I'm a very proud wicked step mother!

Ok, so I'm not quite so wicked (not all the time anyways!) but I am a very proud step mum!!

This weekend my step daughter Lauren, attempted and succeeded in running her very first marathon. The London Marathon!

When she told us after running 10 miles in the Great South Run in October 2014; that she had applied and been accepted to run the marathon, I was shocked to say the least!  But so very pleased for her, a big tick off the bucket list right there.

Lauren started running last year and has just smashed it completely!  We are so so proud of her. What an achievement. 

Lauren has raised almost £3000 for the National Autistic Society, in honour of one of her friends beautiful daughters.  Here is her link if you'd like to have a read and of course, any donations most welcome!!! https://www.justgiving.com/Lauren-Barcroft2/

We went with Lauren to the start of the race, as far as we could, and she was surprisingly calm for someone about to run 26 miles. Time for a quick snap with both parents and step parents and she was through the gates and ready for the off!

Lauren smashed her first 10k in just over an hour and certainly kept us busy running around London after her. (Please note, I did not take part in any running!) We tracked her on the marathon app and managed to monitor her progress while cheering everyone else as well along the way.

We met up with Lauren's friends and saw a fleeting glimpse of her running past at mile 14. Just after the half way mark this picture was taken - we were able to cheer her on and supply painkillers and drinks on the way.  

The noise around London was deafening, so much support for our special runner, our friend and our family.  Wherever we were, even if we couldn't see the runners, we could hear the roar of the cheerers. London you did us proud!

We then managed to catch her again at around mile 21 and despite the tears (from us all, not just Lauren) she soldiered on and smashed through the finish line at 5 hours 17 minutes.

Well what can I say.... Lauren we are so proud of you, you set yourself an enormous challenge and you have well and truly smashed it. Watching you run around London was just amazing and truly humbling. What you can do when you set your mind to it has no limits, you've proved this.  

You are an amazing person, one I am so glad to know and love and so proud to call you part of my family. You are an inspiration and truly my hero.

So go on people, if that's not worth a couple of quid in late sponsorship, I don't know what is!  

Thank you to all our friends and family who have donated, you've certainly spurred Lauren on to achieve her goal. But truthfully, it was all down to Lauren. She's the one who has worked two jobs while studying for her uni place, taken time out to run and really train and to finish the London Marathon. Massive respect lady and big big love!!  The champers is on me ❤️❤️ 

Love you xxxxx

Why PETA piss me off....

So yesterday saw the 2015 Grand National at Aintree. A race watched by millions of viewers, young and old alike and an estimated quarter of the whole UK adult population placing a bet on the big race. 

A great day, I love it - we all place a bet, down to the youngest in the family, my two year old neice - who picked the blue one as her favourite colour. We all sat and watched and screamed at the telly and we all lost our money graciously. I've never had a problem with horse racing, but apparently it's a controversial sport these days, well according to the fabled PETA anyway.

PETA write some highly controversial articles themselves, sensationalising highlighted points for their own 'greater good' and are quite happy to only give a one sided view to anything they write about. 

Now I'm all for people having their own opinions, but please form them with some research yourself not just by listening to some half arsed one sided drivel that someone is forcing on you!  Don't even get me started on the fox hunting stance!

So I saw a PETA article yesterday about how bad the Grand National is and how we should all not be supporting such a barbaric sport. So let me just put my own views out there...

A horse will not run if it does not want to. Trust me, first hand experience of owning horses proved this point to me time and time again. No amount of shouting, whipping, kicking, or any kind of gentle persuasion would make my old mare move if she didn't want to. She was more likely to reverse at high speed if she didn't want to do something you've asked of her. No joke. 

I believe this was also demonstrated at the National yesterday. So... anyone see it? See the coverage of the loose horse which lost it's rider over the first few fences? Yep the one who had the free choice to stop, graze, run on the flat... Did it? Nope! It was up the front leading the way over the jumps, all by itself!! Not even following the crowd, actually in the front doing what it was bred and loves to do. 

Excessive use of the whip. Is NOT allowed! Yes to an untrained eye a jockey 'whipping the wind' looks like he is using his crop on his horse, I assure you they are not! (NB there are some she's in racing too, apologies for generalising!) a jump jockey is not permitted to strike his horse no more than 8 times in a race and there are very high penalties by the British Horse Racing Authority for any jockey not adhering to this. Further more jockeys use air cushioned whips to minimise the impact on horses.

Drugging horses is not allowed. People get banned for it, as highlighted in their article - contradiction somewhat?!

Horses die on the racetrack. Yes they do. But horses also die in their field minding their own business too (from personal experience). Wouldn't you rather die doing something you love? 

My healthy pony who was kicked in a field by another horse and had his leg broken, sadly the op didn't work and he had to be put to sleep. 

PETA also state 'it's all about the money'. Ok, well what do you do your job for? I, not ordinarily being a betting lady myself, would simply bet a proportion of the reason you do your job is money! 

Jockey's are the only sports people I ever see, congratulating each other, commiserating with each other and truly cheering each other on. Yes it's all about the race, but these people who race against each other are one big team. Isn't that what sportsmanship should be about?  

See the National coverage yesterday after Many Clouds won? The only thing his trainer was interested in was the horses well being and could not concentrate on the interview given, until it was made clear to him all was ok.

There's loads of other points I could address, but frankly I'd bore you all to tears. Please just remember when reading such articles, that these could be one sided, could be not researched very well, and hey it's t'internet... Simply might not be true! I don't expect you to agree with me, but do read around a subject before sharing and believing for fact.

Thanks for listening!

TTFN, Sammy xx

P.s..... All 39 horses that raced yesterday are all alive and all well. A nasty fall for one, which looked like it might result in tragedy has thankfully not. 

Quick catch up!

So it's been a month.... It's meant lots of training, meeting new people, learning new things and it's been fabulous! I've been having such fun, I'm so exhausted from all the brain exercise, but I can say my new job is fab and I've loved it!

It's nerve racking starting a new job, everything being new, the people already being friends and learning how to fit in; but d'ya know.... It's been fine, they are all lovely. (That and one of the girls that works there is one of my best friends who I've known for over 20 years!)

I'm so pleased I plucked up the courage and left my old job, I hated it more than I could ever express and it was just soul destroying. Try as I might, I can't even remember the black place it put me in now, even though it's little more than a month ago I left.  I took a pay cut to get out, didn't get as close to home as I'd like, but it's marvellous. I can go back to being happy - and really that's all that counts!

So I have loads to tell you, pampered chef parties, weightwatchers, complaints, shopping.... Bear with me! So much to say, so little time!

TTFN, Sammy xx