Let the games begin.

Honourable Olympians I salute you and

I can't believe how many,is it 4,000 ? ,of you are completely crackers. I really love the Winter Olympics and shall be busy watching. Even the Luge,a.k.a. wobbly bits on a tea tray going very fast !

OLIVER'S [LATEST] BIG ADVENTURE !

Last tuesday Oliver went to do the Northern launch of Whizzkids being Tesco's charity for 2006[do watch the video if you can],at a Tesco mega[really,really huge !]store in Newcastle. He was filmed for the BBC local news,and was fab,and was interviewd for Radio Newcastle. He really enjoyed listening to himself later that day.
We were more than happy to support Whizzkids,and will always be so. They do free wheelchair training,supported us,and helped us choose a wheelchair for Oliver. They didn't supply the Hippo chair,mainly due to limited funds and long waiting lists. This fundraising year will change all that,and improve the quality of so many chldren's lives.
As you know,and we are very proud to state,the bulk of the funding came from the Variety Club. Oliver is an Easy Rider !!!

The plaque is on the back of the Hippo. I know that if it hadn't been for our successful fundraising,and everyone who so generously helped us,the Variety Club would not have been so generous. We are so grateful to them and to you. If they wanted us to help with fundraising we wouldn't give it a second thought. Our little media star/tart would be more than happy !


[That's my favourite picture !]


Oliver is raising the chair to chat with his beloved Jenny,who works for Whizzkids. If he were older/got more pocket money he'd take her out on a date !
It was great day.
We borrowed a ramp from the wheelchair supplier. Although it was fibreglass it was pretty heavy. You had to get it at just the right angle. Too steep and the [18 stone] wheelchair just rolled back. The worst thing was Allan having to get the wheelchair out in the flow of traffic. It needed 6 foot for the ramp and about 3 foot for the chair. Once they were both in the boot there was no room for anything else. We wanted to take the manual chair in case Oliver got tired. No chance ! Luckily he managed fine,and drove really well.All in all,not at all easy to use. I couldn't manage it at all.
We've decided to try and save the money for a hoist. It will be about £1,500 with fitting. I must thank a few kind people who have recently donated to Oliver's Fund. It is so very much appreciated. I will write thank you e-mails in the next couple of days.

~

The Jaywalkers. Well...

On the left is the first sock ! I knitted it down to the heel flap. Wasn't happy with how loose the ribbing was compared with the surprisingly un-stretchy pattern. Allan,who has slim feet,couldn't get the sock on ! It was the smaller size knitted on 2.5mm needles. The second attempt was Claudia's picot edging. I did the edge for the smaller size then increased for the bigger size. I like the picot edging and will do it again,but it was still too stretchy in comparison. You'll notice that others who've done the picot edge have a frilly,floppy sock top. It looks cute,but not what I was aiming for. If you wanted a picot edge that was perky and fit in relation to the sock body you should cast on your usual,say 64 stitches,then increase for the pattern. That's what I've done for the third attempt. 64 stitches for the ribbing,increasing to 84 stitches for the larger size sock. Looks o.k. so far. I'm determined to crack this and finish for the KAL deadline,Feb 14th. How many socks have I knitted ? Loads! None so troublesome !!! Nice looking pattern though !