19_Sat

Didn't sleep very much last night with a mixture of excitement and nerves. Delighted and honoured that I am with the news that I will be going on the pitch at half time and being interviewed live at lunchtime by Radio Leicester, I am bricking it on both accounts! Got up and got ready and had another bath (hope you will be impressed by my lemony fragrance, Matt). Ate a reasonably hearty breakfast as I knew there may be some liquid to come. Popped to Sainsburys and got a few trick or treat buckets to supplement our one big collecting bucket, and got a new t-shirt for my stepson, Darren who will be helping us collect. Attacked it with a black marker pen with logo etc, so we all matched. I got as far as the 230 miles and my hand was shaking so much I couldn't do the website!

Went to the Bakers Arms in Blaby and met up with the magnificent Ernie, the landlord there. If you haven't been, go. He is an ardent Tigers fan and the pub is decked out with memorabilia. He is also a keen supporter of Matt's charity. He even has a minibus decorated in Tigers colours which he uses to drive fans to the ground on matchdays! Now that is service and dedication. He very generously gave our party a lunch of Tigers pie, supplied by Ian Nicholls of Chappells Fine Foods who is donating a percentage of the sales to the MHT. They were delicious. Ernie even gave me beans instead of mushy peas as I am a soft southerner. What a nice man.

BBC Radio Leicester phoned me and interviewed me live on a show at about 1.15. Was I glad to get that over with. But I am getting better at it, I had written some notes this time so I made sure I got all I wanted to say said, and Ed was great at asking me all the right questions so that I could. Phew. One down.

Met up with Matt Hampson who came to join us and show support. It was really great to meet him there and his dad Phil, carers Jane and Dean, Roy Jackson and his wife Fiona, Tommy Cawston from the MHT, and Phil who walked on the last walk and is a family friend of Matt's. It was fantastic to meet Matt and his family and friends, and to meet up with Roy and Tommy after many conversations and emails over the past few weeks.

Darren, my stepson joined us, having run a couple of miles to get there as public transport let him down a bit, and Suz from the forum, and Mr Ben, who all agreed to walk with me and Kevin the last 4 miles to the ground. SO nice once again to have the company, and great to chat with Suz and Ben. The miles went by very fast, although it was a very hot walk. We went to the Counting House on the way rattling out buckets. I am a bit of a timid collector, but Kevin is brilliant! Several people beeped and waved as they drove past which was great, thank you, and some stopped, wound down their windows and donated. Thank you even more! Suz took a bucket off with her to the Crumbie and Darren took one to the Caterpillar stand for the game. Thank you both so much.

Meanwhile, us posh important folk went to a hospitality box in the A&L! Matt had invited us to join him and his family and friends up there which was such an honour. I met Ann, Matt's mum, too and Sue, Phil's wife who is a great organiser for Matt's events - celebrating unashamedly as she had just taken her son back to Uni! There was a photo on the wall of the 2004/5 squad with Hambo on, which was great to see. Very nice box, and hot and cold running drinks guys. The view was good too, so we sat outside and watched the game. As the clock ticked by I was getting a little apprehensive, then Ann, Sue and I went down to the tunnel. I was SO pleased they came with me. Met Peter Wheeler in the tunnel which was very exciting. He is my all time favourite player, back in the day when hookers hooked he was so brilliant, always first to the breakdown, throwing was spot on, and got so many strikes against the head at crucial times he was amazing. And a bit of alright as well! What an honour. Met another familiar face in the tunnel who made me feel much calmer too, thanks for that, you know who you are. Apart from mentioning ITV4 of course, which was a station too far. How white did I go?

The players came up the tunnel and that was a great sight. Looking pretty battered in some instances. Poor Matt Smith had a shiner, and they all looked like they had been putting in the effort. I really shouldn't have bothered with the 2 baths, I was in fine company. The most amazing thing was Geordan Murphy winked at me and said "Well Done" to me. How on earth can he have 1 - known who the hell I was? 2 - cared? I was really chuffed. Then scary time I had to walk on the pitch. And it seemed a very long way. It was great that the loud speaker was playing up as it made me relax a bit, and I was so delighted to get the signed picture of Peter Wheeler", presented by the man himself! Wow! It says "To Alix, Well done on the walk. Best wishes, Peter Wheeler. And no, Roy, I don't think he looks gay with his hands on his hips, and no, Phil, it will not be on ebay tonight! I clutched it for the rest of the evening.

Much more relaxed watching the second half, got myself a nice glass of wine and chatted to everyone. It was great to see the action all up our end. Very exciting and so nearly scored so often. A shame they didn't get over the line after all that dominance, but a good win nonetheless. Had a great long chat with Matt after the game, and his dad Phil. It was a total privelege to spend the afternoon with them all, and I will never forget this day.

Then on to the ABC bar to meet up with friends, family and forum dwellers. Finally met the legend that is BillW (2!) Met up with Darren and Suz who had done a great effort with their buckets, the Crumblies, and many more. Also had a chat with Will Greenwood, who is surprisingly tall. Kevin went over to him at one point and asked if he would mind talking to me and explained about the walk. And he said - "How far has she walked?" "230 miles" replied Kevin. "Well, tell her to walk another 25 yards and come over here!" So I did. He and his friends put money in my bucket anyway, we made sure of that.

We had arranged to meet up with Matt at the new enormous bar in the Cat stand, and we needed to get a bucket to Claire (Tiggger) who had agreed to tap the corporate folk in the other bar, so jogged off up there. Claire did a great job, and even got up on a chair and made an announcement and then we went round and took any donations. people were very generous which was fantastic. Thanks for that Claire.

Back to the 1880 bar where we met all kinds of players past and current. Chatted to Peter Wheeler again, Martin Corry, Julian White, Marcos Ayerza, Louis Deacon and his lovely lady, Richard Cockerill, Rory Underwood, Tom Croft, David Matthews. All so exciting, I was like a kid in a sweetshop. Went out and looked at the pitch all lit up and beautiful, and then headed back in a taxi to the hotel. A very great day.


	Walks for Matt Hampson < Main Training 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 >

Sat, 19th - Day 14 - Blaby to Welford Road Didn't sleep very much last night with a mixture of excitement and nerves. Delighted and honoured that I am with the news that I will be going on the pitch at half time and being interviewed live at lunchtime by Radio Leicester, I am bricking it on both accounts! Got up and got ready and had another bath (hope you will be impressed by my lemony fragrance, Matt). Ate a reasonably hearty breakfast as I knew there may be some liquid to come. Popped to Sainsburys and got a few trick or treat buckets to supplement our one big collecting bucket, and got a new t-shirt for my stepson, Darren who will be helping us collect. Attacked it with a black marker pen with logo etc, so we all matched. I got as far as the 230 miles and my hand was shaking so much I couldn't do the website! Went to the Bakers Arms in Blaby and met up with the magnificent Ernie, the landlord there. If you haven't been, go. He is an ardent Tigers fan and the pub is decked out with memorabilia. He is also a keen supporter of Matt's charity. He even has a minibus decorated in Tigers colours which he uses to drive fans to the ground on matchdays! Now that is service and dedication. He very generously gave our party a lunch of Tigers pie, supplied by Ian Nicholls of Chappells Fine Foods who is donating a percentage of the sales to the MHT. They were delicious. Ernie even gave me beans instead of mushy peas as I am a soft southerner. What a nice man. BBC Radio Leicester phoned me and interviewed me live on a show at about 1.15. Was I glad to get that over with. But I am getting better at it, I had written some notes this time so I made sure I got all I wanted to say said, and Ed was great at asking me all the right questions so that I could. Phew. One down. Met up with Matt Hampson who came to join us and show support. It was really great to meet him there and his dad Phil, carers Jane and Dean, Roy Jackson and his wife Fiona, Tommy Cawston from the MHT, and Phil who walked on the last walk and is a family friend of Matt's. It was fantastic to meet Matt and his family and friends, and to meet up with Roy and Tommy after many conversations and emails over the past few weeks. Darren, my stepson joined us, having run a couple of miles to get there as public transport let him down a bit, and Suz from the forum, and Mr Ben, who all agreed to walk with me and Kevin the last 4 miles to the ground. SO nice once again to have the company, and great to chat with Suz and Ben. The miles went by very fast, although it was a very hot walk. We went to the Counting House on the way rattling out buckets. I am a bit of a timid collector, but Kevin is brilliant! Several people beeped and waved as they drove past which was great, thank you, and some stopped, wound down their windows and donated. Thank you even more! Suz took a bucket off with her to the Crumbie and Darren took one to the Caterpillar stand for the game. Thank you both so much. Meanwhile, us posh important folk went to a hospitality box in the A&L! Matt had invited us to join him and his family and friends up there which was such an honour. I met Ann, Matt's mum, too and Sue, Phil's wife who is a great organiser for Matt's events - celebrating unashamedly as she had just taken her son back to Uni! There was a photo on the wall of the 2004/5 squad with Hambo on, which was great to see. Very nice box, and hot and cold running drinks guys. The view was good too, so we sat outside and watched the game. As the clock ticked by I was getting a little apprehensive, then Ann, Sue and I went down to the tunnel. I was SO pleased they came with me. Met Peter Wheeler in the tunnel which was very exciting. He is my all time favourite player, back in the day when hookers hooked he was so brilliant, always first to the breakdown, throwing was spot on, and got so many strikes against the head at crucial times he was amazing. And a bit of alright as well! What an honour. Met another familiar face in the tunnel who made me feel much calmer too, thanks for that, you know who you are. Apart from mentioning ITV4 of course, which was a station too far. How white did I go?
		The players came up the tunnel and that was a great sight. Looking pretty battered in some instances. Poor Matt Smith had a shiner, and they all looked like they had been putting in the effort. I really shouldn't have bothered with the 2 baths, I was in fine company. The most amazing thing was Geordan Murphy winked at me and said "Well Done" to me. How on earth can he have 1 - known who the hell I was? 2 - cared? I was really chuffed. Then scary time I had to walk on the pitch. And it seemed a very long way. It was great that the loud speaker was playing up as it made me relax a bit, and I was so delighted to get the signed picture of Peter Wheeler", presented by the man himself! Wow! It says "To Alix, Well done on the walk. Best wishes, Peter Wheeler. And no, Roy, I don't think he looks gay with his hands on his hips, and no, Phil, it will not be on ebay tonight! I clutched it for the rest of the evening. Much more relaxed watching the second half, got myself a nice glass of wine and chatted to everyone. It was great to see the action all up our end. Very exciting and so nearly scored so often. A shame they didn't get over the line after all that dominance, but a good win nonetheless. Had a great long chat with Matt after the game, and his dad Phil. It was a total privelege to spend the afternoon with them all, and I will never forget this day. Then on to the ABC bar to meet up with friends, family and forum dwellers. Finally met the legend that is BillW (2!) Met up with Darren and Suz who had done a great effort with their buckets, the Crumblies, and many more. Also had a chat with Will Greenwood, who is surprisingly tall. Kevin went over to him at one point and asked if he would mind talking to me and explained about the walk. And he said - "How far has she walked?" "230 miles" replied Kevin. "Well, tell her to walk another 25 yards and come over here!" So I did. He and his friends put money in my bucket anyway, we made sure of that. We had arranged to meet up with Matt at the new enormous bar in the Cat stand, and we needed to get a bucket to Claire (Tiggger) who had agreed to tap the corporate folk in the other bar, so jogged off up there. Claire did a great job, and even got up on a chair and made an announcement and then we went round and took any donations. people were very generous which was fantastic. Thanks for that Claire. Back to the 1880 bar where we met all kinds of players past and current. Chatted to Peter Wheeler again, Martin Corry, Julian White, Marcos Ayerza, Louis Deacon and his lovely lady, Richard Cockerill, Rory Underwood, Tom Croft, David Matthews. All so exciting, I was like a kid in a sweetshop. Went out and looked at the pitch all lit up and beautiful, and then headed back in a taxi to the hotel. A very great day.


Alix Wood ••• 01566 784065 ••• alix@alixwood.co.uk