Several Race for Life events were held over the weekend and we have news just in of Gemma Dallman's endeavours from Wakefield House. She completed her 3.2 mile run at Lydiard Park in Swindon on Saturday in the impressive time of 29 minutes!
So far Gemma has raised £175 for Cancer Research. You can help her raise more by visiting her Just Giving page :)
Are there any more Race for Life reports and photos due to come in? We'd love to see how you got on!
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Having a Bit of Trouble
[caption id="attachment_3117" align="alignleft" width="168"]
Watch out![/caption]
Having a bit of trouble in the Office today Dennis has come to work...
... was the cry for help issued at Stoke House recently to Paul Tucknutt. Paul then decided to let his colleagues at Aberystwyth, Shrewsbury, Stoke and Wednesbury in on the 'problem':
Dianne Nancarrow in Stoke House has really got in the spirit of Wednesbury Group Community Week Fancy Dress-Dress Down day. Well Done to Dianne or is it Dennis for getting in the spirit of what Community Week fund raising is all about.
We thought everyone reading Dispatches might also like to see what was going on ;)
I wonder where Gnasher is...
Watch out![/caption]Having a bit of trouble in the Office today Dennis has come to work...
... was the cry for help issued at Stoke House recently to Paul Tucknutt. Paul then decided to let his colleagues at Aberystwyth, Shrewsbury, Stoke and Wednesbury in on the 'problem':
Dianne Nancarrow in Stoke House has really got in the spirit of Wednesbury Group Community Week Fancy Dress-Dress Down day. Well Done to Dianne or is it Dennis for getting in the spirit of what Community Week fund raising is all about.
We thought everyone reading Dispatches might also like to see what was going on ;)
I wonder where Gnasher is...
Friday, 8 June 2012
Michael's Blog: Swimming in the Sun
Hot on the heels of our news update earlier in the week, Michael Jamieson has sent his own account of how things are going in his final weeks of preparations for the Olympics...
The summer competition schedule is well under way! I’m in Canet, France currently (meant to be) competing in the second leg of the Mare Nostrum circuit. This racing series comprises of three legs; Barcelona, Canet & Monaco. There are worse venues I know, and that is probably why this is one of the few occasions in the season, out with the major competition of the year, that there is a very international field present.
I had a great meet in Barcelona, finishing 1st in the 200m Breaststroke and 2nd in the 100m Breaststroke, both ‘in-season’ personal bests. ‘In-season’ or ‘unrested’ is a term swimmers use to categorise racing in heavy training volume. This is a good indication of whether a personal best time is just around the corner, and for me, a confidence boost going into the final weeks of preparation.
I was excited to continue the momentum gained from Barcelona into the meet in Canet but unfortunately have been hit by an illness bug causing me to withdraw from my events. It’s frustrating as I’m in good form and would have been looking to win or podium in my events again, whilst posting a couple more in-season personal bests! There is always a risk of illness in an environment with so many athletes eating together, sleeping in the same hotels etc and myself, along with a few members of the South African and Norwegian team, have fallen foul of this. I haven’t had so much as a cold in the last couple of years so I can’t really have any complaints!
The next few weeks see us travel to Mallorca for a short training camp before the National Championships mid-June, acting as the second Olympic trials. There are five of us travelling to Mallorca, two of which will be tapering for the second trials as they still have an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games.
I have some exciting dates in the coming few weeks – training in the sun in Mallorca and the official kit day in Loughborough at the end of June where we will be measured up for the official Team GB kit for the Games and given some freebies from the official sponsors and partners of the Games!
The kit day will also mark the last week of the intense training volume, after which, the preparation is done and the window to have any training improvements and adaptations, will be closed. From then on, the goal will be to rest and the focus switches from the daily physical challenges of training to the psychological aspects of keeping perspective, having high levels of confidence and putting faith in the work that has gone before :)
A fantastic Guest Post, thank you Michael. It's great to have terms like 'in-season' personal bests explained so clearly and to hear of your encouraging performances at Barcelona. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, so you can get the best from the sunshine in Mallorca and your final weeks of intense training.
Next month the Games will finally be here!
The summer competition schedule is well under way! I’m in Canet, France currently (meant to be) competing in the second leg of the Mare Nostrum circuit. This racing series comprises of three legs; Barcelona, Canet & Monaco. There are worse venues I know, and that is probably why this is one of the few occasions in the season, out with the major competition of the year, that there is a very international field present.
I had a great meet in Barcelona, finishing 1st in the 200m Breaststroke and 2nd in the 100m Breaststroke, both ‘in-season’ personal bests. ‘In-season’ or ‘unrested’ is a term swimmers use to categorise racing in heavy training volume. This is a good indication of whether a personal best time is just around the corner, and for me, a confidence boost going into the final weeks of preparation.
I was excited to continue the momentum gained from Barcelona into the meet in Canet but unfortunately have been hit by an illness bug causing me to withdraw from my events. It’s frustrating as I’m in good form and would have been looking to win or podium in my events again, whilst posting a couple more in-season personal bests! There is always a risk of illness in an environment with so many athletes eating together, sleeping in the same hotels etc and myself, along with a few members of the South African and Norwegian team, have fallen foul of this. I haven’t had so much as a cold in the last couple of years so I can’t really have any complaints!
The next few weeks see us travel to Mallorca for a short training camp before the National Championships mid-June, acting as the second Olympic trials. There are five of us travelling to Mallorca, two of which will be tapering for the second trials as they still have an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games.
I have some exciting dates in the coming few weeks – training in the sun in Mallorca and the official kit day in Loughborough at the end of June where we will be measured up for the official Team GB kit for the Games and given some freebies from the official sponsors and partners of the Games!
The kit day will also mark the last week of the intense training volume, after which, the preparation is done and the window to have any training improvements and adaptations, will be closed. From then on, the goal will be to rest and the focus switches from the daily physical challenges of training to the psychological aspects of keeping perspective, having high levels of confidence and putting faith in the work that has gone before :)
A fantastic Guest Post, thank you Michael. It's great to have terms like 'in-season' personal bests explained so clearly and to hear of your encouraging performances at Barcelona. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, so you can get the best from the sunshine in Mallorca and your final weeks of intense training.
Next month the Games will finally be here!
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Stockport House Race for Life
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Wendy Ross (Stockport Transport Admin), Hannah (Wendy's daughter), Josie Sinacola (retired staff member), Sheila Rowbotham, Jo Johnson (both SAP HR), Kiera (Jo's daughter), Lynn Henshaw (Mag Ops Manager) and Karen Parsons (Mag returns)[/caption]
The ladies of Stockport House showed they're no slowcoaches when they ran in their local Race for Life at Woodbank Park at the end of May.
Jo Johnson roped in 4 colleagues, 2 daughters and even a retired member of staff to keep her company on their run in aid of Cancer Research UK. So far they've raised over £800, with more money still coming in. You can also add to their total by contributing to their Just Giving Page.
Jo says:
We're all very proud of ourselves. None of us are runners, but we all completed the course in 51 minutes.
Wendy Ross (Stockport Transport Admin), Hannah (Wendy's daughter), Josie Sinacola (retired staff member), Sheila Rowbotham, Jo Johnson (both SAP HR), Kiera (Jo's daughter), Lynn Henshaw (Mag Ops Manager) and Karen Parsons (Mag returns)[/caption]The ladies of Stockport House showed they're no slowcoaches when they ran in their local Race for Life at Woodbank Park at the end of May.
Jo Johnson roped in 4 colleagues, 2 daughters and even a retired member of staff to keep her company on their run in aid of Cancer Research UK. So far they've raised over £800, with more money still coming in. You can also add to their total by contributing to their Just Giving Page.
Jo says:
We're all very proud of ourselves. None of us are runners, but we all completed the course in 51 minutes.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Michael Makes Progress
After a disappointing European championships a couple of weeks ago we now have some more encouraging news re Michael Jamieson's progress towards the Olympics.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend he competed in the Mare Nostrum series which is held on the Mediterranean cities of Barcelona, Canet and Monaco. He had a tremendous swim in Barcelona picking up silver in the 100m breaststroke and gold in the 200m breaststroke! He may compete this weekend in Canet and from there will head off to Majorca for a training camp.
Many of the British swimmers are in Majorca for warm weather training – this will be the last intensive camp before the Games.
I'm sure Michael will be much encouraged with these later performances. More from him soon.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend he competed in the Mare Nostrum series which is held on the Mediterranean cities of Barcelona, Canet and Monaco. He had a tremendous swim in Barcelona picking up silver in the 100m breaststroke and gold in the 200m breaststroke! He may compete this weekend in Canet and from there will head off to Majorca for a training camp.
Many of the British swimmers are in Majorca for warm weather training – this will be the last intensive camp before the Games.
I'm sure Michael will be much encouraged with these later performances. More from him soon.
Fun and Games for the NAC
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The 2 winning quiz teams who drew on points and went through to the tie break question. From left to right are Jon Vickers, Dan Noble, Vicky Guy, Vicky Holdsworth, Tom Bell, Fliss Holdsworth, Adam Hellewell and Natasha Thrams[/caption]
The derby was NAC's version of a traditional race night but farmyard animals were raced instead of race horses - which made it all the more fun. The star animals on the night were ‘Peking Duck’, head chicken ‘Foghorn Leghorn’, ‘Trigger’ the farmyard horse and the prize pig ‘Making Bacon’.
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The raffle gets drawn at the end of a great night[/caption]
Having paid an entrance fee which allowed teams to enter the quiz, guests were able to place bets on the farmyard races, half of which was paid out in prizes and the remainder put towards the fundraising total. The raffle was a favourite as always and some great donations were received from a variety of local businesses, customers, and staff.
Around 70 people attended – a mix of NAC and BLS staff plus their family and friends, all helping to raise a funtastic total of £715.00 to be split between the Cancer Support Centre and SACAR.
Both are local charities. The Cancer Support Centre offers support to local people suffering from all types of cancer and most of us are affected by this disease in one way or another. SACAR is another local charity that supports adults with Autism and Asperger’s syndrome in leading an independent life.
The 2 winning quiz teams who drew on points and went through to the tie break question. From left to right are Jon Vickers, Dan Noble, Vicky Guy, Vicky Holdsworth, Tom Bell, Fliss Holdsworth, Adam Hellewell and Natasha Thrams[/caption]On May 24th the NAC Community Group held a Charity Challenge Night at the local sports club. This consisted of a number of fun activities including bingo, picture quiz and a raffle, but the main activities were the general knowledge quiz and the farmyard derby.
The derby was NAC's version of a traditional race night but farmyard animals were raced instead of race horses - which made it all the more fun. The star animals on the night were ‘Peking Duck’, head chicken ‘Foghorn Leghorn’, ‘Trigger’ the farmyard horse and the prize pig ‘Making Bacon’.
[caption id="attachment_3058" align="alignright" width="300"]
The raffle gets drawn at the end of a great night[/caption]Having paid an entrance fee which allowed teams to enter the quiz, guests were able to place bets on the farmyard races, half of which was paid out in prizes and the remainder put towards the fundraising total. The raffle was a favourite as always and some great donations were received from a variety of local businesses, customers, and staff.
Around 70 people attended – a mix of NAC and BLS staff plus their family and friends, all helping to raise a funtastic total of £715.00 to be split between the Cancer Support Centre and SACAR.
Both are local charities. The Cancer Support Centre offers support to local people suffering from all types of cancer and most of us are affected by this disease in one way or another. SACAR is another local charity that supports adults with Autism and Asperger’s syndrome in leading an independent life.
Friday, 1 June 2012
BLS Keep Calm and...
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Cheerful mugs AND chocolate cake - a perfect combination![/caption]
BLS' Analyst Programmer Sarah Toes with help from Account Manager Michelle Pringle proved they were no mugs recently by ensuring their colleagues could buy something cheerful for their morning cuppa!
They sold a selection of 3 different 'Keep Calm and...' mugs for £5 each, with 100% of sales going to Redwings Horse Sanctuary. Not only that, buyers were rewarded with a slice of scrummy chocolate cake to accompany their next cuppa :)
Sarah Toes explains why she supports Redwings:
I love animals and I have been a supporter of the charity for over 20 years. They are the largest horse sanctuary in the UK, providing a home for unwanted and neglected equines.
Sarah and Michelle raised a total of £95 - Keep Calm and Carry On would appear to be an appropriate motto for this venture!
I see quite a few of the mugs looked most patriotic, so this is an appropriate post to wish you well for any Jubilee celebrations you're involved with over the bank holiday weekend :)
Cheerful mugs AND chocolate cake - a perfect combination![/caption]BLS' Analyst Programmer Sarah Toes with help from Account Manager Michelle Pringle proved they were no mugs recently by ensuring their colleagues could buy something cheerful for their morning cuppa!
They sold a selection of 3 different 'Keep Calm and...' mugs for £5 each, with 100% of sales going to Redwings Horse Sanctuary. Not only that, buyers were rewarded with a slice of scrummy chocolate cake to accompany their next cuppa :)
Sarah Toes explains why she supports Redwings:
I love animals and I have been a supporter of the charity for over 20 years. They are the largest horse sanctuary in the UK, providing a home for unwanted and neglected equines.
Sarah and Michelle raised a total of £95 - Keep Calm and Carry On would appear to be an appropriate motto for this venture!
I see quite a few of the mugs looked most patriotic, so this is an appropriate post to wish you well for any Jubilee celebrations you're involved with over the bank holiday weekend :)
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