I have always liked VegasDad. He is balder than me, and that is a trait I approve of in a man. He’s also a great dad, an entertaining writer, and an all round good egg. But the baldness thing, that’s the deal clincher.
And now I have yet another reason to hold him in high esteem. He has very generously presented me with an award.
Now I know what you are thinking, you’re thinking: “How come I haven’t seen that rather impressive piece of blog bling anywhere else on the net?”. Well, that’s because I’m the first one to receive it. Oh yes, I’m in at the ground floor and the only way is up baby.
To quote VegasDad:
As you can see, Dan is definitely a man of distinction. In chronicling his quest, with humor I might add, he’s taught us all a valuable lesson in human strength and kindness.
I’m not too sure about that. In fact I think that if I’ve taught anyone anything it’s been that even a fat man can walk a long way if he’s threatened with international humiliation if he gives up.
Still, thank you VegasDad. You are very kind.
If there are any new readers here who have no idea what’s going on, then you can find out more by going here:
And then working your way through this pile of drivel:
For everyone else: Don’t worry, I’m not going to pester you for money again (well, maybe a little bit). I just wanted to let you know how the fundraising has been going.
The current total raised now stands at a staggering £5577 ($9875). And to think that in the early days I was hopeful that the ten of us would raise about £100 each.
£5577. That’s just over £70 a mile. Or £1.32 for every cheap knob joke we made at each other’s expense.
And that’s not the final total either. Donations are still trickling in, and there are still a few side projects in the works. There are even one or two of the walkers who have yet to hand over the sponsorship money they’ve collected. I’d name and shame them, but it wouldn’t do any good because none of the buggers bother to read this blog. And anyway, their retisence in handing over the dough is purely a logistical thing. I simply haven’t run into them yet.
All in all I am fairly confident that the final total is going to come in at just over £6000.
Isn’t that incredible. Six thousand pounds.
VegasDad is wrong. It isn’t me, or even my fellow walkers, who should be praised. It’s everyone that contributed to that magnificent total.
When someone comes round rattling the donation tin it’s all too easy to just slip them 50p to make them go away. But everyone was so much more generous than that. People gave £5, £10, £20. People even gave £50, £100 and sometimes even more. These are hard times, yet people still dug deep and for that I will be forever grateful. And of course there is still plenty of time to donate if you haven’t already.
So what next? Well the other day I was poking round the internet and came across a forum where people were talking about walking the Dales Way none stop, without even sleeping. They said that if you maintained a steady enough pace of around 3mph you could get it done in around 30 hours. Here’s an extract:
24 hours would be extremely difficult in my opinion for the Dales Way, my best is 29.25 hours. I have never finished it without extremely bad deep heels blisters, losing all the entire heel thich skin on three separate occasions, because the faster you walk the more the heat build up and 3 mile per hour is very fast for such a distance. The problem of blisters doesnt usually kick in untill around the 40 mile mark, but after that you know about it. You also need a very poisitive mental attitude, because it is ging to hurt like you have never hurt before, and it goes on and on and on.
So perhaps we could have a bash at that next year eh?
Or perhaps not. In fact I think I’d rather gnaw off my own arm. I can’t imagine what unearthly impulse would prompt someone to do something like that; but I can tell you this, they aren’t right in the bloody head.
So I don’t know if I’ll be doing anything next year for the charity. I did have vague ideas of buying a van, painting it to look like the one from the A-Team, and then driving to Moscow – but I was quickly shouted down as being an idiot.
To be honest I suspect I won’t be organising any grand money raising schemes for a little while. There’s only so many times you can badger people for donations. I am intending stay involved with the Joseph Salmon Trust however, and help out where I can.
And hopefully all the guys who did the walk, along with anyone else who wants to join us, will be venturing out for a couple of weekend reunion walks between now and next autumn. We built up a real camaradarie over those six days, and I would be honoured to once again tramp the fields in their company.
Unless it’s raining of course. If it’s raining then I’ll give it a miss and just sit inside watching TV and eating Doritos.
You’re welcome. While it is true that all those who contributed money and their enthusiastic support should be praised, they wouldn’t have given if you were’nt so passionate about your endeavor and actually followed through with the it. You’re humble in accepting praise, but I’m sure everyone would agree that you’re more than deserving of the it.
Also, it seems that my totals were wrong. The numbers you stated here are even more impressive. Well done.
My mum helped raise rather a lot of cash as part of my contribution. She even went door-to-door around the local neighbourhood. Most people gave £2-3, but I was particularly surprised by the young couple who each gave £10.
I’d be glad to do something similar again in future, although like Dan, I would be reluctant to badger so many people for money again in the near future. I have offered my design services to the Joseph Salmon Trust, and hope that I will be able to help at some point (and that one of the side project pays off).
If it does rain Dan, can I join you? I’ll bring my own bag of Doritos, so there’ll be enough for everyone.
30 hours–Dan. You gotta do that!
Ed (zoesdad)s last blog post..Duracell Can Bite Me
I’m always amazed at the generosity of bloggers.
Avitables last blog post..Words can be fun, you ignoranus.
6000 pounds! That’s as big as a female Asiatic elephant!
Oh wait, you mean the other kind of pounds. That’s even more impressive. You could buy a female Asiatic elephant with that kind of money.
As for “and then driving to Moscow”…
Hey, it’s only 86 miles from my house.
Oh wait, you mean the other Moscow.
Phils last blog post..Back To School Giveaway!
You’re so modest. You deserve it.
Whits last blog post..You Write the Post
A more deserving inaugural recipient would have been a tall order
PGs last blog post..Slob In Disguise (216/365)
Great accomplishment (the walk and the money raised). A well deserved award.
Arjans last blog post..My ‘backyard’: thanks neighbours..
VegasDad - Your totals were only wrong because I’ve been extreemly slack in keeping it updated on this blog.
Oli - Your mother was a star.
Ed - Ok, but only if you come too
Avitable - Yes, people are fantastic. Which reminds me to go and buy a couple of your raffle tickets.
Phil - You could only buy a male elephant. They are less expensive because you can’t get milk out of them.
Whit - It’s true, i am magnificently modest.
PG - Thank you.
Arjan - And thank you too.
All these awards are gonna go to your head.
Congrats on all your success with your fundraising Dan. Three tons of cash is a lot!
Jeffs last blog post..Mostly Wordless Wednesday
…I’m off to shave my head
Xbox4NappyRashs last blog post..Where can you buy a vagina wig?
Rol - I’d appreciate it if you referred to me as “Sir”
Jeff - It certainly is.
Xbox - Ah, but I’ll always know you aren’t a natural baldy. Actually if you count body hair most men are balder than me.
Congrats Dan, It is well deserved!
Hey, if Xbox ever finds out where to buy vagina wigs, then we can all shave our heads and not have to worry if it looks terrible.
Jamess last blog post..Nature abhors a vaccum . . .
Congrats on the award, and very well deserved it is too.
Of course I won an award on my blog last week too you know, I’ve kept it quiet because, well, I’m not sure what its for, I mean, it might translate to be “dickhead of the week” as far as I know and I’m obviously not going to let anyone know about that, although I just seem to have, anyway…
Thats a lot of pounds to raise, most I ever did on a sponsored walk at school was 50p.
Garys last blog post..Goodbye, goodbye, we’re leaving you goodbye…
A round of applause from me up here. You did good and the video coverage was great, I have visited it several times.
Are you a bear man? One of those with really hairy shoulders and backs??????????????
Gails last blog post..Something in Our Luggage?
It may be my Amsterdam influence, but I nearly choked at Gail’s question ‘Are you a bear man?’….
Xbox4NappyRashs last blog post..Where can you buy a vagina wig?
James – Xbox lives in Amsterdam. If anyone can find vagina wigs, it’ll be him.
Gary – “Dickhead of the week” eh? That really is quite prestigious.
Gail – When Kerry cuts my hair when she gets to my neck she just has to pick a random spot to stop otherwise she’d keep going all the way down to my feet.
Xbox – I did a double take at that too.
Dans last blog post..Revelling in past glories