ITS NEARLY HERE!

And the final preparations are taking place guys!! Just over 24 hours until it all kicks off, and the excitement is building!! Cannot believe how quickly time has flown, but it really is shaping up to be an awesome day. Raffle tickets are going thick and fast, people are going crazy for those prizes, and rightly so. There will still be some to sell on the day, so don't worry if you haven't been able to get any yet, you're still in with a shot of getting some stellar prizes.

Cake wise, we have been blessed with amazing friends, who have produced some delicious treats to be bought on the day. Charlie Dunn has made an astonishing 67 cupcakes for your delight. I may have sampled one. Only one, honest. They are scrummy!

Alongside these, the very gorgeous Lucy-Jayne will be providing muffins, whoopie pies, and other assorted cakes. I shall be purchasing a rather large percentage of these myself, as calories do not count if the proceeds are for charity, I checked with Jesus.

We also have banana loaf and chocolate goodie bags which will be for sale at Arley, so come along and stuff your faces.

So a quick recap of the day: the cyclists will be arriving at Arley around 11.30am. Ben Frogatt of Venture Bikes will be on hand to check the safety of all the bikes and be on hand in case any of the cyclists need a hand with setting up etc. The train is due to depart at 12.56, and so the race begins and the cycle team will be off. The riders will follow a similar route to the train, get to Kidderminster station and then set back to complete the second leg of the race.

Meanwhile, lots of fun and games will be taking place at Arley, with our silent auction, raffle, cake stand, balloon pop, Chase the Race board and general fun and frolics.

Now, the star attraction at Arley will no doubt be Mr Nathan Carvell; man, maverick, gentleman. Due to the tragic loss of the use of his arm (he's broken it, it's not fallen off or anything), Nathan will not be able to join the cyclists on their journey. He will however, be adding his sweat to the mix, lovely mental image I know, by 'racing' alongside the riders on a Turbo trainer (a stationary bike). Yes you can come and point and laugh at him, and bung some dollar into his Macmillan bucket at the same time.

The support we have recieved so far has been amazing, and we are so grateful to everyone whose helped out, however big or small the contribution, please know it is greatly appreciated. 

All proceeds from the day, sponsorship, cake sales, raffle, silent auction, basically EVERYTHING will be going to Macmillan. And anyone who has ever had any dealings with Macmillan will no how essential the work they do is. Not only do they provide vital assistance and care to people suffering with cancer, but also to their families and friends. They really are life savers, in every way that term can be interpreted. So please, even if you can't come down on the day, click on the justgiving link at the side of the page and show your support. It doesn't matter how big or small your contribution is, it will make a real difference.

Any questions about the day, the events, the prizes, Nathans arm, or the cakes, please contact us via here, the facebook, twitter, or carrier pigeon.

Can't wait to see you guys on the day.

Travel/getting to the event

Hey guys, just a few bits of info about the travel/parking on the day.
Now Arley train station does not have a huge car park, so a wonderfully generous local has given us a discounted rate on parking on his land, he's only charging £2 for the entire day! What a gent!

When using a sat nav to get to us, the postcode is DY12 3NF, and the car park is within spitting distance of the train station. Please don't actually spit on the train station though, it's not very nice and I'll probably yell at you. So, yeah, no to the spitting, but the analogy still holds true.

If you're not using one of those new fandangled what-cha-ma-call-its, and going with good old fashioned directions, you're a better person than me. When getting directions, get them for the train station itself, as there is a bridge in Arley and if you park on the wrong side of it, you get eaten by trolls. Ok, you don't ACTUALLY, but it sounds more dramatic than just saying, you'll have to get back round to the right side of Arley, which is a pain in the bum. See, not quite as exciting is it? The trolls argument is far better.

If you're getting public transport, the best way is to get to Kidderminster train station, and then walk to the Severn Valley station (which is next door so no need for hiking gear) and you can enjoy the utterly gorgeous Severn Valley Railway journey and pull into the station in style. It truly is a stunning journey, the trains themselves are beautiful, and the scenery's amazing. It's honestly on of the best things about the Midlands, and as a born and bred Brummie, you can take my word on it
Check out the website www.svr.co.uk for more information, prices and pictures of the journey. Seriously, it's gorgeous!
Get in touch via here, facebook or twitter if you need any more information about getting to us.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the day!

Updates, broken wrists and RAFFLE PRIZES!

Team SVCR have been beavering away in earnest over the past few weeks, and so many plans are being made and finalised for the race day. Honestly guys, its going to be amazing fun!

A great many wonderful donations have been made to us, its fantastic. And the prizes are pretty awesome.

It's a glorious feeling to know how many generous people there are out there in the world, and we're very lucky to know alot of them!

Very exciting news; the raffle tickets for the day are now available to buy - we're charging 50p per ticket or £2 for a strip of 5. And considering the prizes available, in layman's terms, that's naff all!

We have...... (insert dramatic drum roll here please)

- A spray tan session, based in Four Oaks in Birmingham

- A family ticket for Dudley Zoo - http://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/

- £10 Waitrose voucher

- Day pass for Fitness First in Stirchley

- 2 tickets for Trentham Monkey Forest - http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/

- A selection of hair products from Boo Hair and Beauty - http://www.boohairandbeauty.info/

- A bespoke photo shoot from ML Imagery. - http://www.purestorm.com/mlimagery1
- 4 x £15 vouchers for The Plough in Harborne - http://www.theploughharborne.co.uk/
- A meal for 2 at The Junction in Harborne - http://www.thejunctionharborne.co.uk/

And that's not all we have!!! On the day we'll also have a silent auction, a balloon pop and a Chase the Race game which all have wonderful prizes attached.

And a cake stall with yummies provided by the delightful Charlie Dunn and Jo Coleman. It will be a fabulous day, and hopefully we'll raise lots to help Macmillan in the amazing and vitally important help they provide to so many families.

Now these cakes, very important that we discuss the cakes. I personally have tried cakes by both ladies before and the experience is verging on the religious. Jo's chocolate Guiness cake is actually as good as it sounds. Well a bit better actually, but I don't want to think about the chocolate Guiness cake too much in case I start trying to eat the keyboard in frustration that I don't have any chocolate Guiness cake.

And as for Charlie, well her cupcakes would give Nigella's a run for her money. They are divine!

On to slightly less delightful news - the man, the maverick, the gentleman that is Nathan Carvell, our race team captain, has suffered a setback. Whilst attempting to save a small child and her puppy from a burning building, at night, whilst being shot at........ok, Nathan fell of his bike at a race and broke his wrist. I was aiming for cinematic epicness, but its Monday and I've only had one coffee, so it's just not going to happen.

But yes, we have lost our cycle team captain, but no fear, the race will continue undettered and all the glorious fun will still be had by all.

There will be more updates coming soon, if you'd like to get any raffle tickets or need any more information, please either comment here, or visit the facebook page or twitter feed! See, we're ever so multi media.

quick thanks......

but BIG MASSIVE thanks to the following:

• Mark who has donated a wonderful prize of a BESPOKE PHOTOSHOOT. Check him out MIimagery
• Sophie Keegan who makes beautiful jewellery and clothing will donating one of her fantastic items as a raffle prize. She'll be at the Vintage Fair at Birmingham Pavillions this Saturday so go take a peepsy if you're around.
• Donna Scott of The Balloon Hub  has donated the biodegrabable ballons needed for the balloon release.
• Jo Coleman and Charlie Dunn who are donating fabulous (trust me I've tried them) cakes for you all to devour on the day.

Plus thank you to the other people who have offered raffle prizes. It's very much appreciated.


Thanks again all and again and keep em coming!

xxxxxx

Treats and Tweets

All good business meetings revolve around a good dinner. If you didn't know this then you need to get your boss to arrange your next team meeting over dinner and just see, it's far more successful when there is the prospect of good food and a glass of good wine. It's a fact. A lesser known fact; Dusty Springfield's song You Don't Have To Say You Love Me was written in cab on the way to a good dinner.

So with this in mind, I tempted my best friends into a Severn Valley Cycle Race 'Business Meeting' over an Aubergine Parmigiana, some wine and strawberries. How could they resist? And they did me proud I may add. Whilst the girls nattered marketing strategies, Nathan updated our blog look and got us tweeting. Now I just have to learn how to use it. Find us @svrcyclerace...

Among the various lists made there was the following and so - my begging call goes out again - if you can loan/lend/donate any of the items on the list or know someone who can please please get in touch. Some of the items may seem silly and small but every little thing adds up and we don't have a pot of money for supplies so any help, big or small, would be gratefully received!

The List - in pictures, I'm embracing handwriting again before I forget how to....

Happy Solstice all! xx

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Kindess, like a boomerang, always returns

You know, people never cease to amaze me. Mostly it's because I've seen or heard something so utterly stupid, such as a person faxing me a sample of card she wishes to use (really? yes really) or asking me to omit the lemon from the lemon sole because of a citrus allergy. However, today I say it completely respectfully and thankfully. I was canvassing for prize and event donations again yesterday. Having reached my limit in money I am prepared to give to royal mail in a week, I hit the High Street with my bag of begging letters and a wholesome smile. Now I'd like to think it was the latter that gave me the responses I had but if I'm truly honest, it's just that most people I have come across in this whole event have been truly wonderful. I came away with a voucher from a party shop with which we can buy balloons and helium for the release, a Waitrose voucher and the lovely owner of my local corner shop said "give me a list of things you need and I'll sort them." How nice. But it's not just the physical giving that's so lovely, it's the attitude and willingness to help with time or effort. Everyone I encountered on my begging trail wanted to help, even if they couldn't directly and were so encouraging. And that's not all, Stourbridge Fire Service have offered helped, a vehicle and their time. Friends and family are giving up so much time and effort to help as well and I'm certain it's not just for me, it's because people genuinely like to help. Maybe I'm naive or maybe I'm just lucky to have so many wonderful people around me. Whichever way it is, I really am thankful to every single person that has given me advice, an opinion, their time or energy.


Now, enough with the gushing, let's get practical again. The posters and invites are done! Working his mouse finger very hard yesterday, Nathan 'executive designer extradonaire' Carvell has done a fabulously fantastical job, as can be seen below.

If you would like any to help with advertising please let me know and when they're printed I shall send you some. Otherwise, feel free to advertise through facebook, twitter, etc.

S'all for now folks, tired myself out with all that sentimental spouting! Back soon for some more progress hopefully!!


xx