Official visit to Canine Partners

Thursday 27th,

We visited Canine Partners again yesterday for ‘official’ photoshoot, when they could get the camera to work. Tony was as taken with the place, people and dogs as I was the week before. Everyone is happy and enthusiastic in their work and so grateful for what we’re doing, it’s a lovely atmosphere. We met Allen whose wife runs the puppy training and his dog Endal has won many awards including the canine equivalent of the ’George Cross’ for bravery. He put Allen in the recovery position when he collapsed, covered him with a blanket and activated the emergency phone. He also can work a cash point, pin number and all!!!! You can visit his website on:

http://www.milleniumdog.freeserve.co.uk/

We had hoped to get some interest from the media which would have helped us to reach our target amount, but this has not been forthcoming, so maybe our expectations are a little high. However we will endeavour to continue towards this amount as this is such a worthwhile charity and both Tony and I feel this is the beginning of a long association with them. If anyone has any suggestions please let us know.

Visits planned

Scheduled visits so far:

Mulhouse Buggati museum

Lipicia Lipizzaner Stud

Island of Viz

Alberobello

Thessolonika ( Aturturks’ birthplace)

Gallipoli Peninsular

Troy

Ephesus

Donations to Canine Partners

A big 'Thank you' to all those who are supporting us.
We already have £620.
Just click on this link to make a donation:
http://secure.justgiving.com/kent2kas

Route Plan - well, we are getting close to departure!

Kent2Kas approximate Route Plan
Tues 1st	Kent to Arras via Calais (FR)	150 mile
Wed 2nd	Arras to Metz	200 miles
Thurs 3rd	Metz to Mulhouse	130 miles
Fri 4th	a.m Mulhouse museum p.m Mulhouse to Weesen (CH)	100 miles
Sat 5th	Weesen to Bolzano Bozen (I)	150 miles
Sun 6th	Bolzano Bozen to Sistana	150 miles
Mon 7th	a.m Sistana to Lipicia (SL) p.m Lipicia to Baker (CR)	15 miles 50 – 100 miles
Tues 8th	Baker to Primosten	150 miles
Wed 9th	a.m Primosten to Split day trip to VIZ	25 miles
Thurs 10th	Split to Dubrovnik	100 miles
Fri 11th	The government website recommends not to travel through Albania and Kosovo, which we had thought, so to get from Croatia to Greece we have to get a ferry to Italy and back!!	1250 miles half way
Sat 12th	Dubrovnik to Bari Ferry leaves 15.30hrs arrives 21.30hrs
Sun 13th	Bari to Brindisi via Alberobello - visit the lovely village of Trulli di Alberello where all the houses have strange pointed cone shaped roofs! Brindisi to Igoumenitsa (GR) Ferry leaves 20.00hrs arrives 07.30 hrs	80 miles
Mon 14th	Igoumenitsa to Thessalonika	220 miles
Tues 15th	Thessolonika to Alexandroupoli	200 miles
Wed 16th	Alexandroupoli to Troy (TR)	130 miles
Thurs 17th	a.m Troy p.m Troy to Bergama	120 miles
Fri 18th	Bergama to Ephesus p.m. Ephesus	100 miles
Sat 19th	Ephesus to Dalyan	130 miles
Sun 20th	Dalyan to Kas	100 miles
		2nd leg 1080 miles
		Total mileage 2330

Alison's Visit to Canine Partners

I first heard about Canine Partners on Radio 2 last November and as we were looking for a charity to support for our forthcoming trip I thought they would be a worthwhile candidate. Then a client of mine, a budding 3 day event rider, very sadly contracted meningitis which devastatingly for her resulted in blood poisoning and the amputation of her lower legs and ends of her fingers. This unfortunate change of her circumstance confirmed our decision to sponsor this charity with its wonderful assistance dogs. I found out on my visit today that another lady who had suffered the same terrible disease but had both lower arms amputated as well as her legs, now has a canine partner who has helped her regain her independence.

We were invited to an open day at the principal training centre at Heyshott just south of Midhurst in West Sussex. Unfortunately Tony had to work but I went along to meet a variety of dogs and their partners and to learn more about the skills that transform people’s lives and sometimes even save them. Once fully trained these amazing dogs respond to over 100 different commands which include fetching the phone, opening the washing machine filling and emptying it, opening doors, drawers and cupboards, dressing and undressing, food shopping, pressing pedestrian crossing buttons etc, etc. They even go to the loo on command!!

I met Bernard Wallis and Jinx, his golden retriever partner of 8 years:

Bernard Wallis and Jinx

Some dogs, and Jinx is one of them, have gone beyond their training and have got vital help for their partner when an accident has befallen them. Bernard told us how much having Jinx meant to him, not only in performing the many tasks he was trained to do, but also in getting people talking who would otherwise ignore him because of his disability. Shopping that used to take him 30 mins can now take up to two and a half hours because so many people stop and talk to them both!!

Isadora is just 11 weeks old and 3 weeks into her puppy training. She is a black Poodle and though most of the dogs used are Retrievers or Labradors, a percentage are Poodle’s and Poodle crosses, trained and placed with partners who have allergies to moulting coats. This was of great interest to me as I am asthmatic with dogs on the long list of things I’m allergic to! Isadora is pictured with Xyla, a four yr old display Retriever:

We asked if we could sponsor a puppy right through training to graduation but at Canine Partners suggestion, we will now sponsor a ‘class’ because there is a small percentage who don’t graduate mainly due to ill health or unsuitability and it would be very disappointing to sponsor a puppy who didn’t make it. I thought Izzy was adorable so as new recruits we’re hoping to sponsor the ‘I’ class which means raising between £7000 and £8000! A tall order but a very worthwhile challenge! The ‘I ‘class will be going into advanced training next March when they are 14 months old. After 3 to 6 months successful dogs will graduate and be placed with matched human partners for a final 2 weeks of training to get used to each other before starting their new life together.

"The plan is, there is no plan"

When I purchased a Chinese scooter three years ago to get around the small town of Kas, where I have an apartment, all the memories of my teenage biking days came flooding back. Back in my ‘greaser’ years, I was described by some as a bit of an ace rider. Friday night would see me taking my weekly trip down to Groombridges, Cross in Hand to blow my lowly wage packet on whatever I could afford. I would then spend most of the weekend carrying out repairs and, with a bit of luck, would take a ride down to the coast or at the very least, up to the youth club to do some impressive wheelies. Of course, the reality was no money for petrol or protective gear and a bike that was constantly in the shed for maintenance.

This time though, I was almost always guaranteed a warm and dry day whenever I felt like a ride. I was soon well and truly re-bitten by the motorbike bug!

Despite the fine weather, the combination of a 125cc engine with two onboard (combined weight 24 stone) meant a hilly drive could only be accomplished at a snails pace. It was therefore understandable, to see a look of absolute horror on Alison’s face when I first suggested buying a scooter in England and riding to Turkey.

To be fair, a 17 km ride on the Chinese scooter to the next village in Turkey, inevitably resulted in her suffering from a stiff back and legs, as she had to sit in a cramped position on a seat considerably narrower than our derrieres.

She put up a noble fight, raging from “You must be joking!” to “How about I fly to Italy, meet you there for a couple of days, then fly on to Turkey and wait for you?”

However, what she didn’t know was that I had set my sights on something a little more comfortable and powerful than the Chinese scooter.

Meet our Suzuki Burgman…

We took our first outing on the new (to us) ‘wheels’ to Southend. OK, not so far really but quite an experience as it happens. We had checked the weather forecast but had not noted the expected high winds! After being blown sideways by 40-50 mph winds most of the way, we survived and felt that the comfort was acceptable and the 100 mile ride was no real problem.

When I sold my Private Hire business 3 ½ years ago (no… 4 ½ years, time flies!), I was often asked: “What are your plans?” My reply was always the same: “The plan is, there is no plan!” This journey is much along the same lines. Of course we have had to work out a basic route but that could easily change – the growing problems in Kosovo for example…

Last Christmas was unusual in that, when asked by the family, “What do you want?” I had a list of pre trip items to collect. My family, always complaining that I was really hard to buy for, greeted these ideas with enthusiasm. Soon I had acquired a camping gaz stove; over seat luggage bags; micro towels (yes- they are really micro!) and other assorted bits and bobs. Where do we put it all? Arrgghh.

Then, laying in bed one morning, pondering as you do - I was thinking about Messrs McGregor and Boorman on their Long Way Round/Down trips – and I recalled that they raised a fair bit for Unicef on their travels. Well, we may not be quite as adventurous but hey, I’m older and this is ‘two up’ on a second hand machine, half the size of their (brand new) BMW Superbikes. So let’s see if we can raise a few pennies for a worthy cause.

We have come up with Canine Partners. We are off to visit them in Midhurst in Surrey soon (report to follow) and have already started collecting some donations.