Bugger!

Sadly we have had to cancel the 'bike ride round Foulness Island which takes place on the 9th September. What I took to be a sprain on the Wazzock Waterfall descents in July has simply refused to heal entirely - a drop of plantar fasciitis and possibly an injured ligament or tendon methinks. At all events, too painful and not at all what you need for efficient pedal power. Luckily this is an annual event - the 'bike ride, not my injury (ha ha Captain Abrasion) - so we can try again next year.

Meanwhile I shall be conjuring up  more challenging ways of raising funds for CRY - watch this space!

"Return of The Wazzock" - 9th July 2018 - raising money for CRY

"The sun beat down - relentlessly, remorselessly". We trudged across the scorched earth, down the dry, dangerous, stony path, sweat pouring off of us, stinging our eyes,  as we staggered down the steep ravine that might, just might, lead us to water.

Well, it was a bit like that. The Four Falls Trail (Llwybr y Pedair Sgwd) in the Brecon Beacons is a popular walk of around 9 kilometres, easy to access but not to be taken lightly. The descents to each of the four waterfalls increase in difficulty, and the last one, Sgwd yr Eira is a 300m steep path, 100m from top to bottom. In the middle of a heatwave it was quite a challenge. My nickname at home is Captain Abrasion so I was fortunate to escape with only a sprained ankle on the final ascent.

Please visit my Just Giving Page across to the right, where you can find more details and some photos.

More treasures

I have unearthed a stash of transparencies and begun to copy and download them onto computer. There is no end to this process: copy, download, save, print, copy, save, in an endless dance with technology. One day, soon maybe, it will become someone else's problem - or not.

Images of Gideon tear at my heart. I love the spring but his birthday is in early March, and times have changed. Here are some words from a poem of passing, by Wislawa Szymborska:-

"I don't reproach the spring for starting up again
I can't blame it for doing what it must year after year
I know that my grief will not stop the green.
The grass blade may bend
but only in the wind.

It doesn't pain me to see that clumps of alder above the water have something to rustle with again.
I take note of the fact that the shore of a certain lake is still - as if you were living - as lovely as before.
I don't resent the view for its vista of a sun-dazzled bay.
I am even able to imagine some non-us sitting at this moment on a fallen birch trunk.

I don't require changes from the surf, now diligent, now sluggish, obeying not me.
I expect nothing from the depths near the woods, first emerald, then sapphire, then black.

I survived you by enough, and only enough,
to contemplate from afar."

Wislawa Szymborska  (1923-2012) Poems New and Collected Poems 1957-1997

Gideon's treasures

I've made a start.
 I have always been good at  bringing order to chaos - it was probably the basis of my professional career - but this is so close to the bone. Still, there have been some treasures unearthed. I am attaching Gideon's gloriously made-up postcard from his college trip to the USA.  And remember, this is pre-Donald. Here's a sample of the text:

"I am living in a house with people who have just come straight out of the jungle -  and failed auditions for 'Boy Meets World'. Save me please, God. The music I am being force-fed makes Alanis Morisette a welcome form of entertainment"

(Blogmeister's Note: I shall try to catch up on the Basquiat movie. I am against widespread graffiti and would happily throttle Banksy for promoting so much visually depressing harm in exchange for so little inspirational good.  As for David Bowie - don't get me 'started. But then there's Hockney - my main man!)

Anniversaries - The Tenth Year

March 3rd is the date of Gideon's birthday and 11th October is the day he died, in 2008. Another year will have slipped by, the pain of his loss no worse, and no better. Some physical connections remain: family photographs, snippets of sound, his lovely artworks, animation with Shynola, the company he helped to establish and grow. And his clothes, his many, many books, his writings - personal stuff, maybe not meant for others to see? And a collection of small things; toy cars, robots, Japanese bits and bobs ( he loved Japan). And so many Cds and photos he took himself, all to be saved on computer. And then - what? I cannot leave these things to gather dust for ever but the pain of going through them will be hard - touching him again so uselessly.........

Update

Thanks to everyone who donated to our "Wazzock in Wales"  and "Sam/Samantha" fund-raiser for CRY  - you're all wonderful.

Please hit the 'Just Giving' link on the right to see how it went.

Love you all.

“4 Dips - 2 Clips - 1 Trip - 1 Strip!”

  GIDEON BAWS MEMORIAL FUND at CRY

“It is estimated that each week, in the UK alone, 12 young people between the ages of 14 to 35 die from an unsuspected heart condition” (CRY – Cardiac Risk in the Young)

This year will see the fourth CRY cardiac screening which we have managed to arrange close to where we live. Each of these events has the facilities and expertise available to screen up to 100 young people in the age group 14 to 35 in one day. Happily, the majority are found to be fit and well with no heart issues but if problems are indicated then early measures can be taken.

The events are free to attend, and the dedicated medical and auxiliary staff give their services gladly, but of course there are also the costs of transport, specialist equipment, premises hire, insurance and so on. All of which means that this year the fund needs another £2500 by April to cover the event. If we are lucky enough to exceed this figure, any surplus will go towards funding future screenings.

To help raise money, I am going on a little adventure.

                  “4 Dips - 2 Clips - 1 Trip - 1 Strip!”

Two of Gideon’s favourite pastimes were swimming and cycling. When the children were young, we gravitated to Wales each year for the long summer holidays, camping just outside Machynlleth. This is where his passions for the great outdoors were fixed even though the terrain was challenging, the weather changeable and the water ‘a bit on the chilly side’.

The year before he died, Gideon and I spent a magic week in Wales - hill-walking and rambling around. He had promised to have a one-to-one holiday with each of us; he took Lucy to Barcelona and Sam to snow-board in Andorra. Wales was my choice, and very wonderful it was. (Sadly, he never did make it to Venice with Suzie, but we have since made good his promise).

I thought it would be a nice way to raise money in Gideon’s memory by re-tracing those days in Wales, swimming and cycling and walking in Gideon’s footsteps, asking friends to participate by way of a donation towards the cost of the cardiac screening, at say £10 a dip, clip or trip. You can do this easily via the dedicated Just Giving page - the link is in the list on the right, but here it is again:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gideonbaws

Naturally I shall pay all the actual touring costs myself. So please, please give what you can to make this event possible.

And here’s the plan Stan:

THE DIPS

Aberystwyth. The promenade beach is shingly, curved and uncompromising. The water is unwelcoming and usually quite rough. Seaweed is rife. “Come on kids – you’ll love it once you’re in!"

One summer when we were camping at Machynlleth I somehow forgot to put Gid’s ‘Raleigh Burner’ on the roof-rack. I arranged for it to be collected from home and put on a train at Southend for collection at Aberystwyth station where I picked it up. Many years later, we spent a night here when he had an interview following an offer of a place at the University of Aberystwyth. The School of Art is an imposing building. Being a committed Cambrophile (!) I loved it, but Gideon knew that the course he wanted to follow lay elsewhere – (or else he had never forgiven me for forgetting his ‘bike).

Borth: Mid-way between Aberystwyth and Machynlleth, I have never seen Borth in sunshine. Even to Lynne Truss, the phrase ‘Borth bathed in sunshine’ would present a challenge.  Most outings were spent shivering under a picnic blanket. The beach contains the petrified remains of an ancient forest. I’m surprised that it does not contain the petrified remains of the Baws family.

Furnace: Opposite the farm where we used to stay. This is the site of an old blast-furnace, hence the name. It was powered by water from the River Einion. At this point the river cascades over rocks, to form a waterfall and a deep pool below. This is where we swam. It is unbelievably, breath-stealingly cold but Gideon could not be persuaded to come out until his feet turned yellow and his lips turned blue.

Barmouth : I am sure there is water here somewhere but the tide recedes so far that it is difficult to find. Gideon swore he swam but he was quite dry when he returned, so it must have been a long walk back.

THE CLIPS

A dedicated cycle path runs along the disused railway track along the Mawddach estuary. I shall be riding Gideon’s lovely Marin Palisade mountain bike from Dolgellau to Barmouth, having a dip there before the ride back. I have walked this path and the surface is loose chippings. I shall be protecting both my legs and the sensitivity of onlookers by wearing trousers as opposed to shorts, hence the clips; bicycle, two, for the use of.

THE TRIP

On that last walking holiday, Gideon and I climbed in the Black Mountains near Abergavenny. I shall re-trace one of those walks, to the summit of The Skirrid and Gids will be with me every inch of the way.

THE STRIP

This has nothing to do with the rather saucy photo of myself which appears elsewhere. The clue is Bingo callers’ shorthand for my age. Sorry.

Thank you for your support. Embarrassing photos of myself performing these tasks will appear here and  across the internet in due course. 

AND FINALLY…..

Despite my feeble attempts at learning the language over the course of umpteen years, I remain rooted to the nursery slopes. As an additional challenge, I intend to undertake this mission entirely through the medium of murdered Welsh.

Here's that link again:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gideonbaws

Thank you very much.

Tony B.

Beaten

New CRY film

Launched today, this short film draws attention to the awful tragedy of sudden cardiac death in young people. Please take a moment to watch and then share. Thanks.

Radio Video - ("Boogie With a Suitcase!")

Here is a link to You Tube,  where you can relax in the company of the lovely Sarah Banham, the even lovelier Suzie Baws and  - last but not least - Harry and me.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCA7XllOhZA