Join the Band!

Not much new posted here recently - I recognise that. I have been using my vacation to think about my pledges though and in particular how I will provide a forum by the end of August. I have a few ideas and will be working on this over the next couple of weeks or so.

In the meantime, I'm very excited that I have now received my first charity wristband...


Again, over the next few weeks I will be setting up a system to order these online. If you want one, let me know by comment and I'll get back to you. Initially they are £2.50 each, but hopefully as momentum grows, this will come down. Equally, whilst this is currently just covering costs, ultimately it will hopefully make a few quid for charity too.

A New Mission

This blog was set up to make a difference, to Kill the Dragon.

Take action. Have real experiences. Make lasting difference to at least one person. Create change.

Well, it’s time! There are many many websites out there trying to get people to do something, to take a pledge. Almost without exception though, these sites are open to pledges about anything. It could be learning French, losing weight, make money and so on. Some of the sites allow you to make a pledge for something you want to do, but only if a certain number of people also sign up for the same pledge. Still more sites allow you to make a pledge and then get rewards for achieving it based on a points rewards system.

All these sites are great and if they get people to achieve something that they otherwise wouldn’t then that’s fantastic. What I want though, is a place where people can make a difference without the condition that others also need to commit, and where it is for the good of someone else. At the same time, a group setting can provide the encouragement people need, an opportunity to do group pledges if wanted and a forum where once you make the pledge you have to go through with it! A while ago I tried an internet experiment. It failed. But I still believe that the internet has better uses than Farmville and porn. It is a unique network of people, some (many? most?) of whom are good people and just need a nudge to make a difference. Kill the Dragon can be that nudge! I want this to be a forum for making pledges, for reporting on them, and then doing another one! For those joining, I imagine that

• You need to make a difference to at least one person
• This is a commitment by you for you to achieve, not on condition someone else will do it with you.
• This is a new pledge. If you already donate to charity it doesn’t count - you need to donate to a new one too!
• There is no limit to the number of pledges you can make, but they should be significant pledges
• One automatic pledge is to get additional people to join!

The ways in which you can make a difference are clearly numerous, but obvious ones include...

• Volunteer at your local school or hospital
• Work in your local soup kitchen
• Go and see your elderly neighbour in the heat wave/cold snap to check they’re ok
• Take on a pledge to raise money doing something that is really challenging
• Write a letter to your MP about a cause close to your heart
• Join a local volunteer group
• Group together for a spectacular pledge!
• Get more people to join Kill the Dragon to make even more difference

So, that’s the vision. How it will work is still up for discussion, but I’m thinking combination of website, blog and Facebook at least initially. Do expect things to change!

Ok, my pledges

• I will get this thing up and running to provide a forum to people to make pledges by the end of August 2010
• I will do my best to get 100 people to make a pledge by Christmas 2010
• I will do LEJOG before I am 40 to raise both awareness and funds for Bliss.

This is your call to action. Make a difference. Kill that dragon.

There will be a forum for discussion, making pledges etc ASAP but in the meantime, do please leave a comment with your thoughts. Thanks!

Quick Wordle

I know it's early days, but couldn't resist doing a quick Wordle to see what this blog is all about...!

(click on the image to see a larger version)

Magazine Article

Quick post to let you know that I have been asked by Bliss to contribute to their magazine, Little Bliss on a regular basis! I wrote an article a few months ago and have now been asked to do it regularly. I am delighted to have this opportunity to continue to raise awareness of neonatal issues. The original article can be seen on my Little by Little blog here.

The Wisdom of Crowds

As discussed in my previous blog entry, one way to make a difference is through individuals who have the motivation and strength to face their dragons despite (or because) of their own tragic circumstances. Another way is to gather thousands of people together, many of whom have very real reasons for wanting to make a difference and to make a difference together.



Today I was priveleged to go to the Race for Life in Cambridge, where 8000 women ran 5k in support of Cancer Research UK. The atmosphere was great and one of celebration despite the fact that many people were running in memory of someone who didn't make it, or in honour of someone who is currently fighting cancer.

Run or walk it really didn't matter, and some of the loudest cheers of the day were when a lady on two crutches completed the course, followed shortly afterwards by a lady in a wheelchair.I am very proud that Eleanor and also my daughter Ciara completed today's course and Ciara in particular had a great time. She has made a difference to others but also has enjoyed something that will make a difference to her own wellbeing, hopefully for many years to come.
Well done Ciara!

Don't forget you can subscribe to this blog via email using the box to the right - make sure you don't miss the latest posts!

Extreme Courage

Many people do stuff to make a difference. Some though have more reason not to and yet find the courage to ensure that they nevertheless do make a difference. These are the people who face their dragon knowing they cannot win and that ultimately it will defeat them. People such as Roy Castle (who lent his name to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and raised millions of pounds during the last years of his life), Helen Rollason (again had cancer, fought it to the end and raised awareness and cash as well as having a BBC Sports Personality Award named in her honour and establishing her own charity) and Jane Tomlinson who despite having cancer raised millions of pounds through some amazing challenges including the London Marathon, Lands End to John O'Groats cycle, UK Half Ironman and many others.

Another example was Ivan Noble. Ivan was a science and technology reporter for the BBC. On being diagnosed with a brain tumour he didn't disappear quietly, but set about documenting his journey through treatment, the highs and the lows. It became a weekly ritual for myself and many others to read his entry (the first entry can be found here) and I was desperately hoping for a happy ending that never came (the final entry is here and the book containing all the entries is here).

More recently, there has been coverage of Huntington's disease in the press, particularly the fact that this genetic disease is more prevalent than originally thought. Charles Sabine is a former war reporter who again has confronted his dragon and is using his own battle with the disease to raise awareness. What is it that gives these people the strength and courage to both battle their disease and also have the courage, motivation and strength to raise awareness at the same time?

There are more examples! I have just started reading a book about a guy who was only given a year to live. His response? He went out and rode Lands End to John O'Groats.

I may be dying but I've done what you can only dream of doing. I am the vigilante leading this World to a better future [Ten Bodies, Two Bikes and a Boil, Chris Gooderham]

Finally, The Times recently ran a story about a guy called Patrick Joyce. He has motor neurone disease but as well as having a web page called Patrick the Incurable Optimist where he reports on his day to day life and encourages others to make a difference, he is also setting himself a target of 100 portraits of people that make a difference before his hands no longer allow him to work. His very first portrait was of his wife, Kathy. The wording is just beautiful...

Kath is supportive, loving and caring. Without her I would be lost. The writing in her hair is something she said to me when I was first diagnosed, “I will always look after you, right until the very end."
[I hope having this pic will increase the traffic to Patricks page. If I need to remove it please tell me]

Many people in this World do nothing to make a difference. Many of us try in a small way. And then there are those who have the courage to make a real difference.

Cambridge Cycling Challenge

The Cambridge Cycling Challenge has been running over the last three weeks. Aside from the fact that my little jaunt to Paris fell right in the middle allowing me to log plenty of miles, the whole aim of this challenge was to encourage new cyclists to give it a go. Never one to be competitive (!), I took on the job of coordinating Oakland's effort, resulting in 5 new cyclists either starting or returning to the sport. One guy in particular had his bike in the shed for over a year, came out for a 10 minute ride on a borrowed bike, went home, fixed his own bike and has been commuting to work since!

Cycling offers an opportunity to make a difference in so many ways. The obvious one is health benefits. The challenge resulted in the equivalent of 1200 lb of fat being burnt, and over 2000 logging journeys. In addition, cycling to work offers benefits in terms of increased productivity, reduced sick days and so on.

From an environmental point of view, The Guardian's Green Living Blog often features cycling stories (including these guys who have just cycled 3000 km down the Danube to raise awareness of biodiversity). During the Cambridge challenge, over 20 000 trips were logged, 17 000 of them for work purposes. this equates to over 34 000 kg of CO2 being saved - not a bad effort!

The challenge now is for the new riders to keep going and to continue to make a difference to themselves and the environment.

By the way, the challenge ran alongside a similar one in Oxford. As I write this (with only a few hours to go), Cambridge lead Oxford 123 - 111 in new riders! Get in!

After the Lord Mayor's Show

So, a week on from C2P already! Like many (all?) of the others, it's been a strange old week. After so many months of training, planning and anticipation and then 5 days full on cycling, coming back to reality was a strange transition. By Monday night I was climbing the walls and had to get out for a quick spin down the road. A couple of other rides to and from work helped me get back into the swing of things. I then joined up with the group from Walden Tri for their Sunday morning ride. I learnt that all cyclists are the same (well not quite the same - Team Jelly Baby is clearly special!). Nice and easy it was going to be. 15-17mph. This was the medium group. 3 miles in and we hit 24 mph cruising along the roads of Essex. What a great ride! Overall 18mph for 32 miles with several efforts off the front and a few hills thrown in. Riding to Paris it wasn't, but it was still great fun.

A week on, and having originally thought that after C2P I wouldn't bother with further challenges, I'm already in planning mode. Nothing any time soon, and nothing definite yet, but there are certainly a couple of dragons on the horizon...

Welcome

Hi! Welcome to my new blog. For new visitors, it's great to meet you. For those who have been hanging out with me for a while, welcome to my new premises!

So, what's Kill the Dragon all about? In essence, it's about making a difference. The ways in which that happens are still to be refined (and excuse the mess whilst I swap around the furniture!), but I'd like this to be a blog about hope and inspiration. It is possible to make a difference when you put your mind to it and this blog is here to report on the things people are doing, whether it is me personally or other stories I share.

In time, this page may be used to coordinate groups of people who are trying to achieve something but need a little help to get there. It may be about raising money in different ways or drawing attention to causes close to my heart.

There was once a little boy on a beach covered in starfish. As an older man watched, the little boy threw the starfish, one by one back into the sea.
"What are you doing?" enquired the man.
"Making a difference" replied the boy.
"But there are too many starfish here to get them all back into the sea. You will never make a difference"
The boy picked up another starfish and threw it back into the sea. "I have just made a difference".

For those that don't know, I have just cycled from Cambridge to Paris for Bliss. So, what's next? Well my goals are as follows:

Short term - To spend more time with the family whilst maintaining a good level of fitness
Medium term - The occasional challenge to keep the endorphins happy
Long term - I will cycle from Land's End to John O-Groats before I'm 40

There. I've said it. Now I've got to do it.

Hello...

You'll have to wait and see won't you...