly sweet-natured Candice and Polly decided to inflict the exercise equivalent of thumb-screws and the rack this time though and there were many more audible groans and gasps from everyone.   The compensations include sharing the pain (and the gain) with a really lovely group of people and the surroundings (this pic was my view when doing sit-ups). I must also thank my 11 year old daughter for abandoning her precious Friday lie-in to come with me.

Brian Wilkie, who is the Chairman of the Board of Govenors for Gulf for Good is leading the trek in Lebanon and is going there this month to visit the charities that benefit (the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and SOS Childrens Villages) and check out some of the route.  Brian is a bit of a legend in Dubai and has contributed an enormous amount to our local community including driving the concept, the fund-raising and the implementation of DUCTAC at Mall of the Emirates.  He agreed to be filmed last time we were on the beach so he could publicise Gulf for Good – but it ended up about how nice it is to live in Dubai! Watch the video to see a bit of us in action (thankfully my exertions are off-camera)!

Another legend was Antoine Choueiri the Lebanese media mogul who died last week and could easily be described as the Rupert Murdoch of the Middle East.  MBC/Choueiri Group has pledged to support this trek most generously and I would like to convey my sincere gratitude for this as well as offering my condolences to Antoine Choueiri’s family and colleagues.  He’s left a huge legacy and the support of these causes is one small but vital part of this.

Thanks to everyone who has slipped a little bit of gold into my hand this week.  The small amounts will soon grow into something more substantial.  I’m going to host an open-house morning sometime in April so anyone who would like to bring their gold can drop it off.  I’ll decide on a date soon – let me know if you are interested in receiving more information.  And it’ll come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, there will be cake!

Kit, fitness, funds and hounds

Dog tired

This week has been a lot about boots.  It’s a long, exhausting and tedious saga which would bore the pants off you (especially if your pants are elasticated and beige…more of that anon).  After weeks of trouble (and contributing to global warming in the amount of short car journeys to shopping malls) I’m now the owner of a brand new pair of comfortable, well-designed, walking boots. These replace a pair of uncomfortable boots which had a manufacturing defect.  I won’t name names but the clue is ‘like the rapper’.  This retailer’s systems in Dubai seem specially designed to make life incredibly difficult for the customer.  I’ve done a tour of most of their shops and had conversations of a degree of absurdity that only shoppers in the Middle East can truly appreciate.   The systems aside, the staff at head office and in-store are delightful and I finally walked out this morning with a big smile on my face ready to start breaking them in (the boots not the staff). I’ve been trying to get the rest of my kit list this week while the Dubai Shopping Festival is on and I have now learned all there is to know about breathable hiking clothing.  It comes in many, many shades of one colour – beige.  I now possess trousers that wouldn’t look out of place on a Saga holiday.

The aching caused by doing squats last Friday only abated on Wednesday.  My girls didn’t have a twinge and did not disguise their complete derision.  Marjan who has done three challenges with Gulf for Good gave me some really good advice about preparing for my trip.  My dogs are getting very fit with their two hour walk everyday (the picture is of them in recovery) but I need to do something more serious.  A visit to the gym is the only solution.  I can’t quite believe that I wrote that last sentence.

I’m spurred on by the brilliant encouragement and generosity of my friends, family and sponsors.  And yes, I have sponsors in plural now.

BASF - the world's leading chemical company.

First off the post was BASF UAE.  They take corporate responsibility very seriously and the contribution to these children’s charities is a small but very welcome part of this.  I’m really grateful for their help in fundraising for refugee and orphaned children in Lebanon.  Visit the sponsor page to find out more about them and more about sponsoring this trek.  News about some other great supporters coming soon.

Donations are also trickling in, for instance a friend’s car screeched to a halt when I was on my dog walk this morning and a 200 dirham note was waved out of the window.  With this sort of help and people contributing ‘Gold for Good’ I could actually exceed my target which is fantastic news for the charities.  Please contact me if you can help in any way.  A mention for my husband who has had a daily, blow-by-blow account of my boot saga for the last 3 weeks and finally begged for mercy.  Thanks everyone.

Give me GOLD!

I know it’s hard to ask for cash in a credit crunch.  I tried to think of a way to raise funds that is easy to support and think I’ve come up with something that fits the bill.  I hope you can help me.

Do you have a little bit of unwanted or broken gold jewellery, sitting in a jewellery box, shoved in a drawer or in a little pot on a shelf?  What use is one earring, a chain or bracelet that is snapped, or a ring with a missing stone? Most mass produced jewellery is more expensive to repair than to buy new.

Your broken or unwanted gold jewellery can be used to help vulnerable and homeless children.  As part of my fund raising for this Gulf for Good challenge, I am collecting unwanted gold.   Each piece on its own is pretty worthless but the little bits and pieces of gold added together can be sold to raise funds towards my target  (at least 12,000 AED).  It’s a great excuse to clear out your drawers  and benefit  children who are orphans or in refugee camps in Lebanon.  Please help – contact me today to arrange drop off or collection.